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This story is unlike many that have come before. This is a right of passage story. A story years in the making and full of trials and tribulations. A story that ultimately never ends as the tradition of bowhunting is passed down through the generations.
"Now then, take your weapons, your Quiver and your Bow, and go out in the open country and hunt wild game for me." Genesis 27:3
I consider myself to be an avid outdoorsman, starting in the fields and woods at a fairly early age. While some success was had chasing birds and small game, I don't think that I really had a true appreciation for the way of life until I was able to take my first deer with a bow and arrow many years later. There is something so intimate about releasing an arrow from your bow and taking an animal as majestic as a whitetail deer. I can only hope that as my sons grow, they too can experience this amazing tradition.
2019 marked the first year I would have a bow hunting partner in one of my boys. My middle son Barrett had managed to get his first deer with a gun a few years back but desperately wanted to hunt with a bow to see what all this rut hype was about. We found Barrett a used bow capable of bringing down a deer and he started shooting. It was clear early on that he had the skills to make the shot on paper but would he be able to put those skills to play in the deer woods. The 2019 season was a bit of a rollercoaster for Barrett. He had quite a few opportunities at deer and did send a few arrows downrange but was not able to connect. While he did not manage to take a deer with his bow, 2019 was a great learning experience, to say the least.
2020 starts early as Barrett acquires a new Christmas bow after maxing out his used 2019 setup. A beautiful all black PSE Stinger Xtreme is soon equipped and he starts putting arrows through the new rig. All of the preparation of shooting, food plots, scouting, stands, etc. is underway. October rolls around and the rut is knocking on our door. Having had the previous season experience, Barrett fell right into the swing of things. We hunted together out of the same tree just as we had done the year prior. October came and went and November was knocking on the door.
November, the month we had been waiting for all year. Paying close attention to deer activity and weather, we planned our hunts accordingly. Early on the week of the 9th we had reports of high deer movement so we decided we would head to the farm a day early. We arrived on Wednesday night and put a plan together for the next morning. Thursday morning started off very slow but mid-morning we had a younger buck come in behind us. We managed to call to him, forcing him to make a huge loop and present a shot opportunity. Barrett drew his bow and let the arrow fly. I'm not sure if the excitement of watching this buck come in for 150 yards had his nerves up but a less than lethal shot was made. Barrett was devastated. We eventually got down, found some blood, and decided to head back to the house and give the deer a few hours before we picked up the trail. We headed back to last blood and started down the trail. Knowing the shot was very high and back we figured we would either have a dead deer if the arrow was able to hit an artery or we had a flesh wound. After trailing very faint blood for a few hundred yards, the trail stopped and no deer was found. We took some time to reflect on the morning hunt, regroup, and then decided to get back in the stand that afternoon.
The evening hunt was on a timber edge running parallel to a cut cornfield. The deer had been using this field nightly for about 2 weeks but seemed to always appear on the far side and usually after dark. We knew that even if we didn't get any deer in range we would at least have something to look at during our sit. It was just after 4:30 and we noticed some deer across the road on the neighboring property feeding. This was a good sign and maybe the deer would come out early in our field? It was only about 10 minutes later and we saw movement to the West along the woods. A buck pops out of the timber about 75 yards from our position. Barrett grabs his bow and gets ready as the buck slowly makes his way towards us. The buck stops about 40 yards from us on the backside of some thicker cover and works a scrape. If this buck keeps coming we couldn't ask for a better presentation. The buck finally finishes with the scrape and keeps making his way in our direction. Barrett had ranged all of his shooting lanes and decided he was only going to take a shot in one of two lanes, both around 15 yards. As the buck cleared the thick cover, he stepped right into one of Barrett's preferred lanes. I whispered to Barrett, "Draw". As soon as Barrett gets to his anchor the buck stops and looks up the tree. Barrett settles his pin on his lungs and lets the arrow fly. I watch the arrow enter the 10 ring and let out a loud "Whap!". The buck turns tail and heads back in the direction he came from and disappears out of sight. Barrett and I look at each other and are almost in disbelief as to what has just happened. Barrett had just killed his first buck ever and his first deer with a bow. The shot was perfect and there was not a doubt in my mind that a dead deer would be at the end of this blood trail. After some hugs and congratulations, we send a text to big brother saying "Barrett just thumped a BIG buck!!!!!!!", to which he replies "U guys didn't even go, I can hear your downstairs". Too funny. A quick selfie for proof and we make our way down from the tree.
