I got out of work with plenty of time to get into the woods for an afternoon hunt.  This is one of the reasons that I really like hunting during the early season.  I can get out of work and still have time to hunt.  The deer are in their summer pattern, but you still have a good chance to get some good meat for the freezer.

As I moved to my stand location, the wind was blowing very hard.  The wind was gusting 25 to 30 MPH to the south.  I had to move to a little different location because of the wind.  As I setup my tree stand I was not feeling good about seeing any deer.  I have never had good luck seeing deer on windy days.

The wind was blowing all the leaves off the trees.   It would be hard to see any deer moving through the woods.   I was looking up wind and not seeing a thing.  I turned down wind and was surprised to see a doe walking right to the tree I was in.  I have always been amazed at how suddenly a deer can appear.    

This deer was very close to my stand.  She was only five or six yards away from the tree when I saw her.  I reached for my bow, sure that the deer would see me.  She was walking right to me as I waited for the perfect shot.  This deer will make good freezer meat and with two CT antlerless deer tags in my pocket, I was going to shoot this deer if she gave me the chance.

I moved myself into position as the deer turned to the right of the tree I was in.  I was sure that any minute she would smell or see me and she would be gone. The deer was moving a little behind me but she was unaware of my presence.  As she turned to present a broadside shot, I drew back the bow.  Now she was only two yards away from the tree I was in.  She suddenly looked up like she got my scent.  I thought that she would run but she started to feed. 

I put my twenty yard pin high on her back. The shot would be an extreme downward shot.    I wanted the arrow to go through the chest and maybe hit the heart.   I released the arrow and heard the thud of the arrow hitting the deer.   The deer ran very fast out of sight. This is always to good sign of a lung hit. I felt really good about the shot.

I waited 20 minutes before I got down only finding the front 2/3 of the arrow.  The Rage broadhead was fully deployed.  The blood looked bright red on the arrow.  I know that I got a good chest shot. But I wondered where the rest of the arrow was?  It was not on the ground.  I marked the spot and went back to my truck.  Hunters can not carry their bow as they trail the deer at night in CT.  I also wanted to get my tree stand and the rest of my equipment back to my truck.

I picked up my deer hauler and went back to the spot where I last saw the deer.  The arrow was covered with bright red blood. I was sure I hit at least one lung.  There was still a little daylight left as I started seeing little drops of blood.  I was on my hands and knees fifteen yards from where I hit the deer.  I was beginning to fear that I had made a bad shot.

It is a cold night for this time of year.  The wind had stopped blowing and I was thinking I may have to take the next day off of work to take up the trail the first thing the next day.  I want to go a little further before making that decision.  There were a lot of coyotes in the forest and I know they would find this deer before I got back.

I decided that I would go twenty yards farther before I gave up for the night.  The blood drops are 10 to 15 inches apart and about ½ inch around, but that deer was running very fast.  She was going into some mountain laurels and they would slow her down.

The next twenty yards would tell a different story.  I found the other part of the arrow. There was blood sprayed onto the leaves of the mountain laurels.   At about fifty yards, I was walking with the deer hauler behind me.  I was sure the deer would not go that far. 

Then I came to a big puddle of blood.  Did I jump the deer out of its bed?   My heart sank in my chest.  I would have to come back the next day and risk that the coyotes would find it.  I pulled out my GPS to mark the spot when my lights showed a different puddle of blood five or six feet away.  I went over to the spot and found the deer leg.  I couldn’t believe that I almost gave up only a few feet away from the deer.

The arrow had gone through the brisket of the deer.  The second half of the arrow was stuck in the brisket.  That is the reason why I found the second half of the arrow so far from the rest of the arrow.  This is also why there was so little blood on the ground.  The arrow was blocking the exit hole.

I field dressed the deer and put it on the deer hauler and started back to my truck.  There was an old logging road that I walked out on.  I couldn’t get it out of my mind that I almost gave up only feet away from the deer.  I will not do that again.  Unless you know that you have pushed a deer don’t give up.

Happy hunting,

Sean