Trad Gang Highlights > HIGHLIGHTS 2017
The "Moose Antler buck" & the good, bad & then the ugly..."
Keefer:
Here go's and hope you can sort of place yourself in my situation and what took place on Saturday the 11th of November as I sat in my Huntmore chair enjoying the brisk cold morning with hardly no wind .
I was looking to my left through a small opening of a small holly tree at a trail that was just about 7 yards quartering on a slight angle like as if you were looking at 12:00 there was a trail say at 8:00 o'clock merging in a trail directly at 12:00.
As I was looking I got my first image of a Roman nose and then a face and then the Biggest set of all sorts of antlers I ever seen while sitting on the ground.
I was saying to myself "Dear God Please" let my arrow be true to it's mark and if it's your will let me have a shot at this deer?
KAZ:
Bring it Keefer :campfire:
1/4 away:
You're doing good brother. Keep it coming.
Keefer:
Well as I prepared on the shot if he kept moving as he was on a slow walk it would give me a 12 yard broadside shot at his entire body once he stepped from behind a small holly and as he moved I drew my RER Arroyo 50# @28" Static limb recurve that carried my 2016 Easton Legacy with a Zwicky Delta broad-head and total weight of 538 grains !
As I drew he came to a complete stop before exiting from the holly and his next few steps would give me the shot we dream about and practice for.
My shooting arm started to feel the weight and to many that isn't much to hold but to me I had a repaired severed right hand that was reattached with 8 pins and two operations from a log splitting accident that happened in 1985 and my fingers were starting to feel the pressure on my string so I started to relax the bow a bit and he began his move with a pick up in his walk.
So I regained my draw and did a mouth Urrrp to stop him cause I cant hit nothing moving unless I'm lucky and he came to a halt.
He looked my way then to a scrape just about 20 yards in front of him.
I picked a spot and had the broad head touching the back of the shelf and let it launch to it's intended target and I saw the buck kick to the side and bolted out towards the scrape and I hurried and grabbed another arrow and also grabbed my grunt tube and made a doe grunt and he actually came to a halt and turned near the scrape and looked my way and back at the spot I shot at him .
I'm thinking did I miss him and was that a jump from the string?
This bow is so quiet I started having doubts if I even hit him cause I lost track of my arrow and thought it looked a bit back but wasn't sure now?
So I had limbs from another holly in the way and he wasn't coming back so he turned and headed out to where I lost sight to my right side due to small holly's and just small pines etc.
I did another doe grunt and not sure how many minutes after my last sighting maybe 5 maybe 10 but I got a glimpse of a buck past the scrape moving around what I thought was about 65/80 yards but hard to see cause I don't where my glass's mainly for reading and driving.
I just took it as could be another buck cause at that same time I had another on that main trail back about 60 yards throwing dirt 30 feet and had his antlers in a holly yanking limbs and making a racket.
So I twisted so hard instead of turning my huntmore looking at him I felt a very sharp charlie horse come in my stomach under my ribs on my left side and a burn like I tore my insides and as I turned to watch the buck I just shot at I took notice of where that buck if it was indeed him going around as to circle back.
I saw him one last time through the trees and brush etc. then he was gone.
Keefer:
Sorry I needed to go make certain my daughter is o.k. and give her some meds.
Now I gave this 30 minutes for things to settle down and I was calm but the chill in the air was making me cough and shiver a bit but I had my Asbell wool vest on that 1/4 away Fred sent me a few years back as a gift God Bless him and a Asbell pullover and my Asbell haversack was there as well laying on the ground .
O.k. that was a commercial for the Asbell's and Mrs. T for all her hard work keeping us equip for our time in the outdoors! ;)
Now back to the story and the "Bad" part of this hunt .
I got up out of my seat and went over to where I took the shot on the buck and there was a spot where he kicked and peeled out of there with dirt sort of thrown to his left side but I just figured the arrow scared him and the way he responded to stopping at the doe grunt I did that it could possibly of been an under the belly miss so I searched in the dark area for some blood,hair,arrow or even something that looked like a gut shot and I saw nothing and went to the scrape he hung by and saw nothing.
By this time I went a little further saw no blood and decided to go find my arrow where he stood to see if it was back further since I pretty much considered it as a miss.
After several times looking at where he stood and my spot where I sat I did a straight like and searched about 20/30 feet possibly more pass where he stood on that shot and just saw my fetching sticking out from some leaves.
The arrow wasn't buried in the ground but just tucked under the leaves as if someone lay the leaves on top ever so gently!
So I looked at my arrow and it looked clean other then some leaf residue so I smelled it and took it back to my seat and looked it over and over and stuck it in my quiver.
I replayed the scenario over and over and over and finally just said "STOP" you missed and that's it. No sign no nothing so hang it up and continue hunting.
I remember I thanked God for the deer sighting and getting that shot and how much I enjoyed the image of his antlers that had so many and just something I never saw before but life is full of lessons and I just started thinking I need to practice more and enjoy the time I do have in God's creation and not dwell on a missed shot.
Or was it? :confused:
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