I got lucky enough to draw into a spot where our freinds Deb and Louie have hunted for a few years. And Christine hunted last year. It required 40 hours of volunteer service, passing a proficiency test and attending an orientation meeting. Once all of these hurdles are passed, you must take a doe before a buck. So the trick is to get your doe (button bucks count as well) early. Two does is even better. Then you can concentrate on bucks if you want.
I had done some scouting but not nearly as much as I'd of liked. Even so I was confident I'd found a doe that had a schedule I could count on. So opening day when I went out and saw nothing but racoons and squirrels, I was a bit disappointed. By the third day when I'd still not seen a deer, I was starting to get a bit worried. Several does and fawns were falling which only makes the odds higher for those who still must take the required antlerless deer. Maybe I need to spray more scent killer, as I sniff test my clothes. Maybe I need to be more still in the stand. Yes! Thats it. Be a statue!
Well finally I decide to try yet another spot where Deb took her doe opening morning. I get back into the thick brush and begin the sometimes difficult task of finding the right tree. When I finally found one I liked. I began the task of getting set up. As I put up the steps I could see another flashlight coming into the same small patch of timber/brush I was hunting. I shined my light at them several times to say "Hey I'm here already. Give me a little space." I can see them head back out and I continue setting up without paying any more attention. When I finally get into the stand, I'm hot and starting to sweat. I check my watch to see how much time I have until sunrise. About fifty minutes, which means twenty until legal shooting light. Then I noticed that my "friend" has come back in and set up on the same trail I am on and with in 40 yards of me. This doesn't make me too happy, but I'll just have to live with it. I finish getting my gear ready by pulling the bow and my coat up with the haul cord. But the coat caught on the wild rose and pulled out. CURSE the luck! I know I'm going to want that coat later. Sooooo I climb back down and toss the coat over my shoulder. Now I only have the bow to pull up. I get get up to the stand and begin to pull but it doesn't budge. What the heck? I don't want to shine the light but I have to see what it's caught on. Well it was caught on the button to the step and no amount of shaking will loosen it. DOUBLE CURSES! TRIPLE CURSES! But none of my cursing is getting the job done so Down the steps I go. I am in a "killing mood" now. With sweat running down my bald old forehead I get the range finder out, and the fanny pack stowed to begin the wait.
As shooting light approaches, the heat generated from hauling my overweight carcass twenty feet up the side of an elm tree way too many times is finally begining to dissapate. I pull on my head cover and jacket and now I'm ready. Or so I thought.
At somewhere near 8am, I turned my head to the left to look behind me. Here they came. A doe and her fawn. Right down the trail. Just like in the script. Finally a deer that read the memo!
They are going to come by my stand at 8 yards. Perfecly broadside for that slam dunk shot. I raise my bow and clip the release on the string. WAIT! where's my release??? Oh my gosh! (Oh my gosh was not a direct quote) When I put the coat on, I forgot to pull the release back out of the sleeve. HURRY! Out comes the release. This drops the blood pressure 30 points. ...up until the release won't hold on the D loop. AAAAAGH! I steal a glance away from the offending mechanism to see the doe right in the shooting lane perfectly broadside at 8 yards...not stopping. I am now at full out panic. So many thoughts are running through my head that my skull actually hurts. That or it's that my blood pressure has gone high enough to give an elephant a stroke. I finally get the trigger to catch and on the string. I pull the bow up and draw in one motion with more ease than I ever could have while shooting at tagets in the yard. The doe has just waked into the brush and out of my shooting lane. But the fawn has stopped. I look through the sights and they dont line up. NOW WHAT! God then took pity on me and let me realize that in my panic, I had closed my right eye. I opened my eye and from that moment on, I cannot remember anything but the bow going off and watching the fawn run out to the edge of the timber. I have firenocks on my arrows and I know that they should be very easy to see after the shot but I can't see it. and I did not see it in the fawn.
As the doe snuck though the edge of the timber, my "friend" took a shot at her with his crossbow. I had never heard one go off in the woods before. It sounded like a compound bow expolding!
At that point I decide to look at my arrow to see if I can find it and if i made a good hit. When I got to the ground, the crossbow guy told me that the fawn was "bleeding good" when it went by him. He thought it went down at the edge of the trees.
I didn't see my arrow but did see blood so I took up the trail. There was a lot of blood and it was fairly short ending with a nice button buck.
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs210.snc1/7725_1224067929215_1454505479_30634553_6832601_n.j pg
Good eating!

I really like my bow. But this time I was sure wishing I'd taken the recurve instead. I would have had the doe...maybe.

Morals of this story...
(1) No matter how many times you have done something (like pull your gear up to your tree stand) Things can still go wrong.
(2) No matter how ready you think you are check again.

Thanks for sharing, as I was reading I thought to myself at least you didn't knock the arrow off your rest with it ending up on the ground.

Like mine did Wednesday morning. :o
I didn't have to recover it until after the hunt was over but it still had me aggravated.

Way to go Kendall... Had me laughing! Great story. These early season hunts are the time to get back in the groove. figure out what we forgot, what we still need to do. (I needed a flashlight in my pack) "Curses, triple curses" LOL... How did you close the wrong eye<0> That's funny.

Great story. What a way to start the HUNTING day! LOL

Great story for sure. Glad you got your antlerless out of the way.

Cool story, glad you were able to get a shot off and connect so now if Mr. BIG shows up you can shoot, hopefully with a lot less stress and drama LOL.

Thanks everyone.
I don't know how or why I closed my right eye Bob.
HD, if there wasn't stress, it wouldn't be me hunting. I do not believe there is anyone who hunts that gets "doe fever" as bad as I do. LOL

As a follow up, the crossbow guy didn't connect. I did find my arrow. I guess the little fella kicked it as he ran off. He's now reclining comfortably in our freezer along side C's doe fawn and soon to be joined by one of Louie's. And Deb told me (She's the pro at the local Archery shop) the release I use can be adjusted. And therefore become "out" of adjustment. After some tinkering, it's working good as new.

And Deb told me (She's the pro at the local Archery shop) the release I use can be adjusted. And therefore become "out" of adjustment. After some tinkering, it's working good as new.


Just wondering which release is it ?

Tru-ball short and sweet. The only one I've ever used. It had started not re-setting to the locked position after the shot. But a quick flick of the trigger would re-set it. Then at that crucial moment, it wouldn't even do that. There is a slot cut in the trigger that you can reach through to adjust the tension set screw. After much didling it's back to working like new. Now I just need to put a drop of locktite or super glue on the set screw to keep it from moving.

i was waiting for you to say that your "friend" ended up shooting the doe right from under you.

That's a super story Carp.. I so enjoyed it!!!!