As I mentioned in my previous blog post (The Preparation), I was lucky enough to be successful in taking a doe on the first day, of my first archery season. My deer was not a monster sized trophy or a bruiser of a buck, but I couldn’t have been more excited about both the animal I took and the experience I had getting it done. It turned out to be just about everything that I expected it would be, including long boring sits in a hot blind, but mixed in with some unexpected surprises and challenge. And once again, I was reminded about how this learning experience required the support of family and friends to make it all come together.
In the weeks before opening day I pretty much talked non-stop about my upcoming hunt; my plans, my gear, my options for areas, and how I hoped that everything would fall into place and work out. I watched hours of hunting shows on the Outdoor Channel, read every article on deer I could find in magazines, sifted through blogs, and watched countless videos on shooting and cleaning deer. I actually felt pretty "over prepared" and calm until just a few days before I headed out into the field. All the sudden I had these awful doubts about everything. Had I chose the right broad heads? Had I sighted my bow in well enough? Did I choose the best scent control? Had I practiced enough shots longer than 30-yards? Was I even hunting the right spot? Regardless of how I was feeling there was no stopping the march of time, and so as opening day approached, I just focused on getting everything organized and ready to go.
In the weeks before opening day I pretty much talked non-stop about my upcoming hunt; my plans, my gear, my options for areas, and how I hoped that everything would fall into place and work out. I watched hours of hunting shows on the Outdoor Channel, read every article on deer I could find in magazines, sifted through blogs, and watched countless videos on shooting and cleaning deer. I actually felt pretty "over prepared" and calm until just a few days before I headed out into the field. All the sudden I had these awful doubts about everything. Had I chose the right broad heads? Had I sighted my bow in well enough? Did I choose the best scent control? Had I practiced enough shots longer than 30-yards? Was I even hunting the right spot? Regardless of how I was feeling there was no stopping the march of time, and so as opening day approached, I just focused on getting everything organized and ready to go.
The day before
The afternoon before the hunt I left work a little early so I could get out to Nakagawa State Wildlife Area before evening fell. I was also concerned that since this was the only SWA open along the South Platte River that there might be stiff competition from other hunters. I was going to be hunting from my ground blind, at least for the first day, and I wanted to get it setup and brushed in before the deer entered the field that evening. My Barronett blind went up in minutes, I scraped the floor clear of any dry leaves to keep things quiet, and I found a nearby brush pile of weeds, limbs, and grasses and went about hiding my setup as best I could. I was positioned about 15-yards off a heavily travelled trail that looped around the big crop circle at the center of the property. The blind was tucked in between two small trees in a patch of tall grass where I had seen deer bedded down and feeding in the weeks previous. I sprayed down the blind and all my tracks with scent control, set the windows the way I wanted them, left a note as to who the blind belonged to, and snuck out well before dark. That night I checked and rechecked gear at home, and got to bed early so my 4:00 AM wakeup call wouldn’t be too brutal.
The afternoon before the hunt I left work a little early so I could get out to Nakagawa State Wildlife Area before evening fell. I was also concerned that since this was the only SWA open along the South Platte River that there might be stiff competition from other hunters. I was going to be hunting from my ground blind, at least for the first day, and I wanted to get it setup and brushed in before the deer entered the field that evening. My Barronett blind went up in minutes, I scraped the floor clear of any dry leaves to keep things quiet, and I found a nearby brush pile of weeds, limbs, and grasses and went about hiding my setup as best I could. I was positioned about 15-yards off a heavily travelled trail that looped around the big crop circle at the center of the property. The blind was tucked in between two small trees in a patch of tall grass where I had seen deer bedded down and feeding in the weeks previous. I sprayed down the blind and all my tracks with scent control, set the windows the way I wanted them, left a note as to who the blind belonged to, and snuck out well before dark. That night I checked and rechecked gear at home, and got to bed early so my 4:00 AM wakeup call wouldn’t be too brutal.
