Alirght, I got her with my shotgun but let me explain why I' m posting on the bow forum. First I am part of a crop damage permit so it' s not actually hunting season here in MD. I saw some does out in the field last night and couldn' t decide between my bow or my shotgun. I grabbed the shotgun just to be safe, after all, I' m not " hunting" per se but thinning the heard. So I thought it was more responsible to take the shotgun.

So it' s a light rain (which was nice, it covered my sound) and I' m sneaking through the edge of the woods and get to about where I think the deer are in the field. I see a fawn on the edge of the field and I get behind a big pine. The fawn comes into the woods and beds down 30 yds away!!!! So I wait, and a big doe starts coming down the same trail off the field. I get my gun ready and she stops 20 yds away, it would have been a perfect bow shot. BANG!!!!! She takes off. So I go over to where I had shot at her and I see another doe, she' s sneaking through the woods checking me out. She gets out from behind a root ball and BANG!!!!!! I got her right in the shoulder. Now I can' t find any blood from the first one so I start following the trail she took thinking she was running so not much blood.

Long story short I find the second deer, can' t find the first one and I' m kicking myself. I can' t understand why I can' t find her, the wood lot wasn' t very big and I looked everywhere. Finally I go back to where she was standing when I shot and I look at this holly tree and think " What, did that get hit by lightening or something" turns out I shot a perfectly good holly tree instead of the first doe. Didn' t even see it. I' m mad at myself for not making a good shot but relieved that I didn' t loose a hit deer.

So my original point was that if I' d taken the bow I would have waited for a clearer shot at the first one and she was only 20 yds, I didn' t think I' d be able to get that close, that' s why I didn' t take it.

You got the meat bud, I' ll fire up the smoker and bring some mashed taters. May take me a couple of days to get there though. [:-][:-]

Sounds like you had a pretty good night.[8D]

Congrats. on a fine kill Solax.....hope the luck hangs on with you during Bow season...

Congrats Solax, does make the best eating anyhow!

Off to a good start!! Good job! How many you planning on getting this year?

Good Luck!

Congrats man, I still have to wait another 3 weeks.

Still waiting for the Maryland Bow opener Sept. 15th. Live in Western Md. Garrett
County. Glad you got one!!!

Solax--I' ve got crop damage permits this year too. I' ve been waiting for the fawns to get weaned before I take away their mother. I am thinking about getting out a time or two before the opener as a warm up--now that the fawns will survive without their mother.

DaveH, the doe I took on Thursday was pretty well " dry" . The first one I shot the fawn' s had lost their spots so they were probably born early.

Cloud 9, not sure how many I' m taking this year. My freezer is packed so whatever I take from here on out will probably go to FHFH. Collectively we' re allowed to take 20 doe off the property though.