Yesterday afternoon, I was headed to my ground blind, where I had missed a big buck that I had been hunting all season that morning. I was kind of disgusted that after all the effort, I had not connected.
It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and I was surprised to find a nice buck bedded very near my destination. About this time, the predatory instinct kicked in, and I decided to take a try on this deer. I don't remember the shot, but I do remember very well the arrow hitting the deer in the paunch. Oh no, I hate gut shooting anything.
He moved off slowly, humped up as they do when hit in the guts. He was at the edge of a pasture, and for the next two and a half hours I watched him as he stood uncomfortably in the middle of the open field. He didn't lay down until past dark, at which time I backed out and summoned assistance for the morning search. The night was about 24 degrees, so we figured that he would stiffen up and die, and little or no spoilage would occur.
After a night of very little sleep, I started the tracking job with a couple of buddies. Blood was sparse, but steady, and we tracked him for over an hour, a total of probably a quarter of a mile. He headed to water, as paunch shot animals often do, and followed a little creek. One of the group saw a couple of magpies, and the search came to a successful conclusion.
The arrow remained in him for almost the entire search, only coming out near his final resting place. Pretty well covered with blood and paunch material.
He is a handsome deer, fully in rut, and appeared to be about 4 years old.
I am not pleased with my shot, but I am very pleased that I recovered this deer. I have spent many days in pursuit, and have not seen very many deer in comparison to years past, but I am glad to have him.
Another successful season, with another 4x4. Life is good.
Topic: Long trail, happy ending (Read 1048 times)
