15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

What an experience I had this morning.

For the first time since the season opened, it was cool this morning -- 42 degrees on my front porch thermometer when I got up. I went through all my morning cleaning rituals and headed out early in order to get to the thicket near my house before the deer crossed the open field to get there. I had not set foot in there since last season because I know the place like the back of my hand (I LIVE right next to it), and the trail I used was briar clogged, but I quietly made my way to the tree I wanted to use and silently screwed in my steps and got my stand set up in the tree . . . and waited.

I figured that the deer would arrive early since they don't feel comfortable walking across the open field in broad daylight. By 7:15am, I hadn't seen anything and was thinking it might be an uneventful morning -- and then I saw 2 or 3 does run across the field running AWAY from the thicket I was in. I figured they must've smelled me. I watched them stop about 200 yards away right next to a huge deer coming the other way -- and I could clearly see a large rack from where I was. Since the does were nervous and had run away from the thicket, I figured he'd go with them when they continued on their way . . . he didn't. I was about to drop my binoculars looking at this brute. He was a giant with G2's of about 15" and G3's of about 12" plus other assorted goodies -- and he was extreemly wide as well.

Instead of running off with the does, he started across the field headed DIRECTLY at me!:) He came like I was reeling him in on a line. He made it to no more than 15 yards away and stood there broadside with absolutely nothing between him and me. I COULDN'T DRAW BECAUSE I KNEW HE'D SPOT THE MOVEMENT! [:@][:@] After a minute or two of posing in every position except one where I could draw, he started walking and I was able to draw when he walked behind some vines. I waited for him to walk out on the other side, but there was no clear shot because the vines were so thick. Against my better judgement, I attempted to squeeze an arrow between a couple of vines, but hit the vines anyway. He was untouched as my clean arrow proved.

Don't beat me up over the ill-advised shot. I KNOW it was a bad decision, but I already feel bad enough about not being able to shoot at this monster when he stood there broadside inside 15 yards. He's still healthy and wasn't too spooked, so I have plenty of time to try for him if someone else doesn't get him.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

How high in the tree were you? Was he looking at you?

Would you have tried to squeeze a shot thru the vines at a doe?

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

I was about 18 feet up, but skylined from where he was standing. He had no clue I was there, but would have instantly locked in on me had I attempted to draw -- I've been at this a long time.

And NO, I wouldn't have attempted this shot on a doe -- I shouldn't have attempted to take this shot on him either. It was a BAD decision and I am glad that he was untouched. He was one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen and it was killing me that he was right there in easy range, broadside, clear shot, calm and stopped -- and I couldn't draw. No doubt, I should've held my fire.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

That sucks Dave. I had the same thing happen to me two years ago, when a good buck came into my mock scrape from behind mein the rainandI never heard or saw him coming. By the time I spotted him, he was cruising in, and he turned right toward me, and started licking my scent wicks. I almost died, his eyes were looking right up at me, as he was sniffing and licking the wicks. There I sat, with my bow in my lap, afraid to breathe, with this buck quartering toward me in my own stinkin'mock scrape. I felt like the biggest fool.

He stood around for a while, and walked straight away from me, through a thicket. I couldn't even get a broadside shot to attempt. All I saw was arse and antlers. I waited all day for that deer to come back, and all I got was cold and miserable.

After it's over, you sit around and second guess yourself. I trust you'llknow what to do differently next time - and he'll be back.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

I for one, in my hunting career, have taken a shot I regretted. You learn from it. No amount of bashing on the board will be more harsh than you will be on yourself. So forget it and move on, at least you missed!

There was no time in his approach to 15 yards that you could draw?

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Last night I had a large buck definelty a shooter at 10-15 yards quartering away. It was dark enough in the woods that my pin wouldn't glow so, I had to let him pass not the easiest thing I ever done but maybe I'll see him again when the shooting conditions are better.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Next time

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Nope--never a chance. This was the only spot in the entire thicket where you can see the tree I was in clearly and he was headed directly at me from 200 yards away--all the way in. In essence, he was looking right at me while he walked to with-in 15 yards. Believe me, I was hoping that he'd check his backtrail at some point so I could draw, but nothing doing. He never looked away and I was pretty much skylined from this particular angle.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

That sucks. Hope you get another crack at him.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

No offence but you didn,t even clear lanes or have you stand up before season. You said the trail back was full of brairs. these are the results I would expect with that kind of preperation. JMHO

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

It happened to me last night. I was on stand and I heard deer RUNNING down the trail at full speed. I turned to look and there they were stopped at the base of my tree. Clear shot but they were on full alert. They stood there for about five minutes looking around. So I didn't budge. It was the first time I hunted this tree and I didn't want to spoil it. They will be back! Then at dark a 6 point walked by, kinda cool! All in all a good hunt. Remember don't force it! JMO!