Opening day The alarm didn’t even get a chance to go off because I had been suffering through a dream about sleeping through opening morning. 2-minutes before the alarm was to sound I shot straight up in bed convinced it was 8:30 AM the exact time that the deer were to be out. I whipped my eyes and was glad that it was only a dream. I quickly brewed some coffee and jumped into my car for the 45-minute drive over to Nakagawa. I snuck into my blind just before 6:00 still under the cover of darkness. I spent the first few minutes hanging my gear, resetting my windows, and organizing everything so that I’d be ready for the shot opportunity that would surely be coming sometime in the next two hours. I had always seen deer on this part of the property around 8:00 AM and so I figured I’d have some time to setup and get my mind relaxed. As dawn began to break it was clear it was going to be a warm sunny day. The wind was also blowing slightly from the East and so I was setup in a favorable position. I was mentally prepared to be here all day if necessary and had planned on staying in the blind from sunup to after sundown to increase my chances of an encounter. I even had a video camera setup and ready to catch all the action of the day – I was ready for just about anything.
Since I had only taken a handful of shots from my blind before opening day, I practiced standing, grabbing my bow from its hanger, and drawing back in one slow fluid motion. By 7:00 AM I was ready to rumble. And by 7:30 AM I was sure that deer would be along any moment. And by 8:00 AM, the time I normally saw deer, I was completely on edge and ready for blood. However, 8 became 8: 45, then 9:30, then 10:15 and still no sign of deer. Thankfully about this time another hunter looking for doves came walking by. He actually didn’t see my blind until the last minute and so I took that as a good sign. We talked a bit and he told me he’d never seen deer on this side of the property before and he wished me luck with the setup. Moments later the local wildlife officer showed up to check my license and to say hello…and he also questioned my setup. “You normally see deer over by the creek, ya know.” I agreed politely but was confident in my plan given the last few weeks of scouting and the well-worn tail just feet in front of my blind. We said goodbye and as I slouched back down into my chair I began to wonder if I’d made the right choice – stupid doubts. After another 10-minutes, the heat of the day was beginning to feel a bit oppressive in my blind. I had also worked my way through the breakfast, snack, and much of the water I had brought, I really had to mix things up.
Turkey, turkey, turkey…no turkey
I recalled that on a couple of my last scouting trips I had spotted 30 or more turkeys on the other side of the property along the safety zone by an old farmhouse, and so I decided to pull out of the blind and take a look. I needed to move my car anyway and so I drove over to the other side of the field. Sure enough, there were the turkeys again. Unfortunately, they were still in the safe zone and I had forgotten my license back in the blind. I spun the car around and returned on foot about 20-minutes later and of course the turkeys were gone. I setup under a big cottonwood on the safety zone boundary and waited for them to come back out of the trees. I waited patiently for over an hour and then decided a cold Coke and a large order of fries was what I needed to break up the day. I drove back into Greeley in an effort to put my morning hunt behind me. As I drove into town I passed another group of turkeys and quickly pulled into a dairy to see if I could get permission to hunt. Unfortunately, the turkeys were just over their property line and so I wasn’t talking with the right folks. I returned to the turkeys and enjoyed watching them strut around for a while before they made their way back into the brush, safe behind a private property sign.
I recalled that on a couple of my last scouting trips I had spotted 30 or more turkeys on the other side of the property along the safety zone by an old farmhouse, and so I decided to pull out of the blind and take a look. I needed to move my car anyway and so I drove over to the other side of the field. Sure enough, there were the turkeys again. Unfortunately, they were still in the safe zone and I had forgotten my license back in the blind. I spun the car around and returned on foot about 20-minutes later and of course the turkeys were gone. I setup under a big cottonwood on the safety zone boundary and waited for them to come back out of the trees. I waited patiently for over an hour and then decided a cold Coke and a large order of fries was what I needed to break up the day. I drove back into Greeley in an effort to put my morning hunt behind me. As I drove into town I passed another group of turkeys and quickly pulled into a dairy to see if I could get permission to hunt. Unfortunately, the turkeys were just over their property line and so I wasn’t talking with the right folks. I returned to the turkeys and enjoyed watching them strut around for a while before they made their way back into the brush, safe behind a private property sign.
