Since I'm not into big write ups and all the fancy details and describing the products I use while hunting, I'll give you the cliff notes version of my season.
Season started off good, passed a 135-140" 10 pt on the 2nd day of season.
Passed several 130-135" bucks during the rut.
Deer really slowed down and I was struggling to get anything good on camera, when I had a close friend invite me over during gun season for a hunt. I accepted the hunt since I knew the area and had hunted it before. The local farmers were all pushing out the river bottoms so I knew deer would be moving. An hour into my hunt I had 6 does and a nice buck come through the timber along the river but I had minimal windows to shoot through. I finally found a clearing and took a 80 yard moving shot. I knew I hit the deer back (liver/guts) but I felt comfortable he'd die so I gave him time. Went back to my buddies to eat and then took up the search. We followed the blood for 100-125 yard and it lead us to the river where it looked like he crossed, the problem was it was on a property we didn't have permission. So I drove around to the land owners house which happened to be this little old lady and she would NOT let go back and look for my deer. I was pretty pissed at this point, so I went back to my buddies and we ended up taking his boat up river to see if we could see where he crossed but we didn't find anything and didn't pursue onto her land. We figured he had to of crossed but we were out of luck bc it wasn't our land.
Fast forward to January 21st: We had been duck hunting the river stretch that we were deer hunting for the past 15 days and water levels were slowly dropping. We had driven past where I'd shot the buck 15+ times but for some reason on the 21st I saw what looked like 2 three inch tines sticking out of a log jam in the river by and island that separates the property I shot him on and old ladies land. Sure as shit we flipped the boat around and it was him.... Were we thought he crossed the river ended up being 100+ yards up river so we never thought he swam to this island (stupid in hind sight). Either way I'm slightly ashamed and embarrassed that I never thought to look there earlier after I shot him. Long story short I found the buck in the river with his ass end slightly out of the water completely rotten and gangrene. It was the most rank deer I had ever smelled, but I guess being submerged under water for that long in the nasty river will do that. I ended up skull capping him and tagging him but dang gone it what an embarrassing and disappointing way to end the year.
Either way here he is........
Season started off good, passed a 135-140" 10 pt on the 2nd day of season.
Passed several 130-135" bucks during the rut.
Deer really slowed down and I was struggling to get anything good on camera, when I had a close friend invite me over during gun season for a hunt. I accepted the hunt since I knew the area and had hunted it before. The local farmers were all pushing out the river bottoms so I knew deer would be moving. An hour into my hunt I had 6 does and a nice buck come through the timber along the river but I had minimal windows to shoot through. I finally found a clearing and took a 80 yard moving shot. I knew I hit the deer back (liver/guts) but I felt comfortable he'd die so I gave him time. Went back to my buddies to eat and then took up the search. We followed the blood for 100-125 yard and it lead us to the river where it looked like he crossed, the problem was it was on a property we didn't have permission. So I drove around to the land owners house which happened to be this little old lady and she would NOT let go back and look for my deer. I was pretty pissed at this point, so I went back to my buddies and we ended up taking his boat up river to see if we could see where he crossed but we didn't find anything and didn't pursue onto her land. We figured he had to of crossed but we were out of luck bc it wasn't our land.
Fast forward to January 21st: We had been duck hunting the river stretch that we were deer hunting for the past 15 days and water levels were slowly dropping. We had driven past where I'd shot the buck 15+ times but for some reason on the 21st I saw what looked like 2 three inch tines sticking out of a log jam in the river by and island that separates the property I shot him on and old ladies land. Sure as shit we flipped the boat around and it was him.... Were we thought he crossed the river ended up being 100+ yards up river so we never thought he swam to this island (stupid in hind sight). Either way I'm slightly ashamed and embarrassed that I never thought to look there earlier after I shot him. Long story short I found the buck in the river with his ass end slightly out of the water completely rotten and gangrene. It was the most rank deer I had ever smelled, but I guess being submerged under water for that long in the nasty river will do that. I ended up skull capping him and tagging him but dang gone it what an embarrassing and disappointing way to end the year.
Either way here he is........
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