Ellen's Deer  Hunt
 

    The fall of 1993 brought great opportunities for me to harvest a nice buck.  A rainy spring and summer had flooded the surrounding area making our Missouri River bluff home look like lake front property.  It also pushed deer, that stayed in the river bottoms and lived off the crops planted there, up into our bluff property.  On Sat. morning, Nov. 6th, I walked two ridges behind our home to my deer stand.  Each time I had hunted from my stand this week I had noticed fresh deer sign and twice had spooked a deer near my stand.  On this day I brought my rattling antlers and grunt tube. 
     It was one of those rare beautiful fall days.  The weather was mild, a jacket felt good but my hands didn’t get cold.  No wind was blowing which is a plus when your bow hunting!  After climbing into my stand and buckling my safety harness, I did a couple of practice draws like I always do.  I relaxed and watched the forest come to life.  The mist from the nearby creek lifted and the squirrels came out in search of breakfast.  I could hear the cluck of turkeys finding each other after flying down from their nightly roost.
I decided to give my rattling antlers a try.  Doing a little grunting first then rattling my antlers together like two bucks fighting for the attention of a doe.  Within 10 minutes I saw my first curious buck, then another, and another.  Within the next 40 minutes I saw 8 different bucks some with does, none giving me an opportunity to shoot.  After calling it a day, I was encouraged to try again tomorrow!
     Remembering how I had been spooking a deer when I came into my stand I decided to leave earlier for my stand on Nov. 7th.   After walking in as quietly as I could I got situated in my stand, going through my own little rituals of testing my safety harness and doing my practice draws.  I had been sitting still only 15 minutes when I saw movement coming up the trail from the creek in front of me.  A nice buck was moving up the trail towards me.  This must be the deer that I kept spooking when coming to my stand.  He stopped under an overhanging branch and began to make a scrape, only 20 yards away, but not at the right angle!  As I watched him make the scrape I kept saying to myself, “be patient, patience is the hunter”.  When he turned his head I took that opportunity to stand and draw my bow.  The buck started walking closer to me but angling away towards the creek below me.  I only had to hold my bow at full draw for a few seconds before I grunted to make him stop and released my arrow.  The arrow flew straight and true and right through him just behind the shoulder.  I watched him run about 30 yards before he lay down near the creek.  He was in clear view and I watched as he lay his head down.  I thought that he had passed, but when I went to lower my bow, the movement spooked him and he crashed across the creek and down the ridge across from me.  I would have to wait for the cover of darkness to leave my stand. 
     After it was full dark I retrieved my arrow from near where I shot the buck and made my way silently home.  The air was crisp and I could already see my breath.  After retelling my husband what had happened that evening in the woods we decided to give the deer some time, afraid that if we looked too soon it would only push him further. 
     We arose early the next day to a light frost, gathered our field dressing tools and headed towards my stand.  It wasn’t long before we found the spot where the deer had laid near the creek in sight of my stand.  But after he crossed the creek we stopped seeing blood trail.  My husband said that this sometimes happens, the deer was bleeding internally and not leaving much of a blood trail.  This is when you have to practice your skills as a tracker.  We both looked for the tracks the deer may have left, overturned leaves, scuffs in the dirt where he stumbled and minute blood droplets on leaves and on bushes a couple of feet off the ground that may have rubbed his side as he passed.  We also discuss the route that would be most likely for a deer to take, think like a deer.  This is when it is really handy for you to know the surrounding area that you hunt.  Very slowly we continued on the path the wounded deer had taken. Still not seeing any blood droplets bigger than the head of a pin!  When the path came to a fork I went one way and my husband went the other.  Within 15 minutes of this split my husband called my name and when I looked over the creek to where he stood he gave me the thumbs up sign, he had found my buck!  He was a heavy bodied deer with a nice typical 10 point rack.  After congratulatory hugs we field dressed him together.  My arrow had clipped both lungs but the deer had indeed bled internally.  My husband was amazed that he had gone as far as he did. 
    Shooting an arrow at a deer is sometimes the easy part of the hunt.  Every time I climb into my stand and go through my little ritual I always include a prayer that my arrow fly straight and true to cause as little pain to the animal as possible.  I never take harvesting an animal lightly.  It is taking a life of another animal, but to sustain my own.  Our family eats 95% wild game.  I like the feeling that I can help support our families needs with my own skill as a hunter.  And I feel a tie to our ancestors who lived off the land by their own hand. 
     I have not harvested another deer with my bow since then.  Having three hunters in the family and with Missouri’s generous deer permits, (during gun season with bonus deer permits we can each take up to 2 deer each and archery 2 deer also) so I am being a little choosier with my bow.  The buck I took in ’93 missed Pope and Young by 2 points.  I would like my next one to make the cut.  I would also like to harvest a turkey with my bow.  But they also have eluded me.  I will keep trying. There is not a time I venture into the woods for a hunt that I don’t learn something, so I mark each hunt as successful if not with the harvest of an animal, at least as a learning experience.