Swing And A Miss

My first archery hunting trip of the season finally came as I headed to camp the evening of Friday October 13th. I made it up in time to get set-up for an evening hunt, and with the gate behind camp closed I decided to set up just 75 yards into the woods behind the edge of the yard.

I made the switch from my tree steps to a one-stick set-up this year and this was my first hunt putting it to the test…it did not go well. I spent half the climb dangling as my feet continuously wanted to kick-out from the tree. Once I got set, I decided to chalk the climb up to a bad tree (or it being Friday the 13th), rather than writing-off one-sticking as a colossal mistake. It was a beautiful October evening in the woods, but no deer showed.

Saturday was a wash out for most of the day. I woke up at 5:30 AM to pouring down rain, making the decision to sleep in very easy. I waited impatiently throughout the day with the rain not letting up. Constantly checking the forecast, it finally looked like there would be an opening for the last two hours of daylight. I got in the truck at 3:30 PM, still unsure of where I was going to set-up for the evening.

I drove around a bit checking some spots I had considered; each of them already occupying a truck. I decided to head back to camp to hunt an area I was familiar with. I started walking out to the “Graveyard” stand and found a fresh scrape where I decided to climb.

The second climb of the season went about as well as the first. I made my second “move” with my stick at about 20 feet. As I got my platform set-up, I realized that somehow my tether was between the two stand-offs on my stick. Don’t ask me how, as I still cannot figure it out. I got out my lineman’s belt, disconnected my Madrock belay device, and figured I would get up onto my platform and then retrieve my tether. Wrong. As I reached down for the stick, my tether came loose from the tree and dropped a few feet. Crap. Luckily, the tag end of the tether (with my bow below it) was attached to my stick. I pulled up my bow and attempted to retrieve the rest of my tether to no avail. At this point, I was pretty concerned I was not going to be able to get down from the tree. Somehow, I was able to kneel down on my platform and reach my Madrock. I figured that now, worst case, I could tie the bottom end of my tether to the tree and repel down, but still wanted to retrieve the rest of the tether.

I searched my pack for something I could make function as a “hook” to snag the tether. I disassembled a Nite-Ize carabiner and used the rope from my stick to make a fishing hook. To my surprise, i secured the tether on the first try. I slowly pulled it up and got situated. Crisis averted. However, at this point, I was sure any deer in the area would be long gone.

I sat for the better part of two hours without seeing a deer. Finally, with about 45 minutes of daylight left, the rain quit and the action quickly began. By the time I saw the first buck headed my way, he was already at 15 yards and closing. I quickly realized it was a small 7 point I wasn’t going to shoot, so I got my phone out to take a video. He came directly below my tree and hung out for a bit at 8 yards.

The buck continuously looked behind him, and as I turned to the left side of my tree, I saw another deer coming straight towards me. A spike made its way to the base of my tree, and I now kept the camera on him.

After filming him for a few minutes, I noticed he kept looking over his shoulder, presumably at the 7 point. However, as I looked back to my right, I saw a big rack buck at 8 yards broadside, already moving past me. I immediately put my phone away and reached for my bow, trying to move quickly without spooking the spike below my feet or the 7 point still at 15 yards. I reached the bow up and over my tree and tether and drew back as the big buck got on his hind legs to lick a branch over the scrape.

Now, as any saddle hunters know, the hardest shot to make is one over your right shoulder…exactly where this buck now was. I should have put my left arm under my tether and stood straight up on my platform, making the shot fairly easy, but we all know thoughts like that tend to go out the window in the moment of truth. I was now full draw on the buck at less than 15 yards as he came down quartering away. I had to really reach with my draw arm to get the pin tucked behind his shoulder. As soon as I did, I went to pull the release and immediately felt a jerk. I watched as the arrow flew low and the deer all trotted off.

At this point, it was getting darker but I was fairly certain it was a clean miss. The deer all meandered around for a while at 50 yards before finally moving off. I climbed down as Uncle Rob came out to help look. We found my arrow and looked around before confirming the obvious – I missed.

I was thankful for the clean miss, but couldn’t help replaying the moment in my head and thinking through what I could have done differently. I am thankful to still have a tag in my pocket with a lot of season to hunt, and will have this in the back of my mind with hopes for redemption.