First off, I hate to post a thread about any lost deer and I have had many conversation's with all of my Tradgang buddy's about this exact thing. Yes, I know it happens but ammunition is ammunition for the anti's. My buds don't even know I'm posting this thread sorry guys.
But this is something I need to do, This has been a very special season for me with Mr. Lamb finding the time to come over and hunt with me and my son not once but twice!! How can it get any better then that :D Charlie brought me a wonderful Hill style Sunbear bow he made that we had talked about. Unreal!!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/t2.jpg)
I can shoot the bow like no other bow I have ever shot, Maybe it's the awesome doug fir arrows Treekiller made me or the special gift from Charlie I don't know but its unreal how that bow feels in my hands. So my goal for the rest of this season was to take a buck with this bow.
It's been a long buck season so far, I chased a big buck around for about a month that I put Charlie on while he was here. But like they say "They don't get big from being dumb"
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/shed6.jpg)
I have been after him for a few years now and he always give me the slip. Good seed I guess!!
I am sad to report that another hunter shot him Friday so it will be sad to not see him on my trail cams and field photo's anymore. :notworthy: :notworthy: RIP buddy!! :pray: I will be watching out for your off spring.
After he disappeared I headed up to one of my favorite spots in the big timber and was immediately into deer. Trail cams were set and some nice bucks were posing for pictures in no time. Charlie came over hunted and was back home before I knew it but that's on another thread.
Right before Charlie got here I passed up a big ol mature buck that had been busted up something fierce from fighting. I was able to get some video of him that day and looked over it and never could figure what buck it was. All I know is he had 6 pts on the left side and 5 pts on the right. Later I would catch him in the trail cams.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a1-1.jpg)
Tracy
RIP Muley Buck!!
Last Friday morning was quite cold 16 deg. But I had my camo fleece sleeping bag and was very comfortable on the stand. I had seen some really good bucks all week and the were chasing does all over the place so there was no way I wasn't going to be out there cold or not this could be the day to break in the new bow.
A little after 7:00am a buck came across the creek nose on the ground and was within 50 yds before I knew it. I could see immediately it was the broken up buck and he was on a mission headed strait for a small pond behind me a couple hundred yards. He walked right by one of my broken up blinds that I haven't used since Guru was here a few years ago and I was thinking I need to get another blind and replace that piece of junk. It sure would be a little warmer in it then up here in the 5 deg wind. :knothead:
Tracy
I know that feeling Tracy! Kinda sad.....
There will be more tho,stay with em! :thumbsup:
:campfire:
:campfire:
Broken up or not I had already decided he was a mature buck and given the chance I would try to shoot him. He was out of sight in no time and I had snort weezed him in last time so this time I would try a chase grunt and see what happens.
There are several scrapes around the pond including one big main scrape that is in the same spot year after year and that is were one of my trail cams will always be until they stop using it. He went strait for it and right fully so, I had been getting alot of doe picks in this scrape and they were all marking it.
In a three shot group of picks he checked the licking branch above the scrape and was moving on quickly as mature bucks do.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a9.jpg)
I had a big buck named "Hook" by Ryan Steadman last year come by me a few days before and when he was about a 100 yds away I gave him a grunt and man he looked like a race horse running away with his tail between his legs. What the heck!! They never do that around here, Not the big bucks.
Anyway, I gave this buck a few minutes before I did the chase grunt and you can see by this pick he must have liked what he heard. He is looking directly were I was sitting but out of his sight.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a2.jpg)
Tracy
I was in a ceder tree and had no shot behind me but was straining looking through the branches trying to spot him. Alright!! Here he comes strait up the logging road and if he stays on course that would bring him right by me at 6 yds.
I did grab the camera and turned on the video for a short moment but saw how fast he was coming and said no way I'm going to mess this up this ones for Charlie and quickly hung it back up.
