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Old 08-28-2007, 09:22 PM   #1
Bullrdr82
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Smile Want to read....

Since I have yet to EVER kill anything with my bow, I guess I am going to have to live vicariously thru all my friends in LSBA.

I want to know the story behind your first bow kill.

This ought to be good, since I know there are a LOT of good story tellers around here!!!
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Old 08-28-2007, 10:06 PM   #2
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When I was 12 years old, Santy Claus brought me a brand new Ben Pearson solid fiberglass bow, complete with plastic quiver and 3 wooden arrows with field tips. I didn’t even know what a broadhead was back then.

After church on Sundays, our routine was to travel from my home town of Olney, TX to my aunt and uncle’s place at Archer City, TX for Sunday dinner. While the old folks either watched football on TV or played a game of 42, my brother and I would grab our BB guns or in this case, my bow and head to the pasture.

On this day, we soon came up on this unsuspecting armadillo and I cut loose at him with my trusty bow and arrow. Struck him right in the end of the nose! The race was on and he dropped the arrow right off and ducked into a nearby armadillo hole.

My brother grabbed him by the tail and tried with all his might to pull him out. But the armadillo would kinda swell his body against the sides of the hole and he couldn’t budge him.

Well, about this time I had a flash of brilliance.

My brother held onto his tail and pulled as hard as he could. I took my arrow and jabbed him (the armadillo) right in the bung hole! When he kinda sucked up, my brother yanked him out!

I was then able to get another shot on him before he made his escape and well – the rest is history.

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Old 08-29-2007, 07:47 AM   #3
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That's hillarious John.
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Old 08-29-2007, 08:16 AM   #4
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I hear if you slide your hand up thier tale with your index finger out and when it gets to felling warm curl your finger. Armadillo should come right out of the hole!!
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Old 08-29-2007, 08:51 AM   #5
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Better than my first harvest, was my first hunt with a bow. The hunt was in 1974 and I had just celebrated my 13th birthday. I was shooting a Colt 38 lb recurve with cedar arrows and Bear razorheads. Back then bows did not have to be 40 lbs but had to be capable of shooting an arrow x number of feet. I practiced religiously on the hay bale in the back yard and was teenage confident well beyond my actual abilities.

Our lease was in Blanco county and loaded with game. I crawled into my butt killing 2x4 treestand and settled in for the afternoon hunt. Very soon a group of blind turkeys came in and I drew back on the boss gobbler. Fire one: Two tailfeathers and a bunch of freaked out turkeys flew from the scene.

Within 15 minutes a young and very stupid four point buck came in to the corn. Fire two: Just a little bit high.

Another 15 minutes and a nice doe joins the party. She is pretty nervous and my confidence is headed south on a fast train. Fire three: Just a little bit low.

There are now three arrows and two feathers on the ground but the doe decides it's worth one more chance at the tasty golden nuggets under my stand. Fire four: Blood!...Well sort of, I nicked her foreleg and gave her a shaving cut.

I am now out of arrows and look up to see a huge 8 point headed my way. I start shaking uncontrollably. The tree is dropping leaves from the commotion in its upper branches. The buck laughs and quickly heads for the hills. (I guess I didn't scare him out of the county because he is still hanging on my dad's wall from a hunt a few weeks later).

Now totally humiliated, I crawl down from my perch and gather my scattered arrows and trophy feathers. I walk out to meet my dad and instead meet the local game warden. It seems that in my wild shooting, the taped on names (required back then) on my arrows had flown off two of the shafts. Well of course those were the first two arrows I showed the warden. Finally, I produced the third and fourth arrow that still had the names on them. I recounted my hunt from hell to the warden and explained how the other two name tags were probably being used for show and tell by laughing animals somewhere out in the dark. He smiled, said better luck next time and left me. My dad picked me up soon after that and laughed for a week.

Inauspicious beginnings.....I know all too well.

Last edited by Cull; 08-29-2007 at 09:13 AM..
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Old 08-29-2007, 10:12 AM   #6
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I was seventeen when I shot my first deer with a bow. I had been trying to get that done for 5 years and when it finally came to pass, I was not able to find either deer. This was mostly due to poor shot placement and even poorer tracking ability. I didn’t even know anyone else that bow hunted so I only had what knowledge I had gained from old magazines my mother brought home as a guide. Needless to say I was doing most every thing wrong. After my defeat, I swore off bow hunting. I had a perfectly good 30/30 and planned on doing all my hunting with it.

Fast forward two years and you find me working as a helper on a job site in Dallas. There was a old man (maybe forty) working there that I was told bow hunted. I told him my story and the next day he changed my life forever.

