Alright folks.Taken of Friday the 13th.
It was cool in the 50's,with gusty winds,but the winds seemed to stay consistant.I heaeded to an area that is a double funnel.There is a long creek bottom that runs in between the homes and fields .Also there is a mature wood line that runs to it creating an inside corner.There is atleast 5 run ways that cross in this area.
I set up more as an observation stand,so I could view any traffic and make any needed adjustments to my placement.I thought I was in the right spot and I was.This bad boy came in from the mature woodline behind me.I could hear something behind me,but could not see anything.When I heard it again he was 20 yards away and on a secoundary trail.When the buck stopped there was a small clearing inbetween two trees to his vitals.A vine was blowing in the strong wind and kept my shot blocked.When the buck looked in the oppisite direction I came to full draw.I knew I had no shot,but if he took two steps he would hit a clearing.As soon as the buck started to walk and his vitals hit the clearing,I released.The arrow drilled him right behing his right upper portion of the shoulder but did not pass through.I had barried the arrow in the left leg or lower shoulder area.I new the shot was good and kept an eye on him untill he was out of my view.I waited 20 minutes and climbed down and packed up my climbing tree stand.I decided to give him a few minutes and get my older brother to help with the recovery.
We returned a 45 minutes later to find a very nice blood trail down through the creek bottom and up the other bank onto a bench.On the bench the was a huge blood pool where the buck had stopped.We continued the tracking into a thicket.In the thicket was a large bed full of blood.We continued on less than 20 yards to find another bed full of blood,but still no deer.The trail than headed into a draw headed toward a clover field and the road.The end of the draw is covered in very thick brush and thickets.
Darkness is starting to set in fast,but we continue on.15 yards from the thicket with the bed lies my arrow broken off with four inches still missing attached to the thunderhead.Now the blood trail goes thin,and it takes 30 minutes just to make it 20 yards on the trail searching on my hands and knees.I decided to leave before we damage the blood trail,and return with some lights.
My nephew and I return with lights and a lantern and take back up on the trail.The blood trail is now very weak,with only tiny speaks at times being found.After another thirty yards we loose blood.After searching for what long and hard on my hands and knees I decide we need to leave,and I will return in the morning.
Needless to say after a very restless night of reliving the shot,over and over in my head I return to my last blood,which I had marked the night before.After 2 hours of searching,and back tracking no more blood could be found.All I could do was start searching every section of the area one piece at a time.My nephew and his 7 year old son joined me at 11 a.m. to help with the search.We finnally had eliminated everything within 700 hundered yards of the blood trail on all sides,up to the road.That told me he had cross the road onto another property that we did not have permission to hunt.
I took a drive to see the owners,whom I did atleast know,and was given permission to hunt for my buck.With my nephew in tow we started to seach one section at a time in a grid.After 30 minutes my nephew yelled he could see a deer,and its your buck ! WOW,was I relieved.It was now 1 p.m.,I had started at daylight.The buck was only 50 yards from the road,but over a huge hill and had been there since the night before.He had dropped dead right on a trail that lead to the fence.
This just goes to prove,if you know the shot was good,don't give up the search.
The arrow had enterd the top of the right long and passed through the center of the left and barried in the lower shoulder.
I will post him tomorrow in the score thread.I green scored him tonight and it seems a little on the high side to me,so I will have him double check by a friend whom is an official scorer.