What a weekend.
#1
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I went out on Sat. morning. It was the second day since the cold started again, also the peak of the pre-rut here in central Ohio. As soon as I got in my stand, I saw a buck running the corn. The farmer had cut about half of the field. I saw 3, 1 1/2 year old bucks, they all came right under me. Then the 2 does they were looking at came out running, then a bigger buck came out and took the does. The 3 fed around then all but one went to follow the buck and 2 does. The one that didnt came back in front of me. He was 1 1/2 but he was only a spike with brow tines. The spikes came out by his ears and all just, no tines but brows.
I waited and waited then about 9:30 I had to get down, I had to do stuff around the house, so I nocked an arrow because the corn was cut around the edge and the side where I was going. I get about 40-45yds away from my stand and something makes me look back. I see a BIG buck standing there facing me but looking on down in the field. All I see is bright white antlers with mass all the way out, tall tines, and a pot belly. I cliped on and backed into the fenceline. He gets in front of me and I draw. He is 12 yards broadside. I mouth bleat at him twice and he stops. I center my pin and toutch off on the release. I see the arrow hit but it hits high and doesnt penetrate for crap! I then watch him run 20yards with his tail down and stop. A little buck walks out of the fenceline and walk toward the buck I shot, he starts running with his tail up around the edge of the uncut corn and on toward the bottom of the field.
My buddy Floyd drove into the next field down to see on in. My buck stops and looks around and then after Floyd drove out he crossed the fence and I lost him. I called my mom and then called my buddy Gary and he told me to go home. He met me at my house and we took his buck from the night before(friday), an upper 120-lower 130 class 8 pointer, over to the processing place and then over to look for the arrow he shot that buck with. When we got done with that, we went back to his house and shot the you know what for a while with Allen and Floyd.
After about 3 hours we went to see what we could find. We found a good puddle of blood where he crossed the fence and then followed fair blood for about 300yards that we found after the 200yard dash he took down the field. We had thought that maybe I penetrated good enough to get a lung but there was no bubbles in the blood. The blood just stopped after that. The last thing we found was a strand of what we presumed to be fat about 4" long. Shortly after that he hit someone elses property so we had to back out. I knew from some other guys that if I asked those people who owned that other land would let you look for a deer.
I went and asked them today, the next day, and I looked everywhere in the woods where he was headed. There is a big circle they run when they run that in muzzle loader. He was headed the same route. I searched that all over. Walked zig zag all through it, along both sides of the fence 2 times, walked the hillside the same way and nothing, not even my arrow.
I think that my innitial thoughts about the hit was right. I think I hit the shoulder blade on the side I shot and didnt penetrate into the lungs. There wasnt any bubbles so I think he was just bleeding out of the hole I put in his side. I did tell another guy who hunts the land right by there as well as the son of the lady who owned the land that let me look today. Her son hunts their land so I told him my name and my address and told him if he found anything to come on over and tell me. The farmer who has an uncut corn field also knows and he will keep an eye out while he combines that field.
I dont think I killed him. I think I hit his shoulder blade and didnt hit any vitals.
From what I described, what do you think? Alive, or dead?
I waited and waited then about 9:30 I had to get down, I had to do stuff around the house, so I nocked an arrow because the corn was cut around the edge and the side where I was going. I get about 40-45yds away from my stand and something makes me look back. I see a BIG buck standing there facing me but looking on down in the field. All I see is bright white antlers with mass all the way out, tall tines, and a pot belly. I cliped on and backed into the fenceline. He gets in front of me and I draw. He is 12 yards broadside. I mouth bleat at him twice and he stops. I center my pin and toutch off on the release. I see the arrow hit but it hits high and doesnt penetrate for crap! I then watch him run 20yards with his tail down and stop. A little buck walks out of the fenceline and walk toward the buck I shot, he starts running with his tail up around the edge of the uncut corn and on toward the bottom of the field.
My buddy Floyd drove into the next field down to see on in. My buck stops and looks around and then after Floyd drove out he crossed the fence and I lost him. I called my mom and then called my buddy Gary and he told me to go home. He met me at my house and we took his buck from the night before(friday), an upper 120-lower 130 class 8 pointer, over to the processing place and then over to look for the arrow he shot that buck with. When we got done with that, we went back to his house and shot the you know what for a while with Allen and Floyd.
After about 3 hours we went to see what we could find. We found a good puddle of blood where he crossed the fence and then followed fair blood for about 300yards that we found after the 200yard dash he took down the field. We had thought that maybe I penetrated good enough to get a lung but there was no bubbles in the blood. The blood just stopped after that. The last thing we found was a strand of what we presumed to be fat about 4" long. Shortly after that he hit someone elses property so we had to back out. I knew from some other guys that if I asked those people who owned that other land would let you look for a deer.
I went and asked them today, the next day, and I looked everywhere in the woods where he was headed. There is a big circle they run when they run that in muzzle loader. He was headed the same route. I searched that all over. Walked zig zag all through it, along both sides of the fence 2 times, walked the hillside the same way and nothing, not even my arrow.
I think that my innitial thoughts about the hit was right. I think I hit the shoulder blade on the side I shot and didnt penetrate into the lungs. There wasnt any bubbles so I think he was just bleeding out of the hole I put in his side. I did tell another guy who hunts the land right by there as well as the son of the lady who owned the land that let me look today. Her son hunts their land so I told him my name and my address and told him if he found anything to come on over and tell me. The farmer who has an uncut corn field also knows and he will keep an eye out while he combines that field.
I dont think I killed him. I think I hit his shoulder blade and didnt hit any vitals.
From what I described, what do you think? Alive, or dead?