Got one this morning
Pennsylvania
It has been tough for the past 5 and a half weeks sitting around recuperating from abdominal surgery. Wasn't supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds which I assumed included shooting my bow, and I was told not to climb ladder stands and drag deer for 2 or 3 months. After shooting my 35 pound recurve one day with ease, I made a draw length adjustment on Kathy's compound and started to slowly go from 6 shots a day up to 24. There was hope that maybe tomorrow I would at least be able to go sit in the blind. I graduated to a 45 pound recurve which was easy, then a couple weeks ago, my compound bow. I was not supposed to mow grass but that went OK, so I went ahead and rode the 4 wheeler around to check cameras and ladder stands the other day. I made up my mind I would be in a ladder stand tomorrow morning. After talking to my bowhunting hunting buddies this past week I have gotten pretty excited about getting back out there, so much so that I woke up at 4 AM and could not go back to sleep.
About 10 AM I looked out towards the road and saw my nemesis for the past 2 or 3 weeks feeding under the chestnut trees. Looked like 30 yards. I had not been able to line up a shot over the weeks so I figured what a better time to see if my broadheads were flying right. They had been last November when I shot my buck. I put on the release, grabbed the bow and slipped out the garage door.
For once he was very intent on eating what the deer had not cleaned up last night and he did not notice me as I slipped up behind a little maple tree. I guessed it was still 30 yards, drew back and set the 30 yard pin right on him. The arrow dug in right under him and he walked behind the tree. A clean miss. I nocked up a second arrow and got ready. He stepped out behind the tree a presented a broadside shot. This time it looked like I hit him pretty good and he hunched up (like a cat eating guts as my brother used to say). After a minute or so he took off behind a little hill to the left.
I did not wait the appropriate 30 minutes to go and check for blood. My first arrow had been low by a few inches. My second arrow had passed though and was sticking up at an odd angle behind where he had been standing. I had a good blood trail and saw him about 35 yards away. I snuck around the hill so I could get real close without being seen, nocked up the first arrow and finished him off as show in the picture.
WAY TO GO ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Glad to hear the recuperation is going well! And you got FIRST BLOOD of the season! ;-)
Way to go, Art. Nice shot.
Thanks guys. After cleaning up the arrows I weighed the 2 different broadheads. The one that went low was 135 grains and the one that hit him was 115 grains. Now I have to sharpen them and consider putting 4 of the same brand on my hunting arrows. LOL.
Should I save the backstraps for when you are here Perry?
BY the way, I put my hunting license in my back pocket and an orange had on my head.
Sure Art- we can throw it in the crockpot for dinner! : )
I've done the same thing with field points. Thought I was putting 125's on when they were 100's. Good thing you found out NOW, and not when one of them nice bucks walks by! (or Bear ;-)
Now that's some good shooting! How does it taste? I heard it taste like beaver?
They eat the same things cows do.
This time of year they have a lot of fat. Some old ones can be tough but they aren’t bad eating.
That's a fat one! I'll bet it tastes like chicken :)
nice Art. check this out. I stalked up on one yesterday. for with in 2 feet range. touched his back with the bow. as I got to about 6 feet, I could see he had no right eye.
nice Art. check this out. I stalked up on one yesterday. for with in 2 feet range. touched his back with the bow. as I got to about 6 feet, I could see he had no right eye.
I got a 10 point in Gulph Mills that 300 pounds that had severe cataracs in his right eye once.
