8-point blues - revisited

[ejg]

First I want to say thanks to all of you that posted replies to my original post (see 8-point blues). I did some real soul searching on what I needed to do and decided to stick it out and stay with the bow. To be honest, it was a hard choice, but I really enjoy bow hunting and since I started (about 12-years ago), I've been in the woods about half a dozen times with a gun. I'm sure that like most of you, I've found that nothing can compare to the thrill of putting meat on the table with a bow. Anyway, since this is election day, I elected to go back into the woods for an afternoon hunt. Conditions were terrible to say the least. Temps were in the low 70's with swirling winds 15 - 25 mph. I really didn't expect to see much of anything, but thought that maybe a doe would give me a chance to build some of my confidence back after Saturday. I went to the same stand that I hunted Saturday since I typically see several does from there. I got into my stand around 3:15 and settled in for the afternoon. Around 4:00, I did a calling sequence using a grunt call and a doe bleat can. Around 4:30, I did the same sequence. About 10 minutes later, I heard what I thought was two squirrel’s chasing each other down the hill behind me. I didn't see anything for a few minutes, but kept watching. After a few minutes, I saw legs and then the entire deer. He was still about 40 yards from me, feeding on acorns. I don't know if the calling brought him in or if he just came in to feed. The wind was blowing from him to me, so from that standpoint, I felt pretty safe that he wouldn't bust me. He started feeding away from me, so I blew on the grunt call to see what he would do. He looked, but really didn't seem to pay much attention to it. So I tried the doe bleat, and he totally ignored that. A few minutes later, he turned and started feeding back in my direction. When he was about 20 yards out, he stopped and looked straight up at me and just stared, BUSTED. I had my bow drawn already, so I just stood and tried not to make eye contact with him. After what seemed like several minutes (really only a few seconds, he dropped his head and started feeding again. I couldn't shoot because he was facing me head on. He kept pulling his head up and looking at me and I know he was getting nervous. Still no shot and my arm was getting tired from holding the bow back. He finally turned and was quarting slightly away, but I still couldn't shoot because there was a small tree blocking his vitals. After what seemed like forever, he took a step, glanced up at me and I thought that he was going to bolt. When I released, he spun and the arrow caught him towards the back of the rib cage, angling forward into the chest cavity. He went about 60 yards after the shot. He isn't the caliber of buck that I lost Saturday, but he is still a pretty good buck. To say that I am pleased would be an understatement, especially after the ordeal that happened Saturday. Here is a couple of pictures of my redemption buck. Thanks again for all the comments and input to my earlier post.

[bullspotter]

Congrats!!! Looks like a good one!!

[red44]

Exellent!

[kskinner7]

Glad you feel better. Making a clean kill after loosing one always helps. Nice buck too!!