Your Closest Archery Big Game Kill

[Sendero_Man]

Got this Speed Goat at 19 yards with a 64lb. longbow....

 

[7mmSendaro]

My first archery deer when I was 13 years old at about 8 feet. It was a small 8 point that walked right up on me, stopped and looked the other way! Lucky break for a kid who had no idea what he was doing!

I was actually walking to meet my cousin when I heard him coming and knocked an arrow. He was actually slipping off the main trail ahead of my cousin who had no idea he was around.

 

[gube204]

Got this Speed Goat at 19 yards with a 64lb. longbow....

Nice goat. I'm hoping to go back to shooting a recurve again for next year. I plan to take a moose next fall with one. A compound is nice but there's nothing like trudging through the bush with a traditional bow.

 

[Sendero_Man]

AMEN brother !

 

[RT2506]

My first bow kill was the closest. A huge doe at the base of my tree stand 15 ft. It was the first morning of the season and I had my stand set up behind my neighbors house in a little patch of woods on a trail that deer would use to go from a field and pond area back to the national forest every morning just at daylight. Through the half light of dawn I made out a small deer just at the edge of the wood line at the edge of the field. Then another larger deer came into sight. Then this huge body deer came into sight. From the body size I thought it was a BIG BUCK. They milled around a white oak tree for a little bit then the big deer started walking up the trail. When it got about 40 yards away I could see that it was a huge doe. I was going to wait for her to go past me just a bit before I drew and shot her with a slight going away shot but she stopped right under me and I could actually hear her sniff the air. I thought, Boy you better draw and shoot now because she must have smell something funny. I drew and had to lean out a bit so I would not hit the stand. I placed the pin right between her shoulder blades and squeezed the trigger on the release. The arrow hit with a loud crack and the deer hit the ground on her belly like a ton of bricks. I could see about a foot of arrow sticking out between her shoulder blades. She rolled completely over and I heard the arrow go snap and she pulled herself 20 yards down the hill with her front legs and lay there slightly picking up her head. By this time I had reloaded with my cu-degra (SP?) arrow and placed my 20 yard pin behind her front shoulder. She was laying with her head straight away from me on a slight down hill grade. I released the arrow and all I saw was the arrow flipping end over end on the ground about 50 yards down the hill. I thought I had missed. She never moved again though. I took off my head net and tied my bow to my rope and let it down and was starting to climb down from the stand when the two deer that I had forgot about that was with the one I shot came walking up to where the dead deer lay. One was a full grown doe and the other a yearling. They acted like they were talking to the dead deer and saying come on get up and lets go. Then they would turn and run a few steps and then return and do the same thing. They did this three times. Then they just started walking up the trail and when the big one came by my tree she saw my bow hanging about a foot off the ground. She stopped and looked at it maybe thinking, "that was not here yesterday, what is it"? She sniffed it like a dog up and down and then in a way kind of shrugged her shoulders like she was thinking "Oh well it don't smell good enough to eat so I will be on my way". I got down from the tree to check out the dead deer and I had hit her right behind the front shoulder where I was aiming with the second shot and that Muzzy cut a hole coming out her chest as big as a 1 pound coffee can. The first arrow with a Spitfire broad head had gone through the center of her spine and had taken out her lungs. I did not need to make the second shot, but with a bow if I can still see it and it is still moving it gets another shot just to be sure. Man just recounting that story makes me want to go climb a tree.

 

[shimoda]

Slobbering 5 point bull less than 10 feet.

 

[Homer75]

I shot a doe that was less than 3' from the base of my tree. Shot her through the shoulder blades. Not sure I'll ever do that again, I think I got lucky. I did have a young spike at maybe 3' from me while I was at full draw. He walked right up to me while I was sitting in a pop up blind while I was at full draw. If he wasn't so young I might have shot him just to say i shot a deer at eye level that close.

 

[hammer0419]

Whitetail buck at 4 yards. Was actually my first bow kill years ago

 

[jrock]

I've had many deer, elk, coyotes and rabbits come so close you could pet them. I had a rabbit almost jump into my lap once. However, the closest animal I shoot with my bow would be <20 yards. Seems the ones I really want don't get that close

 

[StrutNut]

Black Bear 6 yards. First bow kill bear. I went another 10 yards after the shot and turned around to look at what just happened. It than tipped over and death moaned.

 

[jrock]

Black Bear 6 yards. First bow kill bear. I went another 10 yards after the shot and turned around to look at what just happened. It than tipped over and death moaned.

Sweet, some day I hope to do the same thing

 

[old_heli_logger]

Great stories, and I thought 9 yards was close!
Good luck this year everyone!!!

 

[TC338]

3 yards with a crossbow sitting on the ground.

 

[mtwarych]

I shot a california "mule deer" at 3 feet.

The arrow barely left the string before hitting the deer.