Blacktail with my bow today! (pics)

sliverpicker · 11-21-2003, 03:54 PM

I went up in the Mt Hood National Forest this morning to an area I've hunted in the past. Got up to where there was about 8-10 inches of powder snow and found some fresh tracks. The conditions were perfect for tracking in the big timber.

After following the lone set of tracks down into a flat in the timber I started crossing more tracks. The original set veered back into some thick understory as I continued to follow. I hadn't gone too far when I caught some movement of a doe moving from right to left. Then another doe came thru an opening. I slipped forward behind a big rootwad and nocked an arrow. A doe and yearling stepped into an opening at 20 yards, followed by a little spike and another doe. The last doe jumped forward as a 2x3 moved in behind her. The buck stepped up on a big log and looked back my direction as I drew and released in one motion.

The buck jumped off the log and out of sight. About 20 seconds later the doe's came bouncing back on both sides of me then started milling around before drifting away. At first I thought I'd missed with my shot, so I decided to go check where he stood. When I climbed up on the log the buck was laying about 30ft away, stone dead!

My arrow had hit low behind the elbow cutting off the bottom of the heart before passing on thru.

When I was heading back down I saw a big 4x4 cross the road at a leisurely pace.

I also saw some very fresh lion tracks this morning.

Not sure how to post pics on this forum, can someone help me out? Thanks alot skein!!!

sliverpicker

[ 11-21-2003, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: sliverpicker ]

skein · 11-21-2003, 04:11 PM

Yes-I-can-help-with-pics-but-only-if-you-tell-me-EXACTLY-where-you-crossed-the-lion-tracks! (There, a whole sentence in one word. :grin: )

If you'll email those pics I'll see if we can't get 'em posted.

And congrats on your success.

Skein

Fish Hawg · 11-21-2003, 04:17 PM

Congrats on your buck

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] , you know that 4x4 will be a little bigger next year :grin:

periwinkle · 11-21-2003, 04:25 PM

Bagging a buck with a bow is quite an achievment. Congratulations.

Mello-Yello · 11-21-2003, 04:52 PM

"The buck stepped up on a big log and looked back my direction as I drew and released in one motion."

That's the best way! Nothing worse than too much time to think about things. Congratulations!!!

nitrobass · 11-21-2003, 05:34 PM

OK now I'm REALLY wishing I hadnt filled my tag during regular season!!!

Gun Rod Bow · 11-21-2003, 05:38 PM

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

o-mykiss · 11-21-2003, 05:40 PM

That is awesome. I was right there with you while reading your story. Do you have any pix? I have a hard enough time with the rifle. However, I have been thinking of going to a bow>

KingFisher85 · 11-21-2003, 06:33 PM

Thats a nice lookin buck

crabbait · 11-21-2003, 10:00 PM

What is the make of your recurve? I have a beautiful Bighorn take-down that I have not shot for a few years. My brother has one of the last real Brakenburys (sp?).

Hunting witha recurve is a gas. especially elk during the rut when you can work them into your lap. Not so good when you keep seeing bulls at 40yds and your limit is 25!

salmurai · 11-22-2003, 12:27 AM

Good Job.

Nice to see someone who likes the hunt part of bowhunting. How long have you been shooting a recurve? Congratulations! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

sliverpicker · 11-22-2003, 05:44 AM

Thanks for all the kind words!

The bow is a Brackenbury Drifter I bought in 1986. So I've been shooting recurves and longbows since the mid-80's.

My arrows I make from scratch from Douglas Fir. It takes awhile to shave them down, and find the correct spine (because the wood varies greatly), but it's just that much more satisfying when you take an animal.

I have to stay within my self imposed range of 20 to 25 yards because I shoot right-handed, but I'm left-eye dominant. Beyond that range I have a very tough time finding the kill zone, and it took me several years to figure out why!

crabbait...don't let that Bighorn collect to much dust, it might forget how to shoot

sliverpicker

[ 11-22-2003, 06:46 AM: Message edited by: sliverpicker ]

WildHawg · 11-22-2003, 06:07 AM

Great job Sliverpicker!! I have been seriously considering going to a recurve myself.
Interesting point about eye dominance. My son Isaac did everything right handed--except shoot his BB gun and 22 single shot. I could tell he had a bit of an ambidextrous streak in him, so I tested his eye dominance at around six. We finally figured out that he too is left eye dominant.
He's a real freak I tell ya, left eye dominant, right handed in every other respect, but he naturally chose as a little guy to go left with a bow or firearm. A real pain for his daddy (everything I own is for righty's), but I am so glad he learned correctly--he's one heck of a shot.
Congratulations on your buck!!!!

redfish89 · 11-22-2003, 06:42 AM

Great Job....

blacktail · 11-22-2003, 08:43 AM

Great job Ron! :grin:

Mike

nitrobass · 11-22-2003, 05:05 PM

Excellent!!!

Jellyhead · 11-24-2003, 07:33 AM

Congrats Ron!

Looks like you'll have lots of time to snap photos now!

Aaron

Norm · 11-24-2003, 08:49 AM

With a recurve even, nice shot.

tommy2915 · 11-24-2003, 09:10 AM

Great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckybill · 11-24-2003, 12:24 PM

Nice job, congrats. Like you camo top. It looks great in the picture.

maggot · 11-24-2003, 05:19 PM

right on!..my turn

HOGGEMIN · 11-26-2003, 07:21 PM

Great job and nice buck. I too am a righty with left eye dominace. I shoot guns left handed but bows right handed, I just look through the peep with my left eye, looks real strange to other people.

sliverpicker · 11-27-2003, 02:49 PM

Thanks again for all the compliments!

It seems there's alot more cross dominant eyed folks out there than first realized. I thought I was a freak among archers in this problem.

Just yesterday, my son and I drove up into the national forest to retrieve my trailcam and treestand. Later while going down a road we saw a bowhunter packing a brand new Wes Wallace recurve and stopped to B.S. with him. I learned that he was also right-hand, left-eye.

I suppose it's not so critical with a compound or a rifle, you can close one eye and look thru the sights. But shooting instinctively with this problem takes a huge amount of concentration to hit where you want.

I have a friend in Bend who's going to loan me a lightweight left-hand recurve to try shooting this winter. I've heard of guys switching in mid-life(shooting bows that is).

If anybody is going out this weekend, good luck and shoot straight!

sliverpicker