On he came ears back all hairs standing on end trying to look as big as he could, Pausing a couple times to look and listen for the intruder then ears back down and stiff legged walking strait to me not knowing what lay in wait in the branches above him. Here's his view coming in.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a10.jpg)
Tracy
He did pause one last time, Looked strait up at me and I was thinking o man this is not good!! Here is what he saw minus me and my camo sleeping bag.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a11.jpg)
Then just as fast he quickly dropped his stare lowered is head and ears as was on his way again. It's funny how fast everything happens in such a short time, I was able to wait for him to walk behind a small tree draw my bow pick a spot and watch my arrow pass completly through him about 2 inches below and 2 inches back were I was aiming.
Tracy
My first thought was Dead deer!! My second thought was just a little low and a little back but good.
He kicks like a mule and takes off only to stop about 40 yds away, I'm thinking he's going to go down right there. You never know how far a deer will run after shooting them with a arrow and I have seen everything I thought after 35 years of bow hunting.
The logging road is higher then the base of my stand so I was probably 9ft off the ground at the shot so the little lower shot shouldn't hurt anything. Here is were the arrow went through.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a3-1.jpg)
He didn't drop and started to walk away only to stop shortly there after. I did watch him bed and his head go down. I finally looked down at were I had shot him and there lay most of the arrow.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a7.jpg)
I could clearly see a massive blood trail with and without the bino's.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a5.jpg)
So I waited a hour before getting out of the tree and resisting checking out the arrow or blood trail still thinking I had a great shot but feeling weird about the bucks reaction. I went to get my son to help me get him out and waited a couple of hours just to make sure.
Tracy
We picked up the blood trail and it's as good as I have ever followed coming out of both sides. at the first place he stopped this is what we saw.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a4.jpg)
It was like this all the way to the bed but he wasn't in it and I saw this from quite a distance with the bino's but was hoping he was in the wash out beside it. No such luck!!
We did find his trail 50 yds up the hill and it was still good but he was on the move and never stopped again. I will say we trailed that buck across 2 more property's that I have permission to be on and it went down to nothing. We looked the rest of the day and went back and re-tracked everything after finding the bed the next day.
I played this over and over in my head and didn't get the best sleep most of the week. I went back two more times and the whole time getting text and calls from my Tradgang buddy's( Thanks guys) Giving me positive comments as best they could. I have talked to the landowners and told them of the bad situation and they were understanding, This is the first time I have had to tell them something like this is 18 years of hunting this spot.
Tracy
Tracy, that is just incredible! i feel your pain... :(
So I pick back up hunting this weekend and finally replaced that crummy old blind and put a very nice and large blind to accommodate my long bows. We will name this blind Motel #7 because we already have a Motel #6 :D
We had checked the cams late in the week and some fantastic bucks were there almost everyday. One was not broken up at all and had been around through the whole season. Must be a lover not a fighter, This buck ended up giving me a great shot at 12 yards but I didn't take it!!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a12.jpg)
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a13.jpg)
I wonder what this guys going to look like next year!!
Something just didn't feel right about the hunting this time and my failure to recover this fine deer so I feel there is something I must do.
Buck tag punched!!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a8.jpg)
My season is not over, I will continue to look for this buck until it is and we like to shoot are does late and turkeys are open so now I will turn my attention toward them. Thanks for following along.
:archer2: ;)
Tracy
Awesome story, sorry for the loss of your deer. If you hunt long enough things like this happen and we can all feel your pain! Classy move punching the tag!
Time to kill them old does, so they don't bust me next year :)
Still feel your pain bud!
Quote
...Something just didn't feel right about the hunting this time and my failure to recover this fine deer so I feel there is something I must do.
Buck tag punched!!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a8.jpg)
[/QB]
Man, do I ever respect that gesture! A code of honor. A statement of commitment. It is taking responsibility for what happened in a very real way. Giving up a tag like that is no small act. When lip service seems the norm what you have done Tracy has solidly earned my admiration and respect.
Joshua
Sorry you didn't get your buck.
My hat is off to you bro!
I can understand the upset of having an intended target and somebody else getting it before I did, but the "rifle" comment IMHO was unneccessary.
