Williamsburg Bow Hunter

Had another great encounter this afternoon. The “Big Seven” came in about 6:40 and began to feed(this is a deer we fed all summer long and we had many trail cam pictures of him). However, he came in facing me and stayed that way the entire time. I kept waiting for him to move and give me a broadside or quartering shot but he never did. I was running out of shooting light and decided I had to take what he was giving me. Not an ideal shot but one I was comfortable taking, under the circumstances. When I shot he wheeled and left with my tracer nock flashing. I saw the arrow come out about 25 yds away. I only got about 8 inches of penetration, but with that Swacker broadhead he was bleeding like a stuck pig. After following blood for about 125 yds I decided to back out and resume the search in the morning. After reviewing the video on my computer it appears I stuck him right in the chest. Hopefully he will lie down and expire not too far from where I stopped. Stay tuned for “the rest of the story”. Later…

I had a really close encounter with a great buck this morning. We all know that hindsight is 20-20 and I’m afraid this was one of those “shoulda, coulda, woulda” moments. After reviewing my video I’m concerned that I let a shot opportunity slip by. However, at the time a lot of things were going through my mind which made me tentative when I should have been more confident. But this was too good of a buck not to be sure. The distance was certainly within my range, about 35 yards, but I was waiting for things to be a little more “right” before taking the shot, especially since I missed the last one I shot at. Maybe that miss was more the cause of my tentativeness than anything else. I’ll upload a video of the encounter as soon as I get a chance to edit it. Later…

Man, I’m snake bit! Sat the newly moved stand this morning ( the one I missed the buck out of last Friday ). Had three does come in early. About 7:45 I saw the does all look up and stare into the woods just to my left. I could see a deer walking in some thick cover ( about 20 yds away ) like it was going to walk on out to the corn where the three does were. At first all I knew was it was a buck but I couldn’t see how big. It only took one more step for me to see it was the 8-pt I missed on Friday. He had to cross the path I walked in on in order to get to the corn. I began easing my bow off the holder about the time he entered the path. I had to be careful because the does were on high alert. As my luck would have it he put his nose down in the path, turned, and immediately followed the path straight to my tree. I mean TO THE TREE! He sniffed the base of the tree and actually looked straight up at me twice but never made me. I was still seated and had no chance to draw before he got right on me. After standing at the base of the tree for what seemed like an hour ( actually only a couple of minutes ) he continued on behind me and disappeared into the thick cover. He already has a big scar on his back, from fighting I suppose. Somehow I don’t think this will be my last encounter with him. At least I hope not! Later…

Today was a bad day, for me. I blew it! I don’t need to tell those of you who bowhunt that the life of a bowhunter is very frustrating. You really have limited opportunities for shots at good bucks. Generally the first week of the season gives you a chance ( I proved that this year by getting a really nice ten point on the third day of bow season). Then it goes down hill from there until, of course, the rut. Well, I got my second opportunity today and I blew it. And, like everybody who misses, I immediately began looking for excuses. I can only come up with one and it ultimately was still my fault. When I hung this particular stand I left a small ( 5″ diameter ) pine tree directly in front of the stand and only about three feet away. Why would I do that? Well smart me figured it would help break my silouette. Big mistake! I had a 18″ 8-pointer in and had to lean slightly to the left in order to get the shot by that tree. I can only assume it was what caused me to miss so badly. Live and learn a painful lesson. I’ll have the video up in a day or so. Later…