Well, here we are. This got here quicker than I’d like to think about. I guess competitive archery season required too much concentration for me to think much about hunting season.
I went out with my buddy Chris Hall for the first day of Northern Zone bow season on 9/27. If you remember correctly, Chris is my friend who can’t walk. We both worked on a food plot behind my dad’s house for him last year, and it seems to have caught the attention of the deer this year.
We’ve been watching a trail camera on the plot regularly, and Chris figured we would probably see something as long as we got into the blind early enough.
We settled into the blind at about 2 p.m. and waited patiently. Amazingly, at 6:00, I could feel a deer’s body against the blind and on my back. Somehow, the deer had followed the small path I cut for Chris to crawl to the blind, and it had nowhere to go once at the blind. It found a way to squeeze between blow downs and the blind to get into the food plot. Once in the plot, Chris drew his bow, but the adult doe got a little nervous and fidgety.
After being at full draw for a long time, Chris started to let down. However, he quickly drew the bow again, settled the pin and touched off a shot. A loud “thwack” startled me, then Chris cursed. He had hit the blind. The arrow didn’t make it out the window, and the mechanical broadhead had opened when it went through the blind’s fabric. The doe raced into the woods on the other side of the plot, and all was quiet once again.
A few minutes later, Chris crawled out of the blind, and we made our way back to the house. It was an unsuccessful, successful night. It was a night that I will remember for a long time. Although we didn’t take a deer, we made memories and had a good time. Hopefully, Chris will get another opportunity in the next few weeks.
