Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management First Deer Ever With a Bow!!!

Hey everyone just thought I would share quick I shot my first deer (doe) ever with a bow on Saturday around 4:30 pm!! It was awesome!! She came in at about 15 yards man the rush I am only about 12 feet high in my stand and she could tell something wasn't quite right but couldn't figure it out!! I don't know what I would do if I monster buck walked out on me that close!! We are allowed 6 doe here or 4 doe and 2 bucks so the season is starting off good for me. Meat in the freezer already!! Anyway just thought I would share quick!!

Fantastic. My bow is sitting in the corner of the office. Two does, two fawns, and one buck were milling around back of the garage this morning for a long time, but they were far enough into the brush that I didn't want to try and use the bow to get them.

Bow hunting is a huge rush... I still get the shakes.

Congrats! That does sound like a rush!

Congrats! I've taken a few, and the more time you spend observing them at a close distance, the calmer you get. I've found that they sense something is wrong if you keep staring at them.

My closest one was at 20', but that was with a muzzleloader.

I heard of a guy that was Elk hunting and had to lean back when he drew his bow to keep from poking the elk with the arrow. Then I saw this youTube video of a guy moose hunting, and this cow came in on him and was actually nosing the broadhead of his nocked arrow. She had a calf in tow, and I think I'd have to change my shorts after that one.

Again, congrats on your first bow kill. Now get back to work filling the freezer!

Found it:
http://youtu.be/n-1uYxXLmNs

Congrats. You'll be hooked for life. After my first bow kill that's all I want to hunt with now.

Great for you! Your hooked. I took this week off to hunt. Had a group of 4 junior bucks come under the stand last night, but no shooters yet. Had one that will be good next year come under the stand this morning. My biggest was taken during the last week of early archery in 2008 at 5 yards - His mind was elsewhere. Took one with 12" G2's at 27 yards last year during the second weekend of October, but it was narrow (had good mass though). Been bow hunting for 16 years and was hooked after taking a huge bodied yearling at 45 yards. I cannot shoot like that anymore. Buck fever lessens, but the one I took in 2008 had my heart racing and arms shaking. Good thing he was so close and I had so little time to react. I started taking the first thing that walked by - If you keep at it, you'll get more selective. My best advice is to control your scent and/or use a cover scent. Deer can smell very well.

Very good advice. I try to play the wind so that the wind is always in my favor, even with scent control measures in place.

The bigger the deer are, the more they are in tune with their surroundings, and use sight, sound and smell to their best advantage. If I had to pick one of those that I absoluetly had to fool every time, it sould be scent. Don't dismiss the others, but scent will burn you every time with the older deer. I had an old doe that couldn't smell me, but just the noise of cloth on cloth at 40 yds made her shy away. Plus, for 3 weeks after that, every time she walked past that stand, she'd make a wide circle around it staying at least 60 yds out scooting downwind when she came to that stand area. She was teaching the others in the herd to do the same at the same time. I finally got her during muzzleloading season where 60 yds wasn't enough.

Way to go RC.

I've never been a deer hunter, but I can appreciate the efforts of those who are. Congrats!

WTG RC! What kind of bow and setup you have? I missed the same doe so many times she quit quit worrying about me while I was standing in the tree stand! She would look up like "you again" and keep on walking down the trail. As far as i know she is still alive!

Last year, I finally bought a top-tier bow, switched to a release, and doubled my accurate distance. They aren't cheap, but they are better.

This type of bow hunting is not something I generally condone. But, last year, our family and a neighboring family donated nearly 500 lbs., of fully de-boned and vacuum sealed venison to less-than-wealthy elderly neighbors who we knew would make great use of the venison. The final count was about 50% between rifles and regular modern bows, and the other 50% with these things:



The scope on this one is sighted in at 20, 40, and 60 yards. It is incredibly accurate, and every bit as effective as a rifle.

Due to warm weather this week, we've not yet taken any. As I came in my long driveway near dusk this evening, I came across 14 deer, in three different groups. As the weather cools, they will get thinned. We still have far too many -- thus the liberal bag limits in WV and VA. Both seasons opened last weekend. The WV season goes through Dec. 31, and I believe the VA season extends into January.

Good luck, all.

Ken, I have one and the drawback to them is that they are LOUD!!! Mine has a Lumizone scope on it and it's regulated every 10 yds from 10 thru 50. A rangefinder is vital (at least for me) because of the rainbow trajectory.

