Well, it has been a long learning curve for me, starting my hunting career with a bow and all.
So last Tuesday I left and headed for the woods for a nice full 4-day of whitetail hunting. This was my 6th or 7th trip to where I have been busted, missed shots, and a series of other blunders novice hunter could make and I might have invented a few new ways to scare off whitetails.
This year was starting to look awfully familiar when on the last morning, I manage to spook a doe because I couldn't control my breathing. . . that was really bad. So bad that I was starting to think I would never ever kill a deer.
The afternoon arrived and I decided to try a new spot. At around 2pm, I finished scaring anything with a mile by breaking all the branches that would be in my shooting lane. 5 minutes after I settled down, a doe shows up. But she won't enter my shooting lane. On top of that, I'm facing the wrong way. She goes into the now growth and starts blowing. Ok, here goes another chance.
But wait, no, she sticks around and goes on the other side of the wooden island and stop facing me at 20 yards! I cannot move! Finally she has enough and goes back into the wooden area. . . in that area, there's a narrow corridor with branches everywhere except for a "hole" where one could thread in an arrow. She looks away, I go full draw. I find the spot and press the trigger. . . but at the same time she quarters away. She jumps and disappears into the distance.
At this point, I think I hit her, but not 100% sure. So I decide to wait 30 minutes in my stand before going to look at it. One minute later, I coming down.
So I go pick up my truck and back to where my treestand is. Now it has been a good 5 minutes, I cannot wait any longer. I look where I think she was . . . it looks pink. Maybe the sun is facing that way. But I press on.
The pink pink turns out to be blood! So I did hit her. But I refuse to get excited. So I follow from the crimson trail. It looks good, but I'm not sure. In about 200 yards from the start of her death run, lies a beautiful whitetail doe.
NOTE: Pictures to come shortly once I figure it out.