Well Guys put a doe down on opening day!
The morning hunt was slow..I saw a doe and a decent buck in the headlights as I pulled into the farmers field. I hunt the other side of the road. The deer didn't spook at all and I quietly slipped towards my stand. I sat until 8:40 ish didn't see anything except for flock after flock of geese.
Flash forward to the afternoon. It's one of those cool rainy days with a heavy sky, the kind of day you just expect deer movement to be high. I had planned on being on stand by 3:00 at some public land 40 minutes south of here. Well I was working on a lawn-mower and lost track of time. So by the time I shower and get there I'm late already! At 4:10 I'm hooked up to the tree and ready to climb. I take the first step with the lone wolf climber and a doe blows her alarm and takes off. ARGH!
5:00 I see 5 deer, a Big Doe with 2 fawns (out of spots) and 2 of last years doe.
They feed off in the wrong direction never offering a shot. At 6:00 I turn around and see a group coming towards me. Same group of 5. I have an agreement with my family that I won't shoot fawns or the mother. (My choice). So that leaves me 2 targets both last years doe. I like to set my climber so the tree is between me and the suspected travel route. Well the 2 fawns run up towards me and are under my tree, mom is right on thier tail. They feed behind me I can't see them as I'm looking for the shot the other way. Finally one of the 2 doe starts angling up the hill, quartering away hard, it's 28 yards. I draw (the whole time not knowing if the 3 behind me are watching me at all), will they blow at the wrong time?? I have a leaf in the way of the pins. I look and my top limb of the bow may not clear my bow-hook in the tree. I contort my body so all is clear. I release and see the arrow sink deep in the boiler room but far enough back that the exit hole will be where it needs to be, based on the angle.
She takes off like a lightening bolt, but after 20 yards her air is gone, and she piles up. I listened to her last gargled breathes. No need to wait on this one! The Rage 2 Blade made an awesome slice on the entry and a hole the size of a pumpkin ball on the exit.
I hike the climber and bow back to the truck grab all the essentials for the drag and head back in.. She probably weighed I dunno 95 lbs as she lay there but when I got her back to the truck she may as well have been an Elk!
Fresh venison for the season...A good start!