Post by mrode363 on Feb 6, 2016 1:48:49 GMT
It was a cool and crisp morning, with temperatures dipping into the single digits for the first time in 2015. There was a slight frost covering the ground that crunched with every step my anxious body took. I slowly made my way down the ravine and onto the side hill that I was hunting for the third straight year. The 2015 deer hunting season was finally here and my stomach was in knots of excitement for what the weekend would offer.
The morning began quickly as within 15 minutes of me sitting down, I had a doe scamper down the hill behind me. If the deer had waited 15 more minutes to walk out in front of me, I could have had my doe tag filled with an easy, 10 yard shot. Instead, the doe hurried off into the woods in front of me and left me in silence.
It was beginning to get lighter outside and it was nearly shooting time. My dad radioed down and told me that there was a buck chasing does in the field behind him. As soon as I heard that, I began to anticipate the best and prepared myself for any deer that wandered in front of me.
About 10 minutes later, I noticed a deer running through the woods in front of me. The deer was almost hidden amongst the trees and left me with no shot. I told my dad about the deer and got right back to scanning the woods for any movement.
As I peered from left and right, I caught a glimpse of something moving. I quickly hit the GoPro ‘play’ button and started recording the hunt from the top of my hat. I quickly found the deer that I had seen working through the woods and prepared myself for a potential shot.
The deer was walking down the fence line and right into my shooting window. My heart beat faster and faster with each step the deer took. I raised my gun to the spot where I expected the deer to walk out and slowly clicked the safety off. 20 more yards and I would have the chance to harvest a deer.
BANG! I jumped in shock as a gun sounded off. I looked to my left and towards the top of the hill where my dad was sitting. The shot that startled me was one from my dad’s rifle and meant that the deer I was watching had been walking with some friends just a few seconds before I spotted it.
The deer that I had been tracking had stopped and begun to look around. It started to walk again and continued to move down the fence line, this time at a much quicker pace. The deer was still headed straight for my window that I expected.
The frantic deer crossed the fence and began to scurry towards the hill I was positioned on. It stepped into the open and I gave my best version of a grunt call that I could in hopes of slowing the deer down. It stopped in its tracks and popped its head high in the air, looking for the source of the ‘realistic’ call. I lined up my shot and slowly squeezed the trigger.
BANG! The deer took off and ran back across the fence and into the woods in front of me. It ran about 50 yards before lying down and disappearing from my view. I radioed up to my dad and tried to sort out the crazy sequence of events that had just happened.
Soon, I found out that there was a group of four deer that had been crossing the field behind my dad’s hunting spot. Two had crossed the fence and the other two continued down towards me. The shot I heard was a successful 20 yard shot that my dad made on one of the deer. My dad and I assumed we had filled our two doe tags within a minute of each other.
After a few minutes, my dad went to clean out his deer as I patiently waited to make sure my deer was down. As I watched him from afar, I heard a snap in the woods. I turned to my right and saw a deer walking through the woods. I lined up another shot and sent my bullet through the branches the deer stood amongst. It was an obvious miss as the deer scampered up the hill.
I sat puzzled, wondering what in the world was happening. Maybe it was another deer? Did I even connect on my shot? How could I have missed? These thoughts raced through my mind as I began to get anxious.
I soon got up to go check for blood from my initial shot. No blood anywhere. I searched and searched and began to follow the path the deer had taken while running into the woods. Nothing. After over an hour of tracking and searching for any signs of a successful hit, I decided to call it a day and try again Sunday.
When I got home, I went straight to the computer to see if the GoPro could give me a better understanding of what had happened. As I played the video over and over, I couldn’t notice anything that would answer my many questions.
I found the shortcut for playing the video in ‘slow-motion’ and finally found my answer. As I had my shot leave the barrel, the bullet struck a branch just a foot or so in front of me. The branch was annihilated and my bullet missed its target. As embarrassing as the video was, it at least gave me assurance that I wasn’t that bad of a shot. And now I would be able to reminisce the moment for the rest of my life.
