Bring on the Venison Wagon!!

I finally got my new arrows (Thank you, Mr. President for that economic stimulus!). I ended up getting Gold Tip 7595 Expedition Hunter carbons. How do they shoot, you might ask? I'll put it this way - Usually, when you shoot an arrow, you can see the trajectory of the arrow, and follow it to the target. When I shot the first Gold Tip, I pulled the trigger on the release, and the arrow was sticking out the back of the target before my mind had even registered that I had pulled the trigger. Whoa. That was fast.

So, I shot again, this time ready for the incredibly fast flight. I paid reeeeeeeally close attention this time. The trajectory was straight, flat, and fast. No arch, no wobble, just straight. Whoa again. I've spent some time over the past week making sight pin adjustments for the new arrows, and playing around with a Whisker Biscuit arrow rest that my neighbor gave me (Thanks Randy!). After much fiddling, adjusting, shooting, and whoa-ing, I am completely satisfied with the rest and the arrows. Today, I had my best target shooting ever. It was so good, I had to take pictures. This was my first group, shot from 20 yards...


Let's get a closer look, shall we?



Closer? OK!

I hardly ever shoot a group like this. That is a 2 inch blue circle. I could hear the arrows hitting each other with each shot. I'm not quite sure why some of the arrows went in at a different angle. Maybe because they were hitting each other? I don't know.

So, then, I shot from 30 yards (which is pretty much the farthest I'd shoot a deer from in the woods. Here's the 30 yard group...












Whoa.

This is not a normal shot group for me. I'm usually more spread out, but like I said, I had to take pictures it was so unusual.

I am counting down the days until September 13, when the bow season opens in Zone 2. I'm going to scout out a new property on Thursday morning. I am really hoping to fill the freezer with venison this year!

In honor of the impending arrival of hunting season, here's a great hunting story. This story is absolutely true. A fine example of how God provides for my family...

I was hunting in the woods on a friend's farm in October. It was a really slow day. No deer activity at all on a property that almost always has deer going through it. I had spent a good amount of time reading my pocket New Testament that i keep in my bag, and praying for my family. About a half hour before dusk, I was praying. I'll be honest, I was praying for meat. I firmly believe that God provides all our needs, as promised in the Bible, and I was earnestly praying that God would steer a venison wagon in my direction.

A couple minutes later, I saw some movement out in a field next to the piece of woods I was in. There was a heard of about 20 deer coming into the field, at least 150 yards away from where I was. The worked their way across this field, but stopped to forage along the edge of the woods (about 75 yards away) under an oak tree. I waited and waited for these deer to come my way, but it looked like they were content to stay out in the field.

Finally, with about 10 minutes of shooting light left, I prayed. My exact words were, "Lord, I know you are in control of all things. I know you can provide food for us. If a deer is going to come my way, it has to come right about now."

If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it - the deer all started walking in my direction. I watched these deer that had taken their sweet time in the field, suddenly start walking through the woods in my direction as if they were following a command. I got my bow ready as they all came near. The third doe was a big one, and she stopped abruptly, 20 yards from my stand, perfectly broadside, as if she was a 3D target. I let the arrow fly & watched as it hit it's intended target. The doe jumped, walked 10 yards, and fell down dead. I couldn't believe it! And the other deer just sat there as if nothing had happened. It was amazing!

Like I said, if I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe it, but that's how it happened. Does God always answer our prayers the way we want Him to? Of course not. But, I have full faith that God answered my prayers that day (and many others!), and directly provided food for our family by moving those deer right in to where I was. I have a couple other good stories like this one, but I'll save them for another time.

I can't wait for hunting season to start! Hopefully, I'll have some good stories an pictures to share as the season goes on. Feel free to reply with any good hunting stories of your own, I'd love to hear them!