I went up to a friends place today, for another try at Mr buck.
There was a considerable snowbank at the end of the drive, but with some difficulty, I got the frozen lock open, and the Jeep through the gate. I was stopped a few times by the depth of snow going in, but generally had little difficulty. Until I drove right past the turn
Oh well, I'll just turn around in the neighbours yard says I to myself. He's got his chain up. Crap, I'll have to back out to the turn. I was about half way out, when I dropped one back wheel over the side of the road. This was soon followed by the front one, as I rammed back and forth. It was clear that if I continued, I was going to be high centered on the edge of the road. So, seeing as I forgot my winch . I turned the wheel, and just charged the jeep off the road into the snow. I drove ahead a ways, then took a run at the bank, no go. I see sawed around until I was facing the bank, and charged. Peeled the fender flares off the side of the jeep, but I got back on the road. A few trees are suffering a bit
So that ticked me off thoroughly, but i went back and parked at the cabin, It's clear no one has been near the place since I was there last.
I walked out the drive and set up on the opposite side of the drive from last time. This time with a clear view of the drive. He's not going to do that to me again.
By now it's 6:15 AM. Stars are out, but beginning to fade.
I'm in position, before legal, and I start to call. At legal, I load the already cocked Excalibur Phoenix crossbow.
Time passes, my butt is getting damned cold. PHHHHHHT PHHHHHT PHHHHHHT. from behind me! SON OF A......... They got me again!
I'm very dejected now.
I decide, to move to the back field and do so
I'd been there only a short while, when the wind shifts, making my position useless. I decide to check out the middle field, and walk back to the front field. There are tracks, but nothing within the last few hours. I head out the driveway. I'm approaching Dumbdawgs tree stand/scaffold, it's exactly 10:00 am. I see the shadow of a deer moving on the far side of the row of trees that comes out to the road. I have no where to hide. I see a heavy rack. I squat on the driveway, and aim my bow down the drive. Pray he doesn't wind me, he has to see me. Time passed, ten minutes, fifteen, what in the world? Then i see legs moving through the trees. He clears the evergreens, but is behind slash that no arrow would fly through. He stops, and looks right at me. We stare at each other for maybe three minutes. He takes a a step, and stares some more. The wind is angling from me to him, he's got to wind me any time now.
He steps right out on the road! He's 35 yards in front of me! He walks towards me! Angling so that all I have is his shoulder to shoot at.
Finally, he turns. Thwap!
I watch the arrow in it's short flight, blown sideways by the darned wind! It hits his neck, not the lung shot I was after. CRAP!
He disappears in an instant.
I saw the position of the hit, I know he's dead, but how far can he go? Fer F*CK sakes, I'm alone, and he's not small.
I decide to give him a full hour. That was a very very long hour believe me.
I paced off the shot, 28 yards
I pick up his trail. about ten yards off the road, I find half an arrow. Then, on the other side of the trail, I find the other half.
Very Very little blood. But the trail in the deep snow/ice makes following him easy enough. Just a pounding for my knees. The ice layer was just strong enough to almost take my weight.
I was finding small drops of blood about every twenty yards of so. After about a hundred and fifty, I found where he stumbled. There was a bit more blood, but not much. At about 250 yards, I finally spotted him. He made it about 300 yards. The fall broke off his left rack. He is an eight pointer. Nice thick beams. Should make a nice rattling set.
The drag out, well, it showed I'm not young anymore, but I made it. The other antler held until i went to pull him into the jeep, where it let go with a crack, that sent me sprawling. I had a hell of a time getting him in, basically lifting him in a bit at a time. I got the jeep in a bit of a hole so it wasn't to far to lift. I'm gonna guess between 190 and 200lbs gutted. No way could I lift the entire deer.
He ran, about half way between my friends scaffold, and the bear bait drum, and died in the bush, opposite the far end of the field, by the pond.
Sorry about no pics. I have not got a digital yet, and didn't even have my camera with me. Now I'm home, I can't find where my wife has hidden my regular camera.
Skinning it out, I see that the arrow actually punched through the leading edge of the shoulder, went diagonally through the neck, and exited (or tried to, it did cut the hide ) the offside behind the shoulder. Large blood loss under the hide on the entry, as it cut an artery just under the skin. Big puddle of blood in there, that didn't come out as he ran.
The exit hole was quite large, and I'm surprised it didn't leak more.
He had very little fat on him, in fact he was very hard to skin out. I pretty much had to cut the hide off him.
I'm holding the antlers on the frozen head for the pic
