Took my daughter out yesterday evening with the crossbow. We almost got down out of the tree early because there were two guys riding dirt bikes around within 50 yards of us the last hour of light. I guess they must be used to it. Two does came out on full alert. Last October I hunted this same spot and got busted by a doe when she came into this small opening. This year we setup on the opposite side and we’re tucked up against a big cedar tree.
That definitely made all the difference. When they came out they were looking in the direction the dirt bikes had been riding, which would’ve had them staring at us in a bald tree if we setup where I did the year before.
I think I was more worked up than she was. You would’ve thought a booner was standing there the way I was shaking!
Just as the doe was getting ready to hit our shooting lane my daughter moved her foot a little and bumped her Nalgene water bottle she set on her platform
The doe locked on us in the tree but eventually turned just enough as she was standing there. As soon as she got mostly broadside, Libby shot! I couldn’t see the bolt but it was a really loud pop on impact. She ended up getting 1 lung and guts which clogged up the hole and made tracking miserable. I called a friend who came with a dog but he’s young and inexperienced and was so wound up it didn’t really help.
We were just about to give up. I told my friend to go ahead home and Libby and I would search a while longer. He started heading towards the road. He got about 50 yards away from where we were and he yells “hey there’s blood over here.” We head over and he says he smells a dead deer. I just got over Covid and still can’t smell!
We fan out and start searching through the chest high brush and Libby yells out “I found her!” We we’re so relieved. Libby stopped to pray multiple times that we would find her deer. In the end, we definitely felt that we were guided to that deer after two and a half hours tracking a deer that made a complete circle that had us a one point following blood in the wrong direction. Without God’s help I don’t think we find this deer. Thanks be to God!
Thanks for reading!
