MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Well as some of you may remember from last year that I have been hunting a huge tall tined 10 pointer on public land here in West Virginia. I devoted this season to trying to harvest this deer and only this deer. Last season he gave me the slip and after weeks and weeks of scouting and moving my trail cameras around I was finally about to pin point his travel route. I found his sheds in the spring which helpedme locate histravel route. In fact this buck lived in 2 hollows that was connected by a huge funnel. A highwall ran in between these two hollows and there was one 30 yard crack in this highwall that forced the buck to travel through to get from one funnel to the next.

In my entire life I have never saw a buck that was so consistent in his travel patterns. I could place my trail camera in this funnel and get his picture every single day. It was crazy how predictable he was. So I knew it was only a matter of time for I was able to harvest this gaint main frame typical 10 pointer.

I hung my stands in August and I last got this picture on October 13th. I pulled my cameras out of the area as not to spook himbecause I already knew his travel patterns. I saved all of my vacation and took the entiremonth of November off to hunt this buck. With cool weather on the wayand the pre-rut heating up I knew it was now time to make my move and hunt the stand in the funnel.

On my way in today my worst nightmare came true. 100 yards away from my standin the very funnel that I was hunting him I found my buck laying dead withhis head caught in between 2 trees. He was trying to make a rub and got the 2 trees wedged in between his tines and was unable to free himself.All that was left of him washis rack. Iwas speechless.All I could thinkof was all those milesIhad walked trying tofind him and all those nights I laid inbed wondering if I was really going to get the chance to harvest this buck.I huntedthe stand today and saw 2 does and had a 4 pointer walk right undermy stand and work a scrape. I couldn't help but wonderif maybe thislitttle guy was his son, so I just let him walk.

I guess the only question is now what do I do with the rack? I was thinking about maybe gettign a European mount or maybe gettinga cape and just getting a shoulder mount. I really don't like the idea ofmounting a deer that I didn't actually harvest but had this deer lived 2 more weeks I feel certainI could have harvested him!

Here is the firstpicture I ever got of him last season:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/274721/11point3.jpg

Here is thefirst picture I got of him in hard antler last season:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/274721/11pointmonster.jpg

Here is this year's first velvet picture:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/274721/Big10.jpg

Hereis the rack after I found it:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/274721/Big10Rack.jpg

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Jeez, What a bummer! Nice 10 though, to say the least. Let the fork grow up and see.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Wow, what a buck, and what a shame. On the bright side though, you still have the horns and I think that you should at least do a european on him being that he is such a great buck. Hopefully the little guy you saw has the genes and you can start the saga over again.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Wow that sucks, how long do you think he was stuck between those trees? Did he break his own neck?

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

What a deer, what a deer. On the positive, it is pretty neat that YOU found him and not someonel else that just viewed him as a "big deer." Good luck on finding his brother.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I reallyhated to hear that new's ,that's the one and only thing that can really bother us as hunter's with a buck that we so desperately want to take with our bow's .We work all the angle's ,such as scouting and cam's and working scrape's ,and just as you think you've got him figured out ,this happen's .The positive thing is that you have his remain's such as his rack ,so I have him done in a Euro mount and place him on the wall just where you would have put him in your plan's.

nubo

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

jeese that sucks!!! that was a beautifull deer to say the least. i'm sorry it turned out that way for you. hopefully he passed his genes on to others.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

From the sounds of the work you put in, I would at least do a European mount and put some pics and possibly a story to go with it around him. It is sad to hear such a great buck could not be taken by someone like yourself who put his time in and learned all you could about the deer. I am very happy for you though, that you found him and you have his rack. You deserve that and I appreciate the pictures and story behind such a magnificent animal. I hope the 4 pt is his son and offers you a chance to harvest him down the road. Good luck!!!!

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Tough luck for sure. Sound's like you would have got a shot at him to. Well I guess it is time to find another.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Amazing, simply amazing!

Man, tough call on the choice of getting a cape or Euro-mounting him. With all the work you did, and as obviously special as he is to you, I think I'd hold out until I got a cape and make a full shoulder mount of him.

Bummer, I'm sorry you didn't get to feel the privilege of actually taking him with your bow, but likedwd said, I'm glad it was you who found him.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Man that really sucks...... Strange, I remember a similar post last year of deer a guy found in the same situation......

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

That would make me sick to my stomach, all that time you put in for that buck, at least you found him and can appreciate him as much as would if you had shot him!

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

At least YOU found him. I'd do the skull mount and maybe a nice picture or 2 framed near it. That was one nice buck.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

MAN THAT SUCKS LIKE AN OPEN CHEST WOUND ... MAYBE HE HAS A TWIN BROTHER IN THERE AND YOU CAN HUNT HIM ...

