HuntingNet.com Forums - First Bow deer

Went out today to the public land down the road from my house to do some bowhunting. Thought that I could walk all the way to where I hunt at on the heads of the pheasant hunters. They were everywhere! Heres the story-

Got out to the evergreen stand that I have been hunting about 3:30 this afternoon. Decided that I would quit using my pop up blind because for some reason it has been spooking the deer. So I carried a small fold up stool with me, and backed myself into a small pine tree, pulling the branches around me for concealment. While setting up my ground blind, i dropped my rattling antlers and they clanked together. Not 1 minute later, a basket racked 6 point came rushing in. He never spooked away, just looked at me from about 40 yds out, then turned and exited the funnel I was in. Later, a single doe passed within 15 yds of me, and then about 5:00, another doe and a yearling.

At 5:45, I glassed a bruiser of a buck about 200 yds out. i hit the antlers together hoping to turn him my way, but it didn't work.I sat in my ground blind until about 6:15 and it got a little to dark for my liking in the woods, so I packed it up to start my walk out. The place I have been hunting is aq grassland habitat, so most of the area is knee high grass. As I was walking out, I noticed a "figure" silhouetted against the setting background. My first thought was that it was another hunter, so I got the binocs out and saw "horns". I still had my wrist release on, so I hunkered down in the grass and watched him through my binocs. He started walking right in my direction from about 100 yds out and at 46yds, turned sideways and stopped. By this time, I was up on my knees, at full draw with my Mathews Outback. I let loose the arrow and heard a "thump" when it hit. He ran straight out into the open field (thank God it wasnt the other way, a huge field of standing corn). He ran about 50 yds, stopped, and looked like he was loosing his footing, then took off again. I called my wife first, and told her that I think that I just got a good hit on a buck, then called my friend up and asked if he was interested in dragging a deer a mile back to my truck.

We waited an hour before looking, and after following a blood trail that had disappeared where the buck had stopped the first time, my friend walked right up on him. Shot placement was perfect. The G5 Montec busted the heart up and bled him out real quick.

He's by no means a wall hanger, but I am pleased with him. Lots of first with this deer. 1st bow kill, 1st public hunting deer, 1st Iowa deer.