At lunch he pulled out a photo album full of pictures of animals he had taken with his bow. Deer, Bear, Antelope and even an Elk, I was blown away. He gave me one piece of advice some thirty years ago that is still as true today as it was then. He said “Boy shoot them in the lungs and don’t shoot if you can’t get both”. I have traveled the world and killed hundreds of animals since that day. I have never lost a deer that I shot through both lungs.
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Old 08-29-2007, 11:22 AM   #7
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Great stories guys. Keep 'em comin'!

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Old 08-29-2007, 12:36 PM   #8
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I agree John.... these are great stories.

KEEP THEM COMING!!!
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Old 08-30-2007, 07:59 AM   #9
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I was about 20 years old when I got my first bow kill. It was in Mountain Home, TX. There was only one other archery hunter there!!!! I had several animals walk out. In the mix was a nice 7 pointer. It was the most thrilling time in my life and I hope to do it again real soon!! Maybe even with the other archer that was in Mountain Home with me that trip!!
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Old 08-30-2007, 09:13 AM   #10
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Let me guess, Brent, it was your evil twin?
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Old 08-30-2007, 09:31 AM   #11
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I don't care what Brandon says about you Tracey, you are one smart cookie!!!
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Old 08-30-2007, 09:34 AM   #12
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Well, my first deer taken is not the best story, but we can start there. It was my second year of big game/bow hunting. I believe I was thirty at the time. Up to that time I was a die hard bird hunter, as deer were scarce in my neck of the "wheat fields" in western Oklahoma. When I moved to Texas, I could count the deer I had seen on one hand.

I became a bowhunter on my first hunt with a bow, and through out that first year and the start of the second, I had been lucky enough to have a few chances and made many stupid mistakes...mostly due to inexperience. I had also had some unbelieveably bad luck when the moment of truth arrived.

So, I find myself in a tri-pod near a feeder on a day hunt at South Hills Ranch at Sabinal, in the middle of my second season. It is a perfect night...still, warm, with that golden glow of late afternoon and although I desprately want to get something with my new PSE compound (Carrol Intruder)...I am happy just being there.

I am shooting the best bow (opinion) out and it is really fast at 250 fps. I have one sight pin, no peep, and I shoot with fingers. I don't have a quiver yet, so I carry my 2 extra arrows in my hand. I used to just carry one extra...but that is another story. The arrows are full length aluminum and I am using thunderhead broadheads, as I have had a bad experience with Walmart cheapies.

A lone deer comes to the feeder and begins to eat. I can see no antlers of any kind and it is not huge, but it is a deer and it is in the right spot. I draw, go through my little mental check list....at anchor, front hand relaxed, deep breath, pick a tiny spot, and smooth release......and the arrow is away! IT HITS THE DEER! I can not believe it, after so many failures and close calls. The shot looks a little far back, but it is angleing forward.

I fear a gut shot and anguish over the possiblility of tracking all night and still not having my first deer. I am so worried about it that I don't get down to look around even though I am dying to do so. When my buddy comes to get me I tell him the story. He says let's have a look and he finds my deer 30 yards from the feeder. The shot was fine and I was worried for nothing. I am amazed at how close the deer was. If I had been watching like I should have I may have seen it fall.

Now it turns out that the deer is a little buck. The skin is not broken on his head and you could not possible tell it was a buck. You could tell it was a yearling if you weren't new to deer hunting or had some referance like an adult deer. I was both extactic that I had gotten one and sorry that it was a buck.

Back at the camp house I hung my deer in the skinning area. Guys came over to see it. One guy said that it still had spots, another one said to wipe the milk off it's lips, and eveyone laughed. I am sure you know the routine. The truth was if you looked really closely in the right light, you could see where the spots had been. They were just cutting up and having fun in camp, but it still hurt a little. One guy, that I work with, came over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and told me congrats on a great first deer and what a good shot I had made. I will never forget that gesture, bowhunting was important to me even then, and it was a big deal to me.

I don't have bad feelings for the other guys, they couldn't know. We all joke and tease each other all the time, and I am probably the worst. If it had been any deer but my first, I would have been the first one to make the joke, and most of those guys didn't know it was my first one.

Anyway, that is the story of my first deer...but the screw ups that got me to that point are much more entertaining, perhaps we can do another thread on those.

I liked the stories above, thanks to those who took the time to write them.

