American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 48 Male Mule Deer!
Lin Yu'an's heart clenched suddenly, and all his fatigue seemed to vanish in that instant.

He quickly lowered his body, using a thick spruce tree as cover, and stared intently at the clearing, carefully observing it.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of pine needles and the damp aroma of earth, and the wind was still blowing in his favor, carrying his scent in the opposite direction.

He held his breath and listened intently.

Besides the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the treetops, he also caught some more subtle sounds!
It was the sound of branches being gently tugged and the rustling of some animal walking on the fallen leaves.

"The target is right there!" Lin Yu'an was overjoyed, and his adrenaline began to surge uncontrollably.

He peeked out from behind the ancient pine tree very slowly, looking through the dense foliage towards the open space.

Finally, a clear figure came into his view!
It was a medium-sized male deer! It was standing at the edge of the clearing, head down, seemingly sniffing at something on the ground warily.

Its fur is a beautiful grayish-brown color that blends perfectly with the surrounding environment.

On the head of this deer, there is a beautiful set of fully ossified, forked antlers! Although they are not yet thick enough, they already show the majestic appearance of an adult male deer!
Of course, it could also be a black-tailed deer. Black-tailed deer are a subspecies of mule deer, and they are very genetically similar and share many similar characteristics.

"This looks like an adult mule deer! Or a black-tailed deer," Lin Yu'an whispered to the action camera.

"Upon closer inspection, its tail is mostly white with a small tuft of black hair at the tip. It's a mule deer!"

"If it's a black-tailed deer, its tail should be almost entirely black or dark brown, extending from the base to the tip."

Lin Yu-an's heart pounded, because mule deer meant more meat and fat than black-tailed deer.

The stag seemed unaware of the approaching danger. After sniffing the ground for a while, it began to slowly walk toward the center of the clearing.

Every now and then they would stop and nibble on the tender green moss or lichen growing from the cracks in the rocks.

Lin Yu'an knew that now was not the best time to shoot; the distance was still about 60 or 70 meters, and there were many low bushes and branches in between that provided cover.

He needed to get closer and find a better angle to fire.

He began a stealthy movement that could be described as ghostly, his body almost completely pressed against the ground, every movement extremely slow!

When landing on the ball of the foot, it will first test the ground with its toes to make sure it doesn't step on dry branches or noisy pebbles.

His breathing, which he began to consciously control, gradually became long and steady.

But his eyes never left the stag, constantly watching its every move.

When the male mule deer cautiously raised its head, turned its ears, and scanned its surroundings, Lin Yu'an immediately froze like a lifeless rock.

Once the stag was sure it was safe and lowered its head to eat again, he slowly and silently moved forward like a snail.

This process was agonizing! Every meter of approach felt like walking on a knife's edge.

Lin Yu'an could clearly hear his heart pounding with nervousness! But he had to force himself to remain absolutely calm.

Time passed by, and the shadows in the forest grew thicker and thicker.

Just as he was about fifty meters away from the buck and preparing to use a rock in front of him as final cover, the accident happened!

"Caw—!" A sharp and loud bird cry suddenly came from a tree not far above his head!
That was a star raven, extremely alert to intruders! It had clearly spotted Lin Yu'an, this uninvited guest, and issued a piercing warning!

The stag in the clearing suddenly raised its head, its ears turning alertly like radar, listening for any sounds of danger!
Its body tensed instantly, its limbs bent slightly, ready to flee at any moment!
"Damn it!" Lin Yu'an cursed inwardly, his body instantly freezing, not daring to move an inch.

He knew that if he made any rash move at this moment, the alert stag would immediately disappear into the dense forest.

Lin Yu'an forced himself to remain calm! He hoped the deer would misinterpret the bird's call as some other natural phenomenon.

Fortunately, after cawing a few times, the raven flapped its wings and flew away.

In the open space, the stag observed warily for a few seconds, and then slowly relaxed, seemingly finding no direct threat.

