BLOWN CHANCES

Author's note: The following account details some experiences I had during a bow hunt in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during 2006. Later that season I bagged a fine eight-point buck with a rifle, but during the bow season I suffered some misfortune. This is an account of the troubles I had while hunting with bow and arrow that year.


I blew chances at two big does on an Upper Peninsula of Michigan bow hunt during 2006. The first was on an old logging road. I heard / watched the deer approach through heavy woods. When she stepped out onto the more open road, I drew my bow and held low thinking she would drop slightly at the sound of the release, to jump away. That is what most of them do, most of the time. If you do not hold low, you tend to hit too high.

Anyway, this one jumped upward, spun around 180 degrees on her hind legs, and ran back the way she came from. My arrow sailed straight under the brisket and stuck in the ground, making a resonant “whump” sound like a solid hit. I climbed down, triple-checked the arrow for hair, blood, or fat, finding nothing. Also, the doe bounded off after the shot without slowing or stumbling. I pronounced the shot a clean miss.

As for the deer reacting to the sound of the shot before it gets there, it is just a matter of physics and how alert or nervous they seem to be. Sound travels over one thousand feet per second, but my arrow is about 225 f.p.s. The sound reaches the deer four times faster than the arrow. Sometimes the deer are not nervous, and they do not react instantly to the sound. Pick a spot on the bottom third of the chest and behind the front leg and you are fine.

At other times they are more alert (having recently encountered a human, smelled something they don't like – such as coyotes - or the weather makes them nervous due to higher winds for example so they can't smell danger as effectively). This day was windy, and the deer were more cautious. Under these conditions I expect the deer to drop a few inches to “load” their legs before leaping ahead. This movement takes just a fraction of a second, but your arrow will hit higher if you do not compensate by aiming a little low.

The second chance came on the last hunt of the last day (why does this last minute stuff happen so frequently)? Anyway, I was in a completely different area. We had seen a ten point buck and two eight-pointers checking does near this spot. I had two very nervous does around my stand, and I hoped they would attract one of the bucks. As it got later in the day, I decided to take one of the does (they had been circling, bedding, and browsing near me for an hour). When the biggest of the two does entered a tiny clearing, I drew my bow and my face mask somehow slid around, partially covering my shooting eye. I could not see through the peep sight. I tried to quietly let the draw back down and straighten the mask, but she caught my movement and spooked.

As for actual chances to take deer on this trip, these were far from the only two chances I had. They were just the two does I decided to draw my bow on. Life-long friend Duane Deno and I saw probably a dozen spikehorn, through six-point bucks in easy range that provided easy kill shots if we had wanted to take them. These smaller bucks are not targeted, because they can turn into larger bucks the following season. We decided however, to take an eight-point buck or better that might pass within range on this hunt. We have learned that any small eight-pointer is shot by the gun hunters in this area as soon as they see it, so it doesn’t do us much good to let them go. Of course, taking a deer with a rifle is usually much easier than with a bow. As I mentioned, we did see some nicer bucks that would have been easy gun shots, but never presented a close enough chance for a bow.

Well... that’s why it is hunting. The animal usually has the advantage and you do the best you can. I have the opportunity to hunt there again through the end of December since archery, gun, and muzzleloader seasons run through all or part of that time frame. I’ll give them a rematch.

Copyright Ray Hansen – 2008