unforgetable bowhunt
5 of us from our local archery club were bowhunting a farm in N.E. Illinois (my home state) opening weekend in Oct.. We had all dispersed b/4 daylight to go to our various stand locations. We were to come back to the vehicles around 11am & have lunch, see what went on & then go on stand for afternoon hunt. My morning had been pretty slow having seen nothing on stand &^ having 2 bedded Bucks jump & run on my way back to the vehicles. When I arrived everyone was half through their lunch & had made planes to go look for a Doe one of our buddies had shot around 9am. He wasn't sure of where he hit on the 20 yd shot so had just backed out after not finding any blood right away.
We get back to his stand location & one of the guys finds a small spattering of blood. We are at least an hour into blood trailing (hands & knees mostly) when we loose it. Jack tells me & another buddy to each go to both sides & make a large circle to see if we cut any blood. I am about 100 yds away just over a small hill & almost directly even with them but out of sight. I'm right on the edge of a dry creek when I look up & see a Doe walking toward me. She has no idea I am there & keeps looking toward my friends as we can hear them talking. She stops, broadside, 35 yds away & looking up the hill toward my friends talking. I draw & release & watch the arrow pass through her & on past into the brush. She whirls, falls down, jumps up, blood spewing & crashes 30 yds away, dead. I yell out, I GOT ONE & run to my dead Doe. A few seconds later, my buddies are all there & congratulating me. It was my 1st biggame with a bow, my 2nd year Deer bowhunting & Illinois 2nd ever Deer Season, Oct. 4th, 1958 .almost 59 years ago & I've had a journey bowhunting most will only dream of. This is that Deer & these are my friends that took that 15 year old kid hunting(all passed now). 45# 64" Eddings & a wood arrow I made myself by "pinning" the feathers to the wood shaft tipped with a MA3 blade.