It doesn't sling bolts any quicker than a modern compound bow, but you don't have to draw it back when the deer is close.

Indiana is legalizing them for all archery seasons starting in 2012. Right now if you don't have a disability permit, it's only legal in late archery season.

With mine, @ 50 yds the best I can do is about a 3" group. At 20 yds I can't shoot at the same spot on the target as previously shot, I'll "Robin Hood" the bolts.

Other than not having to draw it back, I see no difference in the required hunting ability between that and a modern compound.

Scott,

It is fast enough that the sound doesn't seem to be an issue. When the deer are skiddish, not having to move while drawing, really makes a difference. I've been able to hold a 3" group at the 60 yard maximum.

Regards,
Ken

P.S. Remember -- my first statement is that I don't really condone this method. But, in areas with serious over-populations of whitetails like we have in my area, and when the legally taken meat provides months worth of meals for the elderly-poor, I can somehow justify it in my mind.

Agreed. I see and respect your viewpoint.

I view it as a tool. As long as it's legal to use, it's fine in my book. In Indiana, you can use a bow during gun season if you want. Not so in Wi.

I look at hunting as a way to put meat in the freezer, and to enjoy being in tune with nature. If I get a big buck, even better. But, since we are only allowed one per year no matter what the tool, I usually end up not shooting one because I'm waiting for one that's bigger than the one that is on the wall. I'll fill the freezer with does.

I started the stick and string thing with a recurve and cedar arrows. 30 Yds was pushing it. I would have used a long bow if I had one that was strong enough, but I didn't.

Ken, funny you should mention the speed thing. It was just discussed on another forum, this was one of the posts there:

If you look at the math of it, sound travels at roughly 1126 fps. Shooting a x-bow at 385fps. I looked all over to find the reaction time of deer, which i found to be .2sec on 4 different websites (not saying that is accurate). If you take the time it takes for the sound to get to the deer and the time the arrow takes to get to the deer you can use the numbers to help you.

at 45 yards (135feet):
--> sound to deer = 1126/135 = 8.341 --> 1/8.341 = .1198 sec
--> arrow to deer = 385/135 = 2.85 --> 1/2.85 = .35 sec or 35 mS
.35-.1198=.2309 sec for deer to react.
if deer can react in .2 sec, then the deer in this example has .03 sec to react to the shot.

at 60 yards (180feet):
--> sound to deer = 1126/180 = 6.255 --> 1/6.255 = .1598 sec
--> arrow to deer = 385/180 = 2.138 --> 1/2.138 = .4677 sec
.4677 - .1598 = .307 sec for deer to react.
if deer can react in .2 sec, then the deer in this example has .107 sec to react to the shot.


This is with all things being perfect. In reality, the numbers here will be somewhat off because your arrow slows slightly in flight.

And really who knows the actual reaction time of deer?

How fast does that x-bow sling 'em?

The county I work in is averaging 200-400 deer per sq mile. Basically, 10-20x as many deer as there should be... On many of the properties I hunt on there I get to use special DPOP tags and can kill as many deer as I can. Mostly it's bow hunting but on some of the larger county parks we get to use shotguns. My record is 12 deer in 1 day.

It's so bad in some areas they use our SWAT officers with silenced rifles and night scopes and electric powered ATV's. One officer drives, one illuminates the deer with infrared light and the other shoots the deer. All meat is donated to hunters for the hungry... Man can you stack the deer up that way! Good practice for when they have to shoot bad guys.

Sad walking through a park and you can see 400 yards because the deer have eaten every stitch of vegetation they can reach. Little hunting pressure, no predators and bleeding heart animal lovers lead to that. Deer are lovely animals when there's 15-20 of them per square mile. Much more than that and they destroy the habitat and ecosystem.

Wow, you fellas out east certainly have some deer population issues! And I thought we had a lot here in Indiana! Now the state parks, that's another story. They do get pretty thick in there, but they tend to be on the smaller side. Just not enough food to go around and too many mouths to feed.

I was taught that there are three reasons to kill an animal, any animal. The three "P's". Provisions(food), Protection(personal or property), and Profit(usually fur in our family). I don't deer hunt because I can't fit it into any of those categories. I don't need, or like the taste of, the meat. There's no money in it, and I've never been attacked by a rogue deer, although I know it happens occasionally. I made a personal decision years ago not to kill something on the basis of it's size, so I am not a trophy hunter. Please!! don't take this as an assault on your own beliefs!! I have nothing against trophy hunting, it's just not for me!

