Chapter 1 WELCOME TO BOWHUNTING It’s a cold morning in early November Shivering a young hunter steps into overalls She pulls on a roomy jacket slings her backpack over her shoulder and grabs her bow 4
Ground blinds can conceal movement better than tree stands This helps the hunter get close to game and arrows She walks down a forest trail and across a field of frosted grass She arrives near the edge of the woods She unzips the blind’s door steps in zips it back up and gets set 5
Does are legal to shoot in many states But many people prefer to shoot bucks for their antlers The landscape slowly comes to life as the sun rises higher Two bright cardinals dart through the brush A raccoon shuffles past 6
Suddenly a white-tailed doe appears The deer walks 20 yards 18 m away heading for the woods It stops flicks its tail and looks back The young archer begins to draw her bow Any deer is a trophy especially when taken with archery gear But then the hunter hears something else A buck is coming too It is mating season The buck is following the doe The hunter draws her bow settling into her anchor point She has practiced this shot many times The buck pauses only 15 yards 14 m away Thwack The arrow finds it mark The buck leaps into the air kicking its hind legs It scampers off The bowhunter listens She hears a crash in the woods followed by some thrashing in the leaves Fewer than 50 yards 46 m into the woods the young hunter spots the downed deer As she approaches it from behind she sees that it is dead 7
