Well last year was my first traditional harvest with my Two Tracks Longwalker. It was also my first time back up in treestand since badly breaking my leg in a treestand accident the year before.
Now to this mornings hunt. I was in my treestand with all the safety equipment on, lifeline, spider harness, first cedar arrows I have made with turkey feathers I made from a Turkey I put down last spring...AND my new Two Tracks Flatbow. Check out the 1 of 1 made under the Two Tracks logo on the bow. ALSO NOTE THE Special camo paint job that Chuck put on it... also comes in real handy on this hunt.
Well this here arrow was released from the ground, not from a planned ground blind but from the second row of corn which ended up being only 8 yards from a runway through the corn. I find this out later....
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:campfire: :coffee:
I am a little slow with the photobucket thing...I'll keep after it but first have to get the blood out of the back of my Pontiac Vibe...Long story involving some trash bags and a partial tarp.
:knothead: :campfire:
In for the pics...and hope that wasn't the wife's Pontiac....cause somebody is in trouble if so!!
:campfire: :coffee:
Here was the set up from the tree looking over a field of corn and on the path between wood line and field there are 4 scrapes that were getting hit hard last week but this week have petered out..parden the punn. It's closer than I would like but the choice of trees is limited, and no I'm not going back up "that bastard" (thats what I call the tree 10 yards behind this one that changed my life 2 years ago when I fell from it.)
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/12AA5DBD-B4F5-47FD-A0DD-39FA9D45FCE4_zpsnznjgvhb.jpg) (//%5Burl=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/12AA5DBD-B4F5-47FD-A0DD-39FA9D45FCE4_zpsnznjgvhb.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/AF510669-6873-493A-8387-9AF9946A1ABA_zpskokly1ie.jpg) (http://[url=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/AF510669-6873-493A-8387-9AF9946A1ABA_zpskokly1ie.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
Ok, here is the set up:
Two Tracks Flatbow 56# @ 28" with the highly acclaimed string scallops on it. The cedars like I said are dressed up with some turkey feathers I made up from last years turkey died in yellow and are 4 fletch 4" shield cut with Left wing bevel. The cedars are tipped with 190 grain left bevel Grizzly Kodiaks. These babies did some damage as you will see and understand the Vibe dilemma and no it is not my wife's car so we are alright there. It is all cleaned up now. Plus the kids have so much & back there anyway. The total weight of this arrow was 648 grains.
I saw 8 does and a six point on stand in fact I think I even passed this girl up at 12 yards the first time as there was some grunting going on behind me so I let her and 5 others walk by. All does. Didn't see anything for the next hour and a half so I called it a day and got down to start my walk in to the Vibe.
I came to a corner of the field and made the 90 degree turn and saw a doe feeding down the edge and coming towards me. She was about 40 yards. Then she went in the corn. While that was going on I took a few steps into the corn and positioned myself for the shot you always hope will happen but rarely does. The one were they come in like a Turkey right to you.
Another doe popped out of the woodline and started grazing down towards me just like the other except she kept coming and then another popped out and worked right by her shoulder all the way down to 8 feet from me!! They were too close....
SO I STOOD THERE LIKE A SCARECROW AND DID NOT LOOK THEM IN THE EYES. They turned and mingled a bit to about 8 yards back away from me and then proceeded to turn into the corn one at a time. I could not do anything with the first because the second would have seen me draw.
When the second came in I drew and hit anchor just as she stepped into my row. I watched that arrow fly perfect and she ran off loudly.
I only took a few steps forward and found this...
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/F5D4BA83-96A5-4232-B1E7-0318B9259190_zpsohv7knxn.jpg) (//%5Burl=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/F5D4BA83-96A5-4232-B1E7-0318B9259190_zpsohv7knxn.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
THEN THIS
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/CBD17F2C-A9B2-45FF-8A88-1309CAAD076F_zpsruxh22fh.jpg) (http://[url=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/CBD17F2C-A9B2-45FF-8A88-1309CAAD076F_zpsruxh22fh.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
AND THEN THIS
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/190558B9-B18A-4DE7-A843-7EEF86CED621_zps2o0iifdd.jpg) (http://[url=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/190558B9-B18A-4DE7-A843-7EEF86CED621_zps2o0iifdd.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
OH BOY! :coffee:
The whole thing was over in less than a minute. Only whent about 50 yards. This is what I found when I got to the end of the knocked down corn.
