Three Rights Three Rights

The Shot, And The Hunt After The Hunt

I couldn’t believe that a quarter of a mile from my house I was watching three bucks, thirty yards in front of my deer blind. Fifteen minutes earlier, I had determined that if I got a chance I would go ahead and take the oldest of the three. But patience is a teacher that every sportsman knows well.

I had practiced out by the barn for hours at thirty yards, and I had my crossbow sighted in to the point where my bolts were grouped within a couple of inches. I tried sighting in at fifty yards, and the result was a lot less consistent. So, I had determined that I wouldn’t take a shot over 40 yards but, if I could, I would wait for a 30-yard shot. Not an easy thing to do.

Whitetail deer have a keen sense of sight, hearing and especially smell. So in preparation, I had washed my hunting clothes in scent free detergent. I had showered with scent free soap and even used deodorant that would mask my scent. My blind that I had set up weeks earlier was made of camouflage fabric and my clothes were Game Guard Camouflage. My cap was camouflage and had a net mask that covered my face. With all of that, it was important to keep perfectly still. The three bucks never knew I was there.

At first the buck was too far away. Then when he came into range, he was either turned wrong for a broadside shot or another buck was behind or in front of him. I had to wait for the perfect moment. Finally, the shot was right. With my crossbow resting on a shooting fork for stability, I had to lean to my right to get the buck in the crosshairs. Finally, the time had come that I had been working toward for the better part of a year. I released the safety, took a deep breath and let it out, then took another and let it halfway out. I held aim just behind his shoulder and slowly squeezed the trigger. My dad had taught me the technique over half a century ago. He had taught me that I was doing it right if it is a surprise when the weapon goes off.

I have to say I was a little surprised when the crossbow released the bolt and almost instantly I heard it hit the buck. It was too fast for my 66-year-old eyes to see the broadhead hit. With a jolt all three bucks jumped the cattle panels around the feeder and disappeared into the woods.

As I said hunting is patience, and that is not only true for the hunt. It is especially true for the hunt after the hunt. You can’t just start looking for a deer you have shot right away. You have to give him some time. Otherwise, you might chase him for miles and never retrieve him. So I noted the time and waited, quietly in my blind. After about half an hour, I started to look for my buck. I found the arrow that had gone through cleanly, but I didn’t find much of a blood trail though I searched all around. I searched for half an hour and didn’t find a trail. I determined it was time to think like a deer. I went the direction he was heading into the woods until I got to a barbedwire fence. I found a few drops of blood on the trail along the fence line, then I saw a few more where he had gone under the fence. I crossed the fence and went a few yards and lost the blood trail in high weeds and a thick blackberry patch. I decided to go to the house and get my snake boots.

When I got back, I saw a welcome sight. My friend I share the lease with, Lee McDermett from Forney, was just pulling in with a protein feeder on a trailer. Lee was more than willing to help me find my buck. This was familiar territory. A couple of years ago, I shot a deer near Langtry, Texas in some rugged country near the junction of the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers. It was only a few miles from where Judge Roy Bean held court. We followed a trail up and over a steep mesa and down the back side into a canyon until the loose stones made it too treacherous to go any farther. Thankfully, after that experience, Lee was up for another track.

I have to say that Lee is the best tracker I have ever seen. We tracked for a couple of hours and every time I was about ready to give up, he would pick up the trail again. We followed the trail through weeds, blackberries, a creek and through brush until finally we found my ten-point buck.