In the first story of the 2012 Concept Archery Hunt, I mentioned how I went back to find the lost arrow. Well there was more to the story that evening. After spending the time roaming around in the woods to find my arrow, I had to decide how and where to set up for the rest of the evening hunt. Should I hunt the food plot somewhere, or hunker down in the woods near the trail? Since I burned my buck tag the night before, I was just out for does. I had no stand or blind and was actually excited to “wing it”. 
Nearing the edge of the food plot, I heard what sounded like a truck tailgate slamming. More importantly, it sounded like the tailgate of the truck I had! When you’re on public land, you never know who you’re sharing the woods with. Since I was borrowing the truck from another guy in our camp, I swiftly but carefully walked the edge of the food plot back to where the truck was parked, just to check it out. And I didn’t see anyone or anything near it. Back to hunting I guess. I turned around to face the food plot again to discover two beady doe eyes facing me near the center of the plot. Looks like my plan for the evening was quickly presenting itself. Let me take a moment to describe the food plot. It was a multi-acre rounded area near the end of a ridge top. It had a crown of approximately 10-12 feet in the center. Littered about the plot were small islands of brushy vegetation left there for wildlife. Well, that doe was just beyond the crest of the plot and all I could see was her head. She was well out of bow range. I stood motionless while I decided what my next move would be. She stared for a while and then decided I was of no concern and went back to browsing. As she dropped her head, I dropped to my knees to get out of her line of sight. Slowly and deliberately, I removed the gear pack from my waist. I also shed my quiver but kept my bow of course, leaving one Gold Tip in the chamber. My plan of attack was to army crawl up the slope of the plot to one of the brushy islands about 50 yards away. Once behind the cover of the island, I could stand and range her through the brush and perhaps sneak a shot through it or around the side of it. My first task was sideways crawl from where I had been standing in foot-high grasses, plant stalks, and leaves to a beaten down truck path that ran up the slope. The massive dried oak leaves and mowed plant stalks made silent crawling difficult. I had to stay up on my hands and toes. I made it to the path without making a deal-breaking sound. Then came the army crawling. My heart pounds when I’m in the stand and get a deer in range. I mean, buck fever and I go way back. But this was insane. All I could hear was my heart beating. But, nevertheless, I kept moving towards my island cover. Earlier that day as I prepared for the hunt, I misplaced my belt. I didn’t think it would cause a problem with my layers and gear pack and all. But most bowhunts don’t include crawling or mid-hunt pack removal. Here’s where I started to pay the price. As I crawled, a cold breeze started to creep down my rear end, along with my Realtree Wranglers. One more thing to distract me from my task. I moved on. Finally, I made it to the island and stood up. My backside thanked me as I hiked up my pants and got to the business at hand. The doe had moved at bit further away from where I first spotted her. But that was ok. I ranged her at 42 yards. A bit long for my taste, but I had no other choice if I wanted this harvest. I was now almost at the crest of the plot and there were no more islands between me and her. I took comfort that I had sight pins out to 60 yards. More importantly, I had practiced long-range shooting all summer and was confident she would be mine. There was no hole in the brush to shoot through. So I stepped sideways to the edge of the island as I drew. She had been looking down the whole time but as I was about to squeeze the trigger on that Tru-Fire, she looked up and right at me. And in the time it took for the arrow to reach her, she had turned away. The arrow missed her by mere inches. My sighting was perfect but my luck wasn’t on this shot. The arrow sailed perfectly over the crest of the hill and buried itself in the grasses somewhere beyond as the doe huffed off into the woods. I would need a metal detector to find this arrow. I stood there, completely satisfied with my attempt and couldn’t wait to get back to camp to tell the guys. This could have been the end of my evening hunt and the end of the story…
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