We should be glad for other hunters' success as they should be of ours.
As for the tag being "punched", I know of a lot of hunters who consider a lost animal "tagged". BTW, quite a few are gun hunters.
When I first started deer hunting I used to get a bit bent about others' success on deer I was after. But I eventually started seeing bigger deer, and learned that any decent buck has probably got offspring around.
Read: worst case- wait 2 yrs and kill a bigger one.
In this very serious pursuit that we undertake things don't always go as we planned. The margin for error is so small, and even when things go almost exactly as you hoped the results sometimes cannot be explained.
I applaud your effort and follow through to do everything humanly possible to recover the buck. And the gesture of punching the tag is above and beyond. You are a man of integrity Tracy, and all bowhunters can learn from your example. I have always had high respect for you, and this just confirms how right I was.
Thanks everybody!!
Hookeye, "sad" means nothing against rifle hunters at all, I use muzzle loaders and rifles my self. "sad" means I will miss the big guy and it sure was fun trying to out smart him and chasing him around.
Sorry if this offended you Anthony I modified the thread for ya it wasn't what I was trying to say. :wavey:
Tracy
I thought you might have meant it that way ;) but you did call out specifically the other hunter's equipment type.
Lets hope that whoever finds any of our arrow wounded and lost game is of a kindred spirit and makes sound commentary (if any).
No offense taken, as I have really thick hide (and skull). Just trying to get others to see how divisive some comments can be..........it's not like we don't have enough less than polished hunters slamming us arrow flippers.
Just trying to get away from the "us and them" and make it more of a "we" thing.
Hate that it went down the way it did. Great story and Pics. Good Job with the Buck Tag.
Tracy, Cogratulations on an outstanding season. In the time I've known you you've been nothing but a class act. Hope things start looking up, we all lose one now and then, but it really makes you feel rotten not to complete a blood trail. Good luck with the does.
Sorry to hear that Tracy. Thats tough when you had such a good blood trail to begin with.
Makes me think (for about the thousandth time) how much I wish I kept a trained blood trailing dog for a pet. My old pheasant hunting lab is old so maybe in the future.
Love those trail cam pics...enjoyed the read. Good luck with the late season does.
I did a similar thing 15 or 20 years ago. I lost a buck the first day of rifle season, and while I didn't actually fill out my tag, I just quit hunting until doe season came. I knew that buck was dead and didn't feel right about hunting another one. Never regretted it.
Sorry to hear that Tracy. That is just strange. Commendable punching the tag. Thanks for sharing.
Dan in KS
Hard to believe with that blood trail that he didn't drop sooner. They are an incredibly strong animal, just one of the things that makes them so amazing to pursue. Thanks for sharing all your adventures from the season, even those that went "wrong".
This is a perfect example of hunting for all the right reasons.
Good luck on some late season does. :campfire:
I hear you on how hard it is to loose a animal.
A guy asked if I would help him find a deer he shot with training wheels at 48yrds. We spent 5 hours at night looking and had great blood than loose it. Pick it back up ect ect ect.
He gave up after the last spot we lost him.
I had a hard time sleeping and went back the next day. I found that nice 8pt with a hole in the neck 30yards from our last spot.. He had bleed out and I called to tell the guy his deer was waiting for him. He was VERY happy and I think I changed him about Quiting.
I have lost a deer or two for one reason or another but, IF we do as YOU did and try our best it is all that is asked!
Love to follow your stories.
Tim
Hats off to you sir! You have my respect as well.
Keeping the Faith!
Magnus
Tough season all 'round, buddy. Nobody puts in more time and effort than you and the boys...
Enjoy the rest of the season, still lots of huntin' to be done!
:archer:
He may very well still be alive.
Thanks for the kind words and I really wish I could say that this was the only deer that I have ever lost but it's not. The feelings do not change no matter what the animal is and the lost trails.
All we can do is are best and most of the time that is enough. I don't know why I feel so strongly about this deer, He wasn't some big monster buck Maybe it's just me getting older, Maybe it's the thought that I had made a pretty good shot and not recovered him. I don't know and probably never will know.
