SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Well, I really messed up, the big 10 point that I have hunted all season finally showed up tonight with about 10 minutes left in our ML season, I have numerous pictures of him and he would have been a real trophy for me. I guess and hope that it was a clean miss, He was about 75 yards, he cleared a 5 barb fence just about 10 yards from where I shot with ease, no blood, no hair, no nothing, but it was raining and just about completely dark. I could'nt see how he acted at the time I shot from the muzzle flash and smoke but by the time things cleared out, he was going over the fence. I don't have him in my truck but here he is.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

id look a lil more just in case. thats a real nice deer..

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Sorry to hear bro'.

Hopefully you've marked the spot, called in sick to work, and are back at that spot right now with mega lights and a few buddies for the rest of the night. I couldn't sleep...sigh...

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Yeah I will, I will probably be late for work in the morning, I know the general direction he was going, but with the stuff we have around here if he was hit it will be extremely hard to just find a dead deer without a blood trail. He would have been the biggest by far that I had ever taken and a real wall-hanger for me. If I did'nt hit him he will eventually be back to the camera, I hope he shows up if I don't find him.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

how far was he when ya shot, if you did hit him he shouldnt be to far. thats where id work tom.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

About 70 to 75 yards, and I had my gun dead on at 75, I don't see how I could have missed, I had to watch him about 10 minutes before he offered a broad side shot and it was getting really dark , could'nt hardly see him with out looking thru the scope. I know I was right on his front shoulder or just a little behind when I fired, I almost know I hit him, I will give it another try tomorrow, I came almost not even shooting since it was raining, but I've hunted him all season and this is the first time I have been lucky enough to get a shot and I thougt for sure he would not make it out of the field with a decent hit. I may not ever find him but I almost know he is hit and hit pretty good, time will tell, If I missed he will show back up at my camera because he is a frequent user, I guess he likes his picture took. Wish me luck, cause where he made it into is some really thick stuff.

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Good luck and keep us posted!!!!!!!

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by all means keep lookin-- he worth it

i had to make a split second desion this year, a huge doe came within 30 yds of me and jumped a high fence before i glimeced two more out of the corner of my eye and didnt shoot , well out ambles bambi no bigger than a good sized dog and stops right at the fence, but uncle buck stays just out of a clear shot. so i slowly bring up my 44mag pistol with its nice shiny finish on it, and draw a bead on junior thinkin that the buck will come to the same spot . well he did alright flat out,right up to the fence,-(i think he caught a flash reflection off that chrome hammered shiny gun) -the instant he jumped over the fence----so did junior,---- do i shoot and try to harvest both?--and do i have enough power to take both?(240 grain-bullet penetration)---they were lined up SO perfect from what i saw - i had JR dead 4 times over- and when he jumped the bead was set to kill- it is just amazing how many things go through your head in that 1 second in time-????????????? do I ,dont I, do I ,dont ahhhhggghhh NO i didnt ITS NOT A SURE SHOT yes youll take out milk breath but would you have killed uncle buck or just made him to suffer for who knows how long--- as i set my gun down to ponder all that had just transpired---should i have or not--when i look up heres my huntin buddy poking his head out of the fenceline- not immediately but shortly after-- he was tending a 4 pt he had bagged shortly before -when we walked to where the buck was- he had been behind both the deer that jumped the fence and could have been hit yes the trees might have stopped it but - i believe that i had some help in that choice to shoot or not- better a live buddy than a dead deer
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death-the ultimite alarm clock, it wakes you up---movie "platoon"
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He is the good shepherd who watches over his flock

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Good luck

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Ive shot three deer with my muzzle loader since I owned it. None of the three left a blood trail. I couldn't beleave it. The first two had no exit wound. All went under 50yds before going down. All were good hits. I don't understand why but I'm serious when I say no blood. If I hadn't followed threw properly I would've wrote the last two hits off as a miss.

O I was using 240 grn CVA power bellts. I switched this year and killed a deer with TC Shockwaves in 200grns all with 100grns pyrodex <sp pellets and upgraded this year to tripple seven pellets. All shots were around 40yds.

Good luck looking he's a beaut.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Strut, Sorry to hear that. If you hit him I really hope you find him.

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Strut, any luck?? let us know, hope you find him..

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I wish you the best in finding him Strut. Be persistant, which I know you will.

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Found him, Running late right now, More info and some pictures a little later.

