by Mark Trent
( ohio)
Hello my name is Mark and I’m a hunter from Ohio and most my hunts take place in Astrabula county.
I have a few stories to tell, just some crazy things that happened to me this year.
First hunt starts a week later of the Ohio gun season, which i was successful in harvesting a mature doe, but this day I had a feeling that it was going to be a good day.
I did my prayers and just had that feeling as a hunter, you know what I mean when I say it was the perfect morning. It was around 35 degrees out and you could hear a squirrel jump from a tree to the ground a hundred yards away.
For the most morning, that’s all I seen was squirrels, till around 10:30 am,.
I seen movement a ways off and by this time it warmed up and the leaves were not as crunchy. The deer were coming straight to me and make it to 7 yards away and the biggest of the two doe either had to go left or right, so I drew and at that time she just stood still eating acorns.
I was at full draw for two minutes. It felt like my arms were wobbling. I didn’t want to take on that shot even at that close, so I let down and then she turned.
A few seconds later, as I went to draw my release string attached to my bow snaps and I hit myself in the face with my release.
They of course took off, but only about to twenty yards.
I knock another arrow and put my release on the string on my bow under my loop that broke.
At 25 yards I thought I’d shoot high due to moving my release down but i didn’t.
I aimed and went right under her belly. That’s strike one.
Deer one, me nothing (with bow).
The second hunt takes place a few weeks later during muzzleloader season. It’s around 1:15 and we were heading back from lunch and I just get in my stand and I hear my buddy Matt shoot and he’s only 75 yards from me on the other side of the thicket and knowing this area, I knew either they were gonna head left to slashing were they came from or come right to me.
So I got ready and sure enough there running straight to me and it was an 8 point and two does.
I aim with the muzzleloader which my buddy let me use. I grunt with my mouth the buck stops at 45 yards along with the two does.
Now this muzzleloader takes a .11 primer instead of the .209 primer which is way better, but hey I used what I had and I shoot but only my primer.
So I load another one in a hurry. They didn’t move so I aim steady and pop just the primer again. Im cussing a storm in my head saying you gotta be blank kidding me lol, and they take off and stop at about a hundred yards.
I load another primer as she looks back, I aim, shoot and pop my primer again.
Now thats strike 2! Deer two me nothing.
The third hunt took place February 5 the last day of the season It’s another perfect morning and again I had that feeling I was going to have a good morning.
It’s cold and crisp and I’m in my stand about ten minutes when i hear something that I thought was a person walking.
How loud it was so I just look in that direction and hear comes a doe walking straight to the left of me then decides to turn and come straight behind me.
So as it goes behind me, I stand up and my stand squeaks.
Now I’m frozen standing with the deer looking in my direction. So I use the tree I’m in as cover and draw, turn around and aim.
She’s still looking at me. She’s only about twelve yards. I aim and shoot.
She ducks and I it her high.
To be honest, I thought I missed till I seen my arrow sticking from her as she ran.
I see the hit and think I’m gonna give her at least an hour, maybe two.
So I go sit and wait about an hour and go find my buddy Mike and tell him I got one and ask him to help track.
We go and after about five minutes we find blood and it looks great. There was bubbles and bright blood, thinking I might have caught at least one lung.
Well we track the deer about six hundred yards and the blood stays good till the last hundred or so yards.
Then we just lost it. I continued in big circles and he did to and nothing.
I tracked for hours and we couldn’t find her.
I feel horrible for not finding that deer as I knew she wasn’t gonna make it. If she did then i’d be amazed.
I just felt sick for weeks, just knowing iIgave it my all and couldn’t find her, but I made sure I executed everything I know to find that deer and knowing I tried.
I just hope that next year is better and if she passes, maybe find her carcass in the spring when shed hunting and hang her skull in my room along with my other trophies, and no I’m not a trophy hunter.
I feel the trophy is in the eye of the person harvesting that animal and using every part that animal that you can.
The meat is amazing. The cape i use to make quivers for my recurve or finger tabs or flies for fishing.
Please respond and tell me about your hunts mishaps or success on the field.
Have a great year and shoot straight.
Comments for a bad ending to a crazy year |
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