Well boys,
Last hour and a half of the Massachusetts Archery season last night, a big-bodied 8 pointer came by at 30 yards. He came out making a racket after a couple turns on the "Lil Can" doe bleat.

He stopped every 5 feet walking through the brush trying to look out into the field I was hunting 50 yards into the woods from. After 10 minutes of waiting, drawing and letting down twice, my adrenaline dump began and the shakes had settled in pretty bad. I had never felt my heartbeat in my right knee before, but now it was thumping a tune on the seat of my stand.

The buck finally took another step forward which put his vitals in view just above some briars with his head behind a 12 " wide swamp maple leaner.

I tried holding steady and thought that I finally had a good hold with the 30 yard pin square in the center of his body right behind his shoulder. When I released, I heard a pretty tell-tale "SHNOCK", the sound of dead-wood.

As the buck spun and hopped back into the brush, I gave him a couple mouth "errrps" and stopped him twice. I was pretty sure he was unhit. I knew he was unhit when he came back 20 yards behind me and hung around for the last hour of shooting light. He never came out in the clear and I heard him walk away in the dark.

After dark, it only took me a quick flash of my flashlight to find my arrow impaled in the center of that tree. I couldn't pull it out so I unscrewed it and will bring a screwdriver with me to pry it out tomorrow (opening of s-gun season)

I'm pretty sure I probably flinched at the shot, maybe even torquing the bow. My nerves were pretty much gone at that point and I have virtually no reccolection of my shot process which I try to rehearse religeously (pick a spot, draw,(anchor on my) nose, (anchor on my) jaw, breathe-in-out-hold, steady, release). I think I managed to remember to pick a spot.


Anyhow, shotgun starts tomorrow. I'm going out before work with my s-gun for opening day, but I'll be hunting a piece of private land with my bow in mornings from then on. But my season is winding down and chances to get out are becoming slim!