Awesome story and pictures, especially the water picture. That's something to think about. Congratulations!
Awesome man! I was looking forward to getting to see the pics a lot better than from the cell phone ones. Certainly an interesting buck. Congrats again!
FRAN,,,,Thats a stud of a Buck!! congrats bro, what a story and cool pics! Internet hand shake for you, I promise I wont squeeze
Awesome story and buck! Like I told Scott, you've got a knack for sniffing out and killing big bucks!
Its a floater! That was by far the best thread I've read since I became a member! That water was crystal clear and just made for an awesome picture. That Rack was like an anchor! Well played sir, well played.
What we didn't get to read Fran was how the heck you got him out of there... was it the strip down and wade in, fishing snag method on those impressive antlers? Way to look to water as well, like Ben said, backing out is easier said then done and I concur with the latest post, well played sir, well played.
Nicely done Fran. Congrats. Crazy thing - the buck Mike shot on Friday was pretty much the exact same shot angle & scenario. He headed straight for water, went into a pond, and actually managed to crawl out before dying on the shore. When we found him he was soaking wet. Crazy stuff. Congrats again, he's a cool looking buck.
Thanks for the nice words, guys. It was a hell of a ride. I'm glad that I had a camera with me to capture it. I so wish that a guy like Altizer would've been around - a guy who REALLY knows how to take a picture. It was legit postcard material. As far as backing out - it's just my way of doing it. I'm sure there are plenty of guys who would've tracked him right down and brought him out that night. Likely, that's what would've happened. I just put so much into it that I couldn't justify taking any needless risk and putting the harvest in jeopardy. I just went home, had a couple Sam Adams to ease my nerves, and ran every possible scenario in my head. Septic shock isn't something that just happens in a half-hour. It takes time, and time is all I had to give. If that buck didn't come home with me yesterday, I was done for the year. I had to do everything by the book and make the opportunity count. Rob - He was only about 10 feet out, and the water was shallow enough that it didn't top my boots where I could stretch out and grab his tail and reel him in. After that is where it got a little hairy. Let me tell you, a big dead buck, soaking wet, with the guts still in him, and a major case of rigor mortis is a full-scale wrestling match to pull up the pond bank. Y'all would've been thoroughly entertained seeing that go down. If the water was over my boots, I was fully-prepared to strip down to my whitie tighties and tromp right out there. There wouldn't have been a moment's hesitation. After the hell that deer put me through, I'd have doggie paddled the whole way across that lake to bring him home. Justin - You can see the entry on a couple of the pics. I entered just behind the front left leg, and exited 2/3 back in the belly. He was quartered harder than I'd thought, and my shot was at least 2" low and back of where I held. He got on the ridge overlooking that old strip pond, and I think he stayed high for as long as he could, but eventually, he got down in there to the lake and made his final stand. Funny how they both did the same thing. Store that in the memory bank, bro. Siman - This is your year. I think you'll break the streak. Stop wasting your time fumbling around with does and focus, dammit.
Congrats on a great buck Fran. I love the pictures of him being in the water like that, just amazing. Any sheds off this buck?
Thanks for the vote of confidence Fran, But like ive said, got alot of mouths to feed bro. I have ALOT of hunting time coming up in the month of November. Its game time.