I decided to use a lifeline
So around 1:00 PM I was headed back out towards Nakagawa to figure out my afternoon hunt plan and decided to call a hunting buddy back in Ohio, Rev. Michael Malcosky. Now I have known Michael for years and he and I have done all sorts of obscure hobbies together. He also got me interested in hunting a while back when he let us barrow a vintage Fred Bear bow from a dear friend of his that had passed. That bow got me into archery to begin with, and since Michael knows a bit about everything, I knew he’d be able to help reassure me with my plans. He and I had also been discussing the areas I was going to hunt for several weeks now, online via Join.me, and so he could pretty much provide advice just like he was there. We discussed my chances of taking an afternoon deer on a hot day like it was versus just waiting until evening. We also discussed how taking a deer at the end of the day would most likely make for a really long night for me, but that since the deer didn’t come in early, this would probably be my only shot opportunity today.
So around 1:00 PM I was headed back out towards Nakagawa to figure out my afternoon hunt plan and decided to call a hunting buddy back in Ohio, Rev. Michael Malcosky. Now I have known Michael for years and he and I have done all sorts of obscure hobbies together. He also got me interested in hunting a while back when he let us barrow a vintage Fred Bear bow from a dear friend of his that had passed. That bow got me into archery to begin with, and since Michael knows a bit about everything, I knew he’d be able to help reassure me with my plans. He and I had also been discussing the areas I was going to hunt for several weeks now, online via Join.me, and so he could pretty much provide advice just like he was there. We discussed my chances of taking an afternoon deer on a hot day like it was versus just waiting until evening. We also discussed how taking a deer at the end of the day would most likely make for a really long night for me, but that since the deer didn’t come in early, this would probably be my only shot opportunity today.
Whitetail encounter at Mitani-Tokuyasu SWA
So on my way back to Nakagawa SWA I decided to drop in on Mitani-Tokuyasu SWA, another area that had apparently just reopened after the flood. This is another pretty small property and sits at the intersection of the South Platte River and the Poudre River. It’s about a half mile walk-in and I decided to pack both my bow and shot gun so I’d be ready to wack a deer to blast a turkey depending on what presented itself. It was really, really, hot by this point and about half way in I wasn’t sure the effort was going to be worth it. Right at that moment I saw some movement to the left of me and I crouched down. Just about 30-yards away was a beautiful 3-4 year old doe who had clearly got my scent on the wind. I waited a minute to setup but she shot straight up in the air and bounded off on down the road. I pulled out my map and noted where she had been bedded down and where I had noticed fresh tracks all around me. I assumed she would be long gone after the encounter but I dropped my shotgun anyway and headed off to pursue the doe with my bow. I made a few runs up and down the corn field, walked over to the edge of the river, and then decided I should be getting back to my original plan at Nakagawa.
The long wait
So I got back to my blind at Nakagawa SWA around 3:00 PM and was feeling refreshed from my ice cold Coke and encouraged by the deer encounter I had at Mitani-Tokuyasu SWA. The sun was now behind the trees in my bedding area, and the wind was blowing stronger from the east now, and so the blind was much cooler than it had been at noon. I settled into wait for my deer to show up by reading magazines and doing a little writing on the laptop. Tracey checked in mid-afternoon and I told her I was committed to being here until dark and that I was pretty confident something would show up. However, by 4:30 PM I was answering client email, was horribly bored again, and so made a few calls. My last call of the day was about 6:15 PM and I was on talking for quite a while with one of my colleagues. By the time I had hung up with him I was already packing gear and pretty much ready to go. That’s when it all went down.
So I got back to my blind at Nakagawa SWA around 3:00 PM and was feeling refreshed from my ice cold Coke and encouraged by the deer encounter I had at Mitani-Tokuyasu SWA. The sun was now behind the trees in my bedding area, and the wind was blowing stronger from the east now, and so the blind was much cooler than it had been at noon. I settled into wait for my deer to show up by reading magazines and doing a little writing on the laptop. Tracey checked in mid-afternoon and I told her I was committed to being here until dark and that I was pretty confident something would show up. However, by 4:30 PM I was answering client email, was horribly bored again, and so made a few calls. My last call of the day was about 6:15 PM and I was on talking for quite a while with one of my colleagues. By the time I had hung up with him I was already packing gear and pretty much ready to go. That’s when it all went down.