MASS RULES
DD

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

That is a great story, even if it didn't turn out the way you planned it. A European mount would look awesome! I think you could still be proud to hang it even if you didn't shoot it...I mean, you were probably pretty dedicated to it.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

As dedicated as you were to that buck there is no shame in doing any mount. Sooner or later, Im sure you felt comfortable enough that the buck was given kill for you. The thought would tear any man or woman apart who put that much time into something like that buck.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Hank,

I really admire you. Hunting a specific buck in that fashion gets to me more than anything on this earth other than the love I have for my God and Family. I am so happy that you found that deer. He meant so much to you, you will always appreciate him more than any other no doubt; just look at effort you put into hunting him. Honestly if it was me, and I was in your shoes I would probablyhave him mounted.For me it's not about the hunter who killed the buck, it's about the buck thatmotivated, inspired and taught.Everyone of my headmounts is reminder of my awesome creator, theincredible critters he put on thisearth and lessons I have learned from them.

That is a beautiful whitetail, He died accidentally, yet so close to your stand. I believe there was a reason he diedin such close proximityto you. Best wishes in what ever you decide to do. I would bet he made you a better hunter even though you didn't arrow him.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Hankfan - you didn't harvest him, but I'd say he's yours. Nice pictures

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Skull mount sounds good.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Wow, that is a bummer :(

I personally would do what uphunter said, do a european mount, and make a story with pics to go with it. That would be cool. Of course there would definitely be no shame in getting a shoulder mount either should you choose to.
I guess the only blessing is that you did actually find the rack, instead of him disappearing all together and you wondering for years what happened. That is an awesome buck for anywhere, and especially for WV. Great job patterning him, no doubt he spread his seed alot I would expect. Genes like that shouldn't take long to show up again somewhere in that area.

Good luck :D

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

If I had the money to shoulder mount it I would. You tracked that thing and pinpointed where he lived so I would say he's as good as yours. He deserves to be up on a wall in all his glory.

CJW

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Man O man thats a shame, I hunted after a deer for a couple of yrs on state land and never did see him again. But I didnt have trail cams and all that. But you owe it to yourself to mount him, and I think id shoulder mount him after all the time you spent on the deer,he'd be beautiful with a shoulder mount.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I would also say get a shoulder mount if you have the money. It might take some time for the taxidermist to get a cape so you could save up if you had to. Just give him the rack and some of your pics. Think of it as honoring that buck. At least you found the rack which is better than someone else getting him.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

That sucks.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I'm sorry about the loss, I almost cried when I looked at those pics.....almost.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

THAT IS SO EXCRUCIATING:(

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Thanks for sharing the outcome - not the best news to be sure - but the deer and you deserve a quality shoulder mount.A European mount might sond neat - but in 10 years - you won'tsee i tthe same as youdo now. You'll wantt o see thedeer"as it looked". - and there is nothing wrong with that.

Spend the money - you will never regret it.

FH

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I agree with the other folks out there. Nice buck, very sad story :(. I feel the same as everyone else, I think you should put him on the wall with all the hard work you put into trying to harvest him, he should be on your wall.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

That's an amazing story but at least you got to find the animal and won't wonder. You deserve it.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Thanks for all the comments guys. After reading your comments I took the rack to the taxidermist today and decided tohave a full shoulder mount done. My taxidermist already had a good cape that I could use so I should have him back in early Feburuary. At least I will get to see him everyday now andremember him for what he was!

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I got into this thread late, but I fully agree with your decision to shoulder mount that fine buck! Sure you didn't shoot him, but you did absolutely everything else it took for you to be in position to shoot him. And did it correctly I might add. As you said...all the time spent scouting, all the miles on foot and all the effort put in to harvesting this animal. It's just too bad it had to happen this way, but I guess that's nature for you.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

man, what can i say. it would have been great if you had the chance to harvest him. maybe his 4 point might have a like father like son trait. good luck to you

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I dont know how I missed this story but I did. This was an amazing story. It is just as much yours as if you would have arrowed him. Thats a real tough one. It could have been worse. You could have found him w/ someone else's arrow in him or never found him again. I can't wait to see the mount. Keep us posted.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Excellent! That is an incredible animal and he deserves to be honored by being mounted! You deserve to view that mount as a reward for all the effort you expended in your quest for that buck!I truly admire your discipline and persistence!
Please make sure to post a photo of your mount when you receive it back!

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

I too missed this thread as I have not been able to spend much time on the computer this fall. Nevertheless, incredible story! When I clicked on the links for your pictures my jaw about dropped and hit my keyboard! Your description of nice buck and "tall tines" described him well but each of us have our own ideas of a nice buck. Many timessomeone describes a "monster buck"and then reveal a pic of an average 2 1/2 year old youngster.This buck was indeed an incredible deer...

Again amazing story and I am glad you found him yourself. And at least he was not poached as Ifeared when reading the story.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

What a bummer man, sory to hear that.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

man what a head gear on him sorry things ended up that way ,i would mount him to you have history with the deer;)

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

Definiatly get it mounted in some sort. You will have memories for a long time of how you scouted and hunted him. Although you were unable to get the shoot, you are confident you could have gotten him.

Like others have said, his genes are in the area, so there could be some more like him moving around shortly.

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

its better you found him than some no name, never hunted,tree hugger t

RE: MY WORST NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE TODAY!!!!!! (PICS)
 

sorry bro