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Semi Live Hunt From KS. (After the Fact)

This year has been crazy busy; At 27 I am working my way up in our expanding family-owned milk hauling company and for those who have ever worked in the dairy industry you know it is a 24 hour 7 day a week job. I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to work with my family for the world but, between working 60 hours a week in my office job, hauling milk every weekend and helping a neighbor/ farmer haul hay as much as my sleep schedule will allow, my summer scouting has consisted of setting up a few trail cams and leaving them be. In fact it wasn’t until I was talking to a coworker about him going out with his son last weekend, for a youth hunt, that I remembered that bow season opened up on the 15th. All I could think was “I’d better get my stuff together!” After hunting hard all year last year and eventually getting a healthy serving of tag soup, I decided this year I needed to fill my freezer much more than my wall and sprung for the extra $17.50 for a doe tag.

I bought a new bow (Prime Alloy) last January after saving for months and have managed to make enough time to practice, becoming efficient and practicing out to 60 yards.(I only shoot half that hunting WT.) After being reminded, this weekend, that the season opened on Monday I called and talked to one of the old farmers that has always been kind enough to let me hunt and he informed me that a little patch (40 acres) of corn, that I had a trail cam on, was just picked this weekend and that his hired hands had seen some deer in there. After going and buying tags on my lunch hour Monday I decided that, after work, I would go sit for a little while and swap out my SD cards. I found a little opening at the edge of the field, close to where I figured deer had been coming in at and decided that with only a couple hours to spare and no time to hang a stand I would set up behind a fallen tree 10 feet off the edge of the field. Just before sundown I began to see deer filtering into the field. Everything was going the opposite way that I planned; the deer were coming in where I thought they were leaving. The wind was all wrong, and one particularly nasty doe, with a fawn, came to about 40 yards and began blowing and stomping up a storm. She knew something was awry and eventually took off to the opposite end of the field flagging and bringing the other deer with her. I waited until it was totally dark and crept out undetected, without swapping my memory cards, figuring I would comeback when the wind switched directions.

Tuesday came and luckily I work just a few miles from most of the places that I hunt. I was talking to my wife about a Sons of Anarchy watch get-together at one of her cousin’s and told her that I would probably just go on a bike ride when I got home and that I would meet her there after she got off work. At some point in the afternoon the wind switched to accommodate for an evening sit and I text her saying that I was probably going to skip out on the watch party since I have DVR at home. She was surprisingly ok with it and told me to have a good time and that she would probably just go to her folks for a beer or two and watch Sons there. I got off work a little later than I wanted, but decided “What the hell?” I went back and found a similar spot as the night before, but 20 yards closer to where I saw the deer come in. Like clockwork, 30 minutes before sunset there they were.

Before getting settled in, I walked off 20 and 30 yards from the only shot window available and marked the yardages by standing up a couple of noticeably taller corn stalks that were lying around. As I sat thinking about how much I must stink from sweating on the way into the woods a cracking tree limb caught my attention. I grabbed my bow and watched the same doe and fawn from the previous night walk into the corn and begin feeding away from me. I observed them as they kind of milled around without even knowing I existed. They were probably 50 yards from me when I noticed another couple does walking in from the south as well. I could tell they were going to cross into my shooting lane. This was it. I picked out the larger of the two and drew just before they walked into the 3x3 window that allowed for a clear shot. I guessed that they were 4 or 5 yards closer than the 20 yard “marker” when they passed by it. I somehow silently got up on one knee and set my pin on the bigger of the two while she was still walking; it was now or never. Sure that she could hear my heart pounding through my chest I stopped her with a “Mmerr” and squeezed the release. The arrow propelled through the air and hit exactly where I aimed! Or did it?

