First Bow Buck... Tagged Out in B -Zone

MeatBuck

WKR
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
783
Location
woodpile, Commiefornia
Been chasing bucks with a bow for a solid 12 seasons but really only used the archery season as scouting for rifle season until a couple years ago. I'd only shot at one buck and it was years ago. At 40 yds the buck was long gone before the arrow ever got there. I then knew I needed a faster more modern bow so I hung up archery for a few years until I could afford one.
I've been hunting now three seasons with the new rig and had yet to launch an arrow at another one. Had drawn on a couple here and there along the way but never had a good shot or they'd run off as I drew. Mostly hunting in A zone but the past two years in b.
This was my second trip up to b zone this year and the second buck I had in bow range between the two trips. Only this one wasn't getting away.
After still hunting timber all day Friday and only seeing 4 doe n fawn I decided to do a longer hike and glass more open country to try a spot n stalk. Ended up being really smoky during the night so I snoozed the alarm a few times until I could see the sun coming up. Didn't want to do along hike in smoke nor would glassing have been effective. When I could see that there wasn't as much smoke as I'd thought, I got up and ready. Left camp about 7:00am or so.
Bow in one hand and kerns peach juice in the other I set out on foot down the road towards the trailhead. A downed tree had the road blocked about half mile or so before the trail so I walked it while looking down off the edges en route to the trail.
Just before the end of the road the timber turns to oak brush and I caught the ass end of a deer moving out into it about 30 yards below the road. I set down my drink and got my range finder out. In the process the dumb string on it got caught on the pouch and I ended up stomping a pine cone in the process. Thinking the deer was on to me now I slowly attempted to parallel it and catch up to it. Not knowing that the last place I saw it walking was where it had stopped to feed. I end up passing it and thought maybe he has gone until I caught his antler tips down below a bush. As expected he was on to me so a stuffed the range finder into my pocket and clipped on to my nock loop. Another step or two and I thought I could clear a path to his vitals so I drew and took those steps. But there was no opening to the chest and being that he was so close I foolishly decided to split the difference between his eyes. Settled the top pin, then settled it again before I squeezed slow. The shot broke and he turned and ran for the timber back toward camp. Thinking I'd misjudged the range (because in a panic I stuffed the rangefinder in my pocket) and grazed his antler or a tree branch just beyond him, I said to myself "wow, that was friggin stupid" and tromped down the hill after my arrow. Again thinking I had missed I was surprised to see my arrow just ten yards beyond where he had stood. Even more surprised to see it covered in blood.
Now I'm thinking, great I've shot the ear off or slashed the face of this poor deer and sent him off to live a life of misery or to die from infection etc. Upon returning to the spot he was standing for he shot there's a clear blood spray of bright red blood. And I look ahead ten yards in the direction he left and could see blood and hair everywhere.
By now I've gotten the feeing that id jugged him just below the chin or that my arrow hit an unseen branch and deflected into his body somewheres so I set everything down and recovered my kerns juice drink. Sat at that spot snacking and twiddling my thumbs while I waited what ended up being two hours to take up the blood trail.
Side-hilling through the timber his blood trail wasn't hard to follow. After a hundred yards or so he cut uphill. "No good" ,I'm thinking. But then sidehills again to the same trail. Two, three, four hundred yards of this same pattern of weaving up and back to the trail until finally he hit the end of an old logging pad. Flat ground, waist high grass, he stops running and therefore stops pumping and here I lose blood...
Taking a hands and knees approach, I get on pin drops of blood one at a time, zig zagging back and forth until he hit timber again and like magic the blood was flowing again. Now an hour into the track and three since the shit I'm thinking he's got to bed up soon or he's gonna head downhill at some point or something has to happen here soon.
Not the case, another 40 or so of the same sidehill, uphill routine. Then there's a big spot of blood where he'd stopped for a period of time then changed direction back up hill. Not far from there, the same. And then another pool and he trail went cold. I knelt down there for probably ten minutes because I thought I'd heard something up ahead in the dense timber. However many times I heard it I started thinking it was him laying there dying but then here comes a damned squirrel! "Ok got me mr. squirrel", "fool me once" I thought...
Hands and knees again I find that he's again gone uphill. This time trough a series of beds with good blood in them then out of there and sidehill again. Then gone. I kneel down again to look for his direction and finally he had headed downhill. And I only figures that out because I could see him laying there dead. Right where I thought sure I'd heard him dying, "damned squirrel fooled me twice" I thought to myself as i made my way down to him. Finding that he had bedded several more times there before expiring as I approached just about 4 hours after the shot.
In hindsight I should have passed on the shot especially not knowing the exact range. The hit was in the mouth and exited the back of the neck. Obviously wasn't 20yds like I'd guessed but probably 25, and he had tried to turn away causing the entry to be on the cheek.
After thanking the deer for his life and apologizing for his suffering I looked up the hill to see a road edge 20yds(maybe 25 haha) ahead. I made the decision to drag him up to the road and gut him there, thinking that I'd maybe just go get the truck and drag the tree out of the way so I could drive to him. However upon gutting him I realized that it was such a small deer that I could make a "Buck-pack" out of him. So I did. Tied him all up tight in a ball and strapped him on the ol eberlestock mainframe, picked up the bow and daypack that had been on the frame and headed uphill to the other road which I had parked and camped on. I was met there shortly after by a forest service guy who was glad to validate my tag and listen to me ramble about my expirience.
The ridge top camp was now mostly shaded as I hung him up on a tree limb that I'd previously cleared off for my lantern but never used it. A nice cool breeze was blowing as I stripped his hide and split him open. The carcass was cooling fast and crusting over in the breeze so before long I wa able to slip a game bag on him and then kicked back for lunch as I let him continue cooling.
About 5pm I pulled him down and wrapped him in a big canvas, then in a tarp to keep him cool. Loaded him into the 4Runner and headed for home. Made it the just before 10pm and hung him back up in the garage for the night. He was still cool to the touch when I unwrapped and hung him. Cut him clean in two the next morning and he's aging in the meat fridge now.image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2017
Messages
381
Good write up and congrats on following that blood and not quitting.


