Pa. redemtion

[reeltime]

  Last year I missed a good buck at 5 yards when I clipped 1 little witch hazel branch.  I said then that since the arrow clipped his left front leg that was the only buck I would hunt for last year. had no other encounter with him through the end of archery. I saw him 3 times in rifle only once where I had a sure kill no shot as he was right on the skyline and no way I was taking that shot so I passed him.

I saw him this spring and a number of times through the summer and fall, with little free time to hunt I took this week off and focused 100% on his core area.

passed up some bucks both saturday and monday most being 1.5's and 2.5's. Tuesday with the rain I didn't hunt.

wed. morning was perfect wind for the bedding area flat in his core area, got in early with intent to set dark to dark.
just at daylight I had 3 doe come running through with 2 respectable 8's following, 1 being a 2.5 and the other bigger one might have been 3.5 but he got through before I could get a full assessment of him.  about 15 minutes later I can see a big buck on the skyline about 200 yards away, almost exactly where I saw the one last rifle season. he chased a doe the opposite direction.

it seemed a bit misty in the air and was foggy so I checked the radar on the phone and saw no rain in the area. it was just after 7.

I look out on the flat and like a phantom he just materialized out of the fog. it was Tank and he was walking directly at me.  this area was logged 8 years ago and is just a sea of multifloral rose, blackberry, witch hazel, poplar, maple and sumac.
I am 28 feet up in a double trunked cherry tree so I am looking down through all the brush. He makes a scrape 40 yards from me and made quite the production of it as he had leaves and mud flying 8-10 feet in the air. i couldn't really see the rack just a glimpse here and there but knew it was tank.
He was on my silvertop trail but going backwards on it I covered the can call and gave a muffled bleat, he stopped looked then took another step so I bleated again making him stop. he started walking away again so I hit him with a tending grunt. he bristled up turned 180 and here he comes. still in the brush.

slowly he is coming now he is right on the silvertop trail and I am 100% focused on his front shoulder. 30,25,20,15,10, he walks behind 2 mid size maples I ease to full draw, 8,7,6,5,,,, he stops settle just off the shoulder and just as I released I thought I remembered him taking a step.
He lunged forward, then ran as best he could out through the maze of tangled briars. I saw him when he got over to the other side of the bedding area about 100 yards away, he stopped and was wagging his tail like a beagle on a rabbit. He turned to the right and in a couple steps he was out of sight. headed right towards an even worse area of treetops and all the other stuff listed above, you can not even crawl through their tunnels.

I sent judy a text telling her I just shot tank but had not checked the arrow yet but felt he was liver hit.  I eased down the tree and checked the shot site and sure enough the arrow is dripping with liver blood and stomach.

I ease back up to the stand, get my pack on and let the bow down and ease back down and slowly and quietly ease to 500 yards to the truck.

I was constantly checking the weather, but knew I had to wait. If I pushed it and he got down into that hollow we would never find him.  Even though I watched that fletching go through his shoulder I KNOW what evidence is present on the arrow and that tells me to wait.

I gave him till 4 when we got back to the stand, eased 30 yards out the scuffed leaves trail and no blood.... I told dad I was going to get in the stand and direct him to the last spot i saw him.  it took him almost a half hour to get out to 100 yards to the spot.
I said stay there and I will get over there, I work my way over and now within sight of where he should be standing but no orange hat, I call out to him ( not shouting ) no response,,, now dads 83, yeah in good health but ya never know.... I call him on the phone,,,
where the heck are you I told you to stay here,  him- im right here.   me- well where the H$%^ is right here not where I told you to stay.. him- im right here with your deer... I almost dropped the phone.

I got down to him and i was elated then deflated when I realized his left side was gone!  I wanted to puke! once I knew it was tank I never looked at his head again. 

after tagging and dressing I got back to camp for the cart, back to the deer and then the work began.. about 3 hours into the trip out dad says I don't know why you shoot deer back here because we go through this every time.  all I said was I think the results speak for themselves.
by the time we got back and got him washed out and hung up I had forgot to get pics. and I was a bloody mess from my own blood, tired, sore, dehydrated, etc. 

so I got a couple pics this morning.  I also put him on the scale, 214lbs dressed.  antler bases are 8.25  and 8.5 inches.  pretty respectable numbers even for a half rack.

[Tio1]

Great hunt. What county in PA. I frequently hunt Forest/Clarion Counties

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Zem18]

Awesome story. Thank you for sharing and congrats on a beast of a deer.

[Skillet]

Nice job! He's wild looking!

[moog5050]

Nice Congrats

[reeltime]

butchered today and did some measurements. 

6 foot 9 inches from base of tale to tip of nose.

 

conservative measurements on remaining side 77 inches.  I will have to get a more accurate measurement later.

 

[HuntOrBeHunted]

Cool looking deer man congrats.