The Blind Leading The Blind

The Hoyt is ready to eat!

A light rain began to pepper the vinyl roof of the ground blind as I nestled in for my afternoon hunt. The second season of Pennsylvania's archery season had begun the same way as the September opener had, from the ground. I would much rather hunt from an elevated tree stand, but this year I committed myself to hunting from ground blinds in an attempt to add another dimension to my growing outdoor resume. Earlier in the year I would begrudgingly make my way to the blind, but on this rainy, dreary day, I welcomed the idea of being protected from the elements. I affixed my Hawk Hookster 360 from the blind's support beam and hung up my Hoyt Nitrum 34. As I watched the rain fall, I had high hopes that I would be able to harvest my first deer from a ground blind.

Early season view

Back in September, I took a shot at a doe that was quartering to me at twelve yards, about fifty minutes into the 2016 season. Although I felt confident about the shot, I could not find my arrow, any blood, and subsequently the deer. I spent more time practicing from a seated position, and vowed to only shoot if I was presented with a broadside shot. I had spent countless hours in a blind since then without any opportunities. This changed around 4:30 pm. The first doe made her way in, followed closely by a second, than a third. They all looked back in unison, as a fourth and fifth doe made their way in to feed on the dwindling browse. I drew back, but the large doe I had selected turned, and would not give me a broadside shot. After holding on her for over a minute, I was able to let down without any of the deer taking notice. I regrouped, and waited for her to turn around. When she finally did, I drew again, laid my top pin behind her shoulder and squeezed off an arrow. With that the five deer raced out of sight, unaware of what had just transpired. I felt like it was an accomplishment to be able to draw my bow back without being detected by five sets of eyes once, let alone twice. I waited a half hour before emerging from the blind to inspect the arrow. There was a mix of pink and deep red blood, so I figured she must of quartered slightly, resulting in a single lung / liver shot. I packed up my gear and waited 90 minutes before tracking the blood.

Late season, no cover is left on most trees

I had loaned my flashlight to my wife a week prior and had forgotten about the exchange. Luckily, I enlisted the help of my friend Jonathan to help track, who always has a couple lights handy. We picked up the trail pretty quick which led us across a field to an oak flat. That's when things went south. We tracked her making a figure 8 pattern, about 40 yards long, and 25 yards wide. After two and a half hours in steady drizzle, we decided to suspend the search until morning. When I entered the woods as the sun crept up, I went back to the last blood. The droplets were preserved under the trees, but the fields were washed clean from the overnight rain. Another friend, Mike, picked up a fresh set of tracks that led deeper into the forest. We walked another 70 yards with no blood when we decided we went too far and would go back to the last blood and start over. As we turned around, Mike glanced to his left and said, "There she is!" and just like that, my quest for a ground blind kill was fulfilled. Unfortunately, foxes had already found her and I could not salvage the meat. Upon inspecting the shot, we figured the height was good, but about an inch and a half too far back. That distance was the difference between a 30 yard track job and a full freezer and about 200 yards of tracking and and regret.

Foxes found her first

There are two things that I have taken away from my ground blind experiences so far. First, it is a lot harder to draw on an animal at eye level. You have to be statuesque, and when you move to draw, be slow and methodical. You do not realize what an advantage it is to be twenty feet up in a tree, until you are eye to eye with your quarry. Second, after the shot you need to listen hard to get an idea of where the animal has ran to. If the deer runs left or right, they are out of sight in a flash. I had to depend on listening to which way the deer ran to help lead me to blood. I have another month, and a few more doe tags left to work on my ground blind skills. With some more practice, and a little patience I should be able not to just kill, but to harvest a deer from the blind.                

September sunset from the ground