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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > It's Just a Matter of Time - First Crossbow Deer
It's Just a Matter of Time - First Crossbow Deer
Rick VanDyke - JHO ProStaff
- Missouri
January 14, 2005
The author and his first crossbow kill.
Taking a deer with a bow or crossbow takes a lot of patience and perseverance. But to the dedicated hunter, "It's just a matter of time." |
My first successful deer hunt with a rifle was in 1992, my first buck with a rifle was taken in 1995, my first deer taken with a muzzleloader was in 2001 and my first deer taken with a handgun was in 2003. And I finally took my first deer with a crossbow, in October of 2004. Each and every one of those hunts was a challenge, in one way or another. But none of those hunts were more challenging than taking a deer with a crossbow.
I decided to try hunting with a crossbow soon after we bought our first hunting property in 1997. Up until this time, I had only hunted the managed hunts offered to the disabled, which gave me a total of 2 days out of the entire season to hunt. I’ll be forever grateful for the introduction to hunting that those managed hunts provided, but after hunting a grand total of 10 days my first 5 years, it was time to explore the possibilities of owning our own hunting property. I’d been bitten by the “hunting bug”, and I needed all the hunting days I could muster.
Missouri allows disabled hunters to hunt the bow season with a crossbow, if you qualify for a hunting method exemption permit. I applied, was approved, and I had just taken my first step to meeting this challenge.
My first bow-hunt ever was on October 7th, 1997. I can remember it like it was yesterday. The homemade blind was set up along a tree line, over-looking a field on top of a ridge. Legal shooting time arrived, and I started calling with a doe-in-estrus bleat. I had just stopped calling, when I noticed movement out of the corner of my right eye. A decent 8-point buck was coming right at me, along the tree line. As he went behind a cedar tree, I raised the crossbow into shooting position. Just as he was about 10 feet from me, he froze behind another cedar tree. He had definitely either seen or smelled something he didn’t like. He finally settled down, and started strolling away. Just as he was about 25 yards from the blind, he turned broadside, stopped and looked in my direction. I was so excited, I sailed the arrow straight over his shoulder.
Even though I went home empty-handed, it was one of the most exciting hunts I’d ever experienced, up until that time. I was definitely hooked on hunting with a crossbow. Little did I know it would be another seven years before I ever got a shot at another deer with an arrow.
The next seven years were spent living and learning… and praying. I wasn’t able to hunt the 1998 bow season, because we had a fire in which we lost nearly everything, including my crossbow and hunting gear. It wasn’t until 2001, that I was able to acquire another crossbow. A dear friend offered me his crossbow and accessories for a song, and man did I sing ... Back in the saddle, again!
Being grateful that I was finally hunting the bow season again, I hunted hard. Neither rain, nor snow or sleet kept me out of the woods. Most years, I hunted the entire bow season... from October 1st to January 15th. Before and after the season, I’d be busy improving the habitat on our property. I tried numerous pop-up blinds, but they usually didn’t have windows at the right height for a wheelchair-bound hunter. In 2002, we finally converted an old building into a hunting blind that was just the right size and height for a hunting companion and me.
I was beginning to get antsy. We had improved the habitat, built a wheelchair-accessible blind, and things still weren’t coming together. But I wasn’t about to give up just yet…
In 2003, with the help of a few good friends, we built a portable wheelchair-accessible blind, and we put in two food plots. It just so happened that the local deer herd had decided to alter their travel patterns that year. Not only did I not get a chance at a deer, we weren’t seeing any at all. Like every other year, I still-hunted as much as possible, and as hard as ever. I kept telling myself, “It’s gonna happen... it’s just a matter of time”.
It would have been too easy to just give up and call it quits. Every time I’d start thinking that it wasn’t ever going to happen, I’d just remind myself of the old saying, “I can’t never could”.
It’s kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy... if you tell yourself you can’t, then you’re right... you won’t. My bow-hunting friends kept telling me, “The longer the wait, the sweeter the success”.
Well... they were right on the money. The year 2004 was to be my year.
It was my first bow-hunt of the ’04 season, and I was chomping at the bit. I was going to hunt on the evening of October 1st, 2004, but it didn't happen. The wife and I needed to go town to take care of some business, and we were late getting back. We came down the driveway at 6:45pm, and, would you believe it? There were 4 deer feeding in the South food plot, in plain sight! But, as they spooked, I saw 8 flags!!!
"That sounds about right", I thought, as I swore to myself, then and there, that I would be hunting tomorrow evening.
Well, it was an early morning. I couldn't wait to get out there. I took my crossbow out in the front yard to check the zero with the new carbon bolts my Dad gave me last year. Yep, she was still dead-on.
I was thinking about heading to the blind around 3:30pm, but when time came around, it was still a bit warm outside. I figured I'd just go ahead and wait until 4:30pm to head towards the blind. No big deal...
About 15 minutes later (3:45pm), in order to kill some time, I thought I'd check the best hunting times for today, on my GPS solunar table. It said " Excellent conditions between 3pm and 5pm". “
Hmmm,” I thought. “Imagine that. Maybe I'd better head for the door.”
By 4pm, I was in the blind. I leaned my crossbow up against the North wall, and laid the arrow (bolt) in the window. I don't actually seat the arrow, until I've finished getting everything else together. As I was bending over my field box, digging out my facemask and gloves, something told me to look up.
Oh no!
