I purchased a compound bow this summer with the intent of getting good at it and eventually take it hunting. I practiced quite a bit with it, and thought why not get my bow license right away. If I didn't get a deer before the gun season, I would be out $30, but at least I would get out and have more of a chance at getting one. The first night I sat out, I saw more deer than I ever had in my years of gun hunting. It was a different area, and that may be a factor, but I was excited and hooked.
The regular gun season came, and I didn't have a deer yet, so I went opening weekend. The weather was not ideal for hunting, and again I went home empty handed. I had quite a few events in November, and didn't get out again with my bow. I didn't realize the bow season goes from mid-September all the way to the end of the year until a few weeks ago.
My brother was out hunting last week, and told me he has seen deer at a close enough range that I could use my bow to shoot one. Currently, my sights are only set at 20, 25, and 30 yards, so I don't have a real far range to work with. But I decided I would make another trip to the woods.
Yesterday afternoon, I packed up all my hunting things and headed out to the woods. I had to walk to the spot where my brother had sat and looked around. There were tons of tracks from various critters, and I spotted many deer tracks as well. I put my bucket in the weeds, and got myself ready to sit.
I was out for about an hour before I checked the time for the first time. My fingers were getting cold, so I had to open the bucket and get my second pair of gloves out. Another hour passed, and I still hadn't seen anything. The sun went behind the trees, and the temperature dropped more. About 4:30, I was thinking about walking around a patch of woods in the middle of the field. Something told me otherwise, so instead I just stood up.
Another 15 minutes passed, and I looked to the left. A large buck was coming out of the woods. My heart raced. I had told myself no matter what, if I had the chance I was going to take a shot. I had yet to actually get a shot in, waiting for the perfect shot.
Here's where things started going wrong. I didn't use my range finder to see how far away he really was. When I got out there, I had looked around to pick out markings at least so I about what my range was. The hardest thing about seeing a deer is making sure they don't see you. It felt like he was looking right at me more than once. I had my bow up, but I still needed to connect my trigger and draw back.
He took his time walking from the woods, across the field closer to me. I got the trigger connected, but couldn't get the bow pulled back. That's when I should have used my range finder to watch him come into my range. But I didn't. It took all I had to pull the string back, and then I waited. I thought I knew about where my 30 yards mark was, and watched this monster come closer. Finally, I hit my trigger, and made an even bigger mistake. I closed my eyes.
The arrow missed him completely, flying in front of him. The twang from the bow caught his attention, and I watched him run back into the woods. The speed and ease let me know I didn't hit him at all. I let my heartbeat slow down, and then went in search of my arrow to confirm how badly I had missed him.
I am very protective of my hunting gear, knowing the cost that goes into it. I have cheaper arrows, but they still cost around $7 just for the arrow, and another $7 or so for the broadhead. I don't want to lose them. The snow made it easier to find, and it was clean. I stood watching the woods for another ten minutes before going back to my seat and packing up.
I'll go back out hopefully this week or next. Just getting to see something and taking a shot brings all the excitement back. I still have a few weeks to hunt, and it might be just enough time to add some meat to the freezer.
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