Kile told me so…screw the scent control and eat a sandwich while chewing loudly Rob.
So my colleague Kile Lindgren, the guy I had just been on the phone with, is also a hunter and he had been checking in with me throughout the day, as well. I had literally just told him that I felt a 12-hour sit was good enough for my first day and that I felt good with my effort even if I went home empty handed. No sooner had I hung up the phone, I walked out of the blind with an armload of crap to take to the car, and there was a deer, “my deer”, just standing about 10-yards from me in some high weeds. Now the funny thing about this situation is that for weeks Kile had told me that most of the elk he had killed came up on them while they were being loud, eating food, and not worrying about their scent or being stealth. And just like we had joked, here I was with my camo off, an armload of gear, with my bow packed away, and a freakin deer right in front of me…kinda figures. Now if I was a quitter I would have just sat down and watched her stroll by, but I sensed an opportunity. I also knew that I had no time to waste if I was going to make something happen. I slowly dropped to the ground, pulled on my jacket and face cover, grabbed my bleat call, put on my release, and nocked an arrow. This all took about a couple of minutes and required me to dig around in some bags. I was as quiet as I could be but she had heard something by this point and moved off about 30-yards. I turned over my deer can call and let out a few quick bleats. She paused and began to sniff the air, I knew at this point that I just might be able to keep her attention. However, she was moving out of cover and into the open, so it was going to become much harder for me to control the situation and stay hidden. I looked at my watch and it was 6:35 PM and I knew the sun would be down at 7:00 PM, I didn’t have any time to waste.
So my colleague Kile Lindgren, the guy I had just been on the phone with, is also a hunter and he had been checking in with me throughout the day, as well. I had literally just told him that I felt a 12-hour sit was good enough for my first day and that I felt good with my effort even if I went home empty handed. No sooner had I hung up the phone, I walked out of the blind with an armload of crap to take to the car, and there was a deer, “my deer”, just standing about 10-yards from me in some high weeds. Now the funny thing about this situation is that for weeks Kile had told me that most of the elk he had killed came up on them while they were being loud, eating food, and not worrying about their scent or being stealth. And just like we had joked, here I was with my camo off, an armload of gear, with my bow packed away, and a freakin deer right in front of me…kinda figures. Now if I was a quitter I would have just sat down and watched her stroll by, but I sensed an opportunity. I also knew that I had no time to waste if I was going to make something happen. I slowly dropped to the ground, pulled on my jacket and face cover, grabbed my bleat call, put on my release, and nocked an arrow. This all took about a couple of minutes and required me to dig around in some bags. I was as quiet as I could be but she had heard something by this point and moved off about 30-yards. I turned over my deer can call and let out a few quick bleats. She paused and began to sniff the air, I knew at this point that I just might be able to keep her attention. However, she was moving out of cover and into the open, so it was going to become much harder for me to control the situation and stay hidden. I looked at my watch and it was 6:35 PM and I knew the sun would be down at 7:00 PM, I didn’t have any time to waste.
Channeling my inner tribesman
The doe began to slowly move out beyond the trees and in to an open area with low bushes and some short grass. She stopped casually to nibble on grass but was also keeping an eye on me. I pulled my hat lower over my eyes and crouched down to slowly pursue her through the grass. I hit the call again and she bounced into the air like she was going to bolt but then circled back around to the East and looked back at me. She had run about 150-yards and down toward the exit of the field and I assumed she was going to be gone any moment. However, she walked a few steps, stopped, and began to feed again so I pushed up a little closer. I moved a few more steps closer and she popped up again and ran, but this time parallel to me and ended up putting herself closer than she had been before. I hit the can one more time and she stamped her hoof and seemed more curious, or pissed, about me than scared. At this point her advantage was still about 70-yards and there was no way I was going to take a shot that far.