However, its alertness has increased significantly. It no longer focuses on eating as much as before, but instead raises its head from time to time to scan its surroundings.

Lin Yu'an knew he had to be more careful. He chose a more circuitous route, sneaking up from the stag's side and rear, using the denser vegetation to his advantage.

This is a process that demands immense patience and skill.

Lin Yu'an held his breath and moved forward inch by inch, like a raccoon in the forest.

Every time the deer raises its head alertly, he must freeze instantly, becoming one with his surroundings.

After about seven or eight minutes of agonizing stealth, he successfully reduced the distance between himself and the buck to about thirty-five meters!
This distance was within a very safe and effective range for his 50-pound American hunting bow and sharp hunting arrows!
He chose a spruce tree with rough bark and dense foliage as his final firing position, pressing his body against the rough trunk, revealing only half of his profile.

Lin Yu'an's movements were slow and fluid, without any unnecessary actions. His left hand first firmly gripped the handle of the hunting bow, and then his right hand drew two metal hunting arrows with gleaming cold light from the quiver at his waist.

He swiftly and silently nocked the first arrow onto the bowstring, the fletching close to the center of the bowstring.

The second arrow was skillfully held between his left hand fingers, with the shaft close to the inside of the bow handle, the arrowhead pointing diagonally forward and downward, and the fletching close to his body.

It does not affect the aiming and shooting of the first arrow, and it can catch and nock the second arrow as quickly as possible after he shoots the first arrow.

His gaze did not stray in the slightest, fixed on the left side of the stag, the area covered by thick fur where a vibrant heart was beating!
The bowstring was gradually pulled taut until it was close to the corner of his mouth, forming a stable point of contact with the string.

His body leaned slightly forward, his entire weight resting on his left arm holding the bow and his left leg supporting his body. His right shoulder blade was pulled back, feeling the powerful tension from the bowstring.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The moment the stag lowered its head again, focusing all its attention on the ground.

It's now!

Lin Yu'an's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his fingers, which had been hooking the strings, quickly released their grip!

"Whoosh-!"

A deep, powerful sound of a bowstring vibrating rang out!
The metal hunting arrow, like a black lightning bolt released from a bow, flew straight towards the unsuspecting mule deer!
"Pfft!"

A dull yet clear sound, the sound of a sharp instrument piercing flesh, rang out!

The stag let out a sharp, short cry and its body lunged forward as if struck by a heavy hammer!
Like the black-tailed deer, mule deer will leap high on all fours when startled, and then run away after landing.

"Hit! It definitely hit it!" Lin Yu'an exclaimed excitedly in a low voice.

The mule deer began to gallop wildly into the depths of the forest, disregarding everything else! Its running posture was already somewhat unsteady, but its speed did not decrease.

As it ran, it frantically rubbed its wounded body against the bushes, trying to get rid of the sudden, excruciating pain!

But the deadly arrow had already pierced deep into its left rib.

Only the fletching and half of the shaft remained outside the body, trembling as the mule-deer scraped against it!
Lin Yu'an had already quickly drawn a second spare arrow from his left hand and nocked it, but because the target escaped too quickly, there was no chance to immediately fire the arrow.

He stared intently in the direction the mule deer had fled, watching its staggering figure disappear into the dense forest.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then spoke to the camera in a slightly trembling voice.

"Incredible! Guys, I really did it!!"

Lin Yu'an's adrenaline was gradually subsiding, but he still felt the excitement of having hit his prey! However, his voice had calmed down, and he continued to add.

"This big guy was hit in a vital spot by my hunting arrow, which will definitely cause huge internal trauma and continuous bleeding."

"Remember, once you've shot your prey, never yell and chase after it immediately. That will only make it run further away out of fear."

"It might even unleash its survival instincts and make it run into the river and swim! Give it some time to let the blood loss and pain weaken its strength."

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Alright, I've covered all the necessary background information. Now, let's move on to the main storyline as my book's title suggests! American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness!
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(End of this chapter)