First Trad Buck/ Birthday Buck!

[SheltonCreeker]

As my 32nd birthday draws to a close I find another year of my life has passed. I have found myself in deep reflection this evening. A heart full of thanks, joy, excitement and even a small amount of sorrow.
This story starts 5 season ago. I had taken my best buck to date with wheels and tho this was great buck age wise and score I wanted more. Little did I know the "more" I wanted was actually less. Enter in Mike Davenport. He sold me my first long bow. A 62" D shaped Great Plains longbow. I practiced relentlessly and took a doe the next season. And have taken several does since that season. I had told myself and any of my hunting buddies that would sit long enough, that my first trad buck would be one of 4.5 years of age or older. No matter his head gear.
Now please understand I am not a horn porn disciple or some follower of the TV stars. And I know that's what some people think when they hear I only want a deer of a certain age or class.  That's not me. I wanted a deer that I knew was at the top of his game. In my opinion should be the hardest to kill. So please don't think I am some head hunting trophy guy cause that is far from the truth.
So on with the hunt. Last night I find myself on the eve of my birthday. The dreaded OCT lull.... So I go to a stand I haven't hunted in a couple of years. A ladder stand over looking the north edge of my thicket in a large river birch tree. This stand has a great entry and exit route with the creek that meanders along behind it. I found myself perched in my ambush spot early in the evening. Wind wanted to play games for about 20 min but eventually settled into a favorable southwest breeze.

[centaur]

 This is sounding interesting.

[lilbobby]

[SheltonCreeker]

The stand I was in was one of the Rural King jobs. Basic 15 ft ladder stand. I normally modify all of mine to accommodate our tradition style of hunting by welding a platform on the bottom for a longer standing surface and also modifying the seat with hinges so you can fold the seat up and get up against the tree your hunting. Unfortunately this particular stand hasn't made it to the welding shop and is OME. So I sat with my bow in my lap arrow nocked at the ready. Had seen what seemed like a million squirrels when I look up at 530 to see a buck I knew well approaching my location.
The unfortunate part of this, he didn't read the script I'd wrote for this hunt and was entering my ambush from literally the opposite direction I expected and have had deer come from in the past.
At first sight he is 60 yards. He closes to 30 quick. I soon realize with no cover between him and I there is going to be no standing shot. I am going to have to shoot this deer sitting down. Not my favorite or most favorable but I am confident enough and have practiced my form enough to shoot sitting. He isn't slowing 30 turns to 20, then 20 turns to 10. Bow arm raises he needs to start heading south. Tension on the string I am half way thru my draw, he still isn't going south he is heading to the base of my tree. Ease tension off. This shot is not going to happen.

[4dogs]

[SheltonCreeker]

The paper birch I'm in is wide and double trunked. I'm still sitting down and I know his head is down at the base of the tree. I know this next part isn't text book bow hunting stuff nor would it be recommend to try and make a move with a mature whitetail 15ft below you. But before I knew what had happened I was standing. Looking below me I see he is still relaxed still browsing. Browsing directly behind my tree. I'm right handed he is behind me now. I realize the only shot I'm going to get is going to be to the west or my right sitting in the stand. So the only thing I can think is if he let me stand maybe I can get away with turning and facing the tree. All while holding my 62" Tall Tines............ and wouldn't you know it, I get away with it.

[SheltonCreeker]

He browses and picks at acorns past the base of my tree and gets about 3 yards out. Turns slightly quartering away. The moment of truth. If he feeds north no shot goes west no shot goes south I have to turn around again. Steep angle but he is close and I had practiced this shot. Knew to bend at the waist. Pick a spot. Hit your anchor. Pick a spot. Pick a spot. Breathe. Some how some way I get my bow to full draw with my safety strap handing over my right shoulder without interfering in my draw. Hit anchor and release. SMACK. The water melon, water balloon sound. He jumps straight in the air and for a second I think we were eye to eye. He took 550 grains behind the shoulder and thru the bottom of his ribs. He is off like a rocket and I immediately raise my binos to try and follow him thru the thicket. He stops about 50 yards flickers his tail and I lose him.

[SheltonCreeker]

Immediately I text Mike who is hunting a farm to the North. I JUST SHOT TALL AND NARROW! He responds HELLLLLLLL YEAH!!!! I'm trying not to let the adrenaline and excitement overcome the facts. Im replaying the shot. Looking at the arrow making notes of where he was last seen his reactions. I wait about 15 min. I can't stay any longer. I get down and sneak back to my hunting rig. I head down the road to get Mike. I walk back to where he is hunting and we look for a coyote he had just shot. He killed one and missed another. We are thick with em.
As any good hunting partner he asks all the important questions. And as any adrenaline filled hunter I tried to rattle off the events the best I could. We hatch a plan. Both would return home get a bite to eat and go back and investigate the area I had last seen him.
The shot was behind the shoulder. I knew for sure liver forward. My concern was one lung due the angle and reaction. So we make our way back in. We pick up blood in the area I had last seen him. But I was hoping he had laid down there but he didn't......