I couldn’t remember where I saw it hit. As the doe exploded into the open area that I sat in the night before I looked for an entrance wound but couldn’t see any blood. She circled back and stopped 5 yards away looking back at me as I tried to nock another arrow. My shaky hands could not get it locked onto the string and I fumbled with it for a couple seconds while still looking at the deer. “Did I miss a layup at the buzzer?” At that moment, she jetted down in the creek bed behind me and with cat-like agility ran up the other side. I sat there catching my breath, replaying the shot in my head… “Everything was perfect,” I thought. I heard some a loud rustling from the direction she was headed but couldn’t see through the thick vegetation. “Is that what a deer ‘crashing’ sounds like?” (Other 2 I've shot went down in sight) All I was sure of is that I hadn’t heard it before.

As the sun continued to fade I sat there for 10-15 minutes to finish gaining my composure before going to look for my arrow. I found it buried under some stubble in the dirt 10 yards past my 20 yards stalk, covered in blood from tip to tip and missing 2 of the 3 fletchings. “Good sign.” I thought. Just as I turned on the flashlight on my phone to take up the blood trail my phone died. “Awesome.”(sarcasm)

I made the half mile walk back to the truck and then drove back to the office to grab a good flashlight and use the phone to call my father-in-law, who has years more experience than me. After explaining the shot and evidence to him, he tells me, “Go get your deer. Sounds like a good shot. Send me a pick when you’re done.” With a boost of confidence I jumped back in the truck and drove the edge of an alfalfa field to the “crime scene.” I immediately picked up the blood trail where she ran behind me at and followed it to across the creek bed. Good blood from the Magnus broadhead lead me to believe she couldn’t have gone far. I finished climbing out of the embankment and got back on the trail, skimming in front of me, the first thing I noticed was a patch of white, and with another step I could make out the shape of the deer. After making sure she was gone I said a little prayer thanking God for the gift.

Congrats. I enjoyed your replay.

Immediately I noticed the blood on the entrance wound on her right side and the autopsy confirmed that it was a perfect double-lung shot. After all was said and done 16 yard shot, 55 yard recovery and 1 happy hunter! I just finished dropping her off at the locker and needless to say, in a couple of weeks wife and I will be eating good! Still looking forward to getting my first buck but, this ought to hold me over. Sorry for the long read but this is only my 3rd deer in 3 years.

Good Luck!

Exit wound.

No apologies necessary. I enjoy reading about everyone's hunts, successful or not. Well done and congrats. I'm sure she was nice and fat from eating corn all summer. I bet she will be great eating.

Nice.

Good story. Great Shot!! That is how its done!

Good job. Nice way to open.

Nice re-cap of your hunt and congrats!

Congrats on a great hunt and story!! Some of my fondest deer hunting memories have been made harvesting does. I hate it when people say, "Ah its just a doe".

JEG x2....

Congratulations on a hunt well done!

Good eating! Congrats.

Congratulations. Great story.

Well done, and inspirational.

Congrats on the doe. Good eating.

I could even feel your excitement as I read thru your posts. That is what its all about!

Way to go SC! Congrats on a great hunt!

You made it look pretty easy! Congrats on a job well done!

Nice shot. Congrats! Nice big doe too

Awesome job and great write up! Very fun one to read. Two more weeks and we can start hunting here. Can't wait.

Good story and the outcome we all look forward too. All the better that did it on the ground on even terms. Like the mention of Sons of Anarchy. Wife and I are avid watchers, but it really started going over the top ... the population of Charming is going to 0 by the time they are through.

Congrats on a great story and trophy! Mike

Very cool! Great story!!! Congratulations on an awesome kill!!!

Thanks fellas, always nice when a plan comes together. Jeg x3. I like big racks as much as the next guy,:) however, antlers are not my sole reason for hunting.

Mark I still haven't had a chance to watch this week's episode but, if it was like the first, it could get crazy. The last couple of seasons it has went a little overboard on the believability factor but, we're already hooked on the show so...

Good luck and hopefully the time passes quickly for guys whose seasons haven't opened yet. Reminds me I still haven't check my cameras this year:/

Nice job. I laughed reading about you fumbling with the arrow. We've all been there!

Great job. Great shot. Great steaks.

Congrats SCKS, great story!

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