For as low as I was feeling after finding where I went wrong, the hunt still ranks among my all-time favorite deer hunts of all time. I will never forget that crazy one minute sequence and will always have proof for when someone wants to see and relive the moment with me. It’s not always about the harvest.
The morning began quickly as within 15 minutes of me sitting down, I had a doe scamper down the hill behind me. If the deer had waited 15 more minutes to walk out in front of me, I could have had my doe tag filled with an easy, 10 yard shot. Instead, the doe hurried off into the woods in front of me and left me in silence.
It was beginning to get lighter outside and it was nearly shooting time. My dad radioed down and told me that there was a buck chasing does in the field behind him. As soon as I heard that, I began to anticipate the best and prepared myself for any deer that wandered in front of me.
About 10 minutes later, I noticed a deer running through the woods in front of me. The deer was almost hidden amongst the trees and left me with no shot. I told my dad about the deer and got right back to scanning the woods for any movement.
As I peered from left and right, I caught a glimpse of something moving. I quickly hit the GoPro ‘play’ button and started recording the hunt from the top of my hat. I quickly found the deer that I had seen working through the woods and prepared myself for a potential shot.
The deer was walking down the fence line and right into my shooting window. My heart beat faster and faster with each step the deer took. I raised my gun to the spot where I expected the deer to walk out and slowly clicked the safety off. 20 more yards and I would have the chance to harvest a deer.
BANG! I jumped in shock as a gun sounded off. I looked to my left and towards the top of the hill where my dad was sitting. The shot that startled me was one from my dad’s rifle and meant that the deer I was watching had been walking with some friends just a few seconds before I spotted it.
The deer that I had been tracking had stopped and begun to look around. It started to walk again and continued to move down the fence line, this time at a much quicker pace. The deer was still headed straight for my window that I expected.
The frantic deer crossed the fence and began to scurry towards the hill I was positioned on. It stepped into the open and I gave my best version of a grunt call that I could in hopes of slowing the deer down. It stopped in its tracks and popped its head high in the air, looking for the source of the ‘realistic’ call. I lined up my shot and slowly squeezed the trigger.
BANG! The deer took off and ran back across the fence and into the woods in front of me. It ran about 50 yards before lying down and disappearing from my view. I radioed up to my dad and tried to sort out the crazy sequence of events that had just happened.
Soon, I found out that there was a group of four deer that had been crossing the field behind my dad’s hunting spot. Two had crossed the fence and the other two continued down towards me. The shot I heard was a successful 20 yard shot that my dad made on one of the deer. My dad and I assumed we had filled our two doe tags within a minute of each other.
After a few minutes, my dad went to clean out his deer as I patiently waited to make sure my deer was down. As I watched him from afar, I heard a snap in the woods. I turned to my right and saw a deer walking through the woods. I lined up another shot and sent my bullet through the branches the deer stood amongst. It was an obvious miss as the deer scampered up the hill.
I sat puzzled, wondering what in the world was happening. Maybe it was another deer? Did I even connect on my shot? How could I have missed? These thoughts raced through my mind as I began to get anxious.
I soon got up to go check for blood from my initial shot. No blood anywhere. I searched and searched and began to follow the path the deer had taken while running into the woods. Nothing. After over an hour of tracking and searching for any signs of a successful hit, I decided to call it a day and try again Sunday.
When I got home, I went straight to the computer to see if the GoPro could give me a better understanding of what had happened. As I played the video over and over, I couldn’t notice anything that would answer my many questions.
I found the shortcut for playing the video in ‘slow-motion’ and finally found my answer. As I had my shot leave the barrel, the bullet struck a branch just a foot or so in front of me. The branch was annihilated and my bullet missed its target. As embarrassing as the video was, it at least gave me assurance that I wasn’t that bad of a shot. And now I would be able to reminisce the moment for the rest of my life.
For as low as I was feeling after finding where I went wrong, the hunt still ranks among my all-time favorite deer hunts of all time. I will never forget that crazy one minute sequence and will always have proof for when someone wants to see and relive the moment with me. It’s not always about the harvest.