superstrutter

What has been your worst experience while bow hunting? I almost hate to admit my worst day ever bow hunting, but here goes. It happened on opening day of bow season about 12 years ago. Remember I wasn't the most experienced archer then. The morning hunt had two does come in. I shot one of them at 20 yards. I knew I hit her. I could not find hardly any blood. After an hour of searching for blood I gave up. I don't think it was a mortal wound though. That afternoon I have 5 or 6 does come in. I shoot one at 18 yards. She runs off. I knew she was hit. No blood. I don't hear her drop either but I know I didn't miss. After another hour I give up the search for blood. By this time I'm pretty dejected. Four more does come in by I decide not to shoot. My confidence at this time is not real good. The does look up and take off running. I look at the direction they were watching and here comes a buck. When he is about 25 yards I take the shot. I see the arrow once again hit it's mark. He runs off. I think I hear him fall in the distance but I wasn't sure. I went to the spot he was standing and found a little blood. I followed the trail for about 25 yards before there is no longer any blood. Two hours later in the dark I did not find the buck. I'm hoping and praying they are all okay. Two days later I go out to where all this happened and I see vultures. My heart sinks when I not only find one of the does but also the buck, which was a 4 point. I am totally devastated. I didn't touch my bow again for two weeks. I almost quit bow hunting altogether after that day but decided to stick with it. I did not take a shot the rest of the month. Gun season came and I just used my rifle. Since that dreaded day I have missed only two deer and bloodied one more. By the way I did go out the next day looking but found no sign and no vultures. It was the second day I found them. I'm really glad now I didn't give up bow hunting. I would have missed out on so much.

D Man 1

My worst was this year. I was set up near a gas pipeline on my left hunting a trial to my right. To my left a see something move. It was a nice buck moving on the edge of the pipe line. I have a very small window to shot thru, I draw and I shoot and the arrow is deflected up by a small limband I hit him high and underhis spine. I see him run off and never stop. I could see for a couple hundred yards and I never see him stop. After getting down I see two drops of blood and thats it. I followed the trail he ran on and find one drop of blood at about 200 yards. I come to a point in the woods where it gets real thick and can not track where he went. I looked for him for a coulpe of hours and nothing. That was the first buck I had ever shot. To bad he got away. I did get a real nice 10 pointer two weeks later that maid it all feel a little better. Man do I feel bad for hurting him. Hopefully I will see thim this coming season.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Multiple years ago I got caught in a thunderstorm...it started out sprinkling, so I put up the umbrella, it rained harder and I decided I better get down. The wind picked up and when I start down it rained harder...decided I'm better off under the umbrella I stayed put. Needless to say, the lightning came with the wind and I was soaked none the less...I was forced down after several hours of waiting it despite my better judgement.....should have gotten down immediately...

kwilson16

My worst day of bowhunting came this September. I shot a nice doe at 20 yards with a rocket expandable. I have shot my share of deer and I knew the shot location was very good but as she turned to run away the arrow had only penetrated about 6-8 inches. The expandable must have opened pre-maturely and prevented penetration. After an appropriate wait, blood trail was minimal and she ran into a very thick, marshy area from which I never recovered her. About a month before this, I had my first taste of heat exhaustion while working in Mississippi (Katrina). It was warm and I looked for her for hours until fear from passing out in the woods and lack of hydration forced me to leave the scene. It was awful!

That was the last time I’ll use an expandable. I do believe they’re capable of dramatic results but they are fallible.

A few days later the buzzards found her.

takedownfreak123

Well ayears ago when I was 14 I have been seeing this buck but itnever got in range. I picked up some urine and try that out and guest who showed up that buck. I would say he would score130 that is big for me. It was about 30 degrees out. The buck came walking right in about 12 yards away.I hadmy new hoyt bow and I couldn't pull it back.[:'(]I also saw this buck a year before and about the same thing happened and this year isaw it but he saw me. Talk about buck fever.Maybe this year he will come it when I got my slug gun.

MNpurple

15 years old, it was my first year bowhunting. I couldnt drive yet so one of my parents dropped me off and was going to pick me up after dark. I walked the long ways to my stand, excited as could be, all by myself, bowhunting!!! I had spent my hard earned money to buy my first and only treestand and my equipment. AsI approach my stand, I see it isnt in the tree whereI left it. I see one of my steps is still in the tree way up there but everything else is gone, stolen. There I sat, alone, waiting until dark for my parents to come, all the excitement and life of bowhunting sucked right outta me. Man I hated that day. [:'(]

Thing have since gotten better, and so have the padlocks on my treestands

gregholland

hitting a big doe a bit high and not finding her.

PA Bow/Flinter

Oct. 8th, 2005: I was hunting out a a stand in some tall pines when I decided to remove my left hand from the grip of my bow. After I did this, a hear a deer coming down a mowed path on my left side. I have to wait until he passes me at 7 yds before I can move to get my hand back in and draw my bow. Before he steps between the next two pines where he will give me a shot, he turns left, away from me and steps into the brush 10 yds away. He then ambles back to the first gap, just inside the brush. I think I can see enough of him to make a shot. There were a couple of small twigs, but I figured "Hey it's only 10 yds, I can punch through that." I shoot, he runs, I have no idea where I hit. Wait 30 minutes, get down, no arrow, no blood. I call my Dad and he comes down. We follow a faint trail about 1/2 mile into a goldenrod field. Call it for the night and come back in the morning. Follow the trail another 1/4 mile to a fresh bed. No blood out the back side. We figured I hit above the spine, and it wasn't lethal. We did find the front half of my arrow covered in fat. The blood was deep red like muscle blood.

That was the first deer I ever caused harm to and never found. Hopefully I will never have to go through that again.

Double Creek

Gut shot the biggest buck I've ever seen on the hoof... Then like an idiot didn't give him enough time and walked up on him in his bed.. He stood up and walked of. I backed out and came back the next day.... Never found him, despite using, dogs, airplanes, ATV's, and searching every nook and cranny for a square mile..... Took me about 5 years to get over it.....

Cougar Mag

Can I have more than 1?

(1) Whacking my thumb with my knife instead of the intended branch on public land and could not get the bleeding stopped, so I waited on an inlaw back at my truck with my thumb wrapped up and needing stitches. I didn't tell him about it until after we dragged his buck in that he had killed. A few hours later I ended up in the emergency room getting opened back up, cleaned and stitched up.[:'(]

(2) Slipped on a tree step about 12 feet up and on the way down while catching myself on another step it hit me right under the eye socket. I laid down at the base of the tree for 30 minutes sick to my stomach and afraid to open my eye. Being 20 degrees out didn't help. Thankfully I still had my eye. Regardless, I still use screw-in steps but better ones.