With New Jerseys Deer Hunting Season winding down, I wanted to make sure we(well.. I) had enough delicious venison to enjoy for the better part of the year. So I asked my Girlfriend Sharon, if she thought we had room in the freezer for another one. I kind of figured the answer would be “no” but to my surprise she said, “Yes….. you ought to get another one” – Perfect timing I thought, as I was off of work for the next few days and could watch the weather and strategically plan my hunt for one of the better days. Friday was a wash out with steady to heavy rain and wind and neither Saturday nor Sunday looked very promising because of the winds whipping upwards to 25 miles per hour. So that left Monday…….. the last day that I was off and they called for rain for the majority of the day as well. I have always dealt with the wet weather over the years and for that matter, I have always been quite successful hunting in the rain.
Now remember that old compound Bow that I showed you all a couple months back? My very 1st Compound bow that I bought from the Gander Mountain Catalog when I was 19 years old way back in 1982. Here`s the Video to refresh your memory a bit; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SvwR8YZ1VU
I did indeed take my very 1st deer with this Bow when I was 19 years old.
As well as quite a few others over the years…….
And that`s exactly what I planned to hunt with in 2020….That 38 year old relic of a Compound Bow.
Monday rolled around and my alarm went off at 5:15am. I immediately grabbed my phone to check my weather app….. Well that sucks I said aloud, as it was showing rain up until 9am. As I pondered what to do, I finally decided to sleep in for another hour as there wasn`t any sense sitting in my tree-stand getting a wet ass in the dark.
But I overslept a bit! Yep….. the last day that I had a shot of doing this, I overslept. Boy was I ever pissed off! With that I hustled out the door, jumped in the 4-Runner and sped towards Califon. At that point, there was no way I`d be in the tree much before 7:00am.
The rain came down steadily as I parked my vehicle. Perhaps the wet weather would play in my favor I thought as I cautiously scurried through the woods to my tree. The wet leaves definitely helped keeping my foot noise to a minimum. I climbed the ladder stand and got all comfortable and quickly nocked an arrow. I looked at my phone the time was 7:12am.
What happened next was simply unbelievable.
I glanced to my left and was absolutely startled by a doe walking by roughly thirty yards from my stand! I couldnt believe it…… I was literally not in the stand more than five minutes! My startled movement spooked her as well as she started lightly stomping and snorting. At this point, I figured I was busted and froze against the tree. Then as she suspiciously walked behind a tree, I quickly drew my Bow while sitting……. and placed my single pin right behind her front shoulder as she warily stepped out in the open. The “bent” thirty eight year old aluminum 2117 Game-Getter Arrow topped with a three-blade Satellite Arrow found its mark. The deer folded where she stood. I pulled out my phone and it was now 7:22 on the nose! Ten minutes in the stand and the season was over.
I sat there for a few minutes and smiled, as I couldn`t believe what had just happened.
For me personally, its always about the overall experience or challenge of the hunt. So this was truly thrilling on a few different levels. For one, I have not hunted with a Bow in over seven years. Secondly, I wasn`t sure if I would ever feel that overly confident since suffering a massive heart-attack to climb up in a tree again and hunt with a Bow(Thanks to my good friend Dennis Peterson for helping me put up my stand a couple months ago) And thirdly, to be able to take a deer with the very same Bow that I used when I started Bow Hunting with when I was nineteen, was simply awesome! Yes it was indeed a very special ten-minute hunt last Friday.
See you next season!
Thanks for reading my latest Adventure,
Ken Beam