What would you prefer he does? Give up and never find it? Seems to me this man has made an attempt to get the deer before the meat went bad, and just because it has doesn't mean he should stop looking....
Never been in this situation but i am guessing at this point its strictly out of respect for the buck. Great looking deer and i am sure Hicks would rather have him on his wall at home than laying in the woods some where. Just my .02
I never said he should stop looking, I just don't think someone should be commended for it. Would the same effort be put forth if it were a doe? If he wants to keep looking for it so he can have the antlers, great. Lets not act like someone is a saint for continuing to search for a set of antlers. That animal has already been wasted. These threads are never a good idea. Neither are quartering too shots. Live and learn.
This is the tough part of hunting, when its not a quick kill shot. I too shot a nice buck a little far back we waited several hours before we took up the trail. Needless to say I found that buck in some of the thickest stuff I have been in to date. I literaly had back out of were I found him draging him. There was no room to turn around. Moral- look in the most unlikely spot.
I think we all agree its a shame and yes, the animal may very be wasted at this point. However, my point, along with some others is, that at least he did everything in his power to recover that animal. Too many times, guys don't follow up to the their full ability or use as many resources that they have available to them. You hunt long enough, something like this will eventually happen to you. Even to the very best of hunters.
That, I agree with. Its wrong when guys look for a few minutes or an hour and call it quits. In this case, by the time the tracking dog was there the animal was wasted. It was an antler hunt at that point. Lets just call it what it is. Lets not pretend its out of great respect for a majestic animal. Why can't people just be honest? This is not just about Hicks, we see these threads every year. The bigger the antlers, the more blinded everyone is by what actually happened. There were obvious mistakes here, based on the info provided. At least get something out of this unfortunate situation and learn from it.
I agree vito, but i also think it depends on the weather if the meat would still be good. A buddy of mine shot a doe once and we couldnt find her he never stopped looking the entire season hoping he xould find her and see if he could see what went wrong. Late season he found her in a pound that was frozen over with his arrow still in her. He hit her guts and it logged in her hip. Bad shot and taught to take his time. Just sux a doe had to die for him to learn.
I agree with this as well. You can learn something from every shot that goes wrong. I helped a friend search for a deer on a property we hunt together. We never found the deer until the following March while scouting. The next year, he hit a deer out of the same stand. Again, no pass through meant little blood. After losing the trail we headed straight for the area we found his deer the year before. It was laying there dead about 10 yards from the previous year's deer. Again, I NEVER said he shouldn't keep looking. Its all too common for guys to be commended for keeping up the search for the "respect" they are showing the animal. Thats BS. Its okay to be honest...it really is.
When i said respect i was thinking more in terms of what went wrong with the shot. Apparently Hicks thought it was a good shot, other wise he probably wouldn't have taken it, when he noticed it could have been questionable he waited so he didn't push the deer. Now the only reason to find the deer would be 1: for its antlers, the obvious reason any one shoots a buck and 2: to figure out what went wrong with the shot so it won't happen again. Yea it sucks to lose the meat but furthering your knowledge of what went wrong could potentially keep this from happening to another deer.
Here' s the deal. I know what this person is feeling all to well, all to well, I just cant emphasise it enough. Lets not be nieve to what we are all doing here as hunters, i mean come on people. We put food plots out, trail cameras, scent blocking clothes. We as hunters do and prepare for the exillerating challenge and serenity all in the same package. So lets not try and blacksheep this guy and talk about antlers. Anyone who says there not trying to have the chance at shooting a buck, or a monster or whatever is a liar. This is our ambition.Unfortunately this is part of our sport, a wounded animal or one we cant or ever find.I've shot a deer quartering away at 20 yards and had a complete pass through never found it. Looked for 2 days and walked all over so I know the mans dispair, and your damn right I wanted to find that deer for what it was wearing.And it would be the same if I went turkey, bear,ect. I want the meat also, who doesn't, but we're not talking about the obvious either. Everyone is making it out to be an ethical thing, so heres your ethics. Go buy your meat at a supermarket like every normal person and then there wont be any hard feelings toward a hunter, like you, me and everyone on this site...
If this thread accomplishes nothing else, I hope it makes people think twice before making a post before they've laid hands on the deer they've shot. Hicks, sorry you didn't find your buck. Was really hoping you would.
