Is it a kill? Is it a pickup? Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Some of the questions we can answer, some we can't.

Can a group of coyotes consume an entire deer overnight?...Absolutely! check out these photos


These photos were taken in 1995 and it was the third time I have seen coyotes consume an entire deer in a matter of hours. By the way the deer in the photo was consumed overnight.

I can't fault young Zaft for the coyote issue. Any animal that is left out overnight runs the risk of being consumed in certain regions of the country. Did the coyotes kill the deer? My guess would be no, coyotes usually would not attack a buck of this size unless unusually hungry. Being that there was no snow on the ground and in early fall (Oct.8th) they shouldn't have been driven to risk injury by tangling with a buck of this stature when they could find an easier meal elsewhere. On the other hand there are no absolutes in nature, but it is unlikely that they killed the buck.

Is this the same buck he shot at? I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It would seem absurd that one would not recognize the velvet tangle around the antlers in identifying the animal. One way we would know for sure is if the DNA (has it really come to this? <img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>) on the arrow that passed through the buck was matched with the animal itself.

As to recovery time; It is still unclear to me the time line between the shot and recovery. The article in Whitetail is rather vague as to when the buck was recovered. From one persective it reads like it was found the next day, but could be interpreted as two days later. I do not know the facts, on the time line, perhaps someone can fill us in.

There is a question on the affidavite for Pope & Young asking if the deer was recovered in a reasonable amount of time after the shot. It will be interesting to see how that will be interpreted.

Also it will be interesting to see if the panel scorers with agree with Mr Paplawski's assessment that the G-2 and G-3 stem from the main beam and not from one another. I have to believe they will be in agreement, but if for some strange reason they don't it will knock the score down signicantly and out of the number one spot.

Mr. Zaft was incredibly lucky on at least two counts and I won't hold that against him. Even the best bow hunters in the world need some luck sometimes to make things come together. Lady luck smiled in his direction and it appears at this time he will be haled as the bowhunter that killed the largest typical whitetail ever taken with a bow. I don't really have a problem with that I guess. What I do find distasteful is his website and the hero status it seems to me that he has bestowed upon himself. His site gives me the feeling that our sport is all about money. Perhaps I shouldn't be so adamant about it but we see the money trend flooding through our gates and it doesn't appear to be changing.