Me too, Cuz..... it was kind of surreal holding the rack.... I totally get "hunting " a specific buck.... my way of deer hunting has completely changed. I am addicted to chasing big bucks....
Sorry PT I'm with you though I think a Euro would best fit the situation. Hopefully there is another one for you out there!
Don't sweat it, if you're going to be obsessed with chasing big bucks....be prepared to be humbled more than once my friend. Those guys didn't reach maturity by being stupid and if they did...it's even worse because they got that way by being lucky. That deer may have been so lucky in fact even a gun hunter lost him...you found him in relatively good shape...score for you. Shooting at deer on the hoof is way different than shooting at block targets, I found it helpful a long time ago to take a doe or two early on to help shake of post season rust and work out kinks and prevent buck fever and it's worked out pretty well for me over the years....might help or maybe you already do, just my .02.
As far as I know, there isn't at this property.... I still have Shred at the weekend property and the 10 behind my house...
I got one just below the spine... just in front of the hips once. I looked for 5 or 6 hours and couldn't find a trace except my very clean arrow... except for one little smudge. I finally gave up and climbed back in my stand for an afternoon hunt to realize I was looking in the wrong place. Long story... but I got down and looked in the right place and the buck was laying less than 40 yards away... dead. No blood anywhere. Weird stuff happens. Happened once with a rifle too except I found that one a week later. Sometimes everything looks different from the ground.
Yes... I remember... I was so hoping you would get another shot at him. No one deserves a brute like that more than you do!
That sucks Bro, Sorry . (Euro mt - my pick) Theres another one out there for you, somewhere some how!!!!! Keep at it
He'll look awesome as a Euro. I have two of mine done that way and the look pretty darn cool on the wall. I'm sure you are probably correct about him being taken by a gun hunter, but I'll relay the story of my actual first bow kill. One morning in early to mid December(can't remember the date) I was sitting in the stand, and there were some crazy sounds coming from a few hundred yards away. I could hear a distressed rabbit going off over and over, followed by coyote howl's. I was sure there was a coyote hunter on the back of my property so I got down, and walked back there. I could not find any sign that a person had been back there in the snow, but I did find lots of coyote tracks. I ended up walking my fence line. There's a doze pile in the Southeast corner of my property, and as I moved past that spot I looked in the doze pile to see a really nice buck bedded down in there. I was bow hunting, so I froze and drew, waiting for the buck to stand up. Eventually I had to let down so I took a step closer thinking he would bust as he was staring at me. He did not, so I stepped closer and he tried to stand but could not. Eventually I realize that this buck was mortally wounded and would never get up. The coyotes have been in on him, but I guess I must have spooked them off him. Long story short, I put this buck out of his misery and prevented him from being eaten alive by coyotes. Not knowing what was wrong with him, I went ahead and gutted him out. During the process I found an entry and exit hole in the hide behind his front leg. There was no damage to the meat at all, just the hide. This buck had developed an infection and I believe he developed gangrene. The meat around the wound was all green. I believe the infection had spread throughout his body to the point that he could not stand. Again, he had a clear bullet hole in him, and rifle season had been closed for 2 to 3 weeks. It just took that long for the infection to take hold. Point of the story is, If I were you, I would get back out there the carcass and inspect it for any damage to the rib cage area for a bullet hole. If I couldn't find that damage, then there's just no way to say for sure that you didn't cause the fatal shot, just may have took much longer than normal. Either way, you do have a good story to tell.
You saw the carcass.... it has gut and coyote piss all over it.... I'm good with sayin)my bow shot from 10-30 had nothing to do with his death.... Anyway.... step 1 is done....
Look at you...youll use that tractor for anything wont ya....big or small:p Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
So sorry, I feel for ya brother. Would have been a nice addition to our team scorecard - but don't feel bad, I haven't contributed either. I have also changed my hunting tactics by targeting bigger bucks so hang in there and have fun with it.
If you change your mind let me know if you need a cape. Might have an extra one I could send you. Most taxi's charge an extra $75-$100. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
I really appreciate that, Bro Here is where we are... After 3 hours and some scraping, pulling, cutting... To be continued...
Nothing better than pulling it out of the boiling water and have the steam hit you in the face as you breathe in... GAKK! Oh and having the eye explode all over you is pretty fun too.... not!
