Doe Tag

I've been racking my brain all bow season trying to figure out why there was such little sign in my favorite bow area that I've been hunting for the past 15 years.  Usually with some success, if not always an encounter.  Opening day I saw a decent buck and had another deer wind me, but after six or seven sits with quite a bit of scouting, I still couldn't figure out the pure lack of sign.  Of course there are no acorns which does not help and what little sign I did see, was immediately adjacent to a small green field that I could not set up near.
I had a feeling that the deer were feeding in some Ag fields across the street which also holds heavy cover.  But this is an area that I tend to stay away from as another hunter usually hits it.  I was happy to hear recently that he was booted from the property and I had a good relationship with the landowner and got permission for access.  So Saturday I am driving by this spot at 12:15pm and there are two small does standing in one of the fields that had winter spinach growing.  I had to get in there tonight!
At 2:30 I snuck in and got into a tree just off the back of the field and along a tremendous run that connected another field through an old orchard.  I quickly checked the field before climbing and it looked like an Alabama food plot loaded with tracks.  I finally figured out the puzzle!
At 4:30 I hear a deer slowly approached the field and out walks this mature doe.   Since I had a doe permit in my pocket and have not christened my new bow yet, this was a no-brainer.  I previously ranged the corner of the field at 36 yards which I felt very comfortable with.  She walked exactly to that spot and I stopped her with a quick mouth grunt.  I aimed a little high but watched the luminock fly through the air like tracer fire as it buried behind her shoulder.  She immediate turned and bolted through a ravine and towards a thick swamp as I watched from the tree.  After a few seconds I heard the crash of death, and then the quiet again.
Since it would soon be dark in a few minutes and I heard the crash, I decided to at least check the arrow and for blood.  Oddly enough, I found neither which caused me to get that feeling.  Did I just hit her shoulder??   I went to the spot where she ran back into the woods and saw the back 40% of my arrow sticking out of the leaves.  But still no blood.  After some coaxing from a friend and fear of losing this one to the coyotes, I decided to take a quick walk to the area where I heard the crash.  You could see where she kicked up the leaves while running but I still found no blood.  But just as it was getting dark and I was about to turn back for the night, my headlamp caught what I thought was the rump of a deer laying in the leaves.  As I got closer, the bad thoughts quickly turned to elation as she was already done.

She had gone about 75 yard and I was so surprised that my three blade rage did not make the hole as advertised.  The shot was good, a little high. But it took out the top of both lungs and the broadhead stuck in her opposite shoulder with no exit wound.  That explained the lack of blood.  It was all holding in her diaphragm.  But I was also disappointed to see that only one of the rage blades deployed.  Since this is the first deer i harvested with these broadheads, I have to review going back to the old reliable muzzy's.  But I must admit, I love the range and accuracy of these broadheads.  They went hand in hand with the reason why I got into a new bow this year.  Way too many missed opportunities from 35 to 45 yards in the past five years.  A few I will never forget.