Missed Chance

Well I took my bow for a walk this September. I saw deer every day of the hunt and most of the time they were bucks. I did have a chance at a real nice buck on the first day but I blew it big. I walked up on three bucks, two ten pointers and a fork horn. One of the tens had a short but wide rack and the other was narrow but tall. The deer saw me before I saw them and the fork horn broke to my right and then behind me. The wide ten pointer broke left and the tall one went straight away from me.

I was greedy and followed the deer that went left. I stalked him to about 40 yards. He was standing broadside. I know my limmits and I am not the most comfortable at this range. I decided to back off and then try to get closer. I used some juniper trees as cover and sure enough I made it to about 30 yards away. This I can do for sure. I was sure I was about to get my first bow kill. I started to step out to get a shot but then the shakes came hard. I had to sit behind the tree for a few minutes and relax. The adrenaline was flowing so hard I was breathing fast and shaking.

Well I composed myself and decided to step out and see if the deer was still there. Sure enough, he was there at 30 yards and quartered away a tiny bit. It couldn't be more perfect. The deer was watching me but he didn't care that I was there as long as I moved slowley. I lifted my bow and drew just as the deer jumped and ran. I never even got to release the arrow. What a rush anyway.

A couple days later it dawned on me what happened. I brought my bow up and drew so fast I scared that deer and he took off. I should have brought it up slow and then drew my arrow. I think he would have let me do it if I moved slower. Live and learn. I had a blast anyway.

In New Mexico, we get to hunt again in January if you were unsuccessful in September. I know where I will sit and it will be during the rut. I hope I have as much fun I as did this month. It was a great hunt.

let me share a little tip from my stalking experiences. in your scenario,i wouldve done one thing that may have let me get the shot off..

at the point that I gained composer and made sure the deer was still there,i would've made my draw while tucked behind the juniper. then,at full draw,slowly step out just enough to have clearance to make the shot,settle the pin,and release.

nothing is a guarantee in hunting and even the scenario i described may or may not have worked. there's no way of telling. as you said though,live and learn. you didnt get your buck. BUT you did make a successful stalk and put yourself in YOUR comfortable range and most of all you had a blast. you did everything right but the buck didnt want to finish the game. IMO, you had a successful hunt. and i commend you for not taking a shot that you weren't comfortable with.

job well done and hopefully your next hunt gets you your buck

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Originally Posted by HawgEnvy

i would've made my draw while tucked behind the juniper. then,at full draw,slowly step out just enough to have clearance to make the shot,settle the pin,and release.

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Thanks,

My only problem with drawing earlier, which I thought about doing and maybe should have, is I am using a recurve and I can't hold it too long. Still it all happened quick and I probably would not have had to hold all that long. That is something I will never know, I made my choice and I have to live with it. No regrets, I had fun.

Well now , ya forgot to mention you where shooting a recurve! What weight and draw length? What Bow? I'm guessing a Martin, cause here you are. Got pics?
I love shooting recurves and instintive. Have'nt shot a recurve since before my shoulder injury till last week when my son hands me an old Ben Pearson 'Pony' and a rubber blunt, tossed a plastic bucket accross the garden, I hit it dead center just as it stoped moving. Broke the bucket.

I'm shooting a Martin Hi-Speed, 50* @ 28" but I draw 29.5". Because I shoot instinctive I keep wondering if I should have drew my bow and then stepped out. I think I could have connected but too late now. I would love to have that chance again. Oh well, maybe next time.

I have got a couple pictures of this bow but it has a sock on it to cut down on the glare and a home made quiver as well. This makes it hard to see the bow it self.

Attachment 4540Attachment 4541Attachment 4542

This was my first attempt at making a bow quiver and I have sense then made a 6-arrow quiver that I hunted with. It worked great.

I also had fun on the mountain with a rubber blunt. I hunt in an old forrest burn area and there are all kinds of stumps and rotted logs to shoot.

You're right, hard to see your bow with the camo sock on it.Lol The quiver you're showing is the 1st one you made? It looks pretty good, what did you use to hold the arrows? I am not familiar with Martin's recurves, whats the length of your Hi-Speed? I'd say 58 to 60" judging from your arrows. I also always carried a rubber blunt, one of the things I miss about recurves.
I think that as an instintive shooter, you did what was natural for you, as you say, you don't hold it long. The deer may have seen your draw, or he was nervous anyway. Right now, its real easy for us to second guess, but at the time you most likely where on auto-pilot, falling back into your shot routine. And as the buck was watching you, he was keyed up. So I think that you may have gotten the shot had you drawn slower, but he would have jumped at the shot. You get another season in Jan? Is that when New Mexico deer go into rut? Last of Oct into first week of Nov for Oregon's blacktails, and the season opens for the rut here. Took this guy on the 25 of Nov, 2008. Just before my son snaped the pic, my bow slid off the deer, and that was the last pic on that battery charge.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...t/DSCN0982.jpg

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Originally Posted by elkslayer4x5

You're right, hard to see your bow with the camo sock on it.Lol The quiver you're showing is the 1st one you made? It looks pretty good, what did you use to hold the arrows? I am not familiar with Martin's recurves, whats the length of your Hi-Speed? I'd say 58 to 60" judging from your arrows.

