I shot this this buck on the night of Nov. 13th. I had deer rutting hard around me all day long. You gotta love constant action. About a half hour before dusk this buck came off a hillside dogging a hot doe. At first I thought it was a ten pointer I had passed on a few hours before. I had deer all around me as I sat perched in my oak tree. As he was coming in I thought he my score high 140's to low 150's. He stopped ten yards straight down wind behind a tree, I drew back and waited for him to take one step. However after what seemed like an eternity, (approx 3min) he turned and walked left behind a brush pile. Once again he stopped, my arms started burning and then shaking. I told myself that I am not letting this bow down I don't care how long it takes, just then he steps out at about 5 yds. I calm down and put the pin right behind he shoulder and release. THWACK!!! is all i hear and my arrow is sticking out of his hind quater. I had hit a twig. Blood instantly poured out. He walked straight away from me and layed down at about sixty yards. I could see blood still coming out of him. I knew I hit his femoral artery. He stood up after about fifteen minutes and walked up the hill out of site. I got down and followed a blood trail to where he laid down. Lots of blood on the trail and a huge pool in his bed. I know he is dead, but I wait, go home and eat dinner. Bring my brother and my dad out to track him about three hours later. We started from his blood soaked bed and followed a good trail for about ten yards, then it just stopped. My heart sank, I thought for sure he would be dead. We keep looking and we are finding spots every ten yards or so. I can't believe it. I called off the search until morning. We walk back down to the truck and start to drive home. I allways have my spot light. I start shinning it in this little grass field about 1/4 mile from where shot him and in the exact opposite direction from where I saw him walk away. He was bedded down with head held high. We watched for about 2 minutes and then he got spooked. He walked into a timbered ditch. The next morning I pick up his blood trail from the grassy bed and follow it to the tree line. I am following lots of blood again. However once he hits the timber no more blood. I searched that area of the property for three days and found nothing. A couple of weeks later I am at my grandma's house hanging christmas lights. My cousins come over and I tell them the story. They had already taken deer this year. They told me they were going to go squirrel hunting and look for my deer. I got a phone call right at dark, thye told me I needed to come out and help them with there truck, they had gotten it stuck. I got out there and the truck wasn't stuck, and they had big grins on there faces. They found my buck and told me it was bigger than I thought. As I walked up on him I felt a huge burrden taken off my shoulders. I don't know how I didn't find him, he was laying 30yds from the last spot I found blood. He green scored 171 nontypical with 14 points. Thank god for family.
. Cool buck!