The doe began to slowly move out beyond the trees and in to an open area with low bushes and some short grass. She stopped casually to nibble on grass but was also keeping an eye on me. I pulled my hat lower over my eyes and crouched down to slowly pursue her through the grass. I hit the call again and she bounced into the air like she was going to bolt but then circled back around to the East and looked back at me. She had run about 150-yards and down toward the exit of the field and I assumed she was going to be gone any moment. However, she walked a few steps, stopped, and began to feed again so I pushed up a little closer. I moved a few more steps closer and she popped up again and ran, but this time parallel to me and ended up putting herself closer than she had been before. I hit the can one more time and she stamped her hoof and seemed more curious, or pissed, about me than scared. At this point her advantage was still about 70-yards and there was no way I was going to take a shot that far.
I looked at my watch again and it was now 6:40 and the sun was over the crops, I waited patiently and she began to feed again. I used the short periods of time when her head was down to creep in ever so slowly. I was crouched so low down now that my rear was scraping the ground at this point, I felt like some kind of Masai Warrior chasing a leopard and not a little doe in Eastern Colorado. She let me into about 30-yards again but then walked off to the West and regained a 50-yard advantage, still too far a shot for my skills. However, as luck would have it she was walking slowly into an area with four small trees amongst the brush and so I put the closest tree between her sight line and me, and used it to cover my movement. I hit the can call a few more times and she kept her ground and went back to feeding. By this point she was frequently stamping the ground and sniffing the air so she must have been confused about what I was. Though I had a mask on, my face was fully painted, and I had my hat pulled down, I was super careful to not let her see my face, I think she thought I was a bush moving around the prairie. While I was concealed by a 5-inch wide tree trunk I walked directly at her and towards the tree simultaneously. She sensed that something was wrong however and so kept walking in a manner that would put me back into the open, and so as I walked up I also had to keep working my way to the right to stay hidden. I finally reached the tree and couldn’t get any closer. When I carefully looked around at her she was back to feeding but keeping an eye out in my direction. I don’t have a range finder and so I had to guess the distance at about 30-yards or slightly farther. She was also slightly elevated to me and so in my mind I was trying to factor in a little arrow drop, or was it rise, I couldn’t quite remember at this point. It was now or never.
The fateful shot
I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, and drew my bow back while still sheltered by the tree. I was so full of energy I didn’t even sense the 70-pound draw weight…and then I stepped out. There she was some 35-40 yards distant in silhouette and me in the light of the sunset. I repeated a mantra in my head of “breath, aim, release”… and then I slowly engaged my trigger finger and the arrow was on its way. A fraction of a second later she launched into the air and I saw that she had something hanging off the bottom of her chest. At that time I assumed it was blood or maybe part of my arrow but I had no clue, I had never shot anything this big before and was really into uncharted territory. I knew I had made the shot because she was clearly not walking like she had been just moments before but she still looked defiant. I quickly nocked another arrow to be ready for a second shot if it was need. She circled around to my South and kept to about 40-yards off to my left, then stopped. Since she hadn’t dropped yet I decided I should probably put another arrow in her, but as I drew my bow she ran.
Ok, at this point it was time to calm down and let things happen naturally because the last thing I wanted to do was chase her off injured. I watched her slow to a walk along the corn field near where my blind was still setup. I turned and walked the other way to see if I could find my arrow while occasionally glancing over my shoulder to keep an eye on her. After a few minutes I decided to try and follow her from a distance again and began to look for a blood trail. Sure enough, by the time I got down to the corn field I found a heavy trail of blood and so I knew that it was only a matter of time. I let her walk off a ways and saw her sit down not feet from my car. At this point I was feeling a bit better about things but still wasn’t sure how good my shot was and I didn’t want her to suffer. I was also reliving the last few minutes in my mind and it was all so eerily clear except for the actual shot. I had come up on this deer by chance, pursued her several hundred yards out in the open, and managed to keep her interest with a call that I had never used before this day had begun, and now I was within an hour or so of getting my first deer…crazy.
