Hoyt_Viper

After several days of dealing with a kid with the flu, a wife with a bad cold and of course me having what was inevitable…a cold too, I finally got in the woods by 8:30 AM. I sat in the tree as still as I could with a runny nose and holding in coughs until I had to get down, drive home and chug some cough medicine and take a few sinus pills. By the time I got in my truck, around 3:00 PM, with all my gear in the back it starts to rain. Oh well, I said I was going to hunt today so I did. I got my rain gear and went to my new Primos Eclipse blind that I have had setup and covered with limbs since late August. Needless to say the deer have gotten accustomed to it as part of the landscape. I have to admit it’s the nicest blind I have hunted out of, almost 7’x7’ and tall enough to stand up with a zipper sunroof and 360 degree windows. By the time I got situated and organized it was raining and close to 6:00 PM as I sat watching the clover field and the edges of the tree lines. I was almost to the point of packing it up but had to take a double take when glancing towards the clover plot, and yes it was what I thought and only dreamed about all year…a beautiful big bodied perfectly symmetrical 4x4 3yr old buck. One I have never had a chance to see, much less have a shot at. I pulled the range finder out, but with the rain and the branches I couldn’t get a true yardage, it was giving me anywhere from 6 yards to 30 yards. On top of that the light was so low I had to turn the lights on my Apex sights just to see where I was going to put my arrow. He was perfectly broadside and I guessed a minimum of 20 yards so I set my 20 yard pin on the vitals and let loose. I heard it what I assumed was an impact, the deer jumped and took off. Instantly my mindset was to wait a while before getting out of the blind to track him and bring home the prize! So you would think…within 5 minutes he had circled back and slowly made his way back into the clover, dipping his head to eat and then looking around with his nose in the air. I nocked another arrow and once again took a shot at the boiler room, the arrow went right over his back, and skimming it and making him once again dart out of sight. I was so frustrated it took everything I had to keep from yelling a few choice cuss words. I thought for sure he was gone, but just as before he reappeared as if only a horsefly had bit him. I had one arrow left and waited this time for him to come closer but it never happened. He started towards the other side of the clover field and I was determined to put him down and tried to range him again, with no avail. Once again I aimed lower and let it fly and thought for sure it hit its mark. He bucked and darted out of sight into the tall briars. With no arrows left (my other arrow had a crack in it so I left it in the truck) I was just hoping for the best, until he showed up 10 yards from the blind nose in the air trying to figure out what the hell was going on, kind of like me! I had no choice but to watch him at less than 10 yards for what seemed like hours rub a couple saplings, pee and walk right past my window and vanish into the woods. I know for sure he didn’t see me, but I for sure saw him and now the hunt is on…only after convincing myself to not give up hunting.

BowHunter28

are you kidding, damn that must have really sucked... so many opportunites, im surprised he came back out each time.

magicman54494

Any chance there could have been 2 deer? Did you find your arrows?

dyb3and88

Dud that sucks...... I think I would be practicing to see what happened, and why you missed. Maybe your sites got bumped. Hope you get another crack at him

mfd1027

HV- Man you have some adventures. You probably ought to shoot your bow a few times today just to be sure it's still on. Did you find any of your arrows? Being as your planning on leaving up your blind all season you might want to range a few things around there so you won't have to depend on your rangefinder in case you get caught in the rain again. Take care of that cold!!

Dan

Hoyt_Viper

I had previously ranged almost the entire plot but with the rain all I could see was alot of white on his head and his broadside body. It was almost 2 dimensional and couldnt get a depth of field. I laid awake all night thinking of what I could have done different, and the only thing I did wrong was being impatient. I believe if I would have waited him out I would have been able to put it where it counted when he exited the plot 10 yards from the blind. That is the reason for putting it there was because I knew that was a nice trail from the woods to the clover. I thought for sure he was heading the opposite direction with the last arrow.

The other thing I learned, while I had my full face mask and leafy hood and scent blocker stuff on was how important it was that he never knew I was there. I am not kidding you when I tell you he was looking in the windows and trying to scent me. I could have lunged out the window and stuck him in the neck with my knife he was so close to me. I watched his tail and body movement, and all he ever did was shake his tail side to side twice, it never went up. I scrubbed down in the shower with dead down wind and never put my hunting clothes on until I got out of the truck. I believe that is what saved me from getting busted. I had to wait him out so by the time I got out of the blind it was raining and pitch dark so I havent retrieved any arrows yet.

I am taking the bow in today to shoot indoors and check my sights. I dont think I bumped them or anything but I guess any one thing could have been the reason he got to live last night. I was able to see his whole body as he was next to me and didnt see any blood from a bad shot so I know I threw airballs at him.

I will also never shoot all my arrows until I am sure he has left the area. The reason my 4th arrow was cracked was because earlier in the day I had taken a shot at a smaller deer. It was a much smaller bodied deer and he took a complete pass through, crossed the creek and was out of sight. I texted a friend (JoeyG) and told him I was pulling out to wait him out so I could get some cough syrup and get my rain gear. Im going to be tracking him in about 30 minutes. The rain may make it impossible for blood, but he didnt go far.

This 4x4 could very well have scored 130-140". Definately the dominant buck on my lease. And for the comment of it being two deer....NOT! It was him and it blew my mind that he came back after being shot at 3 times!

louddrummer69

So you shot a buck and was out shooting at another buck before you recovered the previous buck?

GMMAT

Sounds like you're gonna need a bigger quiver.

Hoyt_Viper

Yep. I wasnt going anywhere in the pouring rain and 45 degree weather...with a cold. The blood on the first arrow told me I needed to wait a few hours before even starting to track him. I just got back from finding him, or should I say what was left of him. Saying it was a bad day doesnt do it justice.

I will follow Jeff's advice and keep a dozen in the blind. I still cant believe how the whole day unfolded. Finding the remnants of the first deer today just made it that much worse. The only positive thing so far is shooting my bow today and knowing it was my Hostage rest that had dropped about 1/4 inch from being loose. At least now I know why I missed, and feel even better knowing he will be back for some more clover.

I will never, ever, forget watching him and his actions last night. I learned alot, and the most beautiful thing was watching him casually walk into the woods...instead of tail up and gone forever!

virginiashadow

So did you find a dead buck Jeff?