Well...weekend was pretty boring until last night. My son (13) and I finally saw a deer. A nice doe came in about 4 pm and he was ready. He pulled back when she went behind a tree and was able to take the shot...first thing out of his mouth "I missed, right under her". He wasn't sure why. Well 15 min later we got down to investigate.
Got to he arrow no blood on it whatsoever so looked like a clean miss..then I looked closer... a couple droplets of blood...he must have grazed her! So we followed where she stopped halfway up the hill (she blew at us about 10 times before she took off) and sure enough a little puddle of blood - I was kind of bummed that she was hit but it wasn't the type of blood you thought "she will die".
With some snow on the ground we followed the path she ran, finding some more small drops of blood - then we found another small pool (she must have stopped again) and then nothing...... by this time it is dark. We kept looking but nothing.
Anyone want to take a guess on why he missed/graze her? - there is an answer! (I can actually be partially to blame for it)......Wrong Distance/Pin! UGH!
Overall, it was cool - I haven't shaken in a long time when a doe comes in as I have been passing on them the past few years. But I was shaking like a leaf for my son and I know he was too! (we are sitting in two man ladder stand together)
Just wish the outcome would have been better. It was a good learning experience. I really hate wounding an animal like that and I stressed that to my son. I am pretty positive it is still still alive.
Key Learning experiences for first time shot at a deer for my son (and a reminder for the rest of us):
- verify pin/distance - breathe while shooting - Mark where deer went/stopped from the stand - always try to retrieve your game not matter the circumstances - sometimes it doesn't go how planned or how you want - It's called hunting not shooting - We love bow hunting, If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Well, there is next weekend again!
Good hunting everyone!
IMO this is probably the most important thing to remind new hunters as in the excitement of the moment, it can be really hard to remember where you shot and the very last place you saw the deer.
Last year, Mrs. G shot a buck just before close. I chose to wait it out until morning although she was totally PO'd by doing so. She felt she hit it a bit back.
We got out in the morning and she walked to where she thought the deer was standing when she shot. No blood or arrow. I had her get up in the stand to verify. Then she told me what it did and the last place she saw it or so she thought. Finally after zip sagging on a side of a ridge, I found the blood trail. She was off on both.
It's one of the things I believe is most important for a new hunter to remember especially if they are calling others to help track. Sometimes there is very little blood, sometimes nothing for quite some time.
In this case, she hit it a bit back but on an downward angle...entering about 4" from the spine, broke a rib and didn't penetrate through leaving most of the blood to remain in the cavity. The little drops of blood we picked up took awhile to drip down from the back. The buck only went 80-100 yards(over half of it was no blood), very little blood and probably fell dead in his tracks.
When I got down from the stand to look for my arrow, I noticed a few droplets of blood on the corn stalks behind the shot. No blood on the arrow whatsoever. I think I grazed the brisket and just cut him. I used the wrong pin. My pins are 10, 20, 30 and I used the top pin while aiming for his heart, resulting in a low shot. Stupid but now I won't make the mistake again.
It must have gotten him a little hooked as he already said he wanted to go back up north again this weekend! I am leaving it up to him when he wants to hunt - I don't want to force it.
Just a tad concerned about snow depths but I guess it is what it is!
Thanks!
