great story
Long story, my first NJ Deer, or hope they are not all this dumb...
Ok guys here is the account of my first day deer hunting in NJ.
Alarm went off, but I was already awake. Quickly got out of bed, kissed the wife, and made for the shower. Ate a quick breakfast and was out the door by 4:30 am for the quick walk (yes walk) to the property I am hunting. I get to where I want to climb up with my stand with out being busted. This is good because I was really worried about this. The wind is perfect, barely moving, but in my face.
Get up the tree and settle in by 5:10am. After a few minutes the woods start coming back to life and I listen because it is still too dark to see.
6:00 am, starting to get light. At 6:15, I see them. 3 deer, two does and one fawn, entering the far end of the field. This is wrong, they should be heading towards that corner, not away. I had planned this hunt that the deer would be either coming out of the corn, or coming out of the apples, not coming from a bedding area towards the corn or apples in the morning.
So the deer continue up towards the corn, but on the far side of the meadow from me. Ok, well I chose this side hoping that the downed walnut tree will steer the deer towards me as they go around it. It does not, when they get to the tree, they turn right, away from me and head towards the thicket. Ok, so let me try to blow a doe grunt and see if they will turn. I grunt once, nothing, again, nothing third time, SNORT BLOW CRASHING, there was a fourth doe, coming up my side of the field that I never saw, but she saw me, and after the third grunt from a tree, had a pretty good education about my deer call!
Oh well, that was exciting.
7:15, I see another deer enter the field from the same corner as before (obviuosly need to get my stand down there for the next time I hunt in the morning) I put the binos on here, spots. Just a fawn. She comes about 1/2 way up the field along the same path as the other 3 deer. Makes a right into the tree line. 5 minutes later she is back, but with a friend, another fawn. For the next 30 minutes I watch them play in the field in front of me. Jumping around, eating. Then one head towards my side of the field and the other beads down just the other side of the downed walnut tree.
At 9:00 the fawn that was bedded down along the walnut tree gets up and heads into the thicket that the three deer went into earlier. I sit until 10 with no more action and decide to call it a morning.
Ok, back out at 3:00pm.
Decide to try to set up on the opposite side of the field, along the trail the deer followed in the moring. Problem is, this will bring the deer from right to left, and may make it tough to get a shot. I climb up a not so perfect tree, but best one available. Set up, and sit for next hour. The wind shifts and is now blowing my scent right to where I think the deer will come. Also, because the tree is leaning forward, it is hella uncomfortable in my stand, so I make the decision to climb down and try to set up on the ground in a different spot where the wind will be better.
Ok, all set up in a thicket with a nice tree for a back stop with the wind in my face. Perfect view of two converging trails, one coming from the thicket the deer went into this morning, and the other being the trail the deer took to get there.
6:15 pm, I see a doe workig her way towards me from the far corner of the field (same place the deer came from this morning). She is by herself. She works her way to exactly where I was in my climber earlier that night(kicking myself). She actually walks right under the tree and I loose sight of her.
6:45 pm, Ok, I know she is either feeding on the other side of the tree line, or bedded down on the other side. The wind is right, and I have the confidence from my great back yard ground hog stalk, so I decided to get up and give it a go. I get up, move about 15 yards down the tree line. There she is, but not on the other side of the tree line like I thought, but further down and on my side, laying in the gr [no swearing please] and looking dead at me, about 100 yards away. Ok, what do I do now? I put the binos on her, she seems small, but no spots, and she is by herself. When I put the binos down, she gets up, Ok I think, this is over. But know, she decides to trot right towards me. At this point I stop looking at her and do some yardage estimates. I pick a spot which I think is about 30 yards away. "If she gets that close I will take her". She stops about 20 yards short of that spot. Now here is the seen, I am standing sun to my back 50 yards from her looking right at each other. She grabs some gr [no swearing please] and eats. Ok... She stomps her foot, bobs her head at me. I don't move. More grass, WAIT, was that a button antler on her? head?? I need to know as I don't want to arrow a button buck. I slowly pick up the binos and gl [no swearing please] her again, nope smooth head, and no visible junk. I put the binos down and reconnect my release. She blows and runs 25 yards away and stops. I still don't move. She turns and runs towards me again, this time closer. Stomps her feet agian and then turns broad side to me. Slowly I raise my bow and figure her to be just under 35 yards. I thinking about adjusting my sight for the longer shot (I have a HHA slider that I keep set at 20 for hunting) but decide all the movement would probably not be good. Draw the bow, she is still just looking at me broadside. She dips her head to grab some grass, I was through her lungs before her head came up. She whirled around and ran about 10 yards and piled up.
I walk back to my pack which I left in my makeshift ground blind to find that my batteries are dead in my camera. I call the wife to let her know I connected and will be a little later getting home.
I walk back to where I shot from, and start pacing off the shot. 39 yards. So I was a little under in my estimation, but luckily for me, it was a slight down hill shot which I was not compensating for.
The arrow is about 10 feet behind where I hit her. covered in blood, complete p [no swearing please] through. She went down in the middle of the meadow, so she is an easy find. She is pretty small, either a small last years fawn, or a big this years who had already dropped her spots. Entrance was perfect just behind the shoulder, exit was further back and lower and huge!
I quickly dress her out, Even though I did not puncture the stomach or guts, her upper cavity is loaded with crunched up acorns. I had severed her esophagaus along with both lungs and a clip from the heart. Incredible damage from the broadhead.