We arrive back to the house after a short 5-minute walk from the stand and the celebration begins. Even though we are 99% sure this deer is dead we decide to give him an hour as we didn't see him fall. We gather the recovery team consisting of Barrett, Dawson, Grandpa, and myself and head back to the field. We head in the direction where the buck retreated and start looking for blood. It takes a while to find the first blood but once we do it's very clear there will soon be a deer ahead. A couple minutes later I shine my light ahead and see a dead deer just a few feet away. I tell Barrett to come to look at this blood and then slowly shine the light ahead. His eyes light up like the 4th of July!!!! I don't know if I have ever seen him so happy in his entire life. It was a very long haul to get to this point but all of the work was definitely worth the reward.
Congrats to Barrett on the first of many more to come!
This year marked my 8th year of dedicated bow hunting. I like to think that as a hunter I have progressed, learning a little more with every passing year. I have learned to watch the wind, watch the pressure, and watch the temperature. This year we had planned to stay out of the woods until Halloween weekend. We elected to skip youth season and wait for the rut to start. Both of the boys would be bow hunting this year, each hoping to put a tag on their first archery deer.
The first week of October passed and I was keeping a close eye on the temperatures in the days ahead. I noticed that there was a huge front coming into the area and temps were going to drop 22 degrees from Wednesday into Thursday. This front was also going to bring with it very strong winds up to 25 mph. I studied the hourly forecast for the cold Thursday and saw that the winds were supposed to die down just before dark. If there was a time the deer were going to move after being bedded all day, this was the time.
I arrived at the farm at around 2:45pm and slowly made my walk to the stand. I made it about halfway and could hear turkeys ahead of me. I slowed up my pace and a couple birds appeared ahead of me on my path. I slowly approached and managed to cut the distance in half but they eventually got nervous and took off to the west, half going to the southwest and half going to the northwest. I finally got to the stand and settled in for the afternoon hunt. I could hear turkeys on both sides of me calling to each other. It wasn't long and a hen worked up a ravine from the south and popped into site. I reached down to get a range and she must seen me move as she retreated back down the ravine. Shortly after I could hear the birds behind me to the north. I turned around and saw two bearded birds coming my way. If these two birds kept their path, I would be presented with a 25 yard shot. It was only about 2 minutes and both birds were standing at 25 yards. As I drew, one of the one birds turned away from me and I sent an arrow right where it needed to go. The turkey jumped about 5 yards and laid down 30 yards from my stand where it calmly took its last breath. Wow! I had just shot my first fall turkey and my first turkey with a bow to boot! What a great start to my first hunt of the year.
I initially decided to leave the turkey lay as I didn't want to put anymore scent than needed. I made it about an hour before I talked myself into going down to check out my prize fall turkey. I made it down one whole ladder rung when I saw movment to the west and noticed two deer coming through the tree field. I stood on that rung as I watched a doe and yearling walk through the tree field into the timber north of my stand. At this point my decision to get down from the stand was quickly reversed. I climbed back into my seat and got back to my hunt. I watched the doe and yearling mill around to the north and they eventually made their way directly downwind at 10 yards. I must have been high enough in my tree to blow my thermals over the top of them as they had no clue I was there. The pair presented multiple shot opportunitues but I wasn't ready to distrurb the woods anymore knowing the wind was going to die down very soon. They passed back to the north and went about their business.