Mark
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Old 08-30-2007, 10:37 AM   #13
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Good stuff Chunky.
The size of the deer has so little to do with the success of a hunt. I was in my early twenties and too poor to pay attention. We had a lease that had very few deer. It cost a whopping $100.00 per year and I could barely scrape it up. One cold December afternoon I shot a spike and my buddy shot a 3 point. That night we sat around the fire looking at out two bucks hanging from a tree with our recurvers leaning against it, all lit up from the camp fire. I have never been prouder or more pleased with a animal.
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Old 08-30-2007, 10:55 AM   #14
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Default I guess it can be told now...



*queue dream sequence music*
*queue dream sequence visuals*

It was a long, long, long time ago....the year was 2004 and in February, I decided to get into bow hunting. I had been rifle hunting for deer since I was young but had not hunted since my Dad passed away in 01. Signed up here and other forums/clubs to research and soak up all the info I could. I learned all I could and then decided on a bow. Picked one up on EBAY and got it all set up in July. Having posting here and on TBH for months asking questions and even getting into a few scrapes with some idiots, I got an email from Timm Getts asking me if I wanted to go on a doe hunt with him. Of course I jumped at the chance.

I met Timm, Bob Wright and others at my first 3D shoot in August at the CCBA. That was fun.

Fast forward to October, second weekend, and Timm has me in Coleman county with some friends he knows that allow Timm to bring in guests for a 2 doe and turkey harvest weekend. First night and I see tons of turkey way out of bow range. No deer. Next morning in another stand....no deer seen. That evening I decided to sit in the same stand as it looked promising. Had a very nice and tall 6 point come in and feed off the hand thrown corn. Since a buck was going to cost me about $1500 bucks, I decided he wasn't THAT good. Pretty soon he takes off and Timm comes rolling up in the Ranger. He has a doe down and needs help tracking her. So away we went and after about an hour in near pitch black darkness, we found her laid up under a mesquite bush.

Sunday. D-day. We are supposed to head home at noon and I have not seen anything I could shoot. Getting very depressed. Timm took pity on me and put me in the same stand he had shot his doe the night before. He was going to hunt out of a blind he put up behind the cabin that morning anyway. He warns me that there is a buck with 1 inch spikes running around that stand that he almost shot twice. No problem! I can tell a buck from a doe! (now don't get ahead of me!)

So here I am sitting in the stand and its dark as heck. I hear game all around me and as the light just begins to burn off the darkness and reveal a layer of fog, I see a doe off to my left, a nice 8 point in front of me and more movement in between that I can't see because of the huge branch blocking my view in between the two shooting lanes. The doe to my left would not move into the open for me to get a shot. I thought my heart was beating so loudly that she was going to run off! After about 30 minutes she started to move to the lane in front of me. It was still in that early morning twilight, that 30 minutes before sunrise that is legal to hunt. I know because I was checking my watch every 2 seconds! The fog was not hindering my ability to see up to 30 yards and I had ranged the corn in front of me to be 18 yards. That very nice 8 point still having an uninterrupted breakfast there.

For two days Timm has told me to be sure to shoot a doe! I got to hear over and over about another guy that shot a 6 point out of this very stand, then tried to hide it and now was no longer welcome to hunt there.

I am praying to the Great Spirit and my ancestors to just give me a shot and hold my aim true as I watch this doe tease me off to my left. Never showing herself enough or long enough to allow me to draw. Then she makes a move to the right. I can see her disappear behind this large branch and foliage. I hear her taking deliberate steps towards the buck in front of me. I sense she is going to step into that shooting lane in front of me and if she continues on the same path, I will have a clear shot both in front and in back of her. I begin my draw. Lesson one: practice your draw from every possible position. I had a small panic attack, fearing that after all this, I was not going to be able to draw back my bow.

After what seemed like the most agonizing minutes of my life, I broke it over and began to anchor. At the same instance I am looking for the doe to place my pin on the target. I am in a zone now. All I see is my top pin and my target. It was like I was looking down a tunnel and I knew I could not miss. I touched my release and heard, more than saw that it had found its mark! Deer scattered everywhere! I had no idea I had that many around me.

I sat there and closed my eyes and listened for the doe to fall. I had seen her run around behind the cactus and off to me left. I heard the last breath go out of her and I was ecstatic! I am physically shaking to the point I believe the leaves in the tree were shaking too. It wasn't long and I see the deer begin to return. Off to my right I see a doe, to my left I see the nice 8 point. Both look up at me and blow out of the area. I am so pumped and can no longer stand it! I know she is down so I climb down and go look for her.

I can't describe to you how it felt that you would understand. It was like I was guided to where she lay. Like I knew exactly where the doe was going to be without worrying about a blood trail. I was walking, but seemingly above the ground, not on top of it. I then recalled the night before when I was helping Timm in pitch black to recover his doe. When I found her it was like I knew where she went. I have sense recovered other deer the same way and have recovered every animal I have taken down.

