rugerla1

I spent my high school days cruising in Flat River (now called Park Hills). Good times! Graduated from North County High School in Bonne Terre.

Welcome, I have a lot of family in Farmington Mo.

Very nice!!! :up:

Thanks Batman! Yep, it laid her open and left a nice blood trail! She was turned away, walking up hill, I had a 3 foot wide window between two trees and thick brush on either side. I shot her on top of her rear end, split it open like a tulip, exited underneath her left leg and dropped blood like a rapper drops money at a strip club!

Doe down! Got her at 7:30 this morning, dropped her off at Flowers, and headed to work....LATE!

Thanks Batman. I am loving using my new ladder stand, and after talking to y'all, I've found a use for my climber. I'm going to use it for practicing so I'm not shooting in the woods I'm hunting in for practice.

Yes, it accounts for the angle, sorry that's what I was trying to say. I'm going to be doing a lot more shooting from stand height. It will not only help my skill, but confidence level too. Thanks for the tips!

EDIT: I uploaded a video but it was letting all of my pics and videos be seen? Not tech savvy so I'll figure out how to do it without total access and post it later.

I have, but not as much as from the ground. You can bet your last bite of your favorite meal that I will be doing it more though. One thing I did when I sat my stand up though, was take my buddy's range finder that figures the distance, given your postition, and tells you how many yards to shoot. That's how I had my trees marked for 10, 20, and 30 yards. I did that much to assure I wouldn't make a mistake. Well, as assured as I could be since I still don't have my deer!

Coming from a cancer survivor who is 3.5 years out, my hat is off to you Sir!!! Also to the other guys who are doing it! :up:  :up: :up:  

  Thanks guys, I'm trying to look at it that way. It will drive me harder to do better each and every time I go out. I can play it over and over in my head, but nothing will change no matter how many times I do. But I can change what I do from now on. I really appreciate all the feedback. I hope to still find this buck or get another one, or both if the deer gods are in my favor. Either way, the bag is nothing like real life scenarios, I know that for a fact!

That sucks for sure, I've never been fortunate enough to see a deer in the woods that big. I'm not going to blame just the Rage, I just had high hopes using it. Had my shot been a little better, I may have had that huge blood trail to follow. Yes, wounding a deer is the LAST thing I EVER want to do. I'm going back out in the morning before work to look again.

I don't have one, but that would be nice to have!

HOLY CRAP! That is crazy! Glad you happened upon the deer though.   I saw your turkey today, still had the arrow in him :lol:

Thanks Slappy. I covered all of that ground I'm allowed on probably 4 or 5 times between last night and today. If it had been a coyote, I'd have looked once and went back to deer hunting. That's crazy about the pod not killing that deer in MS! I'm not giving up, I'm going to do everything twice as hard now. That is part of the allure of bow hunting to me, it's not easy and I have a ton more respect for bow hunters now. The adrenaline rush is like no other I've ever felt.

Well I hope the wife gets better soon. Glad you'll be out this week too. I hope you nail a monster. And yep, I always seem to pick the absolutely wrong time to get down, so mostly I just don't.   Could be, I thought about that too. As in my other response to you a few seconds ago, I should have waited till this morning to look at all probably.

Well, if he jumps out at me, I'll pee....and iron rusts, so I'll wait a few minutes and when he's rusted solid I'll have him!  :rofl:   But seriously though, I wonder too if I should have stayed out of the woods all together last night. Hell, he could have fell down 40 yards from me and even though it was 30 minutes before we started walking to find blood, he could have jumped up and ran off. Nothing I can do about it now though, I was just sure there would be blood somewhere. But once you scare that deer that might have otherwise laid there and died, he may run 2 miles before stopping. S*#!*%#!!!

Thanks brother! LOL I wish I was Ironman, posting a pic of Irondeer! Apparently he is one  :up:

Yeah it's one of those things where you see it work perfect for some people and not for others and you have to decide. I'm not even sure I hit him high, I just assumed that from the lack of blood. Hell I've seen people hit a deer high right over middle of the stomach and have a huge blood trail. But they probably hit a good artery, which apparently I didn't.    Thank you for the offer!!! That would probably be the only way I'd have found it other than luck. I criss crossed, diagonal lined, and everything I could think of. But as we all know, I could have walked past him if his belly wasn't showing, they blend in so good. He was dark too, not like a bright fawn. But I really appreciate the thought of bringing your dog, very nice of you. 