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Good deal, cant wait to see the pics and hear the story.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

I was just real lucky, after a night of dense fog and drizzle I got to the woods just as it was breaking day, I searched for any kind of sign, no blood no hair, no tracks to resemble anything that may have been hit, I heard some crows about 200 yards away from where I was looking and I headed in that direction, they left before I got there but I think they were at him, I found him after about an hour of searching. The coyotes had already devoured about half of him, the hams and tenderlions was almost all gone but the taxidermist did'nt think there would be any problems in getting a good mount out of him.

I have several pictures of this buck even plum back to August when he was in velvet. I thank my God for finding him, I know I would have been totally sick when I did'nt get anymore pictures of him just knowing that I missed finding him.

Here is a couple of before and then after pictures.







You can see the coyote damaged part of him a little in this picture.

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Congrats on finding that great buck.

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Way to go. It's great to see someone hunting a specific buck and you get to see the antlers develop and then the kill. Congrats.

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I'd like to see a photo of your expression when you found that big boy. That's a mighty fine deer! I know your sleeping better knowing you made the lethal shot and found him even thought the yotes got lions share of the meat. You gotta be one happy camper.

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congradulations!! Im glad you keep at it and didnt give up and im sure you are too. That is a very nice deer, Shame that the yotes got to him but Good that ya found him. You can look at it this way, you took something beautiful from nature and you gave a lil back to nature.

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Hey strut, I feel your pain man, Sat 12-04 I missed the lost the biggest buck of my life. Like you a seventy fie yrd shot. Got hair, blood 40 yards later and bam then nothing. We tracked him for 2 mile and nothing, he was well over 200lbs and lost count after 10 so I FEEL YOU PAIN BRO

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

hey strut i had the same problem this year but i saw it was a clear miss i had missed a nice 10 ptr like the one in your pic with a bow..... talk about a grown man cry:(

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nice un...

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Thanks Y'all, I wish I could have found him earlier but I guess the yotes are hungary too. I had made a pretty good shot, Right thru the middle of the ribs, It did'nt exit and I guess thats the reason he did'nt leave much of a blood trail. I had just about wrote him off for a clean miss when I happened to stumble up on him. I was one happy camper when I saw him, I had hunted him all bow season, and firearms season, I thought he was gone by the time our firearm season was over cause I had not got any pictures of him in over a month, then the last day of our firearm season I got his pic again, so that fired me up for our ML season which opened in a couple days, I knew he was still around, I let several smaller bucks pass during the season and held out for the one I wanted and it finally paid off, I have had to eat tag soup several times in the past for holding off, but this is one year that I'm glad I did.

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No shame in that. Nice buck!

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WooHoo! Ya' got eem!

Grats Strut! :D

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Glad you found him. That stinks about the yotes, he sure is a beautiful buck.

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Congratulations, that is a fantastic deer. Do you know how old he was?

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congrats on finding him. nice looking buck.

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No not for sure, some of the guys that has looked at him has guessed him at 3 and 1/2 but I don't know if they know any more about it than I do LOL.

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Congats! Not giving up attitude. Kudos! Nice to hear one end like this even though the yotes had the fruit of your labor.

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I had the same thing happen Sunday evening. I wasnt seeing anything from my stand so I got down and was checking out the wheat fields. The first one I came to I saw a shooter in the field eating. I crawled behind hay bails and got 100 yards away. I waited for 10 minutes to turn broad side and I shot. I heard A whack after I shoot and saw him run off to the side and hit the fence. I went up to the field where he was and look for blood and hair nothing. Went to the fence nothing. I went to the truck and got my Dewalt flashlignt since it was getting dark. I looked in the same spots again and nothing. Well the field drops off and he ran into the valley in the woods and there is a little stream that runs through it so I decided to walk along there and if there was nothing I just missed him. I was walking along the stream shinning up the hills when I saw the white of his belly. He was not 20 yards in the woods. Ran maybe 40 yards total. If I would of not had a big flash light I would not of found him I usually use a little head light. When I cut him open his lungs were like soup and just ran out. No exit hole and no blood around him. But it turned out good.

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Nice deer!
I am glad you found him.

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Nice, good thing ya found him!

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way ta go-- onebullet

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U found him....thats good LOL It's good that u were confident at ur shot.

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good looking deer.. !!

glad you found him..

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I came across this thread a little bit after the fact, but I sure am happy that you found him, Strut! What a buck! Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute to bag him, huh? ;):D
Way to go man!

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Congrats Strut! He should look great on your wall and thanks for all of the great pictures!:D

RE: SICK, ABSOLUTELY SICK.
 

Strut Great deer and presistance to find him. Well worth the experience. Great Job....:D