I’ll share a story and lessons learned from last year that will hopefully help me avoid making the same mistake this year.

I have attached photos of the buck I harvested as well as the map of my path to the stand so other hunters can learn from it.

The lesson I learned from this hunting experience was to anticipate the deer dropping a little bit after the arrow leaves the bow.

On November 7th, 2022, I ventured out to a piece of public land near Lake Red Rock. It was my first time at this location, and while I had done some map scouting, I had developed what I thought was a pretty solid plan. I used an access path and a railroad to quietly skirt around where I believed the deer were bedded down. Within minutes, I found myself in my stand. The wind was carrying my scent back across the train tracks to a spot I didn’t mind.

Around 4:00 in the afternoon, a nice buck reacted to a call I had made. He walked right along the train tracks toward my location and stopped right as my scent crossed the tracks. By that time, I had already drawn back my bow. He was heavily quartering to me. I lined up my sights just in front of his leg and let my arrow fly. I did manage to drop him right where he stood, but what I had not taken into consideration was how much the deer would drop as it reacted to the sound of the bow being fired. I estimate the buck dropped about 6 inches, putting my shot higher up on the buck’s neck rather than right in front of his leg.

After a successful shot, I faced the reality of having about a mile to walk out. I loaded the deer onto my cart and began the trek back to the truck. However, about 150 yards from the truck, my cart broke, and I had no choice but to drag him the rest of the way out. I was recovering from being sick and already worn out. Fortunately, another hunter passed by and generously offered to help me get the buck in the truck.

Reflecting on this experience, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of anticipating a deer’s reaction to the bow’s sound. It’s a lesson I won’t soon forget and one that will undoubtedly shape my future hunts.

If you’re passionate about hunting and want to keep track of your hunting experiences and lessons learned, I recommend checking out my app, “The Hunter Journal,” at TheHunterJournal.com. It’s a valuable tool for hunters to document and enhance their hunting adventures.