First deer of the season and pic
12-02-2003 | 12:56 PM
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Fork Horn
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 125
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From: Council Bluffs Iowa USA
First deer of the season and pic
October 30th, 2003 I'm sitting in a wooden stand about 15 feet off the ground. I have a small dirt road in front of me about 20 yards away with a large drainage ditch on the other side of the maintenance road that connects to the Missouri River about 100 yards away. The deer have been drinking at the drainage ditch that has about 10 foot high banks so you can't see anything that is in the ditch unless you see it enter. The only thing I don't like about this stand is it's below the level of the road so anything that comes up on the road is actually only about 5 feet below eye level.
I'm in the stand by 2:30 p.m. and have my back to the road while I'm on my knees getting stuff ready. As I turn around to get seated there standing in the road not 20 yards away is a doe and her two yearlings looking right my way. I just freeze in mid turn and sit there as the doe continues to stare my way. She goes down the road a few yards then comes back then finally her and her two yearlings go on there way. At about 4:45 p.m. I see the big buck come up out of the creek onto the road and I stand up immediately as he makes his way thru the thicket towards me. As he starts down the bank he stops and just stands there on the side of the bank. The deer is to my front right with the wind out of the north blowing from him to my left. After a few seconds he turns and goes back toward the road. At this time I draw back on the bow fighting buck fever and hoping for a shot at this magnificent deer. The willow thicket has about a 2 foot shot window at the top of the road. When the deer hits this window I let the arrow fly. I hear the arrow hit and the deer goes to jump forward but his hind legs just fold. It's a good spine hit and the deer drags himself off the road and down against a dead fall. I watch for 20 minutes hoping the deer will die but he continues to try and stand but isn't able. I realize from a previous spine hit last year, that I'm going to have to go finish him off. In order to get a clean shot I have to climb to the top of the road. The deer can't go any where so I finish him off with a lung shot at about 5 yards. This deer is huge and I can't pull him up to the road, so I go back and get the truck to drag him up the bank. I also had to call and get help to come out and load the deer into the back of the truck. This is definitely my biggest deer to date and I was elated to have had the opportunity to arrow this deer.
I'm in the stand by 2:30 p.m. and have my back to the road while I'm on my knees getting stuff ready. As I turn around to get seated there standing in the road not 20 yards away is a doe and her two yearlings looking right my way. I just freeze in mid turn and sit there as the doe continues to stare my way. She goes down the road a few yards then comes back then finally her and her two yearlings go on there way. At about 4:45 p.m. I see the big buck come up out of the creek onto the road and I stand up immediately as he makes his way thru the thicket towards me. As he starts down the bank he stops and just stands there on the side of the bank. The deer is to my front right with the wind out of the north blowing from him to my left. After a few seconds he turns and goes back toward the road. At this time I draw back on the bow fighting buck fever and hoping for a shot at this magnificent deer. The willow thicket has about a 2 foot shot window at the top of the road. When the deer hits this window I let the arrow fly. I hear the arrow hit and the deer goes to jump forward but his hind legs just fold. It's a good spine hit and the deer drags himself off the road and down against a dead fall. I watch for 20 minutes hoping the deer will die but he continues to try and stand but isn't able. I realize from a previous spine hit last year, that I'm going to have to go finish him off. In order to get a clean shot I have to climb to the top of the road. The deer can't go any where so I finish him off with a lung shot at about 5 yards. This deer is huge and I can't pull him up to the road, so I go back and get the truck to drag him up the bank. I also had to call and get help to come out and load the deer into the back of the truck. This is definitely my biggest deer to date and I was elated to have had the opportunity to arrow this deer.