I do know there will be more shots and more deer that's a given and I will always enjoy chasing them around and trying to out smart them one way or another. I'm sure they will win most of the time :bigsmyl: :archer:
Tracy
Tracy,
I like how you have handled this whole thread. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Class act!
I'm guessing I will read another one of your post later this winter or fall when you finally find him. You cover enough ground I bet you will run across him. That whole deal of the unknown and unanswered questions is what makes it even tougher.
Good luck with the does.
P.S. Hey when you get a chance tell me about your sleeping bag. I'm guessing you are using it like a body warming suit?
Wow, what a read! I'm sorry that you didn't find your buck. I'm also thankful that you shared your thoughts and emotions with us so openly and honestly. I know how you feel, but am not sure I could articulate it so well. Good luck with your late season doe hunts.
Keep on goingK.S.I too feel your pain and have been there.Must have just missed the lungs,but I would bet you got liver and deer are tough animals thats instinct to survive is amazing.Ive had a couple of liver shot animals go a long way,unlike a buddy of mine that has hit deer and elk bad and they just fall down for the guy.Anyhow ,I enjoyed you sharing and you did the best you could do and thats all a guy can do.I have often wished a guy could bring in a tracking dog ,but my state wont let you.Youll get him next time! Endevour to perservere.
Very very classy. Keep your head up. I pray you find him in the near future. I feel horrible for you as I cant say it has never happened to me. Gutwrenching.
An honorable gesture.
you are a true hunter
Good thread. Good luck with the does.
Chris, it's probably a Snuggie (http://images.imagelinky.com/1291645263.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1291645263.jpg)
Tracy, there are many hunters that would shrug their shoulders and say oh well, then keep hunting. The fact that you know you killed this animal and couldn't recover him and are willing to punch your tag is just an unselfish act pal. My hats off to you. Sorry it happened, and I know you will recover from this. You're a sportsman and I am proud to call you my friend :campfire:
Hold your head high, my friend. There is not a bowhunter among us that has not experienced the same thing. Taking the high road and punching that tag speaks volumes for the kind of Bowhunter you are. Hope to meet you in person one day, would be my pleasure. RW
That's awesome Tom! :biglaugh:
My hunting friend in Ohio watched his son hit a good buck this season right behind the shoulder. The buck was quartered away. They were sure that this was a lethal hit. After days of searching with no success they gave up. Last week just prior to the Gun Season they got a picture of the same buck at the other end of the property on a trail camera. He looked fine other than a visible wound just in front of his shoulder. Very remarkable animals. RC
I know the feeling, buddy! Thanks for being so open about it. That's a tough thing to do. Best of luck with the rest of your season. :notworthy: :clapper:
Sorry you couldn't recover that buck Tracy. Punching that tag was certainly the right thing to do... :thumbsup:
Paul
I think you did a good thing because it is what you felt you needed to do, but I wouldn't think any more or less of you if you shook off the disappointment and went right back to hunting down a nice buck. Stuff happens; it is hunting and there are no guarantees. I hope this is more about you having your sights set on two possible bucks you wanted this year and now you just don't have another buck you want to hunt, and not about feeling you need to punish yourself.
I hope he shows up later in the season to say high :wavey: and to make you wish you still had that tag. You can have a good laugh if that happens. I have seen it happen on an arrow shot deer. I had a friend that had a hit kind of like that. I think he just got the bottom of one lung due to the shot angle from a tree. He shot the deer two months later the last day of the muzzle loader season.
Story to follow, Quick pick as he was found!! :pray:
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a5-1.jpg)
Tracy
What a find.Looks like you can sleep right again.I know the feeling once you hit a animal you cant stop thinking about what you did wrong.Congrats you are a true sportsman. :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
First off,Thank goodness for Tradgang and all the fine folks that are on this site :clapper:
Thank you for the support and understanding to the first part of this thread everybody. I know some of you thought I was to sentimental and maybe a little soft but you couldn't have been farther from the truth. Yes, I was remorseful in many ways that things hadn't gone as planned but I was more determined then ever to find out WHAT had happened to prevent this from ever happening again if possible.
