I shot it yesterday afternoon a little before 5:00. I was in and awesome tree, it had a huge oak growing right beside the cypress tree I climbed, about a foot apart, oak was on the south side of me and the deer had been coming out of the south. Well I hear deer walking and peeked out, and see how wide this dude was, so I ease back against the tree and waited, well with the ice he didn't go the way the other deer have gone, and he crossed about 20 yards and no shot, and I had a good opening about 4 or 5 more steps, well he looked my way, the wind was in my favor and then he took a couple steps and looked my way again, and immediately stated turning away from me to go back the way he came, he was about 75 or 80 degrees quartering away from me and I drew my bow as he turned and there were a couple small limbs I had do shoot over to get the arrow in him, and I hit him right of the backbone, at about the last rib, it buried to the fletchings. I wanted to see what the other deer was since it was behind this one, so I looked at it as they ran off, and it was a small deer, not sure if it was a buck or doe? The buck I shot ran southwest, and I heard a big crash in some ice.
I waited just a few minutes and got down to see if I had blood, with that high of a shot I didn't know. Well when I got there I seen a couple drops of blood, and mark it with toilet paper. I knew he had ran at least a couple hundred yards, so I figured I could track him a little ways to see what kind of blood he was leaving. So I waited a little while longer and started tracking him very slowly, while putting toilet paper down on his trail, and about 50 yards I find about 20 inches of the fleching end of my arrow. By looking at it the arrow didn't go all the way through the deer. So I continue the slow tracking job steadily listening for ice to break. I have to get my light out and kept it pointed down looking for blood. I find good blood and then I really have to look for it. Then I come up on a wide spot of ice, and I think crap this is what I hear him crash into. So I go around the ice and find the blood. Well about this time my batteries in my light gets real dim, so I take my back pack off and get my little light out, and it is easy to turn on so I guess it got turned on in my backpack and it is dead. I have all my junk so they use the same batteries. So I take two batteries out of my big light, and put in the little one, then I use the little one to find my GPS case and get the extra batteries I have stored in it, to put in my big light, it takes 4 AA, so after I get it fixed up I kick it on and it is like a Q beam it is so bright. I was glad I got to stop and give the deer some more time. I am now seeing more blood, probably cause of the light. As I said the blood would come and go and I get to a spot that I kinda loose it and looked and looked, and found where he had laid down, oh crap I hate to see that. I said I need to leave him till morning, but I want to find the way he went from the bed, lots of blood in the bed. So I figure out which way he went, this is like 6:30 and I shot him at 5:00 and I have only went about 300 yards. So I am on the trail and going really slow and I get to a point I can smell him, or where he has been. I know most of yall have smelled them before. So I get to a spot and think I hear something, so I said that is it, I am going out and coming back tomorrow. I am out of toilet paper, only had a half a roll and usually keep a couple in my backpack. So I mark it on my GPS and put a couple zip lock bags up so I can find the spot in the morning, I check the time 7:00.
So I find my stand on my GPS, .22 miles to my stand, so I start the walk back, head hanging low. I get to my stand and head on to the 4-wheeler. I take the long ride out thinking about the whole thing and wondering what I could have done better.
I head home, call my sub. and tell him I shot a deer and I was talking off today, so he covered for me. I woke up several times worrying I have wounded him and won't find him, but I knew the arrow was in a good location and had hope. I get up at 4:00 and head to the woods, I decided since I was taking off I would hunt a couple hours and let it get good light before I started the trailing again. It was cold and I made myself sit for two hours and then I get down and head out. I could see quite a bit more blood than I seen the evening before. Well I get to the spot and get the zip lock bags out of the tree and start to look for more blood, and I find a little and I make another step, and see another drop and I think I need to go get my backpack on and my bow and hit the trail, and I look up and there he is in a water hole, well it's ice and he is facing me? I was 40 yards from him the night before and I couldn't see him.
Here is a few pictures, and I have more. Final stats, 180 pounds, 20 1/4" inside spread, 26" main beam, and 6 scorable points, two other broken off. World record 5 point.
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I waited just a few minutes and got down to see if I had blood, with that high of a shot I didn't know. Well when I got there I seen a couple drops of blood, and mark it with toilet paper. I knew he had ran at least a couple hundred yards, so I figured I could track him a little ways to see what kind of blood he was leaving. So I waited a little while longer and started tracking him very slowly, while putting toilet paper down on his trail, and about 50 yards I find about 20 inches of the fleching end of my arrow. By looking at it the arrow didn't go all the way through the deer. So I continue the slow tracking job steadily listening for ice to break. I have to get my light out and kept it pointed down looking for blood. I find good blood and then I really have to look for it. Then I come up on a wide spot of ice, and I think crap this is what I hear him crash into. So I go around the ice and find the blood. Well about this time my batteries in my light gets real dim, so I take my back pack off and get my little light out, and it is easy to turn on so I guess it got turned on in my backpack and it is dead. I have all my junk so they use the same batteries. So I take two batteries out of my big light, and put in the little one, then I use the little one to find my GPS case and get the extra batteries I have stored in it, to put in my big light, it takes 4 AA, so after I get it fixed up I kick it on and it is like a Q beam it is so bright. I was glad I got to stop and give the deer some more time. I am now seeing more blood, probably cause of the light. As I said the blood would come and go and I get to a spot that I kinda loose it and looked and looked, and found where he had laid down, oh crap I hate to see that. I said I need to leave him till morning, but I want to find the way he went from the bed, lots of blood in the bed. So I figure out which way he went, this is like 6:30 and I shot him at 5:00 and I have only went about 300 yards. So I am on the trail and going really slow and I get to a point I can smell him, or where he has been. I know most of yall have smelled them before. So I get to a spot and think I hear something, so I said that is it, I am going out and coming back tomorrow. I am out of toilet paper, only had a half a roll and usually keep a couple in my backpack. So I mark it on my GPS and put a couple zip lock bags up so I can find the spot in the morning, I check the time 7:00.
So I find my stand on my GPS, .22 miles to my stand, so I start the walk back, head hanging low. I get to my stand and head on to the 4-wheeler. I take the long ride out thinking about the whole thing and wondering what I could have done better.
I head home, call my sub. and tell him I shot a deer and I was talking off today, so he covered for me. I woke up several times worrying I have wounded him and won't find him, but I knew the arrow was in a good location and had hope. I get up at 4:00 and head to the woods, I decided since I was taking off I would hunt a couple hours and let it get good light before I started the trailing again. It was cold and I made myself sit for two hours and then I get down and head out. I could see quite a bit more blood than I seen the evening before. Well I get to the spot and get the zip lock bags out of the tree and start to look for more blood, and I find a little and I make another step, and see another drop and I think I need to go get my backpack on and my bow and hit the trail, and I look up and there he is in a water hole, well it's ice and he is facing me? I was 40 yards from him the night before and I couldn't see him.
Here is a few pictures, and I have more. Final stats, 180 pounds, 20 1/4" inside spread, 26" main beam, and 6 scorable points, two other broken off. World record 5 point.
