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I *actually* saw a deer in the stand.

woods

I probably did it wrong.
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May 22, 2020
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May not seem like much, but I saw two does tonight in the stand.

Refilled the bear barrel after work. Made a racket. oops.

Walked out to the second tree stand a bit further out. Sat there for 10m. Saw a flicker quite a ways out. THen again. And again. Boom, white tail. Two of them. Crept closer. And closer. And closer. Forty yards out. A pecker pole twenty yards between us. Aimed just right of the pecker pole and drew my bow. Fired. thwang. Right into the pecker pole. Another inch to the right and I would have dodged it. god damnit.

The two does scampered up a bit, still in sight. Then slowly came back. Right back where they were. No pecker pole. Nock another arrow, draw, fire. thwack thwack thwack thwack- I think I hit every tree branch between me and the deer. I didn't even really pay attention to the branches because I was too focused on the deer. Like if you were to hold four fingers in front of your face, but looked fifty yards out. Branches tore the fletching right off the arrow breaking it.

So. Two misses. Broken arrow and another 20' up in a tree. :homer: :emb4:

First time I ever seen a deer in a stand. And first time I've ever taken a shot at a deer with the bow. That was a freaking rush. They really need to get close though to have any decent shot though. It sucked after I missed the second time because they hung around about sixty yards out behind tree cover. Hoped they'd come back, but never did.

That was exciting. Sucks, but man I can't wait to get back out there.

Now I'm looking up on making my own arrows.

And that was my cool story.
 
I can get within 10 feet of bedded dear. Stands are optional. :flipoff2:I hate to admit it but I miss deer hunting. Haven’t been in a longggg time.
 
I can get within 10 feet of bedded dear. Stands are optional. :flipoff2:I hate to admit it but I miss deer hunting. Haven’t been in a longggg time.
With all the ground cover I have, I may as walk with a bugle. Its so noisy.
 
With bow hunting you typically have to clear shooting lanes from your stand or blind . Otherwise you’re pissing in the wind shot opportunities are very limited and you need to choose them very carefully .
 
With bow hunting you typically have to clear shooting lanes from your stand or blind . Otherwise you’re pissing in the wind shot opportunities are very limited and you need to choose them very carefully .
I hear yea. THere are lanes, but I overlooked this one. I was way too focused on the deer. :homer:
 
THis'll be year three, but first year was somewhat a joke.
You'll figure it out. Make sure you practice!

Shooting from the ground at a target is completely different than shooting down from a stand.

I also recommend ranging a bunch of different stationary objects from your stand. Knowing what distance the trees and rocks are from you, you can tell how far a deer is by what it's standing near.

And as already discussed, shooting lanes. You want to hold on to that arrow until you have have a good clear lane. Know where they are and wait for the deer to cross them.
 
You'll figure it out. Make sure you practice!

Shooting from the ground at a target is completely different than shooting down from a stand.

I also recommend ranging a bunch of different stationary objects from your stand. Knowing what distance the trees and rocks are from you, you can tell how far a deer is by what it's standing near.

And as already discussed, shooting lanes. You want to hold on to that arrow until you have have a good clear lane. Know where they are and wait for the deer to cross them.
Ranging isn't a bad idea. Want to hear something nuts though? At my hunter course on our walkthrough, they had us guess how far certain objects where. That rock. That fake deer. That fake turkey. There was about thirty different objects. From seven yards to ninety yards. I was within two yards of each one. The guy looked at me like I was some sort of savant. :laughing:

I am going to have to do a little work out back after season. The stand I was in, what I call the second stand because its a bit further out from the closer one, is quite a bitch to get into. I have to squeeze between two trees at the top. Then there's branches I need to contort around. In a t-shirt I can do it, but forget in winter drab. I'll have to spend a day or two with a ladder, sawzall, and some ribbon.

Stupid thing was I never even really saw those branches until the arrow went flying. Too focused on way out there. :homer:
 
Ranging isn't a bad idea. Want to hear something nuts though? At my hunter course on our walkthrough, they had us guess how far certain objects where. That rock. That fake deer. That fake turkey. There was about thirty different objects. From seven yards to ninety yards. I was within two yards of each one. The guy looked at me like I was some sort of savant. :laughing:

I am going to have to do a little work out back after season. The stand I was in, what I call the second stand because its a bit further out from the closer one, is quite a bitch to get into. I have to squeeze between two trees at the top. Then there's branches I need to contort around. In a t-shirt I can do it, but forget in winter drab. I'll have to spend a day or two with a ladder, sawzall, and some ribbon.

