Well guys, I was able to score on a buck. But unfortunately for the team, I had the shotgun in my hand that fateful morning.
Opening day (Nov. 17th), 9:44 a.m.I shot my second buck, a typical eight pointer who broke off a tine, I am assuming during some quarrel.
This is the second year in a row I scored on a buck during opening day of shotgun season here in IL. My first buck was taken at 9:05 am. I guess the morning of shotgun hunting pays off, I just wish I had my bow.
What really ticked me off was the "local" bruiser came strolling by my stand as well that morning, just minutes after I fired a second shot at my buck.
Both bucks would have been within bow range, my buck snuck up from behind me. Boy was my heart racing. Buck fever got the best of me and I dropped the hammer on him. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Unfortunately, I thought I had hit the deer better than I did. He bedded down in some nasty thick stuff and I couldn't see him once he disappeared after the second shot.
We ended up jumping him when we started to search for blood. My hopes were dashed as I saw my trophy quickly bolt away. He was running pretty good and heading straight towards a thicket patch, full of some of the nasty stuff you could see. Tracking would have been a nightmare that evening. Plus with the way he was running and the lack of good confirming "fatal hit" blood, we left him overnight. It wasn't until around dark the following evening that we found him. He had tried to jump the fence and apparently got tripped up.
Unfortunately the weather probably wasn't cold enough to keep him over two nights, so I had to properly dispose of the body. This is what tore me up the most. I hate knowing I killed an animal and was unable to get the meat in time.
Granted, I was happy to see my buck close and personal, but I would rather have left him be, then to know I would never get to use the animal fully after I killed him.
Either way, this hunt has taught me once again how desperately I need to control my buck fever. While each animal is a trophy, it is hard to bear with the ground shrinkage and the potential this animal may have reached next year.
Because I was uncertain if I would have even recovered my deer, I didn't get good digital field shots. I did get a picture with my camera phone, which I probably won't even bother posting on here.
I plan on doing another European mount for this deer, just like I did for my first. As much as I would love to have shoulder mounted both of these bucks, I just couldn't bring myself to spending that kind of money.
I think the European mount is a pretty cool way to display an animal if you are on a budget.
When I get things done, I will plan on posting pictures of both bucks. Both really had some potential in future years, but then again, who knows if they would have made it through the seasons?
Either way, I can't wait to try and get a doe or even if I am lucky, another buck with my bow after gun season is over. Hopefully I can add some bone to our team total.
Sorry for the lengthy post. Just wanted to share my story!
Hope all is well. Good luck this weekends guys and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh and by the way, this week Iremembered how thankful I am to have the opportunity to sit in the stand and hunt. I know many people who physically can't or don't have land to hunt who would kill to be able to climb into the stand and take a doe, let alone a buck. 4 a.m. came early Friday and Saturday, but even as I complained I remembered how thankful I am to be able to enjoy this sport!
God Bless,
Dave
P.S. I got the pictures off my cameraphone. They don't really do the buck justice, but this is how I found him, about 36 hours after I had shot him.
I will try and get better rack pictures up when I get the European skull mount finished.