# My season thus far, first time Bowhunting



## JDawgog (Apr 11, 2010)

I would say that it's been a bust so far, but I would be kidding myself about some of the best hunting experiences I've had in my life.

We have a small place out in Bandera, and unfortunately the last couple weeks before bow season didn't allow any of the three of us on the lease to make it out and fill the feeders, so the nice pattern we had been watching was broken. Only one whitetail and one axis doe seen on Saturday night of opening weekend and my cousin undershot the doe with his crossbow. I saw jack and squat.

I followed that up with quite a few hunts, but the deer had started changing patterns and were coming in from high and left of my spot and the wind got me busted on a couple of occasions.

I tried changing spots and made eye contact with a small buck I wouldn't have shot anyways...but was disappointed in my stupidity to look him in the eye.

So my buddy sent me an email this past Wednesday saying he went out and checked the feeders and it looked like the deer were back feeding at regular intervals at all of our feeders and the gamecams supported that.

I busted my butt to get out there Friday and put up a new popup blind out at a spot I liked but needed a closer spot to the feeder than the standard blind that's out there. I totally busted my butt and was sweating buckets before I even got in the blind. Of course it was even hotter in that sucker, but I sweated it out in anticipation of the feeder going off.

The feeder went off and about four kernels of corn came out. I'm sure if there had been a camera on me you could have seen a part of me die at that moment.

Apparently my buddy had checked it, but neglected to tell me that it was pretty much out of corn. He got a chuckle out of that later...ugh. I made him buy about 10 bags of corn on Saturday to make up for it.

So Friday night was a bust, and I slept in Saturday and missed that hunt. I went out Saturday night, and sure enough the neighbor was at the fence line right next to my stand working on the fence shortly after I got in my spot. I was about to cry, but he left about 30 minutes before the feeder went off.

Then it happened....I was losing light quickly and a good looking doe steps out...oddly from the left side, which I have never seen them come out of that side before. She's real nervous and almost bolts a couple of times, as she's looking at something far off to the right. I wait...oh so patiently, but I'm losing light...she starts making her way right, walking along the edge of a creekbed, the farthest shot from my spot, I decide it's time to take her...line it up and....overshot. I estimated the shot at 45, and it must have been around 33. I was pretty sure I overshot, but then she started crashing around the brush very loudly...so I'm thinking...maybe I didn't see it right. Nope...found the arrow, no blood, and when I'm getting down there I see what she was walking towards and had been nervous about....it was a couple of other does that saw me and bolted when I went down to get my arrow.

I wasn't even really upset about missing....I was just so glad to get the opportunity, and it was such an awesome feeling just getting to take the shot.

I was exhilarated, even in defeat, so I decided to camp out at the lease that night and hunt early Sunday morning. I have failed to keep track of what time all of the feeders go off on the lease, but figured with a darn near full moon, I better get to the stand early. Got up an hour before sunrise and walked down to the stand only to get busted by about 5 deer as I got to the stand. Apparently the dang feeder had gone off about 10 minutes before I got up. That one hurt.

I went down to Goliad Sunday evening for a dove hunt one of my friends got in an auction. Birds were flying high and I'm a horrible shot so I downed 3 birds using about 3.5 boxes of shells. I got home late sunday and was so exhausted I slept in this morning and took a nap.

So, I could look at it as a total bust of a weekend...but I got to take my first bow shot at a deer and spent the night out under the skies of God's greatest creation. I'll take that any day. I have always gun hunted, and only missed once, my first shot at a deer when I was 7 years old. I've taken tons of deer since then, and some of them were challenging....but nothing has come even close to the experiences and challenges of the last few weeks. I haven't even hit my first deer with a bow, and I'm pretty sure I won't be picking up a gun until the last few weeks of gun season when I need to fill the freezer (if I haven't done so with my bow already).

Then I got this pic last night from one of our cams...how cool is that.


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## Screeminreel (Jun 2, 2004)

Well it sounds like your making a good go of it no matter the situation. That is half the battle. 

I myself have had a good season so far and not put anything on the ground but a squirrel, and part of the tail, of another one. 

Keep the faith and you will get your deer. I can tell you this, it has sure been a blessing that we have hogs to shoot at where I hunt, cause if it were ONLY deer, I think I might have tossed in the towel pretty quick. 

Good luck and hang in there.


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## Chunky (Oct 15, 2006)

That was a good write up. 

I don't know if you want suggestions, but....

If you put up a ground blind/pop-up...it will take the deer awhile to get use to it normally. So, give it a couple of weeks and try it again.