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OXN939

WKR
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
1,790
Location
VA
Been chasing bucks with a bow for a solid 12 seasons but really only used the archery season as scouting for rifle season until a couple years ago. I'd only shot at one buck and it was years ago. At 40 yds the buck was long gone before the arrow ever got there. I then knew I needed a faster more modern bow so I hung up archery for a few years until I could afford one.
I've been hunting now three seasons with the new rig and had yet to launch an arrow at another one. Had drawn on a couple here and there along the way but never had a good shot or they'd run off as I drew. Mostly hunting in A zone but the past two years in b.
This was my second trip up to b zone this year and the second buck I had in bow range between the two trips. Only this one wasn't getting away.
After still hunting timber all day Friday and only seeing 4 doe n fawn I decided to do a longer hike and glass more open country to try a spot n stalk. Ended up being really smoky during the night so I snoozed the alarm a few times until I could see the sun coming up. Didn't want to do along hike in smoke nor would glassing have been effective. When I could see that there wasn't as much smoke as I'd thought, I got up and ready. Left camp about 7:00am or so.
Bow in one hand and kerns peach juice in the other I set out on foot down the road towards the trailhead. A downed tree had the road blocked about half mile or so before the trail so I walked it while looking down off the edges en route to the trail.
Just before the end of the road the timber turns to oak brush and I caught the ass end of a deer moving out into it about 30 yards below the road. I set down my drink and got my range finder out. In the process the dumb string on it got caught on the pouch and I ended up stomping a pine cone in the process. Thinking the deer was on to me now I slowly attempted to parallel it and catch up to it. Not knowing that the last place I saw it walking was where it had stopped to feed. I end up passing it and thought maybe he has gone until I caught his antler tips down below a bush. As expected he was on to me so a stuffed the range finder into my pocket and clipped on to my nock loop. Another step or two and I thought I could clear a path to his vitals so I drew and took those steps. But there was no opening to the chest and being that he was so close I foolishly decided to split the difference between his eyes. Settled the top pin, then settled it again before I squeezed slow. The shot broke and he turned and ran for the timber back toward camp. Thinking I'd misjudged the range (because in a panic I stuffed the rangefinder in my pocket) and grazed his antler or a tree branch just beyond him, I said to myself "wow, that was friggin stupid" and tromped down the hill after my arrow. Again thinking I had missed I was surprised to see my arrow just ten yards beyond where he had stood. Even more surprised to see it covered in blood.
Now I'm thinking, great I've shot the ear off or slashed the face of this poor deer and sent him off to live a life of misery or to die from infection etc. Upon returning to the spot he was standing for he shot there's a clear blood spray of bright red blood. And I look ahead ten yards in the direction he left and could see blood and hair everywhere.
By now I've gotten the feeing that id jugged him just below the chin or that my arrow hit an unseen branch and deflected into his body somewheres so I set everything down and recovered my kerns juice drink. Sat at that spot snacking and twiddling my thumbs while I waited what ended up being two hours to take up the blood trail.
Side-hilling through the timber his blood trail wasn't hard to follow. After a hundred yards or so he cut uphill. "No good" ,I'm thinking. But then sidehills again to the same trail. Two, three, four hundred yards of this same pattern of weaving up and back to the trail until finally he hit the end of an old logging pad. Flat ground, waist high grass, he stops running and therefore stops pumping and here I lose blood...
Taking a hands and knees approach, I get on pin drops of blood one at a time, zig zagging back and forth until he hit timber again and like magic the blood was flowing again. Now an hour into the track and three since the shit I'm thinking he's got to bed up soon or he's gonna head downhill at some point or something has to happen here soon.
Not the case, another 40 or so of the same sidehill, uphill routine. Then there's a big spot of blood where he'd stopped for a period of time then changed direction back up hill. Not far from there, the same. And then another pool and he trail went cold. I knelt down there for probably ten minutes because I thought I'd heard something up ahead in the dense timber. However many times I heard it I started thinking it was him laying there dying but then here comes a damned squirrel! "Ok got me mr. squirrel", "fool me once" I thought...
Hands and knees again I find that he's again gone uphill. This time trough a series of beds with good blood in them then out of there and sidehill again. Then gone. I kneel down again to look for his direction and finally he had headed downhill. And I only figures that out because I could see him laying there dead. Right where I thought sure I'd heard him dying, "damned squirrel fooled me twice" I thought to myself as i made my way down to him. Finding that he had bedded several more times there before expiring as I approached just about 4 hours after the shot.
In hindsight I should have passed on the shot especially not knowing the exact range. The hit was in the mouth and exited the back of the neck. Obviously wasn't 20yds like I'd guessed but probably 25, and he had tried to turn away causing the entry to be on the cheek.
After thanking the deer for his life and apologizing for his suffering I looked up the hill to see a road edge 20yds(maybe 25 haha) ahead. I made the decision to drag him up to the road and gut him there, thinking that I'd maybe just go get the truck and drag the tree out of the way so I could drive to him. However upon gutting him I realized that it was such a small deer that I could make a "Buck-pack" out of him. So I did. Tied him all up tight in a ball and strapped him on the ol eberlestock mainframe, picked up the bow and daypack that had been on the frame and headed uphill to the other road which I had parked and camped on. I was met there shortly after by a forest service guy who was glad to validate my tag and listen to me ramble about my expirience.
The ridge top camp was now mostly shaded as I hung him up on a tree limb that I'd previously cleared off for my lantern but never used it. A nice cool breeze was blowing as I stripped his hide and split him open. The carcass was cooling fast and crusting over in the breeze so before long I wa able to slip a game bag on him and then kicked back for lunch as I let him continue cooling.
About 5pm I pulled him down and wrapped him in a big canvas, then in a tarp to keep him cool. Loaded him into the 4Runner and headed for home. Made it the just before 10pm and hung him back up in the garage for the night. He was still cool to the touch when I unwrapped and hung him. Cut him clean in two the next morning and he's aging in the meat fridge now.View attachment 120719View attachment 120721View attachment 120722

