Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023

   Today was the first day of Northern Zone archery here in New York. Although I had a lot of things going on, I decided to go hunting with my buddy Chris Hall. We made a food plot for him at my dad's house, so it's easy for him to get in and out of. I can drive him right to the blind and get him into it without too much of a hassle. Being in a wheelchair creates its own host of problems, but he never complains and we work together to make sure he gets some quality time in the field. 

  After dropping him off around 3, I headed to a spot I go every year early in the season. Shortly after settling in, I spotted a doe making its way toward me from the bottom of the hill. When it got behind the tree I was sitting in, it got a little nervous. Although it didn't know what was going on, it was definitely on edge. After she wandered into the bushes, I took a sigh of relief. 

  A short time later, I saw two fawns, which I surmised were the doe's fawns that I had seen earlier. As darkness approached, I spotted a large deer moving in the brush. Unfortunately, I never got a good look at it and it made it's way into the maze of trees beyond the brush. I had a sense that it was one of the nice bucks in the area, but I can't be certain. 

  As crunch time started creeping up on me, I noticed my release wasn't clipped that well on the loop. When I grabbed it, the latch let loose. It surprised me. Then, I decided I better try drawing the bow. As I drew, the arrow went sailing out through the timber and landed about 20 feet up a tree. The green lighted nock looked like a beacon. 

  When I climbed down, I sawed the dead tree down to retrieve the arrow. Well, the tree landed on the arrow and bent it, and the broadhead was destroyed.... I love early season bowhunting. It's great. 

  I picked Chris up after dark. He hadn't seen any critters. It did feel good to get out. I need to work the bugs out. I couldn't believe how fast the tree stand setup and takedown went, though. I almost impressed myself. I don't have much free time the rest of the week, but I'll see if I can get out this weekend. 







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