HuntingNet.com Forums - The "Lucky Ten" Buck

Saturday 10/29/05 8:35am

Suddenly a doe runs 5 yards from my stand and stops breathing hard. Assuming a buck is chasing her, I grab my bow, and look for the buck. About 5 seconds later, the buck emerges 75 yards away. A 2-second glance told me that he was a shooter. He appeared larger than the ears in spread, and good mass.

Instead of following the doe's trail, the buck crossed about 50+ yards away. I grabbed my grunt call, and after the 3rd grunt, he stopped running, two more grunt calls, and he turned and started walking towards my stand. Unfortunately, he was walking at be with a tree directly between us. Knowing he was tuned in on my location, I was afraid to peer out from the tree in case I got spotted. Finally, the buck stepped out from from the tree, and stopped directly behind a large bush. (I could clearly see him, but knew an arrow would never get to him).

After pausing 2-3 seconds behind the bush, the doe started running again, and the buck turned his head towards her, and then started to move towards her. I grunted with my mouth, as the buck walked into a small clearing. The buck momentarily stopped, but as I was drawing a bead on his vitals, his body language indicated that he was about to take off after the doe.

I quickly released the arrow, and instantly knew that I had rushed my shot. As I watched the buck run off, I could clearly see my arrow sticking just beneath the spine, and far enough back, as to not hit the lungs.

I was sickened to see the arrow placement, as I knew I had hit the dreaded "void". I had missed the vital organs, as well as any blood vessels.

After an hour wait, I got down, and took up the trail. It was easy to follow his trail in the dirt, as he had kicked up leaves. There was NO BLOOD.

After 75 yards, I found 3/4 of my arrow broken off. NO BLOOD except for a tiny, tiny smear on the arrow, and a bit of meat on the broadhead.

I followed his flight path for another 100 yards, before it was lost into a marshy swamp. The was NEVER ANY BLOOD.

After double checking the trail, I finally acknowledged my fear that my shot was NOT FATAL.

Of course, I was and still am sick that I rushed my shot. I have no one to blame but myself. I just panicked, afraid that he was starting to run again, and I released the arrow too quick.

SUNDAY 10/30/05 4pm

Eager to redeem myself, and get my confidence back, I pass the first of 4 bucks that day, but take the doe he was chasing. She runs 20 yards, beds down, and dies 2-3 minutes later from my quartering away shot that nicked the top of the guts on its way to piercing her left lung.

45 minutes later, another doe walks directly under my stand and my double lung shot has the doe down 20 yards from the stand and within 10 seconds.

MONDAY 10/31/05 3pm

I decided to check my trail cameras for the first time in 8 days. Imagine my surprise and shock, when I saw this picture, taken Sunday morning less than 24 hours after I had wounded the buck.

Here is the buck I shot, about 3/4's of milefrom the stand I shot him from. He is clearly working a natural scrape that I have doctored a scent dripper.

Looking at the picture, you can CLEARLY see the entry and exit wounds. The picture also shows that I did indeed hit the buck exactly where I had feared.

Considering that this buck traveled nearlt a mile, and then works a scrape, I feel confident that this buck will fully recover.

I sure hope I get another chance to finish what I have started.

I posted this thread, because I think the odds of getting a trail cam photo of a buck I wounded 24 hours earlier is pretty amazing. The chunk of woods that I hunt in is over 5000 acres, so this free-range fair chase buck could have gone anywhere, yet he managed to stop in front of one of my trail cameras.

I don't need any flame responses attacking my shooting skills. I know I screwed up, and I have taken the steps necessary to prevent it from happening again.