If the deer on my place began to cause problems, then I would tend to it in whatever manner I saw fit. But I would not classify that as hunting.

I allow my neighbors to deer hunt on my place, and they usually do pretty well. I don't care if they use a crossbow, or a slingshot. All I ask is that they track and retrieve what they shoot, and respect the property lines.

I am an avid squirrel hunter, but I ate so many as a kid that I no longer care for them. Every one I kill is dressed and soaked out, then delivered to my mother, who thinks they're the best thing going. When the time comes that she is no longer there to take them, I will probably cease hunting altogether. I'm teaching my oldest the ins and outs of squirrel hunting, and if he decides to try deer hunting, then I will take him, let him experience it for himself, and make up his own mind. But I will always enforce the three "P's" when he lives with me.

Again, this are just my beliefs, not anything I would try and impose on another. Deer hunting is a tradition, and a way of life for many. And, as Travis and Ken have testified, it can even be a necessity.

Tony, if you were closer I'd start squirrel hunting again and bring you all the ones that I get. I'm overloaded with them since they logged the woods across the street. They're too durn hard to skin! I can sit on the deer stand and count 10 squirrels within a minute.

I started archery hunting at age 34 because deer were distroying our Christmas tree plantings. I had target shot as a hobby for 10 years prior. I immediatly fell in love with the sport. We no longer sell Christmas trees and I do all I can to encourage the deer through habitat restoration. I am a trophy hunter but take at least one doe per year for population control. We eat the deer and feed every other scrap to our dogs throughout the year (frozen). I eat the deer because I love to hunt, not the other way around. I know of few people in America who can honestly say that hunting is an economical way to obtain food. If you do the math, you would come out ahead working for minimum wage and buying food. I hunt responsibly and within the law. As far as crossbows, the skill required for hunting and markmanship is way lower than for a modern compound. This is not even close. A crossbow is a gun that shoots a slow bullet. I hope that Indiana does not eliminate the early archery season without crossbows!

RC51 that a way to go. Im pretty much a bow snob and have not taken a deer with gun in about 6 years. I avg about 6 does a year with the bow and still get excited when they come in that close. I think you are now hooked.

Ken I have no problem with a crossbow. To each his own if you want to use a rifle muzzleloader shotgun crossbow compound bow or primitive bow. I just hope all hunters pratice their weapon of choice. We as hunters need to ban together to fight anti hunting propaganda.

That is a TenPoint Titan TL-7. They have a draw weight of 165 lbs, and a rated arrow speed of 280 fps.

Isn't that the way of things! You always see the game you're NOT after!
I was out last night, hoping to bag a few greys, when the woods exploded behind me, to my left. Four does came tearing up the hill towards me, running full tilt and flat out. They passed within 10 yds, glanced at me, never veered off or slowed down.

I waited to see what had spooked them up, never saw a thing. I finally walked down into the brush and found where they had been bedded, but still no sign of a pursuer. I was raised to be comfortable in the woods, but I will admit to glancing back over my shoulder more times than normal as I finished my hunt.

By the way... when you skin a squirrel do you start under the tail, and stand on it to pull the hide off? I find that way works the easiest.

Yep, that's exactly the way that I do it. Maybe I should try it while they are still warm? Heck, now I bet I could get my limit in less than 10 minutes.

There aren't any Greys up here, just Fox squirrels. A neighbor that lived in Ky. said the Fox squirrels are harder to skin than the Greys (larger too).

Yeah, the foxes are much larger than the greys. And they can be tough to skin, especially if they're old enough to have come over on the ark with Noah. I try to pass on shooting those!

I find greys to be a more challenging target than foxes. They're smaller, they move around more, and they spook easier. You startle a fox and he'll quiet down for a few, then likely start back up, giving you another chance. Startle a grey, and you may not see or hear him any more that day.

Definitely keep your squirrels warm, and on the smaller side when it comes to skinning.

Hey thanks everyone it was awesome to get that close to a very in tune animal even though it was a doe. Some of them are pretty dang smart!! I am hooked and going back this weekend again! We love deer meat and will use every bit of it. For those who asked I shoot a Bear compound bow. Not the best in the world only about 300 bucks but it works for me! I use a 60,lbs draw and it's a nice little bow. Maybe I will see Mr. Big this weekend?? You never know till you go!! I'll let you all know what happens!