Hot Mess Express - Doe Kill 10/11/2020

It had been slow hunting for me and the weather had changed by 40 degrees since the last weekend. Opening weekend was nice and cool for Texas with highs barely in the 70’s and now we were topping highs of 102 degrees in the afternoon. This pushed everyone out of the hot box blinds into tripods, trees, or even the porch of camp with a cold beverage!

 

I opted for a tripod that accommodated our dreaded westerly winds but also provided some shade. I had never hunted this tripod before and it showed. As I climbed in I fumbled with my pack, my camera, my bow...nearly everything you could think of. I dropped my camera, broke a strap on my backpack and was just downright frustrated with everything and the heat wasn’t helping either. 

 

I settled in finally thinking that if I saw any animal tonight it would be a miracle after dropping everything, climbing down and up again and just being a hot mess. 

 

God knew my frustration and quickly calmed my spirit by sending in 3 jakes that were extremely talkative and even let loose some gobbles that made me smile inside and out. It was exactly what I needed to remind me to just sit back and enjoy being there after numerous frustrating hunts over the last 2 weekends. 

 

After the jakes cruised on through, it was just a few minutes later when a solo lady popped up from my right that I never saw coming in. She looked rather calm, which for a Texas Hill Country doe just means you have a few more seconds before she freaks out about anything and turns into a ninja. 

 

She was barely 10 yards in front of me nearly straight down. I was nervous with her being that close and already doubting if I could pull this off. She popped her head up a few times but never looked up, only gazing intently off in the distance behind me. After a few times of her looking past me I knew I had to take my shot soon. 

 

I managed to get the camera on which was only clipped to the seat of the tripod and thus moved anytime I did! The wind was working in my favor blowing a few miles per hour which hadn’t been the case the last few hunts. 

 

I was able to get drawn back and lowered my pin on her and released. It zipped right through her so fast with the short distance I wasn’t quite sure what happened. She reacted as if it was a vital shot with a mule kick and nearly flipping over herself but I watched her run off over 100 yards and then start walking until I lost her in the brush. 

 

My heart sank because my initial reaction was that the shot was too low with the height angle and I may not have hit vitals on the entry or exit. I reviewed the video in the tripod and still had conflicting data. The entry looked low but the dust kicked up behind her on the exit showed otherwise. The mule kick seemed good, but the distance she ran didn’t seem right. 

 

As I sat there texting the other hunters beating myself up like always, I received positive responses from them of support and encouragement from what little they could see on the phone recorded video. I pulled my binoculars out to look for blood on the ground or my arrow. After some searching, I saw my arrow sticking up as it had kicked up and stuck in the dirt. I saw blood on it which presented a good feeling but I still wasn’t sure. My mind was a hot mess as well. 

 

It was early so I stayed in the tripod and waited for another possible chance at another target. Nothing else showed up and I decided to climb down a bit early to look for blood in the daylight. I pulled my arrow out of the ground and confirmed it had good blood on it. I looked around but didn’t see a lot of blood and decided to just walk in the direction I last saw her before it got dark. 

 

I took a knife, my deer drag, 2 flashlights, my phone and some water. After the frustration I had in the tree, I wanted to be prepared! As I was walking I casually looked for blood but mostly looked in the distance. My eyes darted to something white...but was it just some rocks? As I inched closer I saw a white belly and 2 white ears!! There she lay right where I had last seen her! 

 

I was beyond elated, did a little jump for joy, and shed a few tears for being thankful for her and the meat she would bring. I attached the drag to her legs and headed back; she ran a little over 100 yards. After I loaded her on the hitch rack I paused for a moment to reflect on the hot mess that began when I climbed into the tripod and the one that exists in my mind. 

 

I’ve been told I beat myself up, I am too hard on myself, and I always second guess my skills in the field. And maybe that is partially true, but anyone that has picked up a bow, made many mistakes and had some successes, it will always be a battle because dang it, bow hunting is hard! As for me in my mind, until I see the concrete evidence laying in front of me, I rarely believe the success is true!