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Yep, I agree with Cardeer. Next time. :)

Even though you weren't able to connect today you at least come away with some lessons learned. ;) It's situations like these that help us become better hunters.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Hey, we all make mistakes. The point is that you realized and admit yours and are willing to try again for another opportunity.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

The trail I walked in on was the one with the briars. Yeah, I could've gone in there before the season and cleared the briars from my approach path, but the deer are already in there during the day and going in there spooks them because it's a pretty small chunk (less than 5 acres) of land surrounded by fields. I figured I would just clear them as I went in this morning since I hoped to be there before the deer. The trail is clear now. I wanted my first trip there to be a total surprise to the deer.

As for the vines I tried to shoot through . . . that has always been there and always will be there. There is no way to get to them from the way they're positioned. Yeah, they're in the way, but there's nothing I can do to improve that.

My stands go in and out with me every trip. They're portable, so I move them to wherever I'm hunting.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Give it a few days and you may have another shot at him.Where ws he the first time you saw him?If there are any trees near where you first located him then i would probably set up a stand close to that spot.He should still be on a feeding pattern and you may get another crack at him sooner if you try to get closer.
We all have made mistakes that we painstakingly admit to making.But this is a forever learning sport and we have to learn to addapt to the situation and try to get things right for the next time.
Good luck with this buck.Definately sounds like a buck of a lifetime./

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Why is it this man has to keep coming back into this thread and explain himself. I have known Dave for many years and he is a top notch bow hunter taking multipul deer evey year. He said it was a mistake and is no dought all over himself for it. This happens all the time in most any thread that is about an unsuccessful hunt.People just tend to pick it apart.If you can't give encourageing commentsafter an admited mistakewhy not just keep them to yourself, after all he didn't have to say anything about the shot. I know people that won't even post a pic of thier deer because if it doesn't meet someones standards they will berate you.
Dave, get back on buddy and if you need help to close off the other end give me a call:D. Have bow will travel;)

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Dave,

You could've drawn, or at least gotten ready, at 100 yards when you noticed he was on a rope.

As you know, deer do not have good vision. At 100 yards, he would not have spooked (IMO) with slight movement 20 feet off the ground.

I'm just curious...from this tree, how do you normally draw and release if your so skylined?

Perhaps you had the "monster fever"...[8D]

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Hey DaveH! I think most of us have made bad decisions on shots before. I have. And I can't say that I won't in the future. Even if you practice all the time and in different situations like I do, you will, at some time overestimated your abilities. We're human.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

No offensestrut, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that. Granted they may not have eye sight like an antelope, but they do see very well. That is part of the reason that camo is a huge industry. You ever hunted mulies out in the plains, they will see you from several hundred yards.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

.

Hey wait a second here! It looks to me like well over half the posts are encouraging or at least sympathetic to his situation.

You know anytime you post something, someone is gonna slam you. It's the way of the boards. Most of us board veterans (like you yourself md) know this, and rarely post publicly about things that didn't go our way.

You may have a few people you trust soley based on the integrity of thier replies and postsand PM or email them when you need real advise. But if you post it on the board it's buyer beware!

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

I think most people are asking legit questions. Dave has been nice in answering them. Not a big deal from either side it seems. Most folks are sitting at work, wishing they were dave and had a season open.

I am curious too about strut and rut's question that how do you normally draw on a deer in the area the big one was, and are there other orbetter lanes/drawing areas from the tree that he just didn't walk thru? Sometimes they just walk thru the area that is the worst spot for the setup.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Very true. My comments were just an observation and opinion, nothing more. hope you get that brute Dave.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

You have got to trust your instincts and then go over all of the details after the fact like you have.There is nothing more you could have done,hind sight is always 20/20.I can't possibly find any criticism,you have already dealt with what you would have done differently.
I have not yet established the ability to move tree's in to the spot that I want them to be.I like to hunt out of hemlocks for the back round cover that they provide,but some times I go into hardwoods because of the obvious,them being where I feel I need to be.If I had a gagger coming in directly at me from that distance with nothing between us I wouldn't have moved either.
Good luck to you! I hope you get another crack at him!

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

DWD,

no offense taken. However, I do research on ruminants, and can attest that they have very poor eyesight. The camo industry is at best a good farse...it's been well proven that deer see mostly in dichromatic vision, mostly blues and yellows. That fluorscent orange vest we don in the fall looks like a big lemon to deer.

With that said, camoflauge allows us to blend in better, ie. when we move we look like the natural surroundings.

You cannot compare plains hunting with up in a tree, period. A 6ft figure moving with no background does not compare to slight movement up in a tree.That would be similar to determining if a prairie dog sticks his head up with a whitetail in the brush flicking their ear...big difference.

Iwasn't stating that the deer would not have seen the movement. He probably would have. But if the movement wasslight and gradual, it most likely wouldnot have alerted the deer to a foreign body at that distance. As Dave is a seasoned hunter, he chose caution.

I've been in the same situation. You see a monster buck, workingin the distance, with no inclination in your mind he's within shooting range. After not moving for 10 minutes and watching the animal work his way in, watching the rack grow logarithmically in size, you then realize that the beast is within 40 yards and very shootable. Onlyproblem is your bow is either in the holder or on your lap, and when you could have movedis now well past.