As I come around a mesquite bush, I see the doe lying right where I knew she would be! I am pumped up like you would not believe, arms in the air, hoisting my bow above my head! I thank the Great Spirit for holding me true! Celebration! Then I step closer. I see two 1 inch spikes on the deers head. Oh oh. Surely I didn't just kill that buck Timm warned me about. This had to be one of those freak doe with horns! I checked between the legs....oh crap! Now what do I do? This mistake just cost me $1500 that I don't have to spare. Have you ever had a balloon filled with air and then prick it with a pin, but instead of popping it slowly deflates? That is exactly how I felt at that moment. All the air went out of my lungs and I just plopped down on my butt and cried. I called my wife on my cell and what should have been a celebration was avery sad conversation as to what I had done and was now going to have to face Timm and his buddies that trusted him.

I laid my bow on the deer and began the long lonely walk back to camp to find Timm. As I am walking past the camp to see if Timm is still in his blind, I see him coming up the trail with 2 turkeys over his shoulder. He looks at me and says "What did you do?" So after I replayed everything to him, we hopped in the Ranger and retrieved my deer. Not sure who was more scared o Gary, the ranch foreman, me or Timm. When he drove up as we were beginning to skin and quarter, I explained to him what I had done and that I was willing to pay what ever fine he believed to be fair. I really thought he was going to say , but he was very understanding. He gave me lesson 2: be 100% sure of your target. He did not fine me, but instead thanked me for being open and honest. No fine was going to bring back that buck anyway, he told me. Then he shocked me even more by telling me and Timm that I was welcome to come back anytime! I was doing the "happy naked pagan dance"!

Fast forward to today. I have harvested 7 deer, 1 buffalo, 1 Gold Medal Catalina ram and a gobbler turkey with my bow! Which brings me to lesson 3: always encourage other bow hunters to move on and learn from their mistakes. Thanks Timm for the great hunt and thanks to Gary for understanding!

Roger
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Old 08-30-2007, 10:29 PM   #15
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First deer with a bow? It was near blizzard conditions in the Winter of 1972 and I was nearly 5 years old...

Actually, it was more like 1996-7 season and I was nearly 30. I was hunting with a Jennings compound bow, 2315-XX-75s and a Thunder Head 125.

I was on a lease in Llano County near Lone Grove, TX. I loved the property but even I could see that it needed a good management program. We (the "bowhunters") had a lease on the place for bow-season only...after that, the family had day-hunted rifle hunters in there for many years. So game with horns were few and far between.

I didn't care, the place cost us $300 each for October and we were seeing lots of deer, a few hogs and even some turkey. I had day hunted for a couple of years with my bow and had taken hogs and exotics but this was my first deer lease that my step-dad didn't pay for and I had no equipment, treestands, feeders, etc... so I went to WalMart.

You guessed it, cheap day/night, 5-gallon, bucket-feeder and a rope to hang it in the tree. But get this...one of those collapsible lawn chairs for a "stand". I brushed it good high on a creek bank and hung my feeder across the dry creek bed. Everyone else on the lease thought that I was stupid for hunting from the ground in a natural blind...and they didn't mind telling me so either. But I'm just poor white-trash from East Texas and told them to shut the heck up and watch this...

Since opening weekend, I'd an eye on this matriarch doe with a pair of yearling twins still in tote. She was big bodied and had the loooongest nose I'd had ever seen on a deer. I had several close calls with her but I'd been busted more than a couple of times too. I never told anyone in camp about getting winded or seen while hunting on the ground though.

Finally, the 4th Saturday of the season it came together. I heard movement on the rocky creek bottom to my right. By this time I'd learned (finally) not to move my head to see what was coming in. After several minutes, a young but rather fat doe enters my shooting lane and moves up the rise on the other bank to feed.

As she relaxes, I wait, look and listen for a bit to see if she has company...she's alone. I go to draw and as I reach my anchor I remember thinking..."I'm actually drawn without getting busted". I settle into anchor, breathe, settle in the 20-pin for the 15-yard shot at the opposite shoulder on the quartering-away whitetail. I squeeze the release and watch as the arrow stops with a loud "crack" as it hits the far shoulder.

As she rolls toward me, the doe's body snapped the arrow in half. She kicked a couple of times and expired in less that 15 seconds right under the feeder.

She wasn't the old girl I was hunting, but she was real easy to track...and she was my first.

Bet she tasted a lot better than that old hag too.

llanodoe.JPG
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