A few years ago I bought what I call a “baby bow.” It’s meant to just target shoot & not actually use to go hunting. I really enjoyed playing with it in the yard and thought maybe I could actually get a real bow to go hunting. If anything it would open up my hunting season with more opportunities. Considering we hunt public land it would also mean I could potentially be able to tag out before all the idiots go out just for rifle opener.

I looked into a few options and went to an archery store and I bought a Mission II by Matthews. It’s meant for youth or small statured adults. It’s lightweight and is a good starter bow since the bow itself isn’t too expensive. I practiced all summer with it. I had 3 pins set to 15, 25, and 35 yards. I figured I wouldn’t need anything beyond that with where we hunt.

I went out a few times on the public land and didn’t see too much but it was also pretty early in the season. Deer don’t really start to move until the last half of October and early November.

My guy’s buddy said I could hunt his private property and thought I might get a chance at a deer since he had seen quite a few. I was actually very conflicted about it. I’m proud to hunt public land. My guy and I put in a lot of time to find good hunting land and we succeeded. Well he really succeeded. He did almost all the work. I was just lucky enough to have a good guide. We’ve taken 6 big game animals on public land in 3 years. I decided to try hunting the private land though cause I thought it couldn’t hurt to have more places to hunt. I also was hoping to just pull on a deer. I assumed I’d end up scaring them away. It’s hard to be stealthy with a bow. It’s a lot easier to bring up a gun discreetly on a deer. I knew I’d be hunting out of a ground blind on his land so thought I might be able to draw my bow more easily as well.

I hunted there a couple times and saw a few deer. Way more than I saw in our other spot. I never had an opportunity to draw my bow though. I was able to adjust my work schedule to work 6-2 so I could go out after work if I thought the weather would be good.

I ended up going on Friday the 13th. My lucky day. I’ve always thought Friday the 13th was lucky. The weather was about perfect. It was going to be dropping in temperature and the moon was waning from the full harvest moon the week prior. I felt good about it. I thought I’d see a lot of deer. Maybe get a chance to draw my bow.

I was staring off at one part of the property and when I turned back to look straight ahead there was a doe. She was too far away for me to shoot but I was still excited. She started to walk back into the woods. I could see the trail she was going to head own and there was another doe walking towards her. I sat watching. In my head I was thinking turn around…come back. I lifted up my bow out of my lap in case she turned around. To my amazement she did. If that doe hadn’t been in her way I think she would have gone back in the woods. She started to walk down a trail and I realized that if she kept walking in the direction she was going she would end up right by a tree I had ranged at 35 yards.

I brought up my bow and pulled back. I yelled at her and she looked but kept walking. I yelled again. She stopped. I adjusted my aim instantly and released my arrow. I thought I had hit maybe too low. She ran away with the arrow sticking out of her and I watched until I couldn’t see anymore. I grabbed my phone and texted my guy. I said I just shot a doe. I think it was low. I’m not sure why I thought that. I think I was just so worried about having a bad shot that I just assumed it would be bad. That was my worst fear with bow hunting. I was afraid I wouldn’t have a good kill shot and I’d have to go up to the deer with my bow to finish it off. He told me to sit still. He would come out to me. A moment later I heard a crash. I knew it was her. I just didn’t know if she had actually crashed for good. I sat there and waited for my guy to arrive. I was telling myself it was a good shot. I heard her crash. Then I saw birds circling right above where I heard the crash.

He got there and I told him where I shot. He said, “No. You didn’t shoot that far.” I said yes I did and then we walked to where I shot her and there was blood. He said in disbelief, “You shot this far?” I responded “Yes. It’s 35 yards.” We started to follow the trail and eventually came across my arrow. She had shaken it out. We kept walking and there she was laying on her side. I asked her if she was dead. She didn’t flinch. I walked up to her with my bow ready just in case but it wasn’t necessary. It was a perfect shot. It was just like my doe last year. I had double lunged her and nicked her heart.

I am so grateful to my guy for teaching me everything and that I was able to hunt his friend’s land. I am proud to hunt public land but I’m not ashamed to have taken an opportunity. Like I said, I didn’t think I’d actually seal the deal. I am still amazed that the first time I brought up my bow on a deer ended in success. Friday the 13th wasn’t that doe’s lucky day but it was lucky for me. She had so many other paths she could have taken but she went down the one that ended up in my first bow season being a successful harvest.