ORIGINAL: NEW61375

Nice buck John. Hope everyone has been doing good. I have been out on the 4th and the 6th with very little action in the morning and deer all around me in the evening. I am in quite a bit of a slump after a couple of bad events on stand.

In almost 20 years of bowhunting, prior to this weekend I had only wounded and not recovered a deer one time, ever. I have done it twice in two sits, the first deer)Saturday) jumped me a little and I hit her high and back, there was literally no blood(on the arrow or at shot site)and she went into the thickest, wettest piece of woods she could get too and we couldn't find squat. The second(Monday) was what looked to be a good hit but the arrow didn't pass through and I'm starting to think I hit bone on the way in and then lodged in the shoulder on the opposite side, again no blood, no sign, never foundarrow, nothing. This is with 3 people looking and then gridding. The coverthey ran to is nearly inaccessible short pines, briars, andwater.In some spots you have to crawl in others you can't even do that(I should of snapped aphoto of it). It can be a tough tracking job even with a good trail in there.

Anyway that is the very condensed version, my confidence just took a nose dive, I'm physically beat up from crawling through briar patches, missing sleep, and chiggers and the mental side isn't much better(hunting related). I've been shooting great and my broadheads are sharp and flying good,ultimately I just feel like I rushed my shots andsettled forless than ideal shot selection. I know better yet hereI am. Lack of patience and discipline all in one weekend, not how I imagined my season starting. I'm off workto hunt next Monday and Tuesday and I'm honestly not feeling it like normal right now. I hate even posting this it's just weighing on my mind a little.