Even though my boys are pretty much grown and out of the house I still try to teach them every thing I can when it it comes to nature,animals and woodsman ship skills. They teach me a few things now and then too and it means alot to me when they do. :D Ok, on with the story!!
As soon as I punched that tag I knew the rest of my season would be devoted to that buck and only that buck. I searched high and low brush piles, Ceder thickets, Plum thickets you name it I climbed in it and looked just to make sure.
That was the hard work!! Now comes the little luck... A few days after I posted this thread I get a phone call from a fellow Tradganger( Kirk Huckaby) that saw the thread after getting home from a night of shift work. He lives about a mile north of were I shot this buck and had just recently put out a trailcam mid-day on the Dec 1st.
A couple hours after hanging it he gets this pick of a buck that's sounds and looks alot like the buck I had shown on this thread.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a9-1.jpg)
He sends me the picks and I confirm 100% it's the same buck, Unbelievable 6 days later!!
Tracy
Yes that is unbelievable.Now im really hooked.He looks out of gas and skinny, Where did you hit him?
Great story and post. My hats off to you Tracy.
Your persistence, attitude, honesty and integrity are rare these days.
Finding your deer is a bitter/sweet victory of sorts. Even your dog shows it in his face.
Earl
Sorry i went back in the post,I cannot believe he lasted that long on that shot.
Correct Ben!! I send the pick to Guru,Steadman, My sons and a few other friends and they all say the same thing as I thought as soon as I seen the pick. He doesnt look good at all!!
By the time Kirk checked the cam it was Dec 6Th, I called immediately and stopped by on the way home from work to talk with him about looking for the buck as soon as I could get off work. He said no problem and would watch out for him and see if there was anymore picks on the cam which there wasn't.
A couple days later I get a picture text from Kirk and he has found the deer. Back to my first paragraph "Thank goodness for Tradgang" :thumbsup:
Tracy
At least that puts some closure on the whole thing, I admire your determination to stick with it.
Man, I couldn't get there fast enough!! Kirk said the coyotes had tore him up pretty good, I was just hoping would could piece him back together enough to see what we thought had happened.
Kirk's dog had shown him were the bucks was laying and that is the dog in the pick. Thanks Bubble's!! Good dog.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a10-1.jpg)
Tracy
As i look at the picture again he i walking like a gut shot,He is humped up and head down.How far was the deer found from where you shot him?
And is thier any sign of where the broadhead hit on the rib bones?
I cropped as much as I could from the picks but you can clearly see were the arrow entered. The hide is not completely on the carcass but this is about were I saw the arrow disappear behind the elbow and maybe 6" to 7" above the brisket. Remember, The trail he was on was higher then the base of the stand and the angle was not that great. I was maybe 8ft above him.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a7-1.jpg)
The exit was low and right were the brown hair on his side meets the white belly hair and a cut in the back of the left front leg which I thought had happened when he started stepping forward with the right.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a8-1.jpg)
Over all this was not that great of a shot and was very low. Even though I perceived it to be a kill shot it was still a little lower then I wanted. The liver was mostly eaten so there was nothing to go by there, I don't think it was hit.. The arrow entered between the 7Th and 8Th rib and if you look at Terry's diagrams that puts it right behind the elbow even closer then I thought but still to low.
Tracy
That is unbelievable, those animals are so tough. Glad you found him.
Everything should have been in front of the diaphram so I don't think it was gut at all, Plus the arrow was clean only lung blood on it. As a matter of fact the blood trail was all lung blood for the first 100 yds.
I just recounted and it was the 8th and 9th rib, sorry. :knothead:
I think it was low right lung hit and barely the left, no liver and No gut!! But I'm open for discussion :dunno:
Tracy
Wow i still cant believe he lived that long.Like you said 2 inches to low.I really enjoy seeing pictures like this helps all of us out we better understand just how tough deer are, and the shot looks very good now i can see why you where so disturbed that you couldnt find the deer.My hats off to you :clapper:
More sweet than bitter. Happy you found him this soon at least....Phil
And yes no guts.
