Sit # 7 - Defeat!

I went out in the woods on Saturday afternoon to go retrieve the stands that Steph and I sat in the evening before. On my drive out, I noticed that the wind wasn't blowing from the south as it was supposed to be. It was more variable - South to West, so I decided to hunt the pinch again. After I got the stands and drove over there, I saw combines out on both sides of the creek taking beans off. I thought that might be a good thing to get the deer moving. The last two nights showed the deer were on their feet and I hoped the trend would continue. At about 7:00 I had a doe and a fawn come out behind me from the south side of the field corner and work their way into the field. Whether the combines or something else spooked them, they went back into where they came out of. About 20 minutes later further down the field edge to the east a doe and a fawn were making their way west (toward me). These were most likely the same two deer. They came all the way into the corner and right by me. I turned the video camera on and got ready for the shot. The doe was leading the way and as she got behind some brush, I drew back. She was walking slowly and slightly quartering away. As she stepped into the shooting lane, I let her have it. She did a high rear leg kick and jumped right in front of the trail camera. The fawn didn't know what to do. I tried to keep the camera on her but I was using the crappy old hi8 video camera. Very grainy. I climbed down to examine the arrow with the little bit of light I had left and it didn't look that good. There was blood only up the shaft about 4 inches and the broadhead was gone. I couldn't decide what to do so I walked back to the truck and when I came out of the woods, I saw a lone deer walking out towards the beans and then back towards the woods. It was kind of acting funny. I called my dad and I told him I was going to pull the memory card and watch the video to see if I could decide what to do about it. The video made it look like a great shot, but the quality is so poor. Dad came over to watch the video and we both had a tough time seeing the arrow entry. We decided to go look for her because at that time it was only about a quarter to 9pm. We got out there and found some brisket hair and a bit of blood and started on the blood trail. We tracked the blood for about 200 yards or more until it got to be about one or two drops every 15 feet or so - really tough to track. I think my shot was a little low and too far forward. I also think that when I shot, she was taking a turning step so that the quartering away angle was even more severe than it looked from the camera. Odds are I missed any vitals or lethal areas. Which is too bad, because I was really looking forward to some good doe management. There will very likely be another shot at a mature doe. I've just gotta stay out there as much as I can.

Last night I got a good long look at Skyscraper out in the same bean field he's been spending all summer. It' s going to take a doe for him to move I think. Hopefully, I get a picture of him across the creek to know that he does travel across. There were deer everywhere last night. Two days before the new moon. We've gotta go outta town for a wedding on thursday, but maybe saturday evening the wind will cooperate.