I've always hated those "teaser" posts that only give you a little information at a time, making you check back every so often to find out what happened... don't you?
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/timradke/DSC_0336.jpg)
Yes
you know...
Spoons work better for stirring chilli...
:p
I knew by the title this would be one too. ha ha.
C'mon man!
I hate this one already....... :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
I had waited 9 years to draw a Wisconsin bear tag, and never having hunted bear before, and not having had the chance to shoot as much as I should that summer, I debated between the recurve and a compound. I was relatively confident with my recurve out to about 15 yards, but "relatively" wasn't fair to whichever bear decided to come near my stand, nor was it fair to whoever could be helping me track a wounded bear on a less than ideal hit. I ended up taking the compound, and tagged out, but this isn't a bear story. While I still think it was the right decision to carry my compound, I can now only imagine the feelings I could have experienced had I taken him with the recurve.
A few weeks and a few hundred shots later, I found myself in a 15 foot ladder stand on the edge of a cornfield with "Kaylee's Autumn" hanging beside me - a custom RER recurve named after and in honor of the birth of my little girl.
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/timradke/DSC_0340.jpg)
I had never taken a deer with a recurve before, it had been nearly 20 years since my last traditional deer fell. A heavily used trail entered the field 10 yards to my left; a trail that had supplied me multiple impressive trail camera pictures of deer for years prior....
:campfire:
I dont hate them all that much
I love them!!! Drag it out. We NEED huntin' stories like this that take 3 days. Gives me something to look forward to :campfire:
You sir, are a skidmark on the underpants of life.
Lol jk.
Yep... you sure did....in the best possible way too...congratulations
I ain't gettin any younger :wavey:
LOL, awesome!
:campfire: That arrow tells the story, well almost. Can't wait for the rest. Bloody arrow plus RER can only mean one thing-----deer in the freezer!
Keep it coming! I got my payback last yr by dragging a story out. By the end of it I think the boys were ready to lynch me! :scared: :bigsmyl:
:campfire:
A few hours later, i finally heard something approaching from behind me, and I was quite pleased to see three yearling does approaching this heavily used trail, still far enough away to allow me to get turned and in position for a possible shot. As the first doe neared, she hesitated and performed the foot-stomping head-bobbing dance that we all know all too well. She stiff-legged into my best shooting lane and stood broadside at 12 yards, but she was still on edge and I feared she would spook if I tried to draw. Besides, if she made it to the cornfield safe, the other two deer should be more relaxed if they followed in her footsteps, so I passed on this deer. 30 seconds later, my prediction came true as the second yearling stepped perfectly into my opening as the first doe posed in front of my trail camera 18 yards away from my tree.
I burned a spot in the middle of the 2nd deer's chest with my eyes while reminding myself to squeeze my shoulder blades together as I slowly began my draw..
:campfire:
C'mon man, I gotta work monday!
:campfire:
:campfire: :coffee:
:campfire:
I second...I have an appointment at 12Noon at a bean field! Its opening day for Doves!!! Have to practice my instinctive shooting with another weapon. Once I have lunch in the cooler, the flu-flu arrows should be flying next!
Confident, eh!
JL
:archer:
Got to love it when a plan comes together!
:campfire:
K.C. <><
I was focusing so much on the push-pull, that I momentarily lost concentration on the single hair I intended to split on her chest, and before I could narrow my focus down once again, the arrow was away. I silently cursed myself out as I watched the yellow fletching disappear high and back from my intended entry point, and the deer spun and ran back deeper into the woods. I still thought the hit was good, as the arrow should have angled down and caught the back of both lungs. I took a deep breath and continued to watch the other deer around my stand for the next 30 minutes, before I climbed down and found my arrow covered in blood about 5 feet behind where the deer had stood only a half hour before.
When we first began trailing the deer nearly 2 hours later, I was concerned as we could find no blood at the point of impact, nor did we find any on the trail the deer had run. Over an hour later, we finally found perhaps the equivalent of two thimbles-full of blood 100 yards away from the stand. It was immediately apparent that the hit wasn't as good as I thought. We immediately backed out, and after a few phone calls to change my next-day plans, my father-in-law and I spent the night in order to search for her the next morning.
Don't worry... I won't make you guys wait until morning. Gotta go stir the chili.
I just hate it when mess up an arrow like that. Alright on with the story please :campfire:
Thats cold right there. :campfire: maybe that will warm his cold heart. lol
First light found us back in the woods at the only blood we found the night before, on a well-used trail that carved through the edge of the hill just below the lip of a high ridge, with a thick valley to our right and high ground to our left. We continued another 100 yards on this trail, and were still unable to find any more blood. After returning to last blood multiple times, and still unable to find any more clues, we knew we should be looking for a dead deer rather than sign from a wounded one. My Father-in-law headed down into the valley, figuring if the deer was wounded badly, downhill would be easier for it to travel. Knowing there was a well-used bedding area at the end of the ridge, I decided to stay on the higher trail in hopes that this deer went back to her bedding area to lay down.
Well over 150 yards from the point of the last blood, I slowly and quietly moved through the bedding area when I spotted a bedded deer 40 yards ahead of me in a blowdown from this summer's storms. I couldn't tell which way it was facing, so I ever so slowly moved closer with my nerves escalating with each step. I finally managed to get within 20 yards, and learned that it is actually quite easy to stalk within bow range of a dead deer. I had found her nearly 200 yards from the last blood smack dab in the middle of the bedding area, proving that knowing your hunting land thoroughly can be as important after the shot as it is before.
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/timradke/DSC_0359.jpg)
Upon closer inspection, it was immediately apparent that she had been quartering towards me at the shot, as the arrow entered a little high but farther back than where I had thought it did, and the exit wound was yet even further back, exiting well behind the diaphragm, which explained the lack of a good blood trail.
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/timradke/DSC_0375.jpg)
While I'm not terribly proud of the shot angle, perseverance and knowing my hunting property resulted in the recover of my first deer with my recurve. And in only 9 more years, "Kaylee's Autumn" will be hanging beside me while we wait for another bear to wander through.
Thanks for reading along! I've been waiting to do one of these stories for quite a while!
Congrats
:archer:
Way to stick it out and not give up. I know too many people who would have gave up and think she would live.
:thumbsup: :clapper:
Congrats on your deer.
Well done!!
:thumbsup:
Congratulations!
Great job on tracking your deer! Way to go sir! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good work!
Nice job! I liked how you presented her in the last photo, very tasteful :thumbsup:
Way to stick with it and find her!
Congrats!
Bisch
Great job!
Congratulations, not only on a nice deer, but for following up on a tough trail! :thumbsup:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Great job finding your deer!
Nice doe, congrats!
:clapper: :clapper:
Job well done on following up on the sparse bloodtrail. Get your pic up on the WTA page here.
Congrats :thumbsup:
Congrats!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Congrates Tim and way to stay on her. Those high hits usually don't bleed much. :clapper:
Good Shoot'n!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/Pictures/buzzards.gif)
Awesome story, congrats brother!!!!!
Congrats!