Thanks Ben and everybody, I wish things would have turned out better and I was glad I could show the picks for us to learn from me included.
No hero picks this time for me though!!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a6-1.jpg)
I will do my best to find a way to display this bruiser old buck on my wall, All broken up and busted up and not the biggest buck in the woods but one tuff animal!! :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: ;)
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a3-2.jpg)
Thanks Charlie for the wonderful bow and Treekiller for the awesome arrows.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a2-1.jpg)
Kirk my hats off to you buddy for getting ahold of me and stepping up when I needed it I owe you my friend!! and Bubbles :D
Tracy
I'm sure it is bittersweet Tracy, but glad that you found him to put closure to the wondering about what happened. Most often we never get that chance.
This is a game of inches, as your story so well demonstrates. We all can learn from that, and that is another one of the great things about this websites. Personally, I'm surprised even after seeing the pics that he survived so long.
You know Tracy, 9 out of 10 bucks probably would have died within a couple minutes from the very same shot you made. You just never know when #10 will come down the trail.
Keep your head up and your nose in the wind my friend!
WOW!! Incredible story. Wow. Do you think it's possible you shot him with a broadhead that you had been practicing with? and forgot to re-sharpen, Just grasping for straws. I can't believe he lived that long
You're a very honorable man.
Thanks for sharing
I'm surprised to Joe.
Very true Ron and thats a great way to put it, Thanks buddy!!
Tad, Go back and check the picks of the blood trail one of the better I have been on. I could have posted 50 picks that all looked the same massive... I touched up and sharpened all broadheads the day before this hunt. :)
Tracy
Your a hero to me Tracy! Glad you were able to find him. Still unreal!
Wow, what an amazing story. Glad you were able to put the unknown to rest. Truly a magnificent animal.
What a TUFF old buck!! Glad you found him.
Glad to see you found him. :thumbsup:
6 days with a hemo/pneumothorax...WOW! Like Ron said, he was just plain crazy tough. I mean look at his rack. That tough guy doesn't look like a deer that lays down and quits...AMAZING! Congrats again on the find my friend. I know not having the meat bothers you but you did EVERYTHING to find that deer. Keep your head up and go kill some of those turkies that are running you over :)
Wow! Way to keep up with him and not give up.
Awesome job! Persistance and a little help from a fellow tradganger and you get some closure. Strange things happen sometimes, glad you found him.
Good deal Tracy!! Things like that have a way of eatin at you! Glad you found him!
Congrats Tracy...fantastic news!
Tim
glad you found your buck,been there done that!
and it sucks.
Amazing story! A great example for us all to never give up!
He was certainly in a weakened state of being.
With mild weather conditions and ample food and water why would he be moving around in daylight?
My guess is the coyotes had gotten on him, and were pushing him. I have watched with my own eyes as a team of coyotes chased HEALTHY adult deer, (on two seperate occaisions) and without my intervention I am convinced the deer would have been killed. A wounded deer has no chance.
I hope you can make peace with yourself soon.
I have been there. :campfire:
I agree that is the same deer from the pics.
I don't understand how long that buck lived based on that shot picture of his hide. If a lung is punctured it will fill up with blood and any animal will sufficate. I don't think you hit a lung.
I'm glad you found him, I wouldn't have been able to sleep either.
I've lost a deer a few hunting seasons ago, and I didn't hunt the rest of the early season. The best medicine is to get yourself and that bow back in the woods and harvest a doe. That's what I did for my ailment, and it helps a bit.
Very interesting tale. One lung hits are unpredictable, sometimes they even fully recover. You did great to work so hard and find that deer. Tip of the hat to a well followed shot.
K. S. One of the best threads I have ever read. Been their and done that. Not real happy but time heals. Good luck to future hunts. Rod
An honorable man and one tough buck.Glad you found him-fitting end to the story.