I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, and drew my bow back while still sheltered by the tree. I was so full of energy I didn’t even sense the 70-pound draw weight…and then I stepped out. There she was some 35-40 yards distant in silhouette and me in the light of the sunset. I repeated a mantra in my head of “breath, aim, release”… and then I slowly engaged my trigger finger and the arrow was on its way. A fraction of a second later she launched into the air and I saw that she had something hanging off the bottom of her chest. At that time I assumed it was blood or maybe part of my arrow but I had no clue, I had never shot anything this big before and was really into uncharted territory. I knew I had made the shot because she was clearly not walking like she had been just moments before but she still looked defiant. I quickly nocked another arrow to be ready for a second shot if it was need. She circled around to my South and kept to about 40-yards off to my left, then stopped. Since she hadn’t dropped yet I decided I should probably put another arrow in her, but as I drew my bow she ran.
Ok, at this point it was time to calm down and let things happen naturally because the last thing I wanted to do was chase her off injured. I watched her slow to a walk along the corn field near where my blind was still setup. I turned and walked the other way to see if I could find my arrow while occasionally glancing over my shoulder to keep an eye on her. After a few minutes I decided to try and follow her from a distance again and began to look for a blood trail. Sure enough, by the time I got down to the corn field I found a heavy trail of blood and so I knew that it was only a matter of time. I let her walk off a ways and saw her sit down not feet from my car. At this point I was feeling a bit better about things but still wasn’t sure how good my shot was and I didn’t want her to suffer. I was also reliving the last few minutes in my mind and it was all so eerily clear except for the actual shot. I had come up on this deer by chance, pursued her several hundred yards out in the open, and managed to keep her interest with a call that I had never used before this day had begun, and now I was within an hour or so of getting my first deer…crazy.
The second long wait of the day becomes night
At this point it was just past sunset and I was losing light fast, it was getting dark. I was alone in a cornfield miles from home and pursuing an injured deer. I also hadn’t ever gutted an animal larger than a rabbit before and the realization that I was truly on my own with this situation began to sink in. As opposed to getting too freaked out, my attitude shifted to gratitude for what had just happened and a sense that I just needed to get myself busy with something else for a while. I called Michael back and we discussed what to do, just as if he was in the field with me, and that calmed my nerves. He was so excited for me and was trying to help me not make any mistakes with an injured deer. We setup a plan of how long to wait and what the next few hours were going to probably entail. I also texted with some friends and called home to let everyone know that I had indeed “got my deer”. After four seasons of no turkeys the family was quite impressed that I managed to bring a deer down on the very first day of the season. I also called Kile back and thanked him for helping me make so much noise which “clearly” brought the deer right into my blind. I also talked with Bear Miller who is a friend I know through work and also an avid hunter and blogger. Just like my other hunting friends, he was super happy for me and the accomplishment, and we discussed what the next few hours might hold. I hung up feeling not alone but really connected to my friends by this common interest and passion. I could also tell that any one of them would have joined me that night if they had been nearby.
After an hour wait I had collected all of my things together and needed to get back to my car. However, that’s where my deer was also laying. I assumed she’d expired by this point but walked down the fence line quietly with an arrow nocked and ready if needed. Just 20-yards from the car I heard something get up and stumble around, crap, she must still be alive. I worked my way down to the car and sure enough just over the fence along the trail was a fairly good sized pool where she had been laying. I must not have got as good a shot as I would have hoped for. I walked around for 30-minutes trying to figure out which way she might have walked and just couldn’t find any more trail. I decided the best thing to do at this point was to back out completely and so I drove into town for dinner.
At this point it was just past sunset and I was losing light fast, it was getting dark. I was alone in a cornfield miles from home and pursuing an injured deer. I also hadn’t ever gutted an animal larger than a rabbit before and the realization that I was truly on my own with this situation began to sink in. As opposed to getting too freaked out, my attitude shifted to gratitude for what had just happened and a sense that I just needed to get myself busy with something else for a while. I called Michael back and we discussed what to do, just as if he was in the field with me, and that calmed my nerves. He was so excited for me and was trying to help me not make any mistakes with an injured deer. We setup a plan of how long to wait and what the next few hours were going to probably entail. I also texted with some friends and called home to let everyone know that I had indeed “got my deer”. After four seasons of no turkeys the family was quite impressed that I managed to bring a deer down on the very first day of the season. I also called Kile back and thanked him for helping me make so much noise which “clearly” brought the deer right into my blind. I also talked with Bear Miller who is a friend I know through work and also an avid hunter and blogger. Just like my other hunting friends, he was super happy for me and the accomplishment, and we discussed what the next few hours might hold. I hung up feeling not alone but really connected to my friends by this common interest and passion. I could also tell that any one of them would have joined me that night if they had been nearby.
