First Kill with a Bow
 

Purchased my first bow this spring (after tax season) and have tried to pratice every day (my target range is behind my office which drives the "neighboring' offices crazy). I felt fairly confident at 20 to 25. At thirty, felt like it would have to be a perfect shot.

Opening day of bow season in GA was Sept 14, as usual, working but did get in more pratice.

OK, work caught up left for the club on Thursday morn. In the woods by Thursday evening, going to get my first deer with a bow. Saw nothing but squirells and skeeters. Friday morning, I'm ready, I pumped something is going to die. More tree rats and skeeters.

My hunting buddy told me to use one of his ladder stands for that evening. OK, I'm ready. At 5:30 a whale of a wind storm comes through so I take the bow off the hook and hold it. Wind passes and I keep holding the bow. At 6:25, I see a flash at about 45 yards (newbies use range finders as soon as they sit down)first thought it was a fox squirell. Nope, here "they" come out of this drainage ditch. WILD HAWGS. Boy were they running and grunting with every step. I immediately stand up and clip my release. They are now at 30 - 35 yards so I quickly glance, the lead hawg is the biggest and ugliest so I quickly pull the bow back. She come into "range" (22 yards) and briefly pauses. This is the quickest I have ever pulled the bow back and got to my anchor (kisser button to the corner of mouth, string on nose, peep cirling the outside corner of the sight, tense left arm, tense right arm, sight slooowllly, squeeeezzze trigger). This time I pulled back did all and squeezed the trigger. Hawg starts moving before I could stop. Watched the arrow while trying to follow through, string hits my "leaves". Arrow hits about three inches too far back.

Oh crap. I wait 35 minutes, can't stand it any more. Got down and went over and found my arrow in the ground. Well, that solved whether my wimpy 57 pound pull will give a pass through. The arrow was blood only although dark blood.

Very slowly I mark where the arrow was. Notch a new arrow. Again slowly start looking for blood. Nothing. Decide it was not very smart to look for a wounded wild hawg with nothing but a bow and it's getting dark.

I decided to go and get my buddy who has harvested several hawgs. We go back. He finds three drop of blood. That's it. How with a total pass through do you only get three drops of blood? We revaluate the shot and I inform him that I heard grunting and a couple of long squeals to my left about 40 yards. We decide to quit looking for blood and go where I heard the squeals.

After walking up the tree line (I was hunting where hardwoods and an old cut over come together). My buddy yelled. "I still don't see any blood but I pretty sure that's your dead hawg".

Now for the gross part, we figured out somewhat why the hawg did not bleed. If you don't wish you don't have to read the rest.....
Ok, you're still there. The entrance hole was as I thought, about three - four inches too far back. The exit hole was even futher back since she was quartering towards to me. Here's why we think there was no blood. There were about six to eight inches of guts hanging out the exit hole. She couldn't bleed out the lower hole since it was stopped up.

Total yardage traveled from where I shot was about 50 - 60 yards, so I guess overall it wasn't a bad shot just maybe unusual circumstances. Not big enough to mount in my "trophy" room at the office but still bragging rights.

NO deer even seen the rest of the weekend.

If it matters, I am shooting a Hoyt Cybertec as stated with about 55 -57 pounds (still nursing a pulled left shoulder muscle), easton alum arrows 2312 and muzzy 100 grain.

Sorry to be so long, just thought it unusual first kill with a bow being a wild hog. One thing for sure archery is somewhat like gun hunting at crunch time it comes down to lots of pratice. Tks for listening to me ramble. Still have tons to learn but man that was a rush.

Edited by - cpahunter on 09/24/2002 20:41:37

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats. I too am a fellow CPA bowhunter. Good to see another "number crunching dork" on this site.

Hunt the thickets

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats on your first bow kill. I'd imagine that was pretty exciting, even with a hog. I kinda wish we had wild hogs running in PA but I know how distructive they are. Something else to hunt in archery season and I hear the eating is delicious.

That was also a good learning curve for you on your first animal. Quartered to shots can be lethal as you've learned, but quartered away is that much better. That same shot would have angled up into the vitals versus back into the guts. Read like a liver/guts shot....deadly none the less but a little woodsmanship to recover.

Probably best you backed out to get your friend, hard to tell how quickly the hog expired and after only 35 minutes of waiting, tough call....when in doubt, wait longer.


Great story too, I'm looking forward to reading your first deer with a bow.....keep up the great work and congrats again.

<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>

<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congratulations on your first kill - and worry not about the 'gross part' - old ma nature NEVER gives that clean of a kill in the wild.