QuoteOriginally posted by K.S.TRAPPER:
... I know some of you thought I was to sentimental and maybe a little soft...
...As soon as I punched that tag I knew the rest of my season would be devoted to that buck and only that buck....
Tracy
Sentimental? Soft? I think if more thought like you, did what you did there would be fewer lost animals and fewer wounded ones. We have all heard justifications going the other way. Nice to have such a fine example of commitment for the younger archers to look up to and strive for.
Joshua
Great story Tracy. This just goes to show how tough they can be. You hear people say if you stick it in the boiler room they ain't going far, ha, that is not always the case. There are not too many hunters that have your persistence. Good job.
Jack
8 inches up and tucked behind the shoulder? That had to a be lung... and probably under the lung on the far side. A one-lung animal can go a looong way...
My hats off to you! I trailed one just under 4 miles once a buddy of mine hit before we were able to put our hands on him after another arrow. Leg hit.
We need more of you in the woods!
Tracy, I've been pondering this a lot,(now I'm losing sleep over it,ha), and I think everyone is probably coming to the same conclusions, I think with the low hit he bled "out", not "in", his chest cavity didn't fill-up and drown him,(if that is what happens), he probably didn't have a lot of pain, just weakness. If this happened where there were no predators, he probably would have recovered. In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
wow ks trapper. you are a true hunter, and i personaly thank you for respecting the game as well as the sport of hunting. keep at em. :clapper:
I love to hear about a hunter that is persistant and continues to persue the game he shot. You were persistant in trying to find and then when he was found you went the extra step and pieced together what happen. You hit the one deer thats in the 10% or less catagory that didn't go down when others would. My hats off to you, you are what the sticker on my truck is all about, "Bowhunters Make the Difference". Its nice to have a 100% record, but if not it's the 110% that you gave trying to recover him.
ks trapper, A hardy congrats. You make a hunter proud. My respect for the tenacity of the whitetail has also grown.
KSTrapper...great determination. My own experience with this shot is not good either. There was a recent article in one of the bowhunting magazines which basically told hunters to move their aiming point a little further back and then stated it was good for several inches in all directions. I remember my gut reaction to that article was, not in my experience, but I don't have time to dwell on stuff when the season's rolling.
Maybe 15-20 years ago I hit one similarly to you, although it was a pretty sharp downward angle. Figured it was a down-and-outer, waited 30 min., got on the trail, jumped it, and later trailed it 600+ yards and never found it. It was killed two weeks later in rifle season, with no obvious wound to tip the hunter off. (The buck was a one-of-a-kind rack; no doubt it was the same buck).
A couple winters ago I hit one very similar (behind the heart, below the upward arching lungs). This doe ran off hard-hit and acted like she was going down any second as she topped a little mini-ridge 40 yards away. I waited just a few minutes and thought I'd take care of this before dark, and got on the trail and I'll be darned if she wasn't standing on the other side of that ridge in real distress. Me pushing her probably caused her to stress out that one lung she had left but it was 15-20 min. after the shot. She ran about 30 yards and laid down and died.
Then this year, I wounded and lost a buck hit low and behind the heart (very low, though, maybe only a few inches above the bottom line of the deer). Quite a bit of blood whenever he stopped, but eventually petered out and despite LOTS of searching, no animal. He showed up on trail camera after this event but it was inconclusive as the photo didn't show the hit area.
And also this year, my second buck was hit much the same but as it turned out, about halfway up the body line. Good blood, but despite waiting 90 min. and then stalking the trail, 100+ yards into a fair trail, no buck. I backed out, came back 3-4 hours later, and after a very difficult 100-150 more yards, found the buck. Liver, part of one lung maybe (I was in a hurry). I'm sure if I'd pushed him at all early, I'd never found him as there was not a great deal of blood the last 1/2 of the trail.
I'm just not liking that low and back shot at all. Again, congrats KSTrapper on your determination and I'm glad you found the deer. And remember that the little critters need to eat too.
