Most people who hunt deer want a trophy buck. My husband is one of them! I just shoot deer for meat. I don't care if it's a doe or a buck. I'll shoot whatever comes by my stand as long as I have a tag for it. He keeps telling me how he'll have my first buck mounted and we'll put it on the wall. I keep telling him I don't need a trophy on the wall - he has enough up there already! I'd rather spend the money on something else other than a mount so we'll just take a picture of it instead :-).
I do, however, already have a trophy on the wall. And like any hunter's trophy it has a story that goes with it!
Year's ago, when I first started hunting, my husband and I decided to go bow hunting on the last day of the split bow season. The next day was the beginning of shotgun season. We knew the deer would be more skittish after gun season and the deer's habits would change due to many hunters driving them and shooting in the woods. So we were hurrying to get to the woods! As we got ready to go I reminded my husband that we had found a quiver that would fit my bow. He offered to put the quiver on for me so, of course, I let him ;-). He said it would only take a minute.
We had found a great place to hunt - on public hunting ground, just outside of a state park, where there were lots of deer. The place I chose to hunt was on a ridge near an inlet of the lake. I knew the deer used a path by this ridge and the wind was in my favor, coming straight into my face, so the deer would not be able to scent me. I began to set up my ground blind near the top of the ridge. There was one large log already there. My husband helped me put another large log on top of it before he headed to his stand. I found several pieces of driftwood to use for cover at each end of the logs. At the end of each log I rested one end of a piece of driftwood on top of the log and let the other end rest on the ground so the wood was at an angle. Several more pieces of driftwood were placed upright against the angled piece of wood. This hid me a little better. After I had my ground blind set up the way I wanted, I sat down on the ground behind the large logs. I put my grunt tube around my neck and placed my doe call near me. Then I put my release on my wrist and waited.
From where I sat I could see the deer path through the spaces between the logs and near the end of the logs. There was a small inlet of water in front of me. On the ridge across from me I could see the path the deer used. From watching the deer previously, I knew they would follow that path around the lake's inlet. As I waited my legs got uncomfortable so I moved them to a more comfortable position. There was just enough room for me to slide my right foot underneath the bottom log of my ground blind so I straightened my right leg out below it.
Later I saw 3 antlerless deer on top of the ridge across from me. They were eating the acorns on the ground. The deer slowly made their way down the ridge to the water's edge and drank. I used my grunt tube and they stopped for a moment. Then they started up the ridge where I was sitting, so I grunted again and they stopped about 15 yards from me. The smallest one moved out of sight but the others remained in place, so I pulled back on my bow and waited for one to turn so I could make a good shot.
Then the smallest deer moved in a direction I had not expected :-(. The next thing I knew it was sniffing my boot that I had slid underneath the log. It snorted and jumped to my right and ran away. The other two deer just looked at me. I decided to shoot the one that was broadside to me. I let the arrow go and I heard a loud "THUNK". Both deer just stood there. I looked for my arrow and saw it had hit a piece of driftwood at the end of the blind. I was in shock. I've always hit what I was aiming for. Since the two deer were still there. I pulled another arrow from my quiver and shot again. "THUNK". Lo, and behold, I had hit another piece of driftwood! I was thinking "What the heck just happened?". And the deer still stood there watching. I thought "If they are dumb enough to just stand there, they need to be removed from the gene pool anyway!" So I tried to pull my last arrow out of the quiver. It was stuck in the foam at the bottom of the quiver and wouldn't come out. I didn't have any more arrows so I decided to use the last arrow I had shot. It had hit the outside edge of a piece of driftwood so I pulled it out fairly easily. I pulled back for another shot, let go and waited to see where my arrow went. At that time, my quiver and my sights fell off my bow and to the ground! That's when the deer ran off and I realized why I missed! You need your sights for correct arrow placement. If they are out of place, your arrows do not hit where you aim.
Since shooting hours were almost over, I packed up my hunting gear, found the last arrow I had shot, and tried to pull the other arrow out of the driftwood. It would not come out. My husband showed up at my blind later and I told him what had happened. He told me he had found some screws to put my quiver on but he wondered, as he put them on, if they were too short to keep my quiver in place. The screws had to be long enough to go through the quiver and sights and into the bow itself. (He did find longer screws later and now my quiver stays in place!) Anyway, we decided to take the arrow in the driftwood home with us. Now it resides in my home as a reminder to never change or replace a hunting item at the last minute and as a conversation piece!
My husband loves to tell this story to other people. He always tells them about my trophy on the wall and offers to show it to them! I would much rather have a photo of a deer I'd shot and its meat in the freezer than that piece of driftwood I've got on my wall! But it does serve as a reminder to check my equipment before using it.
Before you go bow hunting, check to see that the parts of your bow, like the sights and quiver, are tightened properly and while you're at it, check your bowstring for fraying (replace it if it is, because it could injure you if it breaks). Wax your bowstring and make sure the broadheads on your arrows are tightened (I could tell you another story about that mishap! but you live and learn). Practice shooting your bow until you can hit the target with accuracy. You can shoot your bow at a range, a bow shop or another safe place before hunting with it.You want your shot to kill the deer, not injure it, so know where to place your shot and aim for that area. A manual for your state's hunter safety course is good to read even if you don't have to attend the classes. If you check your equipment, keep it in good shape, and practice shooting before and during the season so you have a good chance at that trophy buck everyone seems to want!
Outdoor Woman