Always carry some corn in a bag, feeders and trailer lights...man, they never seem to work right. You can put this corn down in the perfect spot.

In my experience, if you move deer off in the dark going in...they don't get that spooked or go that far, and often come back when the feeder goes off, especially if you are as quiet as possible.

Good luck, and keep us posted.


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## JDawgog (Apr 11, 2010)

Chunky said:


> That was a good write up.
> 
> I don't know if you want suggestions, but....
> 
> ...


Problem here is that the feeder had already gone off well before sunup, so they never came back. I waited for them.


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## Chunky (Oct 15, 2006)

Yes, I was thinking more about the feeder that was empty....or sometimes they are clogged, or battery dead, or whatever when you get there and they don't work.

If they go off in the dark, not much you can do except reset the timer for the next hunt.

As far as the distance thing goes, if you don't want to buy a range finder (I don't have one), you can step off all the distances ahead of time and even mark them with a rock or something so you have a reference.

Not trying to be critical here, just hoping to help and increase your success.


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## JDawgog (Apr 11, 2010)

Chunky said:


> Yes, I was thinking more about the feeder that was empty....or sometimes they are clogged, or battery dead, or whatever when you get there and they don't work.
> 
> If they go off in the dark, not much you can do except reset the timer for the next hunt.
> 
> ...


I don't take it as anything but a fellow hunter passing along experience and knowledge, so no offense taken. With what you read, I'm sure you can see I don't have a ton of experience in my adult life hunting. I'm loving every opportunity I have out there and am learning a lot as I go.

As for marking off the yardage, that's something I really need to do, but struggle a bit because my blind at the creek is off of a slight cliff face, so I struggle getting the yardage up the angle from the base of the cliff to my blind. I've got it now, I know that the far end of the edge of the creek is 35 yards. The feeder is at 28 yards, the stump up close is 20 yards. So my farthest shot is 35 yards.

I'll be back at it this weekend for sure if not sooner if I can make it.

Even without a deer yet, I'm pretty sure the rest of the year will be spent with bow in hand. Just gotta figure out how to justify my gun purchase last year to the Mrs. And I better get a deer with my bow or justification of that purchase....well let's just say my couch isn't comfortable enough for that conversation.


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## JDawgog (Apr 11, 2010)

Well, I was pretty much cursed....until tonight. 

No kidding, I was getting skunked every which way you could. I had every manner of element fighting against me. Every time I would sit at my sweet spot, something would come in and ruin the hunt. If it wasn't the neighbor loudly driving along the fence line then getting out and hammering away on the fence, it was the **** donkey he had over there going completely ape balls when a group of does were walking up.

I had deer feeders that folks said were full, that turned out to be empty, to just two days ago, a perfectly working feeder, just refused to go off because all of a sudden the wires jostled loose. 

I'm up in a gun ready tripod, but I've got my rifle on me, because this new spot doesn't have a good bow stand setup. I'm rattling away, and then a doe comes popping out, looking around very curious as to the ruckus. She is right behind the feeder though, so no shot. She looks around, doesn't see what she wants, and turns around and walks right out. 

I'm a little dejected, I've been hunting hard...real hard since opening day, and have only had the opportunity to miss one doe. But then, I hear it....a rustling behind me. About 25 yards behind me, which I can't see because I'm backed up in a tree. The sound moves to the right and is coming closer....30 yards to my right now, coming towards the feeder, I've got my gun up, and I'm ready.... I think she's heading to the feeder...gets about 5 yards to the right of the feeder and turns directly away from me. It's last light...I don't have much time, I drop the bead right between the shoulders and squeeze.

Well, I won't post the pics because they look gruesome....but I tell you this, it was the perfect shot.

The deer must have had it's head down just right because the bullet passed right down the neck and blew the top of the head right off. It looked ridiculous. The deer was literally in the perfect position for this to happen, and this shot is one that I'm sure I'll never see again. 

Even if the head hadn't been in the perfect spot, it would have dropped right there because the old .270 bullet blew to bits on the spine and sent chunks all through the chest cavity, just the base of the bullet must have mushroomed perfectly down the neck through the top of the head.

Not a huge one, but turns out it was a little cull buck with nasty little digits that were going right down the ear line. 2.5 years old...with some gross looking devil horns that were hanging on by a thread when I picked him up. These things almost literally went straight back, which is why i didn't see them when I was checking him out in the scope. Good riddance to bad genetics, and some delicious meat in the freezer. The curse is broken. 

When I get back from my business trip in Vancouver next week, I'm picking up the bow again, and with the curse broken, will get my first bow kill. There's a couple of fallow does running around my lease that need to meet my arrow.


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