After an hour wait I had collected all of my things together and needed to get back to my car. However, that’s where my deer was also laying. I assumed she’d expired by this point but walked down the fence line quietly with an arrow nocked and ready if needed. Just 20-yards from the car I heard something get up and stumble around, crap, she must still be alive. I worked my way down to the car and sure enough just over the fence along the trail was a fairly good sized pool where she had been laying. I must not have got as good a shot as I would have hoped for. I walked around for 30-minutes trying to figure out which way she might have walked and just couldn’t find any more trail. I decided the best thing to do at this point was to back out completely and so I drove into town for dinner.
I returned a few hours later to a really spooky scene. The wind was up, the land was really dark, and there was a small pack of coyotes running around out in the field howling. I told myself I’d give her an hour and then call it a night and sleep in the car until morning. I walked in several directions looking for sign and just came up empty. So at 11:30 I called off my search and setup camp in the car. I had been at this almost 20-hours by this point and felt ready to drop. Unfortunately, I wasn’t tired enough to sleep in the car. I tossed and turned for hours for what seemed like an endless night. I listened to Coast to Coast for a while and they were chatting about aliens, nothing new there, but they were discussing abductions in rural areas. I decided to shut the radio off at that point and switch to the front seat with my knife between my legs :) Night slowly became day, and with the dawn, the realization that I really needed to find my doe.
Search and recover
Since I hadn’t found any blood trail the night before I started with that task, and after 30-minutes of no sign, I decided to just walk the whole property and I hoped to come upon her. I walked all the way down to the center pivot of the field and back down the North side of the circle, no deer. I walked around the circle back to the West in hopes that maybe she’d expired out by where we had our encounter just hours before, no deer. I searched the wet grass around where my blind had been until my pants and boots were soaked, no deer. I walked back towards the car only knowing one more place to look. If she wasn’t in the Southern bedding area she must have crawled into the corn or across the road and was gone, either option at that point was going to take a miracle to find her.
Thankfully, after just a few minutes’ walk I came up on her in some high grass. Unfortunately, she was still alive but just barely and I felt pretty bad about the situation at this point. I had practiced all summer so that I’d be able to take an ethical shot and spare my deer just this kind of indignity, and I had somehow managed to screw it up. I reached down and touched her leg and apologized to her and she looked over her shoulder at me. This was not how it works on the Outdoor Channel for sure. It's actually not the first time I have had this kind of odd encounter with a dying animal. You may recall from a story a while back about my first goose hunt, the guys I was with put me to the task of killing an injured goose that had flown into our field and couldn’t return to the air. My deer had the same look in her eyes that the goose did, “just make it end please”. So I stepped back, nocked an arrow, and I put her out of her misery. It was a tough thing to watch her go like that, and to be so close to her and know it was me who had done that. I just stood right there while she passed knowing that at this point she was my responsibility and I was thankful for what she would provide. However, this was part of why I had come to want this experience and to be closer to the food I eat. For me it was an ok thing for this to have happened and didn’t dwell on things beyond that. I was just really thankful to have found her quickly that morning and that I had not lost her, wasting her meat and her gift.
Since I hadn’t found any blood trail the night before I started with that task, and after 30-minutes of no sign, I decided to just walk the whole property and I hoped to come upon her. I walked all the way down to the center pivot of the field and back down the North side of the circle, no deer. I walked around the circle back to the West in hopes that maybe she’d expired out by where we had our encounter just hours before, no deer. I searched the wet grass around where my blind had been until my pants and boots were soaked, no deer. I walked back towards the car only knowing one more place to look. If she wasn’t in the Southern bedding area she must have crawled into the corn or across the road and was gone, either option at that point was going to take a miracle to find her.
