John, great news and good luck the rest of this month! I have a feeling ole JM is gonna hammer a good one! Its a matter of time before chaos starts putting some more bone on the ground..

Will,

Just read through your post bud. Like John said, get back on that horse. You've learned some valuable but tough lessons. We or anyone that has shot many critters with a bow will sooner or later experience.. Pushing a deer to early due to a marginal hit. It happens, this is your first year to bowhunt or shoot at leastarrow abuck right? When in doubt, back out is what I live by today. I sacrifice meat over losing the critter if I have to. I HATE Too..but can not stand pushing an animal. I learned the hard way too. Most do. I hope with all the hard work and effort you've put in that you dont give up on the stick and string. The best time of the season for buck movement is now until the end of the month.. Heck bowhunt during rifle season if you have a place you feel comfortable doing it. Its really not that bad, I've been doing it for years now. Each year I get better and better and hunting safe zones for big bucks hiding from gun pressure. Keep after it Will, learn from these lessons and move forward.

-on a side note, guys I hunted this evening. didnt see a thing again! very slow..but got some great news from one of my land owners sons after stopping by there home after my hunt... they saw what they called a true trophy buck exiting a place I showed them that I leave alone as a sanctuary...they were elk hunting in there last week..and were making a point to skirt the 50 acre sanctuary..thick nasty impenetratable brush anyway...(they dont deer hunt) anyway thats good news to me, I believe with all the surrounding gun pressure...the big boy has found his safety area righton the landI hunt him.. It makes sense..they said he was a brute...I am assuming its the big 4x5 or old grey...a huge buck I filmed 2 summers ago.. massive and wide..I am huntingthe areatomorrow...first time in a good two weeks..this is that land I had all the troubles earlier with tresspassing..it seems to have slowed down..