Great looking buck. Congrats!
Well I got to the tree stand abt 5:45pm and the primary feeding time was at 7:13pm and sunset was 7:20pm for my area so I didn't have much time but figured it could hurt to see what I could see. Abt 6:30 I saw something move on my left and through the bushes and palmettos i could see the front of a deer stand abt 75yds away and all I could think is sure wish it was rifle season... Than the deer turned and I could finally see its head and it had antlers!!! Grabbed my binoculars and counted 3 points on one side. He turned and started walking away from me and into the woods. I figured he would show back up so I kept looking around with my binoculars abt 7pm I finally saw him again and now I count 4 points on one side! Now I start thinking if he comes close enough should I shoot him or let him walk? In the top of my right eye I see another deer. It's a big healthy doe and she runs up at him and runs away abt 10yds. Both are doing the buck and doe thing yet still he kept looking up at me like he wasn't sure what i was. I was down wind and trying to stay still but he kept looking trying to figure me out. He slowly walked in and keeps looking right at me in the tree, not spooked just confused. I started refocusing my binocular cause he is moving closer and getting out of focus. I lift them up a little and realize he is when in 15yrds. Its game time now! He walks behind a huge oak tree and I set down the binoculars and pick up my crossbow and line up where I think he is abt to walk out. I guess he heard me cause as soon as he walked out from behind the tree he looked up at me again. I froze and hoped I hadn't spooked him finally he went back to eating. I lined up a shot and let the arrow fly. All I heard was a thud and they both take off into the woods. I try to watch and listen to where he goes but the doe ran as well so it was hard to follow the sounds of deer crashing through the woods. I wait for what seemed ever" abt 20mins before getting down. I put my bow up in the truck and got my flash light cause it was getting dark fast. I walked back out to where i thought the arrow should have been from where i was in the deer and where the deer was and couldn't find anything. i did a quick 20yd check for blood and any sign that he was there and my phone rang. It was my buddy asking if i found the deer yet. I told him no and that i couldn't find anything. He told that he was heading over and would help me find it but that i didn't need to push the deer to just give it time to die and we would find it when he got there. The next hour was really hard crazy trying to sit in the truck and not thinking abt the shot and the deer and if i did get a shot on him that is was good shot and hoping he didn't make it to the swamp before dying. Well finally got the text that my buddy was getting off I-75 and would be there any min. So i grabbed a role toilet paper and my flashlight and head out to try to find some blood or something so we had a good place to start. Not 10yds from where i stopped looking earlier i found blood on a palmetto and there were bubbles. So now i have a spot to work from and i know i made a good shot! Abt that time my buddy pulled up and text me here was here so i put a piece of TP down where the blood was and walked out to meet him and walk him back in. We walked back out and started looking from the first blood spot. Working our way through the woods calling out blood and dropping TP squares every couple of yards by the blood. Abt a 100yrs from the stand we find the arrow which is covered in blood and only came out cause he went through some thick bushes which knocked it out. Than there was nothing....made a couple of circles and still nothing. Went back to the last spot and worked it again finally found a couple tiny drops and was back on the trail. Came around some palmettos and there was tons of blood for abt 20 yds now we are getting really excited cause we had been trailing for over an hour and abt 15yds away was the deer. We pulled the deer out and got some pics and headed to my house to cape it and process it. I finally made it inside to clean up and shower abt 130am. Now its time to find a taxidermist
Great deer and story congrats
Congrats on your first deer w/bow. I almost had one too... This dang stick and string is a lot harder that gun hunting... Well done.
Nice deer!
