Congrats! Glad you were able to find her!

Was able to take this doe with my bow and fill my final tag and freezer. Had my boys with me for the shot and the recovery which made it all the more special. Shot was rushed and back, and we decided to back out after tracking it a short bit. Came back the next morning, got on the blood trail again but it became sparse and we weren’t sure the deer was dead. We backed off again and had a general idea where the deer went but our friend/landowner was planning on hunting that evening in that area and we didn’t want to blow it up. Well the next morning the landowner happened to come across her as he was checking some things on his property and sent me a photo. My boys and I packed up, picked up my dad and went to get her.

Honestly, I knew the shot was not good but with decent blood right away and a pass through I figured it was lethal and thought she would expire overnight. Just goes to show how tough these animals are as she survived at least another full day. Fortunately, we have plenty snow and were able to track her even when her blood was very sparse, so we at least knew the direction she was heading. When the landowner found her, only the birds had gotten at her eye a bit and she still was plenty warm, and we were able to salvage the meat. As a bow hunter, you dread this feeling and pray it never happens to you, even though it is probably inevitable if you hunt long enough. Thinking that I may not find her, those two nights were tough as I was constantly replaying the shot over in my head thinking about what I would have changed. Great experience to learn from though and I’m very relieved and happy it turned out the way it did. 

Very grateful for our friend and landowner for the opportunity to hunt his property and his efforts to help us. Grateful for having my dad with to help recover, as he’s always willing to go hunt with me when he can. Also thankful for my wife for letting me get out there as much as possible. There’s always plenty to do around the house with 2 boys and another on the way but she knows it’s one of my passions. Looking forward to the 2023 season!

Bow Hunting Success: A Story of Gratitude

method

weight

land type

distance (yards)

Whitetail Doe

Bear Archery Rant Compound Bow

Carbon Express Maxima Red SD Arrows 

Bushnell Prime 1300 Laser Rangefinder

Magnus Stinger Broadheads 3-Pack Black, 125

NIKON ACULON A30 10x25mm Binoculars 

hunting

outdoors podcasts

fishing

snow sports

gardening

Bow Hunting Success: A Story of Gratitude

Ethan S

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Whitetail Doe

Gear tagged in this post

Gear tagged in this post

Zach S