Stupid thing was I never even really saw those branches until the arrow went flying. Too focused on way out there. :homer:
That brings up another good point. When you practice make sure your practicing in the same gear you'll be hunting in. Things are a lot different in a t shirt than hunting gear like you pointed out.

Sounds like you've got a good eye for ranges.
 
That brings up another good point. When you practice make sure your practicing in the same gear you'll be hunting in. Things are a lot different in a t shirt than hunting gear like you pointed out.
That's a good point too. Drawing 80lbs in a Carhartt jacket will be a bit different I think too.
 
^ practice pulling back from a chair … if you shake when pulling or catch yourself pointing it up when pulling it back it’s too heavy . 80 pounds is something I haven’t heard of since the early 2000s or late 90s lol
 
^ practice pulling back from a chair … if you shake when pulling or catch yourself pointing it up when pulling it back it’s too heavy . 80 pounds is something I haven’t heard of since the early 2000s or late 90s lol
I don't think I could fire from a seating position. That'd be awkward.

And you lost me on the 80lbs comment? Why 2000s and 90s?
 
Because you usually are sitting in a tree stand and need to be able to shoot your bow seated . 80 lbs comment is because back then heavy pound bows were common because they weren’t as fast . Nowadays the bows have such high let off and are so fast most men are pulling 55-70 I didn’t think most bows even advertise to 80 max anymore .
 
^ practice pulling back from a chair … if you shake when pulling or catch yourself pointing it up when pulling it back it’s too heavy . 80 pounds is something I haven’t heard of since the early 2000s or late 90s lol
80 lbs is a bit high. 55 to 60 is probably about where you want to be. What type of bow do you have?
 
Because you usually are sitting in a tree stand and need to be able to shoot your bow seated . 80 lbs comment is because back then heavy pound bows were common because they weren’t as fast . Nowadays the bows have such high let off and are so fast most men are pulling 55-70 I didn’t think most bows even advertise to 80 max anymore .
I never sit in the stand. I'm always standing.

80 lbs is a bit high. 55 to 60 is probably about where you want to be. What type of bow do you have?
Bowtech Carbon ICON. Guy set me up with my bow. I pull 80 no issue. After about an hour of practice I can feel it and my accuracy drops a bit. hrm
 
It happens to the best of us. I still get excited seeing does when bow hunting. Practice drawing and holding like you would for a shot.

How high is your stand?
 
It happens to the best of us. I still get excited seeing does when bow hunting. Practice drawing and holding like you would for a shot.

How high is your stand?
14' or so? Mechanical blades. No practice with them, but I have gotten four turkeys. My last turkey was 52 yards out. I practice with just the regular tips.
 
Max draw weight on a carbon icon is 70 pounds so you’re not drawing 80
 
After you clear your lanes and range them, hang some surveyors tape @ 10,20,30 yards or whatever your shooting, for wind direction.

I've been hunting deer since I was 8 or 9 and I still get buck fever sometimes
 
Max draw weight on a carbon icon is 70 pounds so you’re not drawing 80
I looked it over, and you are 100% correct. I stand corrected. The label went up to 80, I thought that's what I was drawing.

IMG_2021-09-19_09-27-05.jpeg


:homer:

No deer this morning, but a bear walked by about 65 yards out. Not even remotely a clear shot. Big one too. Nothing at the barrel.
 
Too hot for me to be sitting in a stand just yet . But I might next weekend in between hauling corn . Corn crop is really good here this year and usually that seems to translate to a good deer season for us .
 
14' or so? Mechanical blades. No practice with them, but I have gotten four turkeys. My last turkey was 52 yards out. I practice with just the regular tips.
I would say you’re good then. Remember to bend at the waist when shooting from an elevated platform.
 
About a dozen coyotes at the bear barrel. They show up around 11pm and are there until 330am. Not entirely sure what to do about that.

Spent two hours this evening, nothing.
 