So you suck it up and freeze...

But to say at 100 yards you can'treposition your bow and prepare to draw...well, let mejust say if I waited for a deer to go behind a tree everytime Imoved my bow, I would have wasted countless efforts in the past 20 years...

S&R

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Hey I probably would've tried him too. If you hadn't hit the vine you'd have made a good hit right? Don't beat yourself up and keep at it . You'll get another chance hopefully:)

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Man i hate it when that happens[:@][:@][:@].

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Dont let it get to you DaveH there will be more chances as these temperatures drop Good Luck

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

TUFF BREAK...IT seems as he was "BEING REELED IN " you could have drawn and held...........at 5o yards ..I dont think heed a spotted movement........next time be ready....study long ......study wrong
Them antlers put you in a TRANCE....HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ..made you forget your mission

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Your only as good as 5 seconds after your last miss.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Now that sucks. Well, I doubt you scared that big boy that bad. Move to another spot for a few days and then try him again. When to draw is always a big deal. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it right but the critter makes it wrong. As far as squeezing an arrow through.....if I have a hole I'll take the shot. I figure it's going to hit what I see in the hole or miss all together. I'm afraid I'd have to taken the shot too. I may have drawn a little sooner... but that might have been wrong too. Depends on what happens next. Next time Dave. At least he's around.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Dave, your story got me a excited. I could just picture the sight of that big boy coming to you and then the frustration of not being able to draw on him when you had to. Now you know he's there, he's healthy, and it doesn't sound like he'll be leaving town quite yet!
Good luck getting him.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Just so ya know, there were some "holes" in the vines that you could get an arrow through . . . if you were lucky. And since this buck would've been the biggest buck I've ever taken, I took the shot.

I don't "skyline" myself on a regular basis. In fact, I don't usually use my climber because I have to use "telephone pole" type trees. I prefer lots of cover and I match my camo to the trees I'm in -- remember, he never knew I was there. However, if I had moved, he'd have locked in on me.

As for drawing when they're at a distance -- several reasons for that. Number one--they WILL spot you when they're looking practically at you -- even at a distance. Number two, I didn't know that he would continue on his "rope" course. And number three, I had major shoulder surgery a couple months ago and just got the ability to draw my bow. I can handle a couple short practice sessions each week, but drawing and holding for a long time is out of the question for me right now.

And FINALLY . . . I decided to hunt here this evening since I knew he was around. I never saw him, but I shot a very nice doe!!!
I saw 13 total and could've taken 10 of them. I shot the first one I saw -- five minutes after I "set-up" my stand. Spined her and finished her with a perfect 2nd arrow. The buck will come later . . . maybe tomorrow morning!
:D

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Congratulations!Nice to so quickly follow up with a kill!

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Way to go dave got some meat in the frezer now go after that Buck:D

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

HI DAVE.....Now thats what Im talkin about...back in the saddle agin......didnt know bout the medical...sorry to hear it....BUT YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT YOU WERE TAKEN IN BY THOSE ANTLERS...at times..WE ALL ARE...NOW GIT OUT THERE AND DO ALL US CHEERLEADERS PROUD. .DONT LET HIM GET YOU TWICE!!!!! DONT SHAME US.....TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN......GIT R DUN!!!! ALL IN ALL THIS HAS TAUGHT US ALL A THING OR TWO OR THREE OR FOUR...HUNTING CAN BE LIKE PIMPIN.......IT AINT EASY

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

This made me think about one of my hunting spots. My stand is set up in a wooded area, the tree I'm in backs up to a creek. In front of me is a small clearing with two well traveled deer paths. The problem is, it's a small clearing with the farthest shot 23yds (ranged it yesterday) so If I don't hear or catch a glimps of the deer comming through the treesI'm going to be in the same position as Dave. I will probably get busted If I wait to draw once they get into the clearing. My plan is to see what's comming and draw just as the deer enters the clearing for an ambush shot.

Dave, I believe you did what most of us would have in your position and I also believe that only the person in the stand at that time truely knows if he (or she) will get busted if they move. I know if I don't stayalert when huntingthe stand I mentionedI will be in the same positionyou found yourself in, then I will have the decision to draw or not.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

you should have drawn before he got there, better luck next time.

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Should of, would of and could of.

I too have been in thickets with minimal shots and had to pass on shots due to deer looking in my direction. Deer have something called binocular vision meanin their eyes are top of their head and can see all around and can pick up movement very easy if one slips in on you. If you've been hunting for any length of time, you'll understand the situation.

Bobby

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Now that's good!!!!

RE: 15 yards, broadside, no obstruction--no shot!
 

Dave I guaran damn tee that everyone in here would have done the same thing (taking the shot) you did. I admire you for truthfullness and honesty. All I'm gonna say is you'll get em next time. Congrats on the freezer meat (doe).