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/9DB330AD-C19D-4CA0-9493-46874E4464BE_zpsaiop85df.jpg) (http://[url=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/9DB330AD-C19D-4CA0-9493-46874E4464BE_zpsaiop85df.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
congrats, nicely done!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good Going Mark, very happy for you! :clapper:
Perfect shoot, congrats
As I start to wrap up this post, I feel that I have made it a little to much about me.
I have an unbelievable amount of respect for these animals as their whole life is about survival.
This year has been an incredible amount of preparation for me as I shot almost every day including inside during the winter months. Three of my four kids have longbows and are enjoying the heck out of shooting them.
And although I want to shoot a great big buck to make them proud of their Dad, I have realized that I have an even greater oppurtunity. I must take the time now to teach them that the hunts are not all about taking animals down. They are about the preparation, the making of the arrows, feathers, tuning them to the bows, understanding the bows behavior with different changes that can be made to it. Also the understanding of a piece of land that you hunt. To see it as an animal that lives there sees it just trying to survive. What they eat, where and when they sleep, learning where to set up and how to blend in. So much that gets taken for granted after years of trying to get the "Big One" Being practical with the gear and just enjoying the process are what I have started to realize these last 2 years of being Traditional in this process.
With that said, I have yet to take my first traditional buck and that is still a quest of mine. However, I have to believe that taking a mature doe during the rut is more difficult to do than taking a buck that is no longer making survival his first priority.
I am completely satisfied with this hunt.
Thank You Lord for this experience and this crossing of TWO TRACKS on this journey this morning.
Oh, and here is the Scarecrow
(http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/bisket1722/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/525CC5D7-A2DA-4569-8D36-0BBF4EE16314_zpsqxu2h4rt.jpg) (http://[url=http://s1321.photobucket.com/user/bisket1722/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/525CC5D7-A2DA-4569-8D36-0BBF4EE16314_zpsqxu2h4rt.jpg.html) ]web page[/URL]
Absolute perfection. I have been sick all week and am pissed I couldn't hunt today and likely not Sunday either, but posts like these make me feel like I was there. Bravo!
You're henceforth "Scarecrow", own it!
I see a future custom bow with the name Scarecrow on it.
Bisket, congratulations and this was a great post. Thanks for sharing.
Joe
Cool, cool, cool! Congrats.
congrats Mark
Way to go!
Congrats,
Bisch
Atta Boy.
Congrats Mark.
great story and great deer, congrats!
Thanks for posting Mark ,enjoyed the story.
Happy fo you.
George
Great story, congrats
Great story and hunt Mark!
Outstanding! :thumbsup:
Awesome!!! Well Done!!!
Fantastic story and attitude toward hunting. Thanks.
ANY deer with traditional equipment and the right philosophy is an accomplishment.
Longbow, handcrafted wood arrows, sharing with the kids, done freestyling so to speak, from the ground, in a cornfield no less.
Perfectly executed shot, great blood trail.
Enjoy the tablefare.
Simply superb!
:clapper:
Great story and pictures. That will be some fine eating.
Congrats Brother!
:thumbsup:
Congrats. Great Doe! good write up.
What a great story. Well done! A Two Tracks flatbow? My go to bow is an Echo. Tell us about Chuck's flatbow. New design?
Vesty-
I should let Chuck handle this one as I still am learning about different styles of bows.
I do know that Chuck has made some of these for others who have requested them and they love them. Although he has told me he has tweeked design a bit since mine.
It is a wider limb design and limbs are fairly straight when bow is unstrung. The straight grip doesn't allow me to torque the bow which provides better groups for me. Probably why I always get it out when shooting.
The bow feels rugged and tough to me. A true hunting bow as I haven't had to worry about dropping it or transporting it. Stringing and unstringing a straighter limbed bow like this is a breeze.
A fast and quiet bow. I believe it is almost as fast as my Longwalker. I can't say for sure as it is about 5 lbs. more at 28" than the Longwalker. A small thump on release.
I am amazed how pointable this bow is for me. It is smooth. The draw curve from 25-29" is about 2.5-3#'s per inch. I think the last inch gains about 4# and where the most stored energy is. The shot feels like a solid hard push of the arrow. Really likes my heavy cedars.
I was planning on using Chuck's Ambush for this season, however I just kept coming back to the Flaty.
I want to get an Echo next...