1. I killed a huge doe deer
2.The garden is basically dead, with a few
exceptions.
3. We are doing P90x to try to get into shape.
First I will tell you about my glorious deer hunt I had earlier in October. It should be noted that I shot a doe because it was my first deer and I didnt want to be picky on my first one, also Im not huge on trophies and really just wanted meat in the freezer, it should also be noted that on the property I was hunting I also only had permission to shot a doe. I went out to the farm I was going to hunt the afternoon before to set up my tree stand, although it is a portable climbing stand that you can carry on your back, its not ideal to try to set up in the dark when you are trying to be quiet in the early morning. I found several red oaks that were dropping acorns and had piles of deer scat all around them. I had seen several deer feeding under these trees just a week earlier while scouting. To my surpirse, the white oaks werent dropping at all yet, and hince there was no scat under them, deer usually prefer white oaks to red. So I started looking for a straight tree trunk that was big enough to support the weight of the stand plus me, but at the same time wasnt to big to attach the climbing stand to (if to big around, the teeth on the stand dont dig into the tree while climbing, making it slightly more dangerous). I found another oak tree that was the perfect size just about 15 yards away from two of the large red oaks with plenty of deer sign, this tree happened to be near a clearing in the woods that lead to the field where the trees were dropping acorns, which was an added bonus. I set up my stand and began the walk back to the truck, spooking a few dear on the way out, another good sign. So I arrive around 5:45 the next morning, still dark and stary, one of the first cold mornings of the season, a chilly 50 degrees with a slight breeze. While making my way across the cow pasture with flashlight in hand I heard several deer make their alert "huff" and run away. That gave me mixed fealings because I was happy to know there were deer around, then again, I may have just spooked them off for the day. But anyways, I tied a rope to my stand with my crossbow on the other side and began the tiring climb up the tree, which took about 10 minutes. I sat and waited, and watied, until a small doe came walking out in front of me. She was looking around suspicously, like she knew somthing wasnt right. I think she must have been one of the ones I had spooked earlier. Then she looked right at me, we had a staring contest for about a solid mintute. Then I quickly reached for my crossbow and before I could even look through the scope she was 20 yards away, I didnt take the shot, those crossbow bolts are 15 bucks each, and expensive to lose or break! I cursed myself and tried to figure out what went wrong, I finally decided that the field in front of me was on to much of an incline, and that the doe was eye level with me and I needed to be higher in the tree. So I climbed another 10 yards or so to get out of the line of sight if another one walked out in front of me. I waited for about another hour and half with no deer in sight. It takes alot of dicipline and patience to sit still in an uncomfortable stand while your cold and starving. So I finally decided that I had probably spooked one to many deer that day, and I should probably just quit until that evening. So I reached into my backpack to see what I had to eat, and think over my strategy before I started the climb down. I lowered my crossbow down to the ground with my rope to get it out of the way so I could eat without having to try and balance a loaded weapon on my lap. So Im siting there munching away on some cold corn bread when I see some movement out of the corner of my right eye. I freeze solid, slowly turn my head as far as I can and look to the right, another small doe approaching the red oaks from my right. This time I was in a real conundrum. I had already lowered my crossbow down to the ground 50 feet below me! I did alot of thinking in those few mintues it took me to make a decision, and I finally decided that if the deer did get close enough to shot then it would without a doubt see me pulling up my bow, but if I pulled up the bow while she was still 75 yards away she might not notice. So I dropped the corn bread ( a sad waist, I know) and reached for the rope, I waited until she put her head down to forage on the acorns and slowly started pulling up the crossbow, when she looked up, I would pause, she looked back down and I lifted some more. This dance went on for a few minutes before I finally got my crossbow back up in the tree with me. The doe got about 30 yards away from me, but off to my right and behind one of the oak branches, not a shot I was comfortable taking. I watched her feed 30 yards off, just out of range for about 30 minutes, when she looked in my direction, CRAP! I thought for sure she had spotted me, then I realized she wasnt looking up, but at somthing on the ground. About that time I looked to my left and saw a large doe with a young of the year doe with her. I almost peed myself as she stepped right out in front of me and gave me a perfect broadside shot. "Well its now or never", I thought to myself. I lined her up in my sights and took the shot, she jumped about two feet into the air and took off like a bullet, leaving her young daughter just standing there confused for a few seconds. I look and looked, but couldnt see any blood from the stand, I thought it was a good shot, but the anticipation to know whether or not I had hit it was almost worse then waiting for the deer to show up! I finally climbed my stand back down to the ground, detached my saftey harness from the tree, and ran over to where the doe had been standing. There was a huge pile of blood! But wait, somthing very confusing, my arrow was in the middle of that pile of blood. Being new to bow hunting I had never heard of an arrow going clean through an animal, but it is apparently fairly common. I thought maybe I had just grazed it, but no, how could there be that much blood if I had just grazed it? I began tracking it, a drizzle of blood here, a drizzle of blood there at first, this was very discouraging. Then about 20 feet from where I shot it, I found what was an almost constant stream of blood, what looked like buckets of blood. I followed this trail for several minutes, winding throughout the forest until about 10 yards in front of me I saw a beautiful sight, a dead deer! She ran about 100 yards after I shot her, the arrow went through both lungs, so she took her last breath moments before I pulled the trigger. I was personally amazed at how long she ran when her lungs had huge holes in them. I dragged her out of the woods and into a small clearing where I field dressed her. Rock tunes like Journey's "Dont stop believing" were playing though my head and the adreniline was pumping full throttle! I cut her open and removed all the guts, which was harder then I though it would be. Then just out of curiousty I cut open her stomach to see what she had been eating. I saw a mix of corn, plant matter, and acorns. As I removed her still warm heart I had flash backs to one of my all time favorite movies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I was particularly thinking about the priest chanting cali ma shock ti day! (or somthing like that) while reaching into the guys cheast and pulling out his hear! Anyways, Im easily distracted. I went back to the truck, drove it acorss the cow pasture, and loaded her up! I got her checked in and then took her to Pedders Processing and they only charged me 60 bucks to cut her up! Cant beat that! I got about 15 pounts of hamburger meat, roughly 50 steaks, 3 deer roast, and several roast that the butcher cut up into jerkey slices so that I could more easily make deer jerkey! So far Amy and I have eaten deer steaks, deer jerkey, deer meatloaf, deer chilli, and deer sloppy joes. You can use ground deer meat the same way you use beef, and it is alot less greasy! YUMMY!
Ok, so thanks for reading about my deer kill, I know it was long and probably boring, and I know I said I would talk about the garden and P90x, but it is late, and those will have to be other posts some other time! Thats all folks! -Clay
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