2004 Deer Hunt - A Bowhunt In Progress

The 2004 Bow Season - December
Home Page 2004 Deerhunt | Equipment For The Fall Hunt

Dec 28 (Last Update 10:58am)
Morning | Food Plot |

Morning - The Broken Tine Returns
Weather: 44, partly cloudy, and light wind.

Dec 28 - Broken Tine Buck (Last Update 10:58pm)
Morning: Before daylight a deer came from behind the Double Bull blind and walked close to me. It was only a deer shaped shadow in the dark, but a big bodied one. It walked into the food plot and put his nose in the greenery. 

At 7:00 it was still to dark to shoot but I could make out it's antlers with my binoculars, it was the Broken Tine buck. Minutes crawled by doling out small increments of light. Finally there was enough light to clearly see my pins.

One problem ... the buck was too far away.

And then he turned and he began walking in my general direction. No ... he was coming on down. 

Stepping past the tree with the dripper he moved his head up as he caught the scent. Yesterday I had purposely left a bottle of Golden Estrus on the ground as a 15 yard marker. Broken Tine walked right to the bottle and smelled it and nudged it with his front foot.

Which put him at the perfect broadside angle. It's time...

I focused on his body and picked a shadow behind his shoulder. For some reason I remembered an email about the recent bucks from my bud Zan Christensen that said, "Stay cool, don't freak, shoot with confidence. I'm there with you buddy."

I kept my eye on the shadow and drew. My top pin stopped on the shadow. Everything was right. "Shoot with confidence," I thought. And released and heard the hit.

All heck broke loose. Broken Tine whirled and nearly fell down ... and ran past my blind.

Above the beating of my heart I heard the voice in my brain say, "did he fall ... or duck?"

If I hit where I was aiming he was down already. If he ducked or moved I could have a trailing job ahead of me. I simply did not see my arrow. I waited an hour and thought myself nuts until 8:30. 

Here's the deal. Instead of running to the woods he went behind me -- which is where the corrals and fenced areas for cows are. Since I don't ranch the cow area has grown up, it's probably 5 acres and it's packed to the max with dried grass and weeds ... that are waist high. 

Very likely he was within 50-80 yards, somewhere in that ocean of high grass.

I went into the house and phoned the Duck, because he is coming today. He was leaving as we spoke and expected to arrive between 12:00 and 1:00. We have a tradition, when one of us shoots a buck we both look for it. 

At 12:00 I couldn't wait any longer. The ground was tore up where the buck had been. My arrow lay a few yards past it and had blood the entire length and on the feathers. A trail had lung blood in it.

He hadn't ducked.

The buck had two choices to get out of here, through the corral area, which is the shortest route to the woods. The other choice was to jump the fence into two large fenced areas. The interior fences are old and run down but that first fence is 5 foot high. 
  
I know you're thinking, "why don't you just follow the blood trail?" But the Duck would be here any minute and that was just the wrong thing to do, all things considered.

But it seemed ok to me if I sort of looked around a little.

Given a choice of a 5 foot fence to jump and a straight shot through the corral to the woods the corral would be the most logical route, it's the "least resistance" thing. I walked the perimeter of the fence all the way back to the Rolled Wire. Nothing. I walked back through the woods. Again nothing.

It was 12:45 and the Duck would surely be here any minute. While waiting I decided to walk the first fence past the 5 foot fence. Thie area is about 25 yards wide and it has some peach trees, and as mentioned is cram full of waist high dried weeds and grass.

When I walk a fence I look for breaks in the fence or low places and check them. I saw a place where a fence post had fallen over and made a low spot. I stopped there and checked the ground for blood. None. I looked on the opposite side. None.

However I noticed an opening in the weeds, 10 yards away something had noticeably smashed some of the weeds down. I stepped to it. Broken Tine was there. He had gone only 50 yards. 

I rolled his legs up under him and got him ready for pictures.
  
Minutes later the Duck drove into my yard. "I couldn't wait," I told him, I've looked everywhere and can not find it. I left the arrow where it fell." And motioned him toward the arrow.

"I don't think so," he answered with a grin, you've got blood on your knee."

The Broken Tine buck. He weighed 162 pounds, which is heavy for our county. His teeth were dull and worn. He gave me a great hunt, I'll never forget the Food Plot hunt.  

P.S. And Zano, bud you were there with me. 

EQUIPMENT THAT HELPED GET THINGS DONE ON THIS HUNT:  

• INNERLOC EXP Expandable - I love this broadhead. It put a big cut on the Broken Tine and he was dead in seconds. Both the entrance and exit wounds were big 3 blade cuts. The shot was a perfect double lunger and he went 50 yards. Imerloc
• BOWTECH - My 62 lb. Patriot shoots 270 fps and put the arrow on the money. Smooth drawing, quiet drawing, fast shooting, it makes for good hunting -- that's BowTech 
• DOUBLE BULL BLINDS - Nobody does blinds better for bowhunters. It got me in the middle of great deer action. Double Bull Archery
• PLOTSPIKE SEEDS - It drew deer good, as evidenced by the late November and December hunt photos and daily logs. We had several freezes and the plot goodies stayed edible and kept the deer coming. I've planted other brands as well as buying the feed stores recommendations -- nothing came close to this.  PlotSpike
• Power Wick & Special Golden Estrus - It moved several deer to the right place for a shot. In the end of it the Broken Tine buck walked right to the Golden Estrus bottle and was smelling and pawed at it when I released the arrow. Wildlife Research Center is deerhunters making scent for deerhunters and they have the right stuff.  Wildlife Research Center
• Other Key Parts Of The Shot: the bowhunter's Venom peep sight, TEAM PRIMOS release from Jim Fletcher Archery and Shoot Out arrow rest from Golden Key Futura. all worked together quietly and accurately for a perfect shot.

Wild Turkeys covered the plot from the get go. Deer came intermittently. Until now. The joint is jumping with both bucks and does. Here is the page for the Food Plot plans, planting and progress. 2004 Food Plot Project.

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Sponsors of 2004 Deerhunts BowTech Bows Innerloc Broadheads Scent Killer Double Bull Ground Blinds TrailTimer Game Cameras Venom Peep Sight

Golden Key Futura arrow rests Fine-Line bowquiver Jim Fletcher Archery releases North Starr Treestands ladder stands & treestands American Whitetail Targets Cranford EZY Climb Tree Steps

FireTacks Trail & Gear Markers PlotSpike Food Plot Seed Arizona EZ-Fletch Hunt Recorder & Notes Book Rope Ratchet Sticks N' Limbs camouflage Wildlife Research Center Freddie Bear Sports Online