Thankfully, after just a few minutes’ walk I came up on her in some high grass. Unfortunately, she was still alive but just barely and I felt pretty bad about the situation at this point. I had practiced all summer so that I’d be able to take an ethical shot and spare my deer just this kind of indignity, and I had somehow managed to screw it up. I reached down and touched her leg and apologized to her and she looked over her shoulder at me. This was not how it works on the Outdoor Channel for sure. It's actually not the first time I have had this kind of odd encounter with a dying animal. You may recall from a story a while back about my first goose hunt, the guys I was with put me to the task of killing an injured goose that had flown into our field and couldn’t return to the air. My deer had the same look in her eyes that the goose did, “just make it end please”. So I stepped back, nocked an arrow, and I put her out of her misery. It was a tough thing to watch her go like that, and to be so close to her and know it was me who had done that. I just stood right there while she passed knowing that at this point she was my responsibility and I was thankful for what she would provide. However, this was part of why I had come to want this experience and to be closer to the food I eat. For me it was an ok thing for this to have happened and didn’t dwell on things beyond that. I was just really thankful to have found her quickly that morning and that I had not lost her, wasting her meat and her gift.
Excitement, appreciation, and work
Just moments after she was gone I pulled out my arrows and tied a drag line to her. I pulled her out of the weeds and into the sunshine for a few pictures in the morning light. She was on the smaller side but was a beautiful animal and I assumed would have a decent amount of meat once processed. I setup my camera and took a few pictures of her with my bow. It felt great, this moment was over a year in the making, and it was now 31-hours from when I had first got up the previous day. I looked at my watch and realized I had just enough time to get her ready for the processor, take a shower, and get myself off to an afternoon of scheduled client meetings – on no sleep. I pulled her over about 50-yards to where I could drive my car up by the fence and began to clean her. Over the next 20-minutes I had several oilfield guys drive up and stop to talk and then a guy and his daughter out for a morning scout of their own visited for a minute. Each was congratulatory and I was super stoked to actually have finished this challenge out. I had wanted to load her onto the roof of my Prius, because nobody has that picture of course, but she proved to be a bit too heavy to manage it by myself. So I wrapped her up in a tarp and shoved her in the back and snapped a few shots, nobody has that shot either…but me.
Just moments after she was gone I pulled out my arrows and tied a drag line to her. I pulled her out of the weeds and into the sunshine for a few pictures in the morning light. She was on the smaller side but was a beautiful animal and I assumed would have a decent amount of meat once processed. I setup my camera and took a few pictures of her with my bow. It felt great, this moment was over a year in the making, and it was now 31-hours from when I had first got up the previous day. I looked at my watch and realized I had just enough time to get her ready for the processor, take a shower, and get myself off to an afternoon of scheduled client meetings – on no sleep. I pulled her over about 50-yards to where I could drive my car up by the fence and began to clean her. Over the next 20-minutes I had several oilfield guys drive up and stop to talk and then a guy and his daughter out for a morning scout of their own visited for a minute. Each was congratulatory and I was super stoked to actually have finished this challenge out. I had wanted to load her onto the roof of my Prius, because nobody has that picture of course, but she proved to be a bit too heavy to manage it by myself. So I wrapped her up in a tarp and shoved her in the back and snapped a few shots, nobody has that shot either…but me.
On the 50-mile drive out to the processors I kept looking in my rearview mirror expecting to see the deer pop-up all pissed and bloody like in Tommy Boy, but thankfully that never happened. I dropped her off with a guy named Roy and went on with my day far too tired to consider everything that had just happened to me. A week out now I am still kind of shocked how quick it all went by and how many hours went into the preparation for an experience that literally lasted less than 5-minutes. However, I‘m hooked now and I can’t wait until next season when I’ll have another chance to take another deer. Hopefully I’ll get a better shot and maybe I’ll even wait to find one a bit larger so that the price per pound of finished meat is a little more reasonable.
I'm most thankful to my friends who helped get me ready for the day, I couldn't have done it without you guys and it sure wouldn't have been as fun.
I'm most thankful to my friends who helped get me ready for the day, I couldn't have done it without you guys and it sure wouldn't have been as fun.