Yes it was open when I found it, blood and hair stuck to it and blood all down the arrow except for the end with the fletching. It broke off from the outside, since it didn't go all the way through. I could see them hanging out of the deer when it done the uturn. The o-ring was in good shape, it was a brand new broadhead. The o-ring seemed to hold it pretty snug when I snapped the blades into it. I know I could shoot my next one with a Rage and have a huge hole and blood trail. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. I may try them one more time, but I have my Muzzy's in the quiver too. I'll know next Saturday morning though. I used to be able to sit all day in the stand no problem, but these 14 hour days are a lot harder now. I just keep thinking, as soon as I leave a deer is going to pop out right in front of my stand, or when I come back in, I'll spook one that I could have had. I also hate driving all the way home just to sit and wait for 2 o'clock to roll around. All I do is sit at the house and think, "I should be in my dang stand right now!". I don't mind the time in the stand, but my back does! But I'm even more determined now, and will make sure to hit farther back vs farther forward if I have to. It's hard to track a deer that's not leaving you something to follow! Did you get out today?

Well I believe you're right, but being opening day of deer season, I doubt I would have taken one for fear of spooking deer close by even if I'd known.    Like stated earlier I'm new to anything bow so my experience is being made before your very eyes. That being said, I've read alot of stories and reviews on broadheads and the mechanical vs fixed is like Ford vs Chevy. I did read somewhere that the Rage is more designed for today's newer, faster bows. Don't know how much truth there is to that, but my bow is older (@ 10 years or so) and still use aluminum arrows. May or may not affect it. I have some Muzzy broadheads that I can use, so may go back to that and save the Rage's for next year when I buy a new bow. I'm a reasonable person and will probably attribute some of this to me being upset about losing a deer, so I won't go on a big smack talk about mechanicals because I've seen some of the entry and exit wounds so I know they can work. I'm also a simple person, so a simple mechanical my suit me better  :rofl:

JWC I sure hoped all day that my search would turn up like yours. I even double checked creek beds just in case  :up:  But to no avail. Congrats on the doe! I didn't think we could shoot a turkey till 14th? I don't know why I thought that, sure had plenty to shoot at!

Yep, I didn't mind doing the work to find it, that's part of it. I kept thinking that any second I would look over and see the white belly. I don't live or work out that way so won't be able to go back till next Saturday. I'm sure the carcass will be stripped by then by coyotes, buzzards, and the like. The chiggers got me a little bit even though I sprayed, but all the ground I covered, I expected it. Now on to another point Batman. As I'm sure you did, I've been playing this over and over in my head. Re-playing everything to remember if I did anything wrong, if I could have done anything better. What are your experience with Rage broadheads or expandables like them? Personally with my experience, along with my best friend, this is the 3rd experience with little blood trails. I just talked to him and down to the last detail, this happened to him yesterday and he searched all day too. Last year he shot a 6 pointer at 7 yards, I found the first splatter of blood about 30 yards from where he shot it, and barely saw it as we were riding by the creek on four wheelers. I know if you hit an artery with any kind of blood, it will fly out, but I am second guessing expanding blades and want to go back to fixed 4 blades. Is it because I'm mad/upset/sick over losing this deer? Am I over reacting and just keep using what I have because I'm jumping to conclusions? 

Searched that place from 7 till now. Found small amount of blood but disappears shortly after. I'm allowed on all 3 places I checked today but he could have ran on anyones property if he wasn't bleeding worse than he was. I'm still sick about this....and exhausted again, Kitts thick stuff out there.

Thanks Batman, I wish it didn't bother me so bad because I know it happens. Just being my first bow shot and it makes me sick to think I just wounded it. I have passed up a lot of shots with a gun because it wasn't right. This one felt right, I just hit high. The way my heart was pumping, surprised I hit it at all. Yes, passed through. I figured no matter where I hit it with that Rage there would be blood everywhere. Guess I know better now.