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Three weeks of anticipation after 44 years of waiting, for one flight.
To ready for a recent bow hunting/canoeing trip with friends I had fixed up an old wooden arrow that my Dad, older brother, and I used to bow hunt back in 1972. It was part of a dozen arrows Dad had bought for us all to share. The arrow had spent the past four plus decades in a corner of dads den, long ago replaced in use by more modern arrow types. After dad pasted away I gathered up many of the old arrows of different types hoping to find good homes for them. In mid September of this year the few wooden arrows in the lot caught my eye, I found one that could be fixed up and hunted with out of my longbow. And so the “Phoenix” was born. I tested it for safety. I then installed new- fletching, nock, and broadhead. The old arrow proved to be a very nice shooter. I had high hopes to have it take its first game flight at a deer or turkey on the trip, with Friday October 14th my first choice as it was my father’s birthday. The trip was a great time but no shot was afforded me with the special arrow. The Flight of the Phoenix would have to wait.
I hunted on the October 23rd but again no shot opportunity. I had long planned to take vacation from work- October 28th though November 7th. The morning of the 28th found me up North at my brother’s cabin perched 8 feet up in a red pine. At 8:00 am. a nice 8 point buck came in a stopped broadside at 19 yards. I drew the Phoenix back on my longbow and…let down! The shot was a bit longer than I care to take. A couple of yards closer and I would have release the arrow. Hoping the buck would approach closer I waited, only to have the wind shift and spook the buck. An hour later a 3 point was coming in, here was my chance or so I thought until the wind shifted again. The next six days provided a few deer sightings but none close enough for a shot.
Friday November 5th would find me back in the same tree as the Friday before but with better wind conditions. At 10:05 am I saw a deer approaching from the South West I saw a glimpse of antlers and when I stood up and grabbed my bow from the limb on which it hung it must have caught my movement and start East back into the thick brush. A few soft grunts turned the buck and soon he stood ten yards away facing me. As I hoped- he turned to his right and started walking slowly. At a distance of 8 yards he stopped with the near front leg forward. In that moment the Phoenix took flight, and landed just where I had aimed. As the buck spun to retreat back into the tick cover I knew from the visible sign the recovery trail would be a short one. Even though I felt very good about the shot I waited 20 minutes before taking up the trail. Right at the spot the deer had stood- laid the back half of my special arrow, broken as the buck brought his leg back, four yards away I found the front half. I collected both parts for safe keeping. I then went 40 more yards to the spot that the 7 point buck had expired just seconds after the shot.
While every animal taken by legal and ethical hunting means is a true trophy, this one like many others will have a special place in my memories. To harvest it with a broadhead mounted on the old arrow that I hand sharpened, the stick and string that through countless hours of practice I use my own muscle to draw and release its stored energy, and to have it all come together to provide many delicious venison meals for my family-starting with the fried tenderloins and hash browns my brother and I enjoyed at the cabin the evening I harvested the buck.
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