Congrats, man! Super pro cleaning job on that thing, that venison looks beautiful. Bowhunting is just tough- lots of lessons learned that way with such small margins of error. But, you definitely have the right mindset and it'll be that much easier to make a good shot next time! Enjoy that early season blacktail venison, it is truly a beautiful thing
 

Okhotnik

WKR
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Messages
2,196
Location
N ID
congrats

doesn't get better than that

Been chasing bucks with a bow for a solid 12 seasons but really only used the archery season as scouting for rifle season until a couple years ago. I'd only shot at one buck and it was years ago. At 40 yds the buck was long gone before the arrow ever got there. I then knew I needed a faster more modern bow so I hung up archery for a few years until I could afford one.
I've been hunting now three seasons with the new rig and had yet to launch an arrow at another one. Had drawn on a couple here and there along the way but never had a good shot or they'd run off as I drew. Mostly hunting in A zone but the past two years in b.
This was my second trip up to b zone this year and the second buck I had in bow range between the two trips. Only this one wasn't getting away.
After still hunting timber all day Friday and only seeing 4 doe n fawn I decided to do a longer hike and glass more open country to try a spot n stalk. Ended up being really smoky during the night so I snoozed the alarm a few times until I could see the sun coming up. Didn't want to do along hike in smoke nor would glassing have been effective. When I could see that there wasn't as much smoke as I'd thought, I got up and ready. Left camp about 7:00am or so.
Bow in one hand and kerns peach juice in the other I set out on foot down the road towards the trailhead. A downed tree had the road blocked about half mile or so before the trail so I walked it while looking down off the edges en route to the trail.
Just before the end of the road the timber turns to oak brush and I caught the ass end of a deer moving out into it about 30 yards below the road. I set down my drink and got my range finder out. In the process the dumb string on it got caught on the pouch and I ended up stomping a pine cone in the process. Thinking the deer was on to me now I slowly attempted to parallel it and catch up to it. Not knowing that the last place I saw it walking was where it had stopped to feed. I end up passing it and thought maybe he has gone until I caught his antler tips down below a bush. As expected he was on to me so a stuffed the range finder into my pocket and clipped on to my nock loop. Another step or two and I thought I could clear a path to his vitals so I drew and took those steps. But there was no opening to the chest and being that he was so close I foolishly decided to split the difference between his eyes. Settled the top pin, then settled it again before I squeezed slow. The shot broke and he turned and ran for the timber back toward camp. Thinking I'd misjudged the range (because in a panic I stuffed the rangefinder in my pocket) and grazed his antler or a tree branch just beyond him, I said to myself "wow, that was friggin stupid" and tromped down the hill after my arrow. Again thinking I had missed I was surprised to see my arrow just ten yards beyond where he had stood. Even more surprised to see it covered in blood.
Now I'm thinking, great I've shot the ear off or slashed the face of this poor deer and sent him off to live a life of misery or to die from infection etc. Upon returning to the spot he was standing for he shot there's a clear blood spray of bright red blood. And I look ahead ten yards in the direction he left and could see blood and hair everywhere.