[SheltonCreeker]

Mike with his lantern and me with my flash light we work our way ever so slowly. Its been 3 hours since the shot and we are inching away from the scene of the hit. We work our way from the creek bottom up into the Russian Olives. I told my self before we started if he made it into the "thick stuff" I was going to back out and come back at first light.
When I realized he had made to the point I had told myself I was gonna turn around I told Mike what I wanted to do. Without hesitation Mike says your deer your trail. Lets go. So we mark our last blood and head for the truck. Mike tells me he will be back before work to help me track. So he drops me at my house and leaves me with some words of encouragement.
I head inside for what most of you know is not a good nights sleep. Didn't sleep a wink before 11. Baby woke up at 1200 cried and fussed till at least one. Then I wake up to rain at 321. I shoot out of bed and run to the front porch. So there I stand in my boxers looking to the skies hoping that this light rain doesn't get any heavier. I got back in bed at 330 woke again at 439, 521, 605 and just stayed awake. Mike is back at 645 and we are back in the woods on trail by 7.
We pick up blood and start working it thru the thicket and end up in one of my food plots. The light rain was actually a help as it wetted the dried blood and made it easier to see. We follow the blood across the clover and chicory leaves. On to one of my paths that connects to another smaller plot. We are into this trail much further than I ever thought we would get. Pessimism is starting to set in. I turn to mike and ask what he thinks. And without missing a beat he says. I think your deer is dead and all we gotta do is stay on this blood and get him.
That was the shot in the arm I need and we kept working. This was a "RAY CHARLES" blood trail he is bleeding out both entry and exit. High and low. We follow him down the path maybe forty yards and he heads back into some thick stuff. A good sign. Another 40 yards we find large circles of blood and Mikes says he has a trail out of this confusing mess. We begin to walk thru some honey suckle towards a small drainage ditch and Mike says the words every man who has ever been my shoes loves to hear. There's your buck. He made to the ditch and never made it out.
It was at this point excitement was quickly deflated to disappointment. My decision to back out was the right thing to do but the coyotes had beat me to my prize. There would be no meat for my family. I have to tell you I was heart broken. I have so much respect for these animals to loose the meat like I did. This was the scene we walked up on. As a matter of fact a yote had run off as we walked up.
 

[SheltonCreeker]

A moment of silence and reflection. An apology to my "friend". He deserved better and I was distraught that I had taken him in his prime but lost him to scavengers. My intentions were of the purest to feed my family. His horns were only to act as a reminder of a great hunt. But the meat was to sustain my family. It was a loss I will not soon forget.
 

[SheltonCreeker]

We take some more pictures. I am so mixed with emotion. When we found the buck I hugged Mike so hard I thought I might squeeze his head off. He has been with me thru almost every step of the way thru my Traditional Adventure. Here I am with my first buck.

[SheltonCreeker]

Mike has to go to work and I need more tools to cape this buck out and salvage what I can. So I head back to the house. My dad was waiting on me and went back with me to help me get what I could. Which unfortunately was only enough for the taxidermist. The yotes and contaminated almost the entire carcass.
Dad captured some of my packing out.
 

[SheltonCreeker]

This has been a great birthday filled with almost as many emotions as a bowhunter can feel. I have learned absolutely so much from just this one deer. I never dreamed that the "more" I was after would come from something as simple, beautiful and pure as these sticks and strings.
Thanks for reading.
 

[Homey88]

Great story and great hunt! Congrats on getting your first trad buck! Sorry the coyotes got to it.

[Wannabe1]

Sorry 'bout the way it turned out but, he sure was a dandy looking buck! Happy B-Day as it still had its excitement.  

[wapiti792]

Man I was glad to be a part of it...the good, the bad, the ugly    

David is a good woodsman and hunter and I am proud to call him my friend! Him switching to trad bows is just evolution for a fine young hunter. I am happy to have put that longbow in his hands a few years back. Nervy bloodtrails are tougher when it means more and this buck meant the world to him. He had a history with this buck as did I. I had a history where he was hunting as I hung a set in a nearby tree 15 years ago. I got to live this hunt through him, and that is a very cool thing! The only regret is that the coyotes we are blessed with after a horrendous EHD outbreak 3 years ago exploded our population. I have killed 6 coyotes from treestands here in 6 years. Had I been a better shot I would have doubled on them yesterday.

The graphic nature of the pics are a stern realization that we are not the only predators here. You always struggle with backing out versus powering through common sense. This time them 'yotes hammered us even we did everything right. A one lunged deer can travel a ways and this one was no exception: 250 yds before giving up the ghost on his feet.

Brother Dave, this is the first of many. Happy Birthday    

[joe ashton]

Coyotes suck.  Congrats though.

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Very nice deer , dang yotes ......

,,,,,Sam,,,,,

[Hopewell Tom]

Now that's a tale for the books. I could feel the emotions you spoke of. Two Brothers of the Bow getting it done. Good on you for recognizing the learning. Sorry for the disappointment.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jayrod]

So sorry to hear David I feel for ya man a dandy buck and the way his meat went definately is a shame but keep your head high you did all you could do on the recovery part these darn yotes are almost uncontrollable and you need to do some thinning in your area I guess ...congrats again on a fine buck!!