well I went to unit 23 this friday ,set up a ground blind that eve. went in Sat. a.m. Two hours in along comes an absolute gerogeuos buck! 8 points on top that I could see clearly and eye gaurds he was still in velvet could have had some stickers I couldnt see. He passes my blind and circles in a thicket I was using to hide the back of my blind. He starts out of the thicket to the front of my blind and as he was stepping clear of the thicket I am at full draw waiting for him to clear ....I dont wait long enough I am shaking like a leaf I want this buck very badly after three seasons of tag soup.I let the arrow go 1/2 second to soon it hits a twig and deflects into a branch and lands in front of the deer he looks at the ground and was off like a rocket.Buck Fever for sure or just inexperience.Had a great shot and blew it.I have been trying to get a mulie for the past three seasons. this is my year I can feel it , just got to calm down.With no deer in the truck I can say that was one of the best weekends Ive ever had.Ive taken that shot over in my head a thousand times since then and kicked my self in the ass as many. but still had an experience that I will never forget Paul
Paul, Isnt archery the coolest thing this side of sliced bread. And the adrenalin rush is about the biggest I have ever had. Keep it up and eventually you will fill a tag. Took me 4 years to tag a buck with my bow. My first archery kill was a complete fluke, Back when they allowed does to be hunted in Jan. There were 4 does standing about 30 yards off the road one day. I stopped and got out. grabbed the bow and stuck one. 4 years after that I finally tagged a buck. Now I have tagged 6 javalina, 1 bull elk, 3 muley bucks, 1 muley doe, and one speed goat. Man I cant wait to fill this years tag. Just missed a shot at a little forky tonight. Had the 9 year old with me. She was all wound up. Keep it up and eventually you will get it done. Good luck this season.
That is called paying your dues, Paul. I had buck fever so bad the first 2-3 years of bowhunting I used to think I'd faint. What helped me is once I decided to shoot an animal, pick a spot and never look at the antlers again. After you get that first one under your belt, the rest come easier. It will happen. Don't give up.
Shane Your right about archery .it is the coolest thing this side of sliced bread. also very challenging,Thats what I like about it.I still have the rest of the season to get it done. The most frustrating thing about it was it was a T.V. shot 15 yards right out in front of me and I felt it was a once in a lifetime deal. huge buck right there, now get it done. my nerves got the best of me. its funny using a rifle I can calm down like I have no heartbeat at all but couldnt get there with the bow.time will take care of that I guess. Creed Glad to hear Im not the only one with the curse I was so amped up , I was feeling the aderneline for a couple of days.After this one I hope to be able to control it until the arrow leaves the bow. Maybe some of my dues are paid. Thanks for the replys I just had to tell another bow hunter what happened it was unreal. Paul :shock:
Back in 2001 both my brother and I missed shots at a huge coues. We caught him head down, eyes closed, sleeping under a mesquite during the Sept hunt. Spent 4 hours getting to him, during which time everything in the world went wrong. The wind was blowing right to him. We rolled about 5 yards of material back down the mountain trying to get up to where he was at, He slept through it all. Never opened his eyes once until my brother missed him at 31 yards. He got up ever so gingerly and walked about 20 yards farther out and stopped to look around. I missed him at that distance by useing the wrong pin. ( my brother had the range finder). Whether you take this as a fish story or not he was every bit of 150" solid 5x5 with 6" eyeguards. so 12 point for you easterners. He was still in velvet, but still the mass would have been about 7+ at the bases, and his G2'sand G3's were every bit of 14 inches. I will still be kicking myself in the posterior 70 years from now if I live that long. One for letting my brother have the first shot, and 2 for giving him the range finder. Had I had either he would probably be onthe wall right now. At least thats my story anyway. I have never once since then seen anything even close to matching his height or mass, much less the 5x5 frame. Since then I have launched so many arrows over under and around critters that its not even close to being funny. But have pretty good at filling tags. No matter how many shots it takes me during the season. And on top of that I have only lost one animal. That was a javalina that I hit right in the dead spot over the front shoulder. Spent 8 hours trying to find the little bugger. No blood, no arrow, no pig. My friends oldest kid stuck him 2 weeks later, and did not find the wound until the skinned him. So he survived just fine. And I got my broadhead back.. So no worries it has happened to all of us at one point or another. Keep plugging away.. When you finally get that particular ammount of dues paid you will start all over. LOL.. Thats what keeps it refreshing. Just when you think you got it all figured out something will happen and start the whole cycle over again.
Paul, looks like you had a great time. so was there any snow on the ground? were there any apples on the trees? I will be good for a weekend up there come the first of the year. Clint
Clint All the trees were bare.it snowed, hailed and sleeted on sunday ,thats when I deciced to break camp and get out while I still could. the bucks seemed to be high up saw a few, both white tail and mulies. I wolud love to plan another trip out when you can get another tag after the 1st of the year. not an apple in sight but the acorns were plentiful. saw one bear track no other sign of bear at all.not like last time where you had to watch where you stepped. I did bump a large herd of elk at least 35 or 40 of them saw some great turkeys too. let me know when you want to go. Shane thanks for the encouragement. there is no chance Ill ever stop trying.really enjoyed your stroies.glad to see you have the kids out as well .Im waitng for my grandkids to get a little older they really want to go.