First day of gun season here in WV,In my treestand with my recurve this morning and here comes a string of does on the run headed my way . The lead doe was a huge one so I got ready and she stopped at 15 yards. I drew and as I was releasing she lunged forward and I missed. Oh well they were on the move. A little later a small doe came up the trail and walked right under me. As she got to the flat above me here came a shooter buck. Coming up the trail that the herd of does traveled he came right up to a couple small trees and stopped. With my bow up and ready, take 2 more steps and you may be in trouble. He stuck his head to the ground and whirled, spooked and walked off in the brush. You guessed it ,he smelled my arrow sticking in the trail. Hey that's bow hunting. I love it as I know most of everyone here does.
:campfire:
Amazing, those poor, helpless creatures with those big brown eyes ! Right.....
Great experiences. thanks for sharing.
ChuckC
Very cool experience!! One of my goals is to take a buck during firearms season, haven't done it yet.
Good luck!
Wayne
:rolleyes: yep. That's the way the ball bounces some times!!
Still fun....
:biglaugh: I thought that kind of stuff only happened to me.
QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
:biglaugh: I thought that kind of stuff only happened to me.
Or me....... :dunno:
That is interesting. I always shoot a practice blunt from my stand and have watched dozens of deer sniff the arrow and even lick it but have never had one shy or run from it.
I used to shoot a practice arrow and have had the same thing happen...and not just mature bucks but yearnings and even fawns I really think certain Midwestern states that don't get hunting pressure during the rut have deer that are less wary during the rut. Not to say they aren't a challenge but they won't come unglued at a hint of human scent.
These kinds of encounters do make one more proud of a mature whitetail harvest when things do come together. Good luck with the rest of your season!
...and good for you going out with your bow when you could use a gun! That's dedication
sounds like a hell of a lot of fun!
I know the feeling! My luck is so bad that when I did a family history search I found out I am directly related to Murphy!!!!
Now I swear my no good for nothin brother in law has a golden horse shoe stuck up his butt!!!!! I ain't playing, he's gotta be the luckiest man alive!
I quit using a gun years ago. Only use one for geese and ducks.
Gun season is my favorite time to bowhunt here. Nothing gives me that smirk inside like sending a picture to my gun hunting buddies of a deer with my recurve laying across it during the gun seasons.
I have heard (I'm no biologist by any means) that spooked deer lay down scent when they are spooked. I'm not sure if there is any truth to that. Maybe somebody who knows can help me out.
I'm a Murphy's believer also. Good Story.
Some years back I was in some really thick crab apples in a tree stand. This doe comes running in and stops, as I twist and draw she falls over dead. Ten minutes later the gun hunter tracked her down.
Several years ago when my dad was still alive we were bow hunting a favorite place of ours on the first day of gun season. The snow was blowing like crazy and bucks were chasing does even crazier. About the 6th buck that came by me stopped long enough for me to put a good shot on him and he ran over the hill down into a big hollow. I immediately started tracking him as the snow was really coming down. At the bottom of the hollow I found my deer being loaded on a 4wheeler. I said to the guy "I see you found my deer" and he replied "I shot this deer". I told him that he ought to patent that silencer on his gun or use bullets that don't cut 3 blade holes in a deer. He rolled my deer off and rode off. I still laugh about that one.
It's stuff like that that makes it soooooooooooo sweet when everything does come together!
Better luck next time out!
Bisch