Ok, bow was my Bowtech Constitution, 470 grain arrow tipped with a NAP spitfire broadhead.
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-dan
Alarm went off, but I was already awake. Quickly got out of bed, kissed the wife, and made for the shower. Ate a quick breakfast and was out the door by 4:30 am for the quick walk (yes walk) to the property I am hunting. I get to where I want to climb up with my stand with out being busted. This is good because I was really worried about this. The wind is perfect, barely moving, but in my face.
Get up the tree and settle in by 5:10am. After a few minutes the woods start coming back to life and I listen because it is still too dark to see.
6:00 am, starting to get light. At 6:15, I see them. 3 deer, two does and one fawn, entering the far end of the field. This is wrong, they should be heading towards that corner, not away. I had planned this hunt that the deer would be either coming out of the corn, or coming out of the apples, not coming from a bedding area towards the corn or apples in the morning.
So the deer continue up towards the corn, but on the far side of the meadow from me. Ok, well I chose this side hoping that the downed walnut tree will steer the deer towards me as they go around it. It does not, when they get to the tree, they turn right, away from me and head towards the thicket. Ok, so let me try to blow a doe grunt and see if they will turn. I grunt once, nothing, again, nothing third time, SNORT BLOW CRASHING, there was a fourth doe, coming up my side of the field that I never saw, but she saw me, and after the third grunt from a tree, had a pretty good education about my deer call!
Oh well, that was exciting.
7:15, I see another deer enter the field from the same corner as before (obviuosly need to get my stand down there for the next time I hunt in the morning) I put the binos on here, spots. Just a fawn. She comes about 1/2 way up the field along the same path as the other 3 deer. Makes a right into the tree line. 5 minutes later she is back, but with a friend, another fawn. For the next 30 minutes I watch them play in the field in front of me. Jumping around, eating. Then one head towards my side of the field and the other beads down just the other side of the downed walnut tree.
At 9:00 the fawn that was bedded down along the walnut tree gets up and heads into the thicket that the three deer went into earlier. I sit until 10 with no more action and decide to call it a morning.
Ok, back out at 3:00pm.
Decide to try to set up on the opposite side of the field, along the trail the deer followed in the moring. Problem is, this will bring the deer from right to left, and may make it tough to get a shot. I climb up a not so perfect tree, but best one available. Set up, and sit for next hour. The wind shifts and is now blowing my scent right to where I think the deer will come. Also, because the tree is leaning forward, it is hella uncomfortable in my stand, so I make the decision to climb down and try to set up on the ground in a different spot where the wind will be better.
Ok, all set up in a thicket with a nice tree for a back stop with the wind in my face. Perfect view of two converging trails, one coming from the thicket the deer went into this morning, and the other being the trail the deer took to get there.
6:15 pm, I see a doe workig her way towards me from the far corner of the field (same place the deer came from this morning). She is by herself. She works her way to exactly where I was in my climber earlier that night(kicking myself). She actually walks right under the tree and I loose sight of her.
6:45 pm, Ok, I know she is either feeding on the other side of the tree line, or bedded down on the other side. The wind is right, and I have the confidence from my great back yard ground hog stalk, so I decided to get up and give it a go. I get up, move about 15 yards down the tree line. There she is, but not on the other side of the tree line like I thought, but further down and on my side, laying in the gr [no swearing please] and looking dead at me, about 100 yards away. Ok, what do I do now? I put the binos on her, she seems small, but no spots, and she is by herself. When I put the binos down, she gets up, Ok I think, this is over. But know, she decides to trot right towards me. At this point I stop looking at her and do some yardage estimates. I pick a spot which I think is about 30 yards away. "If she gets that close I will take her". She stops about 20 yards short of that spot. Now here is the seen, I am standing sun to my back 50 yards from her looking right at each other. She grabs some gr [no swearing please] and eats. Ok... She stomps her foot, bobs her head at me. I don't move. More grass, WAIT, was that a button antler on her? head?? I need to know as I don't want to arrow a button buck. I slowly pick up the binos and gl [no swearing please] her again, nope smooth head, and no visible junk. I put the binos down and reconnect my release. She blows and runs 25 yards away and stops. I still don't move. She turns and runs towards me again, this time closer. Stomps her feet agian and then turns broad side to me. Slowly I raise my bow and figure her to be just under 35 yards. I thinking about adjusting my sight for the longer shot (I have a HHA slider that I keep set at 20 for hunting) but decide all the movement would probably not be good. Draw the bow, she is still just looking at me broadside. She dips her head to grab some grass, I was through her lungs before her head came up. She whirled around and ran about 10 yards and piled up.
I walk back to my pack which I left in my makeshift ground blind to find that my batteries are dead in my camera. I call the wife to let her know I connected and will be a little later getting home.
I walk back to where I shot from, and start pacing off the shot. 39 yards. So I was a little under in my estimation, but luckily for me, it was a slight down hill shot which I was not compensating for.
The arrow is about 10 feet behind where I hit her. covered in blood, complete p [no swearing please] through. She went down in the middle of the meadow, so she is an easy find. She is pretty small, either a small last years fawn, or a big this years who had already dropped her spots. Entrance was perfect just behind the shoulder, exit was further back and lower and huge!
I quickly dress her out, Even though I did not puncture the stomach or guts, her upper cavity is loaded with crunched up acorns. I had severed her esophagaus along with both lungs and a clip from the heart. Incredible damage from the broadhead.
Ok, bow was my Bowtech Constitution, 470 grain arrow tipped with a NAP spitfire broadhead.
-dan
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