Yes, it is possible to be thankful for a miss. Let me set the stage first. It was an interesting day to say the least. I’ve been battling a cold but noticed over the last 24 hours that it also included a mild headache and some chest pressure. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a COVID test and sure enough, it was positive! While not totally a surprise, it’s still a little shocking when that first line on the COVID test turns bright red.
After making a plan at home for keeping myself away from everyone, I contemplated my evening. I decided it was best to miss football practice even though I could keep myself away from the kids and coaches. That gave me an evening hunting opportunity and even though I wasn’t feeling well, I figured fresh air is better than sitting at home.
I should back up a bit and write about my morning hunt. That’s right, thinking I was battling a common cold I made plans the night before to hunt the back end of a cold front that pushed in. The rain was set to leave the area before daylight and a north-west wind was predicted, which is perfect for my Homestead Plot stand. Other than feeling a little off due to my “cold,” I was excited to hunt and this time I took my compound along. As it turned out, the wind was kind of blowing everywhere and not a steady north-west. This created problems when a young doe arrived and eventually caught my wind. She was standing in front of me at 20 yards but looking right at me. There was no way to draw, and of course, you can guess how that ended. I saw three deer total but didn’t get a shot. One was a small buck that was being tailed by a coyote.
For the evening hunt I picked the Gas Well Plot because it had deer in it every night, and again I was counting on the north-west wind. After the morning hunt I drove the Ranger to my stand and trimmed the pine tree to allow for shots with my traditional bows, but I knew that racket wasn’t going to impact the evening hunt. I got into the stand quickly and quietly and the hunt was on. Naturally, the wind was still variable but at that point I wasn’t moving. I wasn’t feeling well as it was, and climbing up and down trees wasn’t going to help.
The first deer to arrive was a small buck. He fed into the plot until the wind shifted and within seconds I was watching his backside bouncing away and back into the woods. A doe and a fawn arrived a little later and didn’t catch my wind, but they fed at the back of the plot and eventually went up the hill toward Buck Meadow. At that point I thought it would be a good time to sit for a bit to rest my weary legs. I was feeling weak and I was questioning my sanity for being out there at all. Predictably, sitting down was the wrong move and it probably cost me a golden opportunity.
I heard deer approaching quickly behind me and by the time I could turn to look a doe and two fawns were underneath me. They moved quickly toward the edge of the plot and I remember thinking to myself it was going to be the perfect opportunity for a shot with my recurve. As I stood up though, the sound of another deer bounding away made my heart sink. In my excitement for the pending shot I totally forgot about the possibility of there being more deer around. Another adult doe was following and caught my movement when I readied for the shot. Her reaction made the other deer nervous and now they were all on alert.
Looking down I had a great quartering away shot if it weren’t for some pine branches covering the adult doe’s vitals. I decided I had to wait for her to move. When she did finally give me an opening I drew and released, but knew almost immediately it was going to be a miss. The arrow sailed underneath her brisket and stuck in the ground harmlessly. She took two jumps into the plot along with her fawns, but didn’t seem too bothered by what had transpired. I nocked another arrow but it wasn’t meant to be on this night. Eventually the deer had enough of the excitement and made their way up the hill and out of harms way.
I didn’t see any other deer but I was glad considering how poorly I was feeling. It took all I had to get packed up and back down on the ground. I pulled my arrow from the Earth and made the slow trek back up the hill to my truck. I was thankful that I didn’t have a deer to field dress and lug around. In hindsight I probably should have stayed home. I did gain valuable experience though and that alone probably made it worth my effort.
After some post-hunt analysis, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to be hunting with my trad bows. I’m just too inconsistent. For now I’m going to hunt with my compound and practice with the others in the meantime. I messed around with a match stick sight to see how it felt and I’ll continue some trial and error. I’m feeling a bit better as I type this some hopefully I’m able to get into the woods tomorrow morning.