Lost

The one that got away. 

It was opening weekend for Archery in Minnesota. I have spent the last few weekends going to the archery range and dialing in my shot. I have, until this moment, never practiced shooting this much in my life. I wanted to be as prepared as one possibly could be. I even purchased a rangefinder which, until I started shooting with a bow, I thought I would never need. 

The stands on my leased land are not easy to locate in the dark for several reasons. In order to get to my stands, one has to walk a long way, trudging through food sources that basically would stink the whole place up. Additionally, my lease is an hour away from home, resulting in waking way earlier on a Saturday than a working man would want. In conclusion, I have decided to hunt primarily in the afternoons…unless I get desperate. 

Opening day came, and I decided to head out to the property. About an hour before leaving for the land, my property owner reached out and said, “Can you move your car, the farmer is trying to get by?” ( I was not yet on the land, and was concerned “the farmer” and other vehicles would be interfering with my hunt.) I set out anyway, and upon arrival learned that the other car was a group of gents who were goose-hunting very close to my deer stand. I had just driven an hour, and though disappointed, decided to hunt regardless. 

It was peaceful for a while, but listening to goose calls is not exactly the most Zen atmosphere to be in. In fact, I was getting a bit annoyed as they called and shot at birds. I thought to myself, “There is no way in hell a deer will come out with all of this going on”. I had gone all out with preparation. I had two cotton swabs coated in deer urine to conceal my scent, had put on my safety harness, and had my range finder at the ready. I had done everything correctly, and even though there was a lot going on not too far from me, I finally saw that small amount of movement that deer hunters know so well. After hours of only the leaves rustling, I saw the flicker of an ear. 

Two does did, indeed, start moving toward me. This being my first season in MN, I was going to shoot a doe if she came within range in order to fill my freezer and skip freezing my ass off in the winter months while waiting for a buck. I had ranged different locations that I knew would most likely present a shot. The does stepped precisely into one of those spots at a 27-yard range. I have four dots on my bow, the first is twenty yards, the second is thirty, and so on in ten yard increments. I put the second dot on the doe and let the arrow fly. 

I had hit it, but the arrow was stuck in the grass. I could see the arrow because I had a small light that turns on when I shoot my arrow, and it was glowing in the grass. Moments went by and the other doe came back to where the first deer was shot, and it smelled the arrow. In my head, I could not tell if I had hit or missed. I waited a few more minutes and climbed down to see the arrow. There was blood on the arrow and blood splatters in the direction in which the doe ran. 

I left the woods in hopes of getting help from the bird hunters. I walked across the field to the group of nine guys, and the conversation went like this: “Did you guys get anything?” They responded, “No just shooting at doves”. They later admitted that they thought I was the DNR,  which I thought was funny. They said “If we had known you were in there hunting, we would have been quieter.” I asked them, “Does anybody have a hot date tonight?” They all said no, so  I asked if they would help me find this deer, and within seconds they dropped everything they were doing and started walking with me to help. I was thrilled that they were willing to help. Ten sets of eyes are way better than one. 

We started at the arrow, and for a while the blood trail was super easy to follow. We spread out and would hear, “Here is some blood,” or “Found some!” However, the blood started to become sparse. It wasn't as easy to see as at first. We got to this one downed tree where one drop of blood was on a leaf. We split up, some went right and some went left as there was no way a deer would jump this downed tree. These total strangers helped me look for this deer in the dead of night for over an hour and a half. Nine random guys marching through spider webs, briars, limbs… just to help a fellow hunter and to be a part of that story. 

Except, we never found the deer. The story didn't end with me pulling the deer out of the woods, getting a picture with the guys, driving it to the processor, and having food on the table for my family. Instead it turned into a nightmare that makes one feel awful for taking the life of an animal. 

We found our way out of the woods, and it turns out the group of guys have an Instagram account and clothing line for MN hunters. They asked me to let them know if I found the deer the following day. After all, that's what you do, right? You go in first thing the next day and find your deer…but it was 70+ degrees that night. There was absolutely no way the deer's meat would not spoil and be wasted for human consumption. I drove home feeling defeated and a bit sick knowing I had killed an animal on purpose and, for what? The only thing that makes me feel any better is that coyotes, birds, and other animals have already eaten that deer, and she was not completely wasted, as I originally thought. 

So what did I learn from this experience?  Buy the best damn flashlight one can buy. Aim a little more forward toward the shoulder than my placement. Maybe wait to bow hunt when the weather is colder…just for these worst case scenarios. Be grateful for other hunters who are just as excited for your success as they are their own. Lastly, not every hunt concludes with big antlers and happy endings. Sometimes animals get away and things don't go according to plan. Do you stop hunting? No. You get back out there, learning from your mistakes and do everything you can to perfect your art to prevent this from happening again. 

If you want to follow those helpful guys on Social Media, they are under @folded_outdoors