HuntingNet.com Forums

Wednesday 10-4-06, Back down to my same spot where I got the 2 doe this past week… same tree. Hot day today…. 80 * going to cool down tonight and then rain. In the tree by 3:00. At 3:15 I see another guy going into the thick stuff at the end of the road. See no deer until 6:15 …. Now a buck is working his way behind me out about 50 yards. I hit the bleet can few times…. it turns and works toward me at an angle… getting closer… moving slowly…. Getting closer… angling from left to right… it gets to about (35) yards… and looks like it will begin to get farther from me. I have a clear broadside shot and take it. It jumps as I hear the arrow SMACK! He jumps and then turns and runs away toward the swamp… head down running like a bull. I climb down as it is getting dark. Go to where he stood when I shot….nothing no arrow… no blood…. No hair… I saw him cross the road like bull on a death run. I go to the road…. No blood…. I walk all over looking for blood…. Nothing. I see the guy who went in at 3:15 he is now dragging a doe… go and talk…. Did you see a buck on a death run?.... no… it ran right through here….. man I was right here… did not see it. Now it is dark…. He is dragging his doe… can’t help me look… says he saw some yotes back there earlier… then I saw a large fox or a yote as we were talking…. Keep looking with my little head lamp… finally blood…. Good blood trail…. Steady…. Bright blood every 6 inches…. Follow…. Follow… follow…. About 50 yards… getting more and more wet … heading toward the swamp…
Man now I get to the tall reeds…. 7 or 8 feet tall…. Swamp…. Wet… sinking in the mud…. Light not bright enough…. Reeds so tall I can’t see more than a foot infront of me…. Carrying my tree stand, bow, back pack….. no more blood…. In the reeds now… need daylight…. Bumming big time …. As I got ready for bed… the storm rolled in… thunder… lightning , hard rain… there goes the blood trail.

Thursday 10-05-06 early am… 50 degrees…. Thankful it cooled off… did not sleep much all night re-playing the shot… the hit… the run after the shot…. Get back down there at sun up. Find the marker I left at the end of the blood trail… very wet now … standing water… very thick vegitation… begin circles… you know the drill… start small… get bigger… keep looking…. No blood… no arrow… an hour passes…. And then finally… tucked under a thick laurel I see white hair…. Belly hair…. Antlers! There he is. About 75 yards from where the blood trail stopped at the thick stuff the night before. There he lays in fine shape. He has a wide rack … 8 points … 1 point broken off at the tip… 15 inches inside spread… good hit… pass through … good sized buck. I am very happy. DW