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First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 5:32 am
by Luke Carpenter
I've been blessed to have an incredible bow season so far. I tagged two really nice public land bucks, a mature 8 point, and a huge-bodied 7 point, and filled my public land doe tag, all on the ground!
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So being done so early I decided to get a private land doe permit for my Dad's property to try and get one with my recurve. I wasn't planning on hunting with the recurve this year as I had made it my goal to try and harvest a big buck, and I figured that would take up my season. So I hadn't shot the recurve at all this year. Since I shoot instinctive I wanted at least a week to practice and regain my muscle memory. So I started shooting for the last week and to my surprise, I was shooting pretty darn good. Baseball sized groups at 20 yards. I told myself 15 and in and I would attempt the shot with confidence. So, Monday night for my first Trad hunt of the year, I was setup on a transition between some hot oaks and a foodplot I planted in august. I had pictures in the area of a big doe with a broken leg that I was hoping would show up, but any doe would be a trophy to me, so she would just be an extra bonus. The deer have been pounding the oaks before making it to the brassicas, and it was a gorgeous fall night, so I was as high on optimism as possible. It was gonna be a good night. About an hour & a half before dark the first doe appeared 50 yards out feeding down the strip of oaks parallel with me. During the next 25 minutes 5 more does appeared and continued to feed on the acorns within 60 yards of me. It was a great show. Just before 7 a mature doe stepped out & I noticed she had a severe limp, yes! She showed up! So I gave her a few grunts with my voice when she was positioned well, and she made a B-line right to me! Perfect! At 12 yards she turned broadside/slightly quartering away & at 15 yards I picked my spot, drew and released, the arrow dissaepeared EXACTLY where I'd aimed, bottom third right in the crease of the shoulder. I was so happy & satisfied with that! I knew right then she wasnt going far. But I waited till the rest of my family was done hunting so they could join me. My blood hound (a.k.a my 11 yr old brother Jonathan) made ridiculously short work of the trail and led me right to her! The arrow went through both lungs & the top of the heart and she only went 75 yards. Another cool thing that made it even more special to me is the arrow I shot her with I made with feathers from a turkey Id shot. It was a crazy fun night, super relaxing, and the most beautiful fall day this year! Couldn't have had any more fun or enjoyed it any more. Now I'm looking forward to the late season & a week long rut hunt in Virginia.


(Now for the next first! Jonathan one of my 9 siblings got a bow last month for his birthday (Sep. 26th) and has been shooting non-stop since. It's only set at 30 pounds so I told him only shots inside 10 yards. Well, he saw deer coming out about 50 yards from the stand I had him hunting the first week of season. So he said on the 3rd hunt, "I'm gonna move to where they all come out & try to shoot one on the ground like you did, tonight" my dad and I thought to ourselves no way is that gonna work but we said, go for it! So the little guy went out alone & setup all by himself in a deadfall for cover. When I got back to the trailer with my brother James that night, Jonathan was already waiting there. He says very calmly, "What did ya see?" We said, 2 does but not close enough for James to shoot them. So we asked, How bout' you? He comes back with, " I've only got one arrow left, I shot two! Both perfect shots At 8 yards!" Wait, what?! He went out and shot two does on the ground by himself! Wow! 5 does came through together and he shot one, 1 minute later they came back down the same trail and he drills a second one! So we gather the crew up and head out for some trailing. Both deer went less than 50 yards and bled everywhere! It was so cool!
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Then my brother James got his first deer, a young doe at 7 yards this weekend! He made a perfect shot and she only went 25 yards! It's been an amazing year, and I can't wait to see how the rest of my family does on bucks as the rut approaches. 7 down in October so far! We've been eating well!

I'll post pictures of my recurve kill & James' doe as soon as I can figure out how to fix my phone. My phone has no storage and denies me every time I try to upload it. Too many hunting pictures, haha. But I'll get pictures soon! Thanks, beasts! And thanks for reading this long write! You guys are a huge reason to our success!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 5:40 am
by Luke Carpenter
I figured it out. I used a different device to post. :dance:

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Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:08 am
by blackwidow
Too cool man! Congrats to both you and your little brothers! What a season you guys are having.

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:14 am
by matt1336
Great job!!!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:24 am
by seazofcheeze
Congrats! :dance:

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:12 am
by Jackson Marsh
Great job Luke!

You had a heck of a year and it's not even November yet 8-)

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:19 am
by Dewey
Congrats Luke. Looks like the freezer is full. 8-)

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:00 am
by Bonecrusher101
Wow congrats man! You and your little brothers are deadly! Absolutely slaying deer! Way to get off to a red hot start. Thanks for sharing!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:12 am
by Tsom
Congratulations! Sounds like a great season so far!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:13 am
by john1984
:dance: :clap:

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 9:12 am
by Edcyclopedia
Spectacular!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 12:21 pm
by briar
This is incredible!!!!! Tell us about the 30 lb arrow and head setup! Truly awesome for all of you!

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 1:49 pm
by Motivated
Wow! Nicely done by you and your family! :clap: :clap: :clap:

Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 2:17 pm
by Luke Carpenter
Thanks guys!!

Now as as for the 30lb setup, Jonathan bought a PSE Upriser, and he can certainly pull 40 lbs, but since he just started shooting a bow I wanted to keep it light for the first few weeks. 30 lbs was what I started him with so he wouldn't strain himself with how much he was/is shooting, or develop bad form. He literally got the bow less than a week before season. He was shooting very well though. So even amongst all the begging he laid on me to crank it up, I told him 40 lbs or not I only wanted him taking shots inside 10 yds. Hard I know, but also doable, and to me, worth it. (Much less chance of a wounded deer) He was shooting well enough I knew he was plenty fine at what poundage he was at and had no reason to risk messing it up. I didn't calculate FOC, weigh his arrows, check velocity, or anything like that for his setup. I knew 10 yards and closer, those things didn't really matter, it was only his accuracy/shot placement. But I set him up with Beman ICS Juniors cut to 24 inches, and tipped them with 100 gr Magnus stingers with the bleeders. I spent quite a while touching up the blades a little bit extra and they were RAZOR sharp. He passed up several deer & even a couple buck between 12-20 yds do to my rule, but When he shot the two does he made excellent shots at 8 yards and I'm super proud of him for that. Neither shots were pass through a but both made it to the other side. So 8 inches of penetration on both. Which obviously is plenty! He's turning out to be quite the killer and is figuring out what's taken me 10 years of hunting pretty quick. I didn't kill my first deer on the ground, without a blind, with a bow until last year. And he did it on his first year on two in a matter of seconds!

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Re: First Trad Kill! 3 Firsts! And The Coolest Hunts!

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 10:15 pm
by briar
Thanks Luke! You fellas did great! Killer setup job and I'm sure envious of your recurve skills!! That stuff is flat out hard!! Congrats again!