Had an interesting day today. The spot I chose to hide in this morning seemed pretty cold in spite of decent sign both north and south of it. I did have a couple of raccoons in close but they aren't in season for a few more days (what the heck would I do with a perforated raccoon anyway?). Early on, I decided to get up (while the footing was still quiet) and still hunt to the north.
Almost immediately (as I was getting my pack on), I was busted by a doe. She just ran off though - she seemed not to be too freaked out. I moved slowly and quietly up the trail until I got close to the next major patch of deer sign (several nice trail systems). Off to the east – on posted land, of course – I could see a decent buck working over a scrape and a tree. He seemed to be moving toward the public land but I wasn't certain if he would cross close to where I was (a nice wide open trail for him) or a bit further north where I had observed some nice rubs the day before.
My guess was that he was going north, so I moved that way as calmly as I could to try to intercept. A couple of hundred yards up the trail, I was as close as I though I ought to get and I could see no sign of the buck. I decided to sit a bit by an oak tree and see if he turned up. After fifteen minutes or so, I decided to call a bit. A few grunts and a spirited rattling session later and here came my buck (within about thirty seconds of the end of the rattling sequence).
I was sitting cross-legged on the ground and flirted briefly with the notion of standing for a better shot (while his head was behind a tree about thirty yards away) but chickened out. He hopped the fence into public land and gave me a decent shot opportunity (broadside) now at about 20 yards. Canting my bow steeply, I took the shot.
This is a shot I've practiced quite a bit in my backyard (longbow from the ground – that calls for plenty of practice) and I was prepared to shoot a bit low – like I typically do from the ground. I adjusted for it but what I didn't adjust for was my lower limb bonking into my rattle bag which was sitting on my backpack, which (like a moron) I had placed on the ground to my left. That's a mistake I won't be repeating.
The arrow flew on a perfect line and missed the deer (low, of course) by an inch or two right under his heart. I waited a bit – just in case I had hit him after all – to get the arrow (no blood / fat / hair etc.). Oh well – I'd much rather get a clean miss than a messy hit.
Returning to my spot (this time with my backpack and calls well out of the way), I waited about thirty more minutes before a pair of does showed up close to where the buck had crossed. They knew something was up right away (never did cross the fence) – I'm guessing there was enough of my scent over in that area from when I retrieved my arrow – anyway, I had no shot opportunities at them.
This isn't easy, but it sure is fun.
I try to remember to try all draw directions whenever I set up on stand. Especially checking that there is nothing blocking my lower limb or elbow clearance on the drawing arm. Learned the hard way like you.
lesson learned and it sounds like ya had fun, next time ya got em!!