[ShadowLurker]

I got my first deer today! It was out at Grand River. I've sat in this spot 5 or 6 times through all kinds of weather, passing crummy shot after crummy shot just waiting for a clear shot opportunity like I had today.

I hit her at 8:00 am and she ran, fell down about 50 yards away, laid there for 5 minutes, then got up and took off while I was ratcheting my way down off the tree.

I found the arrow in the mud and thought maybe I just missed. I didn't see any blood right away. When I got back into my stand I noticed some hair on the arrow shaft. I figured I'd go look again and sure enough, little drops of blood.

Long story short, I had to follow that blood trail for three and a half hours through thick woods. I think I just clipped one lung. Anyway, it took me an hour and a half to get it back to my truck, with my tree stand, bow, and over-clothes on my back.

...now to set up my laptop in the garage and open that "butchering your deer" sticky...

I didn't have a deer dragging cable, so I used my safety harness. You say "hillbilly" and I say "resourceful".

Wow, I just noticed how red my face is in this picture compared to the one after it. I had a work out!

 

[jericho]

Nice. At least you found her.
Did you drink the blood?

 

[ohiohunts]

That looked like a good shot to me. Can't believe that only hit one lung. Good job on trackin her down. Congrats!

 

[scott trout]

:thumbs_up:

 

[silentbutdeadly]

I agree, that looks like a good shot. Do you think a higher placed shot would have resulted in better blood?

 

[ShadowLurker]

Well, she was only about 15 yards out when I hit her and I was way up in my stand. I think it was the angle that was the problem, not the entry point.

 

[at1010]

nice deer! I think it was just that the ground looks wet, and blood was harder to spot! I still can believe that deer ran that far!! Was that a rage broadhead hole?

 

[ShadowLurker]

nice deer! I think it was just that the ground looks wet, and blood was harder to spot! I still can believe that deer ran that far!! Was that a rage broadhead hole?

I was just using the cheapo Carbon Express broadheads.

 

[GMbuck]

Congratulations! Nice shot, nice track job, way to stick it out in the rain. :thumbs_up:

 

[Deehntr56]

Congrats on your 1st deer. One you won't forget!!!:thumbs_up:

Now the bad news----since she was by herself, and this is peak rut- the biggest buck in grand river was about 2-3 minutes behind-trailing her

JK!:biggrin:

 

[coonskinner]

Well, she was only about 15 yards out when I hit her and I was way up in my stand. I think it was the angle that was the problem, not the entry point.

good shots can not be real good...this happened to wendy too...i'm trying to teach her the importance of angles...i believe thats what happened to her too...she shot slightly high being in a treestand but didnt account that her stand was downhill from the deer making it an almost level shot but rookies learn this way...congrats on the deer and congrats for sticking to the track even if it was"just"a doe...too many will track big antlers thru hell and high water...anyway congrats on a great job...:biggrin:

 

[catchdog]

congrats

 

[Steve]

Congrats.

 

[ImpalaSSpeed96]

Congrats on your first kill bud, not the ideal experience though! 20 feet is all you need to go bro, lower if you have some cover in the tree.

 

[Southernohio boy]

congrats on your first deer:thumbs_up:

 

[1finepistolero]

Congrats on your first deer, and way to stick with the blood trail!

 

[deerhunt45]

Congrats Shadow!!!

That'll be some good eatin right there :thumbs_up:

 

[bthompson1004]

Congratulations on your first deer!!

 

[1Deerwhacker]

Congrats, man ! Enjoy that butchering. Each deer you process will get easier to cut up.
All that "silverskin" on the front legs is what frustrates me most.

Take your time...you'll be glad you did. Think about the $$ your saving !
Don't know how much of the animal you are going to grind up, but let me leave you with an idea....If you can find some bacon on sale somewhere, I grind about 10% straight bacon in with my burger, instead of adding tallow (beef kidney fat) or trim fat. This makes for some very good burgers !

 

[ShadowLurker]

Thanks guys.

Yeah Deerwhacker, butchering was an experience indeed. Surprisingly, I did better than I thought I would but there was still some waste. Now having done it all the way through, I'll know exactly what to improve next time. Oobuck's butchering sticky was a major help.

A buddy of mine came over to help me out and we cooked the tenderloins up in a pan on the pot belly stove I just put in my garage. It was a fun experience with the smell of wood, raw meat, and cooking meat all at once. The smell brought me back to when I was a kid and my family used to visit the old country in the Summers.