By now I've gotten the feeing that id jugged him just below the chin or that my arrow hit an unseen branch and deflected into his body somewheres so I set everything down and recovered my kerns juice drink. Sat at that spot snacking and twiddling my thumbs while I waited what ended up being two hours to take up the blood trail.
Side-hilling through the timber his blood trail wasn't hard to follow. After a hundred yards or so he cut uphill. "No good" ,I'm thinking. But then sidehills again to the same trail. Two, three, four hundred yards of this same pattern of weaving up and back to the trail until finally he hit the end of an old logging pad. Flat ground, waist high grass, he stops running and therefore stops pumping and here I lose blood...
Taking a hands and knees approach, I get on pin drops of blood one at a time, zig zagging back and forth until he hit timber again and like magic the blood was flowing again. Now an hour into the track and three since the shit I'm thinking he's got to bed up soon or he's gonna head downhill at some point or something has to happen here soon.
Not the case, another 40 or so of the same sidehill, uphill routine. Then there's a big spot of blood where he'd stopped for a period of time then changed direction back up hill. Not far from there, the same. And then another pool and he trail went cold. I knelt down there for probably ten minutes because I thought I'd heard something up ahead in the dense timber. However many times I heard it I started thinking it was him laying there dying but then here comes a damned squirrel! "Ok got me mr. squirrel", "fool me once" I thought...
Hands and knees again I find that he's again gone uphill. This time trough a series of beds with good blood in them then out of there and sidehill again. Then gone. I kneel down again to look for his direction and finally he had headed downhill. And I only figures that out because I could see him laying there dead. Right where I thought sure I'd heard him dying, "damned squirrel fooled me twice" I thought to myself as i made my way down to him. Finding that he had bedded several more times there before expiring as I approached just about 4 hours after the shot.
In hindsight I should have passed on the shot especially not knowing the exact range. The hit was in the mouth and exited the back of the neck. Obviously wasn't 20yds like I'd guessed but probably 25, and he had tried to turn away causing the entry to be on the cheek.
After thanking the deer for his life and apologizing for his suffering I looked up the hill to see a road edge 20yds(maybe 25 haha) ahead. I made the decision to drag him up to the road and gut him there, thinking that I'd maybe just go get the truck and drag the tree out of the way so I could drive to him. However upon gutting him I realized that it was such a small deer that I could make a "Buck-pack" out of him. So I did. Tied him all up tight in a ball and strapped him on the ol eberlestock mainframe, picked up the bow and daypack that had been on the frame and headed uphill to the other road which I had parked and camped on. I was met there shortly after by a forest service guy who was glad to validate my tag and listen to me ramble about my expirience.
The ridge top camp was now mostly shaded as I hung him up on a tree limb that I'd previously cleared off for my lantern but never used it. A nice cool breeze was blowing as I stripped his hide and split him open. The carcass was cooling fast and crusting over in the breeze so before long I wa able to slip a game bag on him and then kicked back for lunch as I let him continue cooling.
About 5pm I pulled him down and wrapped him in a big canvas, then in a tarp to keep him cool. Loaded him into the 4Runner and headed for home. Made it the just before 10pm and hung him back up in the garage for the night. He was still cool to the touch when I unwrapped and hung him. Cut him clean in two the next morning and he's aging in the meat fridge now.View attachment 120719View attachment 120721View attachment 120722
 

