The_Field_Ager

Guys...head over to the harvest thread if you wanna know what happened this afternoon.

So, as most know, I went back for a third and final look this afternoon. I was 85 percent sure that he dived into the brambles by an old vehicle shed. This was where I lost the blood, and where the dog had repeatedly come back to. However, there was a ravine not too far that led to a pond. I did not see the pond till today. I noted what looked like disturbance going down toward the water. I also found 1 leaf that had what looked like a little puddle of diluted blood. I could not be sure. It was steep, so I decided to go back and spend an hour hacking through the brambles. I started to feel despondent and was about to leave after 2 hours. Then I decided to hit the ravine edge and slide down toward the pond. It was right by an old rail path now used by 4 wheelers. Pretty public area; I was not expecting much. I get down and walk the pond edge to the end. I am almost hitting the main road into town at this point. Unbelievably, I walk round a tree, after the water ended and there he was, just laying in the leaves about 30 yards off from the water. I am pretty sure he came right here and died not long after I shot him. There was no evidence of bedding down or stopping along the way. It is bitter sweet. Glad I persevered, but sad that the meat is ruined. He was pretty stinky by the time I got there. I guess I am a 70 percent meat hunter, 30% trophy. This is the biggest deer for me to date. 11 points with a crab claw. His feet were huge. I remember being impressed by the hoof impressions as he crossed a dirt field. I am guessing 4 years. I spent some time with him, took a bunch of photos and then removed the head. I will bury it in a little while for a Euro mount. Note the entry and exit points. About 3 inches back from the shoulder on the hit side and right behind the shoulder on his right leg where it exited. Liver and lung I think. I did not feel like going in for a closer look. Surprisingly the coyotes did not harm him. I have heard there are some big ones in the area. They will feast tonight.

Well....I found him:

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Well...the deer looks happy anyway

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Just double checked with the neighbor that I can go in tomorrow afternoon for my third look. I had picked up blood again late into today's search. This combined with the dogs behavior suggests there may something going on in the thick stuff behind a vehicle shed. Hopefully I get my hands on bone at least. After this weather it is unlikely any meat will be good. There is also a deep ravine to check

I owe it to the deer to recover. He gave me a great hunt, and he seems to be a fine mature beast. There is a tiny outside chance he will live, very tiny. The arrow looked good n bloody.

So bad news I'm afraid. 4 hours of searching with a dog did not produce a deer. The Dog in fact seemed to end his searching roughly about where I had last night. There is a swathe of mighty thick,dense and prickly rose next to where the blood ended. I will return tomorrow afternoon with cutting tools and heavy gloves for one final search of this area. We were sure we could smell a Buck, but that may simply have been because it was obviously a Bucky area with lots of scrapes. Very down right now. Never lost a deer before.

Heading out soon to dog track yesterday's Buck. Fingers crossed

So, about 1.5 hours into the tracking I lost the blood. That's when I phoned a friend and left a message. I scoured the area and realized the Buck had made a hard 90 degree direction change. I was back on blood. Then coming up to a scrape, I lost the blood again. It was a good half hour before I picked it up once more. Over 4/5 properties and a main road. the blood was just a fleck here and there.Apart from when he stopped, then it would pile up a bit more. I almost it lost in a lawn with lots of dew, diluting the blood. Just as I picked up the blood again for the 2nd time my friend called and told me to pull out and wait till the morning. The Buck was definitely doubling back on himself when I pulled. I marked the last spot and know what direction he was headed. Into a ravine with tons of thick stuff. I am hoping he will be right in there in the morning. I did hear some kind of commotion in there, but there was a bunch of squirrels running around also. Might have been him.

He basically seemed to take me on a tour of his home range across the street. Lots of scrape spots in some very Bucky territory. I just got permission from all the land owners. One pointed to a spot where shot deer often go to expire. I am still hopeful.

You can imagine my dawning disbelief and sinking feeling when the blood trail went through wide open yards and across a main road in broad daylight. This guy was desperate to get home.

