Rookie mistakes

This could be a very short blog entry: when shooting your bow in the field, make sure you don't wear floppy clothing!

Here is the context for those that are interested. Most of my gear is pretty trim around the forearms. We all know the bow string needs to be able to go through its path unimpeded, or else. So not wearing big, bulky or floppy jackets is a must when bow hunting. And you need to practice with your hunting garb on. So you can figure out any flaws before entering the field.

Yes, yes, we all know that, done that, are ready, and so forth. Enter the first snow storm of the season. Without much thought I pulled an old snow camo jacket over my regular gear and set off to examine a few spots out of the wind that also provide browsing. I have both a muley buck and doe tag this year.

Two identical bucks pulled a switch trick on me, and all I could do was watch both of them go in separate direction, with me standing in the middle. Stalked two does and a buck, but could not get closer than 80 yards, and a circuitous stalk was blown by four moose that had been hiding in the cover I tried to use to get level with the deer.

I was still-hunting around the side of a coulee, when a small doe jumped out from under my feet. At least I'd been quiet enough to get that close. This was a doe of the curious, inexperienced, or stupid kind, as it kept approaching and retreating, circling around and approaching again, feet stomping, trying to figure out what the statue was in the middle of the open hill side.

After about an hour of this I finally got a shot. Contrary to last week, I was steady, checking sight pictures, bow alignment, I pick a spot, release and 'thwap'. Not 'twang', but 'thwap'. Doe walks off. No blood or other sign. In fact ten minutes later the doe was still hanging around.

A straw bale provided a target of opportunity. More thwapping. And arrows landing more than a foot off at 40 and 50 yards. Until finally it dawned on me (I admit, I'm slow). The string was hitting the sleeve of my snow jacket! Take off jacket, shoot, 'twang', good hits.

It appears I'm doomed to make all the rookie mistakes myself, instead of learning from the mistakes of others. Oh, I also managed to misplace the case of my rangefinder, likely buried in a foot of snow now.

I think my range finder case might be in one of those bushes somewhere 

Patience, grasshopper

I couldn't believe my luck, just driving into the hunting area on a oil lease road I spotted two muley bucks in a stubble field, and they didn't spook; a clear sign that rifle season hasn't started yet. As I grabbed my bow, pack with essentials, and binoculars, the bucks quietly walked towards the edge of a coulee, taking a bite to eat here and there. Once bedded down in the buck brush that covers the sides of the coulees they would be impossible to find. So I dropped out of sight and edged along the field to get to a position where I could keep eye contact. Half an hour and some steep climbing up the far side of the coulee later, I saw the antlers of two bucks bobbing back and forth above the edge vegetation. Two hundred yards. With a rifle the hunt would long have been over; with the bow, it had only just begun.

One set of antlers disappeared, the other started ambling along the edge, and then out of sight. Now, what do you do? Wait it out, or move to maintain a visual? When given a choice I always move. It's in my blood. So I moved. And got busted. The smaller buck was looking at me from the edge, and managed to escape from my view when I was glancing to find the other buck. I found the other buck, and it then disappeared when I tried to relocated the first. Then there were two does that just vanished. And in the process of looking for them, I scared the smaller buck out of hiding and it took off.

Ninety minutes into the hunt I had managed to find and lose two bucks and two does, managed to chase off one of the bucks, and managed to accumulate cactus in my left butt cheek. Great going! In retrospect, patience would have been the better option, as the bucks were clearly planning on moving into the coulee of which I had a commanding view. Stalking them might have proven impossible, but at least I would have know where they were.

Buck brush on the side of a coulee can make a deer completely invisible

Long story short of busting a doe, and the same smaller buck out of hiding along coulee edges, I found myself above two does a little after the noon hour. In half an hour I had managed to close the distance from about 60 to 48 yards, measured with an angle-compensating range finder. Wind was iffy, but I was high above them. There was no way of getting closer without alerting them, I was already in plain sight, and at with every step I took I could see the does' ears twitching. Suddenly one doe got up, moved a few steps closer, and turned broadside. At 45-46 yards this was at the edge of my (horizontal) comfort zone. Patience again might have given me a better shot option. Instead I shot, a sharp downhill angled shot, at a distance that of course was a lot further than my comfort zone. This is realized later: actual flight distance of the arrow was likely closer to 60 yards, too far for this rookie, especially given the awkward angle and footing. I shaved some hair of the doe, luckily it was just that, and not a poor hit.

One day I'll learn patience. If anything, bow hunting will help me get there. You can't make up for poor spotting and stalking with a quick shot while the deer looks back at you from 150 yards. One day I'll learn. Maybe.