Great deer. I work in Hinkley at the corner of State and 303. Do you live around there?
Congrats on the nice buck!
Great deer. I work in Hinkley at the corner of State and 303. Do you live around there?
I had three stands hung on my new farm a few weeks ago but decided I needed a fourth on the east side of the property for another option if the wind isn't right for the other stands. There's a long tree line that runs east and west between a group of houses and an ag field that eventually runs into the power line on the east edge of my property. This part of Ashtabula Co. is super flat so pinch points are more subtle than in rolling country. That tree line is nearly lined up with an overgrown logging road on my side of the power line. I had no trail camera over here but it looked like a good travel corridor so I hung a stand on the south end of the logging road near the power line to give the stand several shooting options.
Just over an hour into opening morning on my very first hunt on my new farm, I spotted a large group of deer walking through that tree line towards my property. I could see at least half a dozen deer but when they got to the power line, they were about 50 yards north of me and I lost sight of them due to some thick saplings blocking my view. Between the rain and the sun setting when I hung this stand, I didn't have a chance to do any trimming. A few minutes later I looked to see the deer headed south, now on the power line, on a course that would bring them behind my stand. I had no shooting lanes to the power line so I was happy to leave my bow hanging and just enjoy the opportunity to watch some deer walk by at 10 yards.
They appeared to be on a mission to continue south past me down the power line but 10 yards before my stand, the large, lead doe stopped to browse on the wood line not far from my stand. After that she quickly turned west and began walking the trail that goes past the stand and through the old logging road. I had to grab my bow quickly and was at full draw as she walked through one of the few shooting lanes I had. It wasn't even 10 yards and the Rage Xtreme hammered her just behind the shoulder, passed through and buried into the ground. I heard her crash shortly after I lost sight of her and hoped it was a quick kill.
I took my time gathering my gear in the stand and got down to check the arrow 20 minutes later. The white feathers and shaft were covered with bright red blood. Although I was confident in the shot, I always try to wait at least 30 minutes before trailing. I walked out quietly and took all my gear to the Polaris before returning to find her. The blood trail wasn't as pronounced as I would have thought. Like we always do, I began to question myself and the shot. It was only a few drops of blood here and there with one or two good spots of spray. I found her less than 75 yards from the stand and was baffled at how little blood there was on the trail after finding a perfect shot, giant wound and a low exit.
It's not too often that things work out exactly like you think or hope but it sure is sweet when it does. Hope to have the same luck on one of the nice bucks I've been getting pictures of. Now I can work on my cabin for a few weeks.
-Brian
Stand
Nice deer ,what broadhead were you using?
Hey In The Stand. My name is Mark and I do hunt behind our shop some. I mostly hunt in Sharon Center. I have a farm there I've hunted since I was a kid. If you ever need help tracking or someone to hunt with, just send me a pm.
John, I use Rage 2" Diameter 100G. I've never had a deer run more than 50 yards after whacking with a rage.
Fred, certainly will keep that in mind. Good luck to you this season!
well to date I have shot and lost 3 good bucks with a rage head, and all shots were pss thru's, and looked great
one I left go over nite and it it rained and snowed off and on all nite, no trail , brought in a tracking dog(over a 150 buck) and never found it, a full pass through too!, arrrow was covered in blood
second one, bedded down 80+ yrds from me, watched it till dark, bled like a pig
came back in the am(had snow on the ground) and found coyotes booted him and he ran till he got to the sunny side of MT, no snow, and no more blood trail to follow, never found him either
20 yrd shot watched the arrow go thru the boiler room, comeplete pass through, covered in blood, and again l;eaked like mad, couldn't beleiev it didn't die in its bed when I left it go over nite!
third I hit a little forward and I THINK I hit some shoulder blade
poor trail, tried to get the dog back, but was out of town, looked for 2 days, then had to head back to PA
was found couple weks later by a local(friend of mine)800 yrds or so from where I hit it burried in a ditch , dam thing fell in a ditch and rammed its head into the bank and was almost invisible, we actually walked by it several times, just so think and deep, some how missed it!, guys dog found it weeks later
so, no blade is a sure thing, 2" rage or not!
still use them, but just saying
and even worse this all happened in 10 days of hunting
bad , no worse hunting trip in my life, crappy way to drive home, rather miss, than loose a deer, spent more hrs looking for deer than hunting that trip!, only hunted about 6 hrs~
Sounds like you need to make better shots mrbb?
Enjoy your hunt- the long sit......... the cold.......the rain and snow......the peace and quiet, it may just be your last hunt........... you never know.
Congrats on your first deer at your new farm. Nothing more satisfying than that. Great shot placement too.
I may be opinionated...but, my opinion is the only one that matters anyway.
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