1st class move punchin your tag
Glad you found him.Did he get his rack busted up after he was wounded or before.
Great story and thanks for the courage to share it.
Not sure how I missed this thread, but it was a great read, and as said very bittersweet ending. Glad you found him finally and way to stick with it!
Iz, Check out the pix on page one...
Glad you had an honest man to lead you to your buck. I had the same thing 2 years back. I felt it was a great shot. Great blood trail. When I found him he jumped up. Trailed him the next day with the same result. Then he was gone. I punched my tag as well and kept on him. Spent months looking for my buck just to learn come Spring that a neighbor had found him and took him. Yes, he knew it was my buck, but he fell on the neighbor's property. Now I see the head everyday while I drive my kids to school. It is drying out on his dog house. Sick!
I spent many, many hours questioning my shot, set-up, ability, etc. And if you are like me, you get a lot of advice. That is what is great about Tradgang. You can learn soooo much. Most TGers are awesome and encouraging. Others, not so much! What it comes down to is that some things just happen. We do our best to be as great and ethical of a hunter as possible. It is obvious that you are that kind of man.
I am glad that you recovered your buck. I know this hunt will stay with you forever. You did the best that you could do and your buck could not ask for more than that! Props for finishing the hunt.
Katie
I want to thank everybody for responding to this thread, I will say it one more time "Tradgang folks are the best" :wavey:
Tracy
Tracy,
You did everything right, and I can't say where you should of done anything differently. Looking at the blood trail, the shot placement, that deer shoudl of been down insid of 100 yards. You got that one freaky deer we all get once in a while that defies logic. I wouldn't suggest you change anything.
Good stuff right here. Congrats my friend. This is a great thread!
Todd
I just read this from front to back. Stories like this are absolutely amazing to me. I hope Tracy doesn't mind it being pulled up 4 years to the day but I think it is a thread worth the read. Good on you Tracy!
:thumbsup: Good on you Brother! One lung hit deer can go a long long way and live a long while. Your deer brings back some bad memories for me of mine earlier in the year. Coyotes are being thinned out here as we speak. Glad you found him and you have to just chalk it up to "its bound to happen sooner or later".
(http://i60.tinypic.com/331q1ki.jpg)
Wow!! Simply...WOW!
Tracy, I came to this thread late, can't believe I missed it before. You set a wonderful example for every member of the 'gang, especially us younger fellas. My hat is off to you, I enjoy everything you post on here, and this story gives a healthy glimpse to the man behind the bow. Thank you, sir. You're a true credit to our sport.
Good hunting.
Jake
I admire your determination and ethics - rare in today's world. I would venture to guess that if you hit 100 deer like, 99 would have died within a few hours and close to your stand.... I wouldn't be to hard on myself, missing your aim point by two inches is hardly a bad shot. I think this buck was a rare example. Good hunting in 2015 - and thanks for the read!
I'd still like to hear more about the fleece sleeping bag. Congrats on your persistance and recovery.
Tracy, AKA - K.S.Trapper, is one of the few people that I know who can truly be called an Outdoorsman... :thumbsup:
No problem David I think there's some good lessons to be read in it. Just got home and seen this old thread had been brought back up after 4 years!!!
TJ, I do my best every year at thinning the coyotes, here's a few.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/465053A1-372C-49F3-AE51-262D21305B6D-5389-00000E1BBDF30E7F_zps3e7872b6.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/465053A1-372C-49F3-AE51-262D21305B6D-5389-00000E1BBDF30E7F_zps3e7872b6.jpg.html)
Thanks for the nice comments guys, I'm just hard headed and was determined to find that buck dead or alive to try and find out what happened. Not my first lost animal in 35+ years of bowhunting but we found him as you read and we can only guess as to what happened after the shot.
My success has continued that season and beyond, I filled five tags with a longbow this year, A Missouri buck, Kansas buck, two Ks does and a KS Gobbler this last spring with the Hope bow.
Again, The thread is 4 years old and I thank you for the nice comments. Happy Holidays everyone!
Tracy