Friday, October 23, 2015

Bow Season 2015

Bow Season.
It has been a very eventful bow season for me so far this year! My first hunting trip of the season was one for the books...

First things first, my fiancé Aristotle has been bow hunting since around 2005. He has really been bow hunting hard for the past 5 seasons. In 2012 I picked up my first bow. After watching him shoot all the time, I wanted in on the action with my pink-camo Parker Sidekick. This year is my 4th season bow hunting. Aristotle has killed turkey with his bow but not a deer yet and neither had I as of October 7th 2015. Persistence, dedication, and practice eventually pay off, right?

Well, deer season finally rolled back around! My fiancĂ© Aristotle and I were so excited to be headed on our first hunting trip of the season. It was October 6th and we were headed to the Eastern Shore to stay at Sarah and Davids farm. I love getting a chance to go up there. We packed up our camper and headed over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. That’s 17.6 miles from shore to shore, two bridges, two 1-mile tunnels, nearly 2 miles of causeway, four manmade islands, and 5 -1/2 miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles. (www.cbbt.com)

We get there around noon and I’m so ready to get out there. Until I realize I forgot my quiver with my arrows at home! I had some practice arrows in my case and borrowed a Rage gold-tip from Aristotle. I made it work and headed out to my stand. I had only been in the stand for 30 minutes when I had a 5 pointer with a really funky rack come out in front of me at 10 yards. He walked out to 15 yards in the beans while I ranged him. I drew back my bow and prepared to take my shot. I eased off my trigger and it hits him straight in his shoulder. My arrow falls out immediately and he runs off. I go to check the arrow and my broadhead had some hair on it but no blood. It actually didn’t even open all the way. I looked around but it the end my spirit was crushed. I get back to camp and we decide we would just run home the next day and grab my arrows.

I wake up REALLY sad about the buck from the night before still. I didn’t hunt long that morning before heading back to camp. Aristotle came in early and we decided to get a head start on our run home. We drive back over the CBBT, but not with out a seagull getting the runs all over our windshield. We get off the bridge and stop to pressure wash the truck at a carwash. Awesome. We make it home, grab my arrows, switch cars, pick up lunch, and stop at the store to pick up some Muzzy three-blade broadheads. We head back over the CBBT to the Eastern Shore...

We pull up to the camper and I’m so ready for some redemption. I’m on team Muzzy now, and I can’t be stopped. Until, we realize three things; we left the camper keys back at our house, the camper is locked, our gear and bows are in the camper. We forgot the key when we switched vehicles. We can’t let it ruin the hunt, so we head back over the CBBT. We make it home, get the key, and we head back over the CBBT, AGAIN. At this point we are forming a friendship with the tollbooth lady. I go to put my new Muzzys together in the car so we can get in the stands as soon as possible, all while Aristotle is nagging me to be careful and not cut my self. Come to find out they shorted me a blade in the pack. So I’m now working with two new Muzzys.  Just my luck or so it seemed. We get back to the farm and Aristotle starts getting ready to go. He goes to fix his Rage broadhead and cuts himself. I would have thought he knew better after he just told me a billion times! We super glue him together and roll out. We both have deer come in and we both clean miss them. That night at dinner David and Sarah were going over the daily “Dumbest shit you’ve heard all day” and after we told them our story we were awarded the number one spot on October 7th 2015. At least we got something that day…

The next morning, October 8th, we were pretty drained and slept in till 8. It had been a rough few days and we were sleeping in! We had breakfast and hung a stand we had laying around the yard. It had been tough but we were still going hard! We got out in the stands at 12:30. I was still hunting the same spot and Aristotle was out to try the new stand we hung. I sat out there all day and basically have formed a bond with this marbled orb weaver spider by me. Around 6 that night, I finally see a couple deer off in the distance. They start coming in and I get one at 25 yards. I pull back and the deer jumps a few yards behind a tree. She startled the deer behind her, who jumped in her place... I lined back up on this deer and made my shot. I immediately saw blood, and he ran off with my arrow. I was really confident in this shot. I texted Aristotle to tell him and then my phone died. I could see my Lumenok off in the distance. I got down to go check for good blood. There was a good trail so I started back to camp. On my way in I meet up with Aristotle and he tells me he shot two deer with his bow! His arrows look good but we backed out until the morning on all the deer just to be on the safe side. We get back to camp and were anxious to go tracking the next morning. We laid in the bed and suddenly the night lit up with coyotes. I personally have never heard that big of a pack and they were close to where my deer had ran. The way the week was going I was praying they wouldn’t eat my first bow kill.


The next morning, October 9th, we hit the woods and recovered all three deer. Aristotle and I managed to get our first bow kills in the same night. That’s a memory you just can’t beat. After a very trying week the reward was well worth it, not to mention everything we learned along the way. Harvesting an animal with my bow is a proud moment for me. I’m also really proud of Aristotle, he managed to tag a beautiful Eastern Shore 6 pointer!




Robbie Kaitlyn Harris
October 8, 2015 First Bow Kill, Hoyt Ignite, Eastern Shore, VA



Aristotle Cleanthes
October 8, 2015 First Bow Kills, Hoyt Faktor, Eastern Shore, VA




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