Guys, the story is not over yet, but it's not good news. After I bumped the deer that first time it did not in fact stop. I have been tracking it since 12pm over many properties and one main road. I left a message with a tracker friend after losing blood after a mile. I did not give up there. I walked out in all directions from the last blood and eventually got on the trail again. As we seemed to heading into an area of thick scrub, my tracker friend called back and said it was waayyy to early to be looking for a liver-shot deer.He said you need to wait 12 hours, and liver shot deer can live for days. My arrow was split in 2 pieces, blood all over, the broad head looked like it was covered in chopped liver. It is odd I did not catch a lung given the 3/4 away angle.I guess I missed a major blood vessel though. I feel bad for the this animal. We may go out again later tonight but I am tempted to wait till morning.Tracker friend is gonna help. After the perfect Hunt, this is shaping up to be the worst outcome. The hoof prints for this guy are huge, and he took me through all his secret bedding and scrape zones. Talk about the secret life of Deer! Pretty gutted right now.

I love my Arctic Muck boots. I wear all them year. One criticism would be that the fabric parts can get torn up by deer stand bolts or brambles. But I have been getting 4/5 years of solid regular wear from them. Warm too

I got a decent look at the neighbors property this morning while tracking. They clear cut a whole chunk of their timber a couple of Summers back. It is all thick and over-grown now. There were deer cuts all through it. It seems it is a haven now for Doe n Bucks alike. Probably one reason why patterns seem so dramatically changed in our woods recently. Mental note taken for next year.

I shot the Buck at 8:04 am. 16 minutes after legal light. Over two hours now! My earliest deer to date...hopefully

John Eberhart recommends all day sits, no lunch breaks. Bucks are chasing Doe now. Find the Doe, find the Bucks. I have known this morning's spot was Doe territory for some time, but I only now decided to get right inside and hunt it. Paid off....hopefully.

Thinking about how dark the blood was tells me it may be a liver shot. How long do you think is long enough to wait this out?

OK, so here is what happened. This morning was my first hunt over the community scrape at the bottom of the property. I usually avoid the edges due to deer going over the line issues, which is what happened this morning.Bottom neighbors are cool tho, so hopefully this works out. I was set up specifically to hunt over the scrape, which left me seriously exposed on the opposite side, but I figured this would be a one time deal.Sure enough,just after 8 the big mature doe I encountered the other night comes in on the bad side. I figure this will be a test of my new camo gear. I grab my bow to cover my face n body, and make like a fat branch. Then...about 60 yards behind her a big body comes out of the thick stuff. I see no bone at first, thinking this is another monster Doe. He comes a little closer, I glimpse bone. Thinking it is a one or two year old at this point . Then he comes in at her, lets out a big bellow and gives chase. He seemed pretty big, maybe 3 years old and the smell was powerful. This is the stinkiest deer I have ever encountered. He gave chase but stops behind a tree about 40 yards in front of me. I calculate in my head the rough distance if he follows the doe back into the thicket. I realize it is within range. Sure enough, he trots after her and I let one fly. I hear that beautiful thud and the way he exited confirmed a hit. I could also see the back end of the arrow sticking out from behind his shoulder. At this point the reality of what happened dawns. I was not expecting this. At best I figured I might have a shot at Hell-boy, the 2 pronged freak deer. Now, I am still nervous as heck about the shot. I am going back in in about 30 minutes. I may try and get another arrow off if he is still breathing. He did not move far after I bumped him, which tells me he is hurting.

Just had the hunt of my life. Full story later. I don't have hands on bone yet. Buck is bleeding out but still alive. Nervous! I bumped him a little while tracking, but he didn't go far. He is big! Stinking up the whole woods. Shot looked good, buried up to the fletchings but it seems I did not get both lungs. 35 yard shot or so. My furthest. He came in after the mature Doe I had an encounter with a few nights ago. This is why I like to not shoot Doe, they are the best Buck lure ever! Blood looked decent but I am soooo nervous right now. He went into the neighbors but they said it was OK to go after him. Back for rope, coffee and deer cart right now. Shaking!

Hunting the community scrape this morning for the first time. Should see some action

Incidentally, I used my Silky Zubat saw today for the 1st time, to cut new lanes when moving a stand. It is a beast of a hand saw. Made short work of dead trees and thick branches. Totally awesome. Best cutting tool I've ever used.

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