Tune your bow to shoot well at 60ish pounds. I promise you, once you sit in a stand for an hour or more in cold weather, drawing that 70+ pound bow is going to be next to impossible. Been there, missed a good opportunity. Also, practice with the broadheads. They WILL fly differently than a field point. Remember to sharpen or replace the blades afterward. Shoot a lot. Stop when you begin to see fatigue. Shoot from an elevated practice platform. A lot. Bow hunting is the most rewarding hunting there is imho.
 
Sounds about like my weekend. Hunted a buddy’s ranch for the opener, didn’t see anything on the first morning hunt.

Sat on a food plot early afternoon, nothing again.

Got a climber and hung it in a spot I figured would be good for the evening. Had a 6 pt pass behind me, and two pairs of does about 200 yards north and south of me.

Went back there the next morning, and climbed down after the first hour or so of sunlight. Figured I had 1000 acres to myself in that section, it was dumb to sit and hope a deer walked by my stand, let’s go find one.

Still hunted my way around a bit, like 30 minutes to go 300 yards. Wind in my favor, take three steps, stop, glass through the binoculars, proceed. Thermacell was handy at forcing slowness as the mosquitoes were savage.

An hour into that I spotted a doe on the other side of a gate. I wasn’t thrilled about trying to shoot through it, but it was what I had. There was a bush in that corner I could use for cover, to get a shot through the fence I’d have to walk past it in the wide open. Came to full draw behind the bush, stood up, 30 yard shot to the deer. Had my pin right behind the front shoulder and halfway up, I was right in the middle of the gate rails. Sent it and got a “ding”, doe jumped and ran off. Felt sick, that was my opportunity.

I’ve learned you often get second chances so I didn’t start yelling and cursing, I snuck around the other side of the fence and saw 3 more does. Started to draw but they were moving off into some brush in the corner of the clearing. Went up to see if I could find my arrow and if there was any blood despite what I thought was nicking the gate. Found this :laughing:

C1EE786F-78B6-418C-AEA4-A4C10BDDA912.jpeg


That‘s with 55 lbs and a Slick Trick, arrow bounced straight back. Learned my bow shoots 7” high in the middle of a 30 yard shot, good to know.

Despite being super pissed off, I decided to continue on with my original plan and keep going down that fence line. A little bit further on I see a doe (may have been one of the prior group) paralleling me on the other side of the fence behind some brush. Start figuring out what I’m going to do and see it move over like it’s going to cross the fence. Dropped down, came to full draw, it jumped through the fence and was blocked by some brush. It hoped down into the ditch, still blocked. There was a very narrow clear spot it would cross before it was quartering away and into some thick stuff again. Had my window and took it, got a solid “smack”.

She turned and jumped back across the fence, I heard and watched her run for 40 yards or so splashing though some water. As soon as I lost sight of her the noise stopped which I took to be a good sign. Texted my buddy and figured I’d wait 20 minutes or so before looking for blood. I realized I could go look for my arrow on my side of the fence with no chance of bumping her. Found it in the ditch with two white hairs, but the shaft was super clean, no blood. Also couldn’t find any blood where she was standing or went through the fence. Walked off in the direction I saw her run, it gets dry right where I heard the splashing sound stop, so that’s not good either.

1B2BF00A-8DC9-46A7-B610-2BE119DA1878.jpeg


Now I’m super freaking pissed, after hitting the gate I’m thinking somehow I hit this deer in the back of the front elbow or something to get the noise and hair but nothing else. Buddy shows up and notices some blood in the creases of the fletching, we start looking and find zero blood trail though. He’s scanning everything for a drop of blood, I walk over where I saw her head and find a good pool in the grass, now I’m optimistic.

We find a little more blood and I spot what looks like a deer bedded behind a tree. My buddy sees it too and walks towards it, I tell him to wait while I pick up my binos. See it is the deer but she’s not dead and bolts off. Mad again.

Wait a few more minutes, go get our bows and head off down the blood trail again, which is easier to follow this time. Find her in some palmettos about 100 yards ahead, but had to finish her off. Arrow looks like it had hit a reed or something in flight and angled down/back, hitting her a little low and going through the liver, zipped a big hole the guts were coming out of.

Glad we found her and in a short time where she didn’t suffer long and the meat was still good.

Keep it up, it will happen.
 
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