Here came three deer (a doe and two fawns), traveling west and coming through the clearing in the tree-line (where I had just come through, not 15 minutes earlier). They stopped 30 yards away, broadside, and started browsing in the south food plot.
It was a classic scenario... me bending over with my butt hanging out, my crossbow leaning against the far wall, and the arrow is still laying in the window. I couldn’t believe it!
The deer didn't mind at all. They just went about their business, helping themselves to the salad bar. By the time I was able to sit up, reach my crossbow, and slowly take the arrow from the window, the deer melted into the cedars on the other side of the food plot.
I finally got the arrow seated, and just as I laid the crossbow across my lap, one of the fawns came back out into the South food plot. I'd never shot my crossbow left-handed before, and I decided I didn't want to take a fawn anyway.
It browsed for a few minutes, and went back into the cedars with momma and little brother.
As I'm sitting there trying to catch my breath, here came momma doe, sticking her head out of the weeds on the opposite side of the cedars... starting to come out into the food plot that's directly in front of the blind.
I thought, "Ah-ha! A second chance!"
She came out just under 30 yards in front of me and stopped, staring directly at me.
Yep... my crossbow was still in my lap.
I didn't dare move, or she would have busted me. She was about to stomp, when the fawns came out behind her, and stood right next to her. Then I had six eyeballs staring at me. Finally, the fawns decided to take off trotting down the food plot (heading west), and momma promptly took after them.
I just sat there, with my jaw on the ground. Here I am, I've been in the blind about 30 minutes, and I've already had two chances. That wasn't supposed to happen... was it?
Sure wasn’t the way it had been going for me for the past six years, anyway. I was lucky to even see a deer, let alone get two chances, within a half hour of being out there.
First, these deer came out at 4:15, which really shocked me. I thought they'd probably start moving around 5:30-6:00pm. I mean, it was still pretty warm out.
Oh well. It wasn’t like I’d never been fooled before by these sneaky critters.
Here's where I started my deep-breathing exercises. You know how it is. It seems like you held your breath the entire time. The deep breathing helped slow my heart rate, and believe me; I could've pumped oil all the way from Alaska, at the rate it was going.
Then I started talking to myself:
"It ain't over, it's still early.
"Since the three deer didn't flag, I'm sure they weren't alarmed.
"Maybe they'll be back."
And so on…
I got the crossbow up, with the butt-end standing on my right thigh. By God, they weren't gonna catch me with my pants down again - that's for sure.
An hour later, the crossbow was getting mighty heavy. I started to give in, thinking, “I'd better save some strength.”
But I hung in there.
About fifteen minutes later (6pm), I saw movement down towards the west end of the food plot. It's the same three deer that came by earlier. Wait... There're two more. No. Three more. No. There's seven, then eight!
Suddenly, I had eight deer heading straight towards me, and coming quick! Somebody must have sounded the dinner bell, because these deer were be-bopping along through the food plot like children do when they hear the ice cream truck coming.
As soon as I finished counting the deer, I immediately thought about the fact that as they were getting closer, I was going to have eight pairs of eyeballs looking in all directions. I'd better pick an opportunity to get my crossbow up, and I don't mean soon... I mean now!
The shadows in the blind were perfect to get my crossbow into position. Just as I got ready, the first two fawns passed in front of me at just under 30 yards. If momma follows them, she'll be in my crosshairs at any second now.
And she did...and she was.
Just as she turned broadside, I grunted to try and get her to stop. She slowed, but kept on going. I grunted again... louder this time. She stopped briefly, and that was all that I needed. I thought, "Now or never", touched off the trigger, and TH-WHACK!
Music to my virgin ears...
I had brought along my new cell phone, so I could call the wife, when and if I needed a volunteer tracker. My old cell phone couldn't get a signal out here, but the new one had impressed me lately.
Well... wouldn't you know it. No signal.
I went outside the blind, hoping that would help... nope.
I went up towards the south food plot. Still no signal.
The heck with it! At this rate, I could already be up to the house by the time I finally get a signal.
I rolled up to the front door, and ring the doorbell. The missus was taking a nap, but that was OK... after she saw the gleaming smile plastered all over the storm door.
"Grab your boots, grab a flashlight or two, and follow me!”
She rode the ATV down to the blind, just in case I was going to send her into some gnarly, nasty stuff to find my doe. I showed her where the doe was standing when I th-whacked her, and we started looking for blood. I told her to look at the tall grass, about waist-high, because I hit the doe a bit above center. I was sure it was a double-lunger, so I looked for pinkish-bubbles too.
Nothing...
I knew exactly which direction she traveled, because of all the noisy, high brush she ran through. It was too thick for me to follow, so I headed parallel along the brushy area, until I saw an area I could negotiate with my Monster Chair. Just as I could see a bit deeper into the brush, about 30 yards west from where she had entered the brush, I thought I saw some white. It didn't look right, so I kept going.
Then I stopped and backed-up, just to be sure. I headed into the brush about 10 yards, and there she was. Not only had I just taken my first deer with a bow, I had just found my first deer by myself. Somebody usually beats me to it, because I'm a bit slower going than most.
Oh what a feeling!
Now that I’ve got my first bow-kill under my belt, it’s time to go after my next goal... my first buck with a bow.
Hitch 'em up and haul 'em out!
The author demonstrates the RIGHT way to haul your deer out of the woods. |
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