Scooter37

FNG
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
55
Great write up! Reminded me of last year for so many reasons. My son shot a buck before I could finish an apple I started eating when we started hiking at the trailhead. If I I wrote up a description of tracking the blood trail I could of easily wrote exactly what you did but you wrote it so much better. A lot of similarities of losing the trail, climbing around on hands and knees, finding spots with pools where he held up. Just an awesome write up very nicely done ! Nice job taking care of the meat too!
 
OP
MeatBuck

MeatBuck

WKR
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
783
Location
woodpile, Commiefornia
Awesome story and thanks for sharing! Any other hunts planned for this year?
Thanks.
Ya, the ol lady has a b tag... Fingers crossed for a stormy last week.
I'm on bear patrol now. Goin up for dick show opener with a buddy just for bear. Probably end up seeing a shooter buck since I'm tagged out and he doesn't have a deer tag. Ol lady can't go opening weekend. Thought about having her buy an a tag since rain is in forecast, not sure yet
 

SWOHTR

WKR
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
1,439
Location
Briney foam
Thanks.
Ya, the ol lady has a b tag... Fingers crossed for a stormy last week.
I'm on bear patrol now. Goin up for dick show opener with a buddy just for bear. Probably end up seeing a shooter buck since I'm tagged out and he doesn't have a deer tag. Ol lady can't go opening weekend. Thought about having her buy an a tag since rain is in forecast, not sure yet
Congrats!

Do we want to know what a “dick show” is?
 

Team4LongGun

SUPER MODERATOR
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
1,585
Location
NW MT
Congrats, man! Super pro cleaning job on that thing, that venison looks beautiful. Bowhunting is just tough- lots of lessons learned that way with such small margins of error. But, you definitely have the right mindset and it'll be that much easier to make a good shot next time! Enjoy that early season blacktail venison, it is truly a beautiful thing

My thoughts exactly! Wish my finished product looked that clean and hair free
Congrats(y)
 
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