Four years ago, when I began bow hunting, I shot a doe. Being a novice, I did not give her enough time and we ended up chasing her all night. We even looked the next morning and never found her. I kicked myself for a long time. The deer Gods have been hexing me ever since. I shoot more now with my bow than ever before but I never get a shot at a deer. Here is what happened last year.

I had to be out of the woods by 8:30 that morning and by 8:10 I was starting to get antsy. It was windy and I had seen no deer all morning. I decided to stand, draw back in two of my shooting lanes, and let down just to get the feel. I hung my bow back up, removed my arrow and snapped it back in the quiver. As I heard the snap of the arrow, a deer bolted from under my stand. It was five feet from the base of my stand, under a small tree. I never saw it come in(it came in from behind me) and couldn't hear it because of the wind. I tried to get it to come back but to no avail.

I have a different story for each year since I pushed that first doe. Each is more pathetic than the last. I hope this is the year the deer Gods give me a break. I'm still looking for my first bow harvest.