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That is one nice deer. I am jealous, I have yet to shoot anything with my bow but not for lack of trying.

Yea, this was my first attempt at making a quiver. It looks real nice but the hood is just a little too shallow. My second try fixed the shallow hood but it dosn't look as nice. It did its job however. The arrow brackets are made from plastic and I was worried they would be too flimsey but they have worked fine. I will see how they do in the cold this January. The brackets came with old wooden arrows that I use to buy for my long bows. This was before they started using foam packaging with new arrows.

You called it right on my bow. It is 58". I often wonder if it is too short for my 29.5" draw length but it seems to do fine, at least on my targets and 3-D's in the yard. I'm not sure about anything that actually breathes. LOL I thought about shooting a jackrabbit with my blunt this year but it was a bad time at that moment as I had to stay quiet. I bet that blunt would have wacked that bunny good. LOL

I do not know how the hunts work in other states, but in New Mexico the bow season is pretty nice. We hunt in September and again in January if we were unsuccessful in Sept. The muzzle-loader season is in October with rifle usually in November or some times late October. Our rut is from the end of December on into January. I have always been told you can not rattle in mule deer but two years ago we rattled in 4 nice bucks during my brothers January hunt. They came in very hot and ready to play. He never did get an open shot.

Now, having said that our rut is January, the strangest thing happen on my hunt this year. A dow came through followed by two fawns. The fawns still had spots and they were very small. She had to go into estrus very late to have these babies in Sept.

"I bet that blunt would have wacked that bunny good." With a good clean hit, it would have killed the rabbit, I say good clean hit because bunnies are built real close to the ground, real easy to get a skip-in-hit.
" I often wonder if it is too short for my 29.5" draw length " are you feeling any finger pinch while at full draw, if not, great! I draw 31" with a recurve and can't shoot a recurve under 60" without feeling finger pinch, which messes with my release, prefer 64' or longer, of course if I did'nt have such big mitts, it would be no problem. Unfortunatly, about 5 years ago, I gave my last recurve to my son, bought it and his first bow the same evening, back in 1972, so he;s always wanted real bad, and at the time I could'nt string or draw it ( torn rotator cuff, since repaired ) And so now I have to wrestle him for it when I want to shoot it, still shoots like a dream. A 1972 Darton Fury, 48#s @ 28, 64". The bow is too long to get a good look at it but I can show you the riser section.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...r/DSCN0250.jpg

That deer, was a fighter, could'nt believe all of the punctures he had in him when we skined him out, a hole under his right ear and another under and behind his left ear, another at the base of his neck, and a huge wound in his right rear thigh, a deep tine hole, which must have been fron the year before as it was almost healed, think that his antlers where retogressed, as he was at least 4 years old according to his teeth, also, he was the biggest blacktail I've ever seen. we put 104 lbs of venison in the freezer from him, add 60+ lbs for hide, head, and all of his bones, and a 164 lb blacktail is huge. Also his age showed in his anlters, heavy mass that carried all the way to the end of his main beams. Out here on the west coast we count ONE side, so he's a forked horn, not a lot of forked horns measure 72" B & C. Real proud of him. :D

I don't think I could have said anything better than what Hawg posted. If you're like me this is one you'll remember even after you give up hunting some day. It's not the kill that is important so much as the thrill of the hunt. Better luck next time.

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Originally Posted by elkslayer4x5

....are you feeling any finger pinch while at full draw, if not, great!

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I do not have any finger pinch and it shoots smooth. I shoot with three fingers under and it seems to work great. Before this bow, I had been shooting long bows. This is my first recurve and I am amazed how fast it is. Also there is no hand shock. It's a dream to shoot compared to my long bows. I never realized I was experiencing so much hand shock until I shot this bow.

That Fury looks to be in beautiful condition for being so old. Has it always had a rest or have you ever shot off of the shelf. I recently made an arrow rest for my Hi-Speed and my shot patern has become much better.