Around 6:15pm the wind died down, just as my weather app predicted. The woods became ultra quiet and you could hear the slightest sound. I was watching of the food plot to the west and slowly turned around to look back to my east. Just as I was facing that direction I see that back half of a deer dart across the lane about 100 yards away. I look closer and can see what I think is a siloutte of a deer in the woods. I grab my binococulars and squat down on my stand platform to get a better angle. I locate the object and can just see the white tips of antlers moving above the brush, It was only a few seconds and a buck appears on the lane. I lowered my binos for just a second and the buck stops on the opposite side of the lane and then disappears into the woods. Having seen this behavior before, I didn't expect to see this deer again as they usually go straight north into heavy bedding. I kept my eyes glued to the woods but didn't see the buck. I glanced back to the lane and see a large doe standing in the middle of the lane about 75 yards away. Was this the first deer I saw shoot across the lane? Was this buck chasing a doe on the 15th of October? I looked back down into the woods where the buck had gone and I see him milling around in the bottom of a shallow ravine. The buck slowly starts heading my direction and as he gets closer I can hear him grunting. This buck isn't just grunting, he is GRUNTING! The buck gets to about 20 yards and stops directly behind a small bush, he raises his head up and stairs right at me. This buck is on my downwind side but there really is no wind at this point. I figured it was only a matter of time before this buck realized something just wasn't right. After about 20 seconds the buck lowers his head and looks away from me. I draw my bow and the buck is still behind the some brush. I settle into my anchor and wait. The buck takes two small steps and I can now see his head and his front shoulder. I stare down my sight looking for the crease in his shoulder. I make out where I want my arrow to go but have a little brush to shoot through. I settle in, rest my finger and squeeze. WHACK! My arrow hits home! The buck barrels off back down the ravine and then heads to the north busting through the trees. Suddenly the sounds stop and the woods is silent once again. I raise my binos but can not see anything at this point as the timber is starting to get dark. I sit for about 15 minutes and still silence. I don't here any trashing or the sounds of a deer crashing. I decide to get down to retrieve my turkey and pull a card from a nearby camera.
As I approach my turkey, I turn my light on to get a better look. I'm looking at my first turkey and it sure looks like a hen. I could have sworn this bird had a beard but maybe I was wrong? As I grab a leg and go to lift up my prize, I really expected to be lifting a heavy jake or tom. I about threw the bird through the air due to lack of weight. I take a closer look and sure enough there is about an 8" beard, but it's attached to a hen! My first fall turkey, with a bow and it's a bearded hen. Unreal!
Now that I have my turkey tagged and in tow, I decide to sneak out of the woods as quietly as possible. While I believe to have put a great shot on this buck, I did not see him fall and that is an automatic back out and wait scenario in my book. It was going to be cool at night and I didn't have any concern about leaving him over night and spoiling. I did have concerns about coyotes getting to him as I heard them howling in the distance on the walk out. Rather than take the chance of pushing him, I backed out and decided to go back to the house.
My confidence level when arriving back to the house was very high. I walked through the hunt with my dad and we both said we haven't lost one that we left overnight. We decided to let him be and stuck with the plan to go after him the next day.
The next morning dad and I woke, grabbed some breakfast and then headed back to the farm. We went to my stand and started looking for my arrow. It took a few minutes but we finally located my arrow. It was covered in blood and showed all the tell tale signs of a good hit. We both looked for blood but were only able to find a small spec. We spread out and and headed the direction the buck went, following heavily used trails. We made it about 30 yards and started finding some good blood. As we continued, the trail became more and more clear. We finally came up to the top of a rise and saw the trail heading back downhill. We only went a couple more steps when we saw him laying only a few yards away. This was my biggest buck ever and I could not have been happier to recover him with my dad. Now that my buck tag is punched, it's time to get the boys their first archery deer and maybe take a few does to fill the freezer.
Now that I have my turkey tagged and in tow, I decide to sneak out of the woods as quietly as possible. While I believe to have put a great shot on this buck, I did not see him fall and that is an automatic back out and wait scenario in my book. It was going to be cool at night and I didn't have any concern about leaving him over night and spoiling. I did have concerns about coyotes getting to him as I heard them howling in the distance on the walk out. Rather than take the chance of pushing him, I backed out and decided to go back to the house.
My confidence level when arriving back to the house was very high. I walked through the hunt with my dad and we both said we haven't lost one that we left overnight. We decided to let him be and stuck with the plan to go after him the next day.
The next morning dad and I woke, grabbed some breakfast and then headed back to the farm. We went to my stand and started looking for my arrow. It took a few minutes but we finally located my arrow. It was covered in blood and showed all the tell tale signs of a good hit. We both looked for blood but were only able to find a small spec. We spread out and and headed the direction the buck went, following heavily used trails. We made it about 30 yards and started finding some good blood. As we continued, the trail became more and more clear. We finally came up to the top of a rise and saw the trail heading back downhill. We only went a couple more steps when we saw him laying only a few yards away. This was my biggest buck ever and I could not have been happier to recover him with my dad. Now that my buck tag is punched, it's time to get the boys their first archery deer and maybe take a few does to fill the freezer.
Take Care and Be Well,
Dave D. @ OutdoorsOne
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