Drawing Blood

I spent every day I could getting myself ready for the upcoming hunting season. I shot my bow as much as possible and only work and inclement weather kept me from shooting it daily. I felt very comfortable that I could make a clean and ethical shot within 25 yards…whether or not I could actually release an arrow on a deer I had not determined yet.

I switched my focus from shooting my bow to scouting for good ambush places to hunt. I was (am) very lucky in that I have some very good friends that allow me to hunt their properties. One of the main issues confronting hunting is a lack of available hunting areas and the public areas get hammered relentlessly during the season. I had my choice of three farms to hunt and we scouted all of them extensively. All three showed good promise but I especially liked a farm in Southampton County that was growing soybeans and bordered by a swamp. We set up two stands in another farm that has always had a high number of deer in it even though I personally didn’t like it as much (and still don’t). I didn’t have the experience of my friends when it came to where to hunt so I deferred to their knowledge.

As opening day was approaching I realized that my primary hunting partner was going to be away so I was going to be by myself. As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry about opening day at all because a nasty weather system moved in and I would have been “seasick” if I had tried to ride out the storm in a tree stand. My next attempt of hunting took place at my friend’s farm where I chose to hunt from the ground in some high weeds. I was on pins and needles as I hoped that a deer would pass by but I still didn’t know what I would do if it came. I sat until dark and never saw anything other than the mosquitoes that hovered annoyingly around me.

My next attempt at hunting took place at the farm that we hung the tree stands at and once again it was non-eventful. I did hear what I believe was a deer moving through the woods but as soon as the sound got downwind of me I heard it react and go crashing through the woods…this deer hunting stuff was going to be more difficult than I thought!

My best friend and I changed tactics and decided to check out the original farm that I liked so much…everywhere we looked there was deer sign! We even saw a nice buck during the middle of the day when we were scouting in a light rain. We hung one stand and I went out and bought a tree stand of my own to hang at a later date.

I hunted a couple of more times in two other farms and I had only seen deer twice and they were far out of range. I was beginning to get discouraged, I honestly thought that I would be seeing deer on every hunt…I never realized the time I was going to have to spend in the woods without success. I did enjoy myself though, I saw all sorts of other wildlife from my elevated hunting platform…tree frogs moving from leaf to leaf, squirrels scampering about, songbirds trying to figure out what exactly I was, gray fox adeptly moving through the underbrush barely making a sound. It was all very different from any other time I was in the woods; I was now part of nature! I was an apex predator seeking my prey. Every sense I had was heighten to a level that I cannot convey to you unless you’ve been there and experienced it for yourself.

My hunting time was becoming limited as I was about to move out of the area to start my new career so on a very hot day that normally I wouldn’t have hunted on, I headed out to my favorite farm. My best friend joined me and he hunted clear over on the other side of the farm and I carried my new tree stand over to a corner of the field and set up quickly. As the day started to fade I looked up to see five does that popped out in the field in front of me…I was shocked! All of a sudden something gripped me and my bow rose…the predator within me took over. My eyes narrowed as I focused on the lead doe which was much bigger than the other four. I believe that she was the “nanny”, the next two does were probably her daughters from the previous year and they each had a fawn of their own. As I started to draw my bow the lead doe looked in my direction and I froze in place; muscles agonizing as I had to hold the full weight of my bow because I had not reached the break-over point. The doe looked away and I quickly came to full draw…I would love to tell you that everything went perfect but that would be a lie. I can only surmise to what happened because it was all a blur to me. I remember putting a sight pin on the vitals but I don’t remember which one it was or releasing the arrow. All of sudden four deer went running to my left and one went to my right…about half a minute later the other four went running in front of me as they went towards where the lead doe had gone. I thought I heard some thrashing around but I just wasn’t sure whether it was the deer I shot at or all of the deer scampering through the woods.

I settled down and tried to regain my composure and wondered whether or not I had even hit the deer. While I was waiting I heard something coming through the woods and I looked to my left and saw I doe coming up a trail with a piebald fawn following. I quickly nocked another arrow but the doe was hidden behind a bush but I had a pretty open shot at the fawn at 15 yards. I came to full draw, centered my sight on the fawn’s vitals, and released the arrow. The arrow flew true until it hit a small, half inch branch that I neglected to see and it deflected it up and over the fawn! Both deer bolted for the field but within a couple of minutes the doe was back trying to figure out what made the noise. By now I was pretty rattled at the afternoon’s events but I nocked yet another arrow and proceeded to send it over the back of the doe. As the doe and fawn ran off I sat there thinking that I blew it again…three shots and three misses. I climbed down and started to search for my arrows but I couldn’t find the one that deflected after hitting the branch or the first one I had released. I walked back to my car to meet my best friend and discuss the evening. I told him that I shot three times and I knew that I missed twice but I really wasn’t sure about the first shot so we went back to my stand. I climbed up the tree to my stand and directed him to where the deer was standing and he found my arrow…covered in blood! I climbed down and paced off to where the explosion marks were from the deer’s hooves and I’m embarrassed to say how far away it was. We followed the tracks but we couldn’t find a drop of blood anywhere. We scanned the edge of the field and as my flashlight passed by I saw the eyes reflecting back at me just inside the tree line! THERE SHE WAS!!! We went over to the deer and I couldn’t believe my eyes, what a magnificent creature she was! I put my hands on here and there was such mixed emotions within me…elation and sorrow at the same time. I had tears in my eyes yet I still don’t know exactly why. I asked my friend to extinguish his flashlight because I needed a little “quiet time” to reflect on the gravity of what I had done. I sat in silence in the darkness with my hand stroking the fur of the doe for about 10 minutes as I silently thanked the creator for such a gift. I let an arrow loose on a deer 52 yards away…I did everything WRONG!!! I was very lucky and my shot ended up clipping the femoral artery and she didn’t travel 60 yards after getting hit. All I can say is that somehow I believe that this deer was meant for me in some strange way and I vowed right there to never let an arrow loose unless I was positive that I could make a clean, ethical shot.

My best friend offered to field dress the deer for me but I had taken that life and it was my responsibility to see that the precious meat was taken care of properly. I had cleaned thousands of fish in my life but this was far different than anything I had ever done and I was somewhat apprehensive about it. My first shock came when I opened the body cavity and my hands went inside of a warm body. I know it must sound stupid but after so many years of cleaning fish I just wasn’t expecting it. I was talked through the process and I was in awe as I held her heart in my hands; what a powerful experience. We brought the deer home and cut out the tenderloins to have for breakfast and iced her down so we could process her the following day. My breakfast the following morning was the best meal I have ever had! The following day I was shown how to properly process the meat and every meal that I made from it (or any other deer) I thank the deer for giving itself to me so I may be nourished.

I had two other deer that came into range during that hunting season…one never provided me an ethical shot and the other was a six point buck that had some extenuating circumstances. Virginia allows hunting with dogs during general firearm season (which I will certainly cover in more depth in future entries) and the dog hunters will allow their dogs out to chase deer out of season to get exercise…this buck was being chased by dogs and I heard it running towards me with the dogs in tow. I came to full draw and yelled when it was 20 yards away. The buck stopped perfectly to see what had made the sound and my sight was anchored on the vitals…it didn’t feel right, that buck would not have been there if it wasn’t for the dogs and I couldn’t bring myself to let an arrow fly. I let down and the buck continued on its way.

Next week: Season of disappointment

Highly recommended reading: Coyote Soul, Raven Heart: Meditations Of A Hunter-Wanderer by Reg Darling (Note - If you are enjoying my blog you will love this book, it is everything that I hoped that this blog would be and so much more. I just recently purchased the book and I was moved by the content.)