You've dumped your first critter and are mystified by the flight of the arrow - tenacity will prove your ally when there appears to be 'no blood'. We've found numerous critters doing random searches after losing blood. Remember, you owe it to the game.

Congratulations on the kill - go eat some pissed off pork!



Aim small miss small

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

CPAS?!?! I graduate in may with masters in ACC. keep it up boys

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

cpahunter, congrats on your first. I got my first this past week-end also. Isn't the rush great? Good luck on getting your first deer, it is just as good. Chris

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Gets your heart racing just thinking about it, doesn't it. CONGRATULATIONS... Way to stay on that trail too! Too many people give up too soon because they dont find blood. We're proud of you!

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats on your first of many!!

It's not how big the Deer,But the size of the experiance that matters!!

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

hey CPA congrats on your first.
By the sounds it was a great hunt.
Can you feel that barbed hook going through your jaw bone??
You are now hooked for life on bow hunting.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

You gotta like that, congrates to ya. You are fortunate to make that kill because an animal quartering towards you is probably the most difficult to make with a bow because the vitals are protected by the shoulder blade. Way to go, Bobby :)

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

congrats on the hog. She sure should be some good eating this winter. When is diner. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Brian

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Nice job on the hog! Good luck on your whitetail endeavors.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

CPA, congrats on the first kill with your bow.

The situation sounds exactly like the doe I got this year and brings up an excellent point as far as recovery goes..

I took a broadside shot at a doe, 18 yards from my stand. As I released she turned slightly towards me, and my broadside shot became a quartering towards shot. My arrow did the same thing. It entered in the lungs and exited throught the front of the guts. The arrow went completely through, and richotched off a tree and went into never never land (I still have not found that arrow). The mechanical broadhead left a huge exit hole that was immediatly plugged by some of the guts. We found blood only where she was hit initially, never any blood after that.

After the shot I watched her tear out over a small crest and down into a low gap, out of site. I watched her run until I lost sight of her and herd her crash. I left the area and returned with help about 1.5 hours after the shot. At the time I did not know it had exited a little far back and thought the shot was double lungs, but gave her time anyway.

When we returned we picked up the trail where she was shot and found a little blood at the initial shot location and then nothing. We decided to go into the low gap since that is where she was last seen, and I knew I heard her go down. My hunting buddy, BeeS, shined his light on the side of a bordering ridge, and there she was dead as a doornail. Later autopsy revealed I destroyed the back half of the near lung, shredded the liver, punched through the diaphragm and just clipped some of the guts. All in all she went about 80 yards, but I relearned 3 valuable lessons and they were the only reason we found her.

Lesson 1.
After the shot watch the animal until they are out of sight. The last point you can see her, burn a mental image in your mind of where they were. If you can not find blood, go to that spot. I can not tell you the number of times I have hunted with guys that took a shot and asked them where was the deer, and what trail did they take out? The usual response is she was over there somewhere and went that way somewhere. Burn that image in your mind!!!

Lesson 2.
Listen after you loose sight. Your ears can be a very valuable asset after the shot. I heard my doe go down and knew it, and knew where she went and where to go when we lost the blood trail.

Lesson 3.
When in doubt give them time. Unless you see the animal go down, give them time to die. Do not push them to early and possibly jump them up, pushing theminto the next county.

In your scenario you did all 3 of the above and you are to be commended. These 3 lessons are ones that many new/inexperienced hunters have not learned, but you obviously have. Congrats

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats on the first bow kill! I wish we had hogs in Va. Now it is time for you to take that first deer with a bow.(Of course I have to do that also)

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats on your first bowkill! Now that you've got the fever you'll find it harder and harder to stay at work. Good luck on many more and post some pics if you can.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congrats to you on your first bow kill.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

All right! Hog hunting does sound fun, but alas, no hogs here either!

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congratulations on your first bow kill.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Your type make us bowhunters proud, you didn't give up like some would've, may you have a wonderful season full of memories....-Jon

&quot; My Name is Bocephus&quot;

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Good Job!!!!1

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Tks folks, and good hunting to all. Still want a chance to get a deer with a bow but will have to see how work goes.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Congratulations on your first bow kill. I got my first bow kill this year also and it seems so good! Great Job.

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

cpahunter Congrats on your first!!
We have lots of hogs here:):)<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> unfortunately none are wild<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_angry.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good luck on your deer (Just remember October 15 is right arround the corner) Then it will be time for planning

RE: First Kill with a Bow
 

Great job, you put it all together to make a sucessful hunt!