First go out and get venison....
Sometimes it is easier than others...
Here is my story of how not to acquire fresh meat.
First the good news.... I'm back home after my first night ever in a hospital as a patient and I will be fine in a couple of days.
The bad news..... I had to spend a night in the hospital!
To make a short story long...
Monday afternoon I was sitting around the house feeling bored. The weatherman was predicting winds gusting to 25 for the next several days. The chances of fishing were slim. I was due back to work on Wednesday night. There was plenty of yard work to be done and I've never finished the driveway the way we want it. I picked up the phone and ordered 20 tons of crusher run. It would be delivered sometime Tuesday. That would take up about 4 or five hours to spread around and get the area prepped for shell.
Sunday I had been out for a walk in the woods to scout for deer. I first found a nice buck with 30 yards of my favorite stand. All the rubs and scrapes were in the usual places I expected. It should be another great year. Black powder season opens Novemeber 4th and the bow hunters have been doing quite well.
So there I was on Monday afternoon around 2 o'clock when the urge struck. I told Karen I was "going out" to "pick up a few things." I must admit I did not tell her then I was going out to buy a crossbow.
For years now I've intended to pick up a nice compound bow about 6 months prior to the opening of bow season. A long bow takes a bit of practice. For a variety of reasons this never happened. Fishing and work usually got in the way. In Virginia last year they added crossbows to the list of legal weapons for deer hunting. A hunter with good skills with a rifle can pick up a crossbow and in an afternoon practicing is ready.
So off I went to Chris's Bait and Tackle which is where most of my disposable income goes. They have a great selection of compound and crossbows as well as black powder guns..... along with the usual fishing gear. In no time flat I was walking out with a Parker Buck Buster, 6 bolts, broadheads, string wax and a few other items. I made it back to the house with enough light to shoot till I was getting about 3 inch groups at 40yards.
Tuesday morning I was up at 5:30 and dosed myself with the appropriate amount of coffee. Sunrise was 7:19 so I made it to my stand by 6:45. For the next 2 hours I enjoyed the squirrels, birds and turkeys but no sine of deer. I was also noticing I had one layer too few of clothes for the 44 degree air and the gusty winds. One final look around and I came down from the stand to go for a walk and warm up.
I walked about ½ mile to a more secluded area in some short thick pines bordering a well known deer trail near their bedding. I plopped down on a bed of pine needles with a tree to my back. There was less wind here but I still had a chill and in my haste the day before I did not pack any coffee.
I checked out the bow. Bolt in place. Red dot site adjusted for the light. I positioned myself for the most likely shooting scenario and visualized all the 40 yard landmarks I could find. That would be my absolute furthest shooting distance.
I've said it before and I'm saying it again: As smart as I am about deer hunting I can still only pick a correct shooting position about 50% of the time. In less than 10 minutes I pick up deer movement about 60 yards away at a 3 o'clock. I'm a right handed shooter and was set up for the 9 o'clock deer. As soon as I could not see its eyes I switch off to shoot left handed. By now the deer was at 50 or less and I could not have gone undetected moving my body. I had the bow up now so there would be less movement if and when it came into range. As the deer was heading right for me I picked up two more behind it. Good and bad. More potential targets.... Good. Three sets of eyes to detect me.... Bad.
They stalled at about 40 yards with lots several small trees and brush in the way. They were all bunched together so even if I had a shot on one a pass through might injure another. After what seemed like 5 minutes one left the group and now was coming closer and causing further clockwise rotation on my part. My heart was pounding and my arms were starting to feel fatigued. I was reaching the point of being off balance with the doe stopped with a full view of it's right side. I had my site on the mid lung field when the bolt flew.
Oddly enough the deer went to the ground. As it tried to get up I could see my bolt in its back. Despite my aim I had shot high and to my left sending to bolt through the spine. I got myself composed and reloaded. I finished it off with a high neck shot.
About that time I had a phone call on my cell. The truck was leaving the plant to deliver the crusher run. I told them I'd be at the house in 35 minutes. I covered the deer with my coat to help make sure the buzzards and crows wouldn't bother it. I made it back to the house to direct the driver where to dump the load and got back to the woods.
I have a nice two wheel cart specifically made to cart large game. I forgot all about it so I drug the out the old fashion way. After huffing and puffing about 100 yards dragging this doe which I estimated to be about 120 to 130lbs I took a minute to regroup. I was grateful I had passed another free cardiac stress test. I figure if I can drag a deer one hundred yards without having crushing chest pain or dropping dead in the woods my heart is likely good for another year or at least another deer. I moved a few trash bags out of the way. I took my coat off.
I first tried getting it in the truck by grabbing all four legs in a bunch and the ole lift and swing method. I needed a good 6 inches more altitude so that didn't work. Next I tried more of rear legs and hindquarters lift but that didn't work either.
On a really big deer I would have gone right to hoisting it up on a limb with a come-a –long but I was still convinced I could get it in the truck without fancy mechanical advantages.
I hog tied its four legs and now with a rope handle I stood on the tailgate. I bent over and reached a little below the tailgate to get a good grip and with one mighty pull with everything I had I managed to destroy some important structures in my lower back. Fortunately there were no sharp objects on which to impale myself as I collapsed in the back of the truck. It was till cold so the garbage destined for the dump was neither smelly or with maggots as it frequently is during warmer months. I knew immediately that attempting movement was out of the question. The pain was causing some nausea but I had good feeling in my legs and I could move everything although not enough to do anything.
There are times when I go to the woods without a cell phone. Today I had it and the battery was charged and I also had service. I got Karen on the phone and asked her to call others to come rescue me and the deer. Within five minutes our friends Malcolm and Carol were on their way to pick Karen up. Total time in the back of the truck was about 40 minutes.
It wasn't a pretty sight getting out of the bed of the truck and into the passenger seat. Then out of the truck into a wheelchair..... then onto a stretcher all the while having all my co-workers checking in to see me suffering.
About 6 hours later and numerous drugs I caved in and resigned to an admission to the hospital. I don't remember much about the time in the ER but I'm sure I will hear about it for years to come. After an overnight stay with more drugs I was a bit better. I could now actually get up and shuffle like a 100 year old arthritic man might look like. An MRI was done which confirmed there was nothing seriously wrong.... Just a bunch of torn up muscles....
While I was in the ER Malcolm and Carol and Monte took care of the deer and it is now properly chilled. Hopefully in about 5 or 6 days I'll be well enough to work on processing it.
I can't help but think of how I shot this deer in its back and put it down.......They say paybacks are hell.
So there is my story. Lots of lessons learned.
Later,
Richard
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