Been trying to close the deal on this guy since he first showed up on cams pre-dawn on the rifle opener:



Tonight I finally closed the deal - sorta. It was a collaborative effort to be sure.

20 minutes before end of legal shooting time, The buck above came in to the field with three does and he was nose to the ground harrassing the ladies. I had a shot on the buck and had way too long to think about it. The longer this deer stayed in the crosshairs the more nervous I got. I let my shooting fundamentals slip and as the trigger broke to release the hammer, I pulled the shot as he stepped forward. Instantly I knew the shot was bad. The point of impact was somewhere just in front of his left rear leg where his white belly fur starts. Bad stuff. All of the deer flushed like a covey of quail. Nothing but white flags waving at me before they were swallowed by the shadows and brush.

I decided not to wait for the buck to expire since I knew I had a tracking job in front of me and light was dwindling rapidly. I get to the point of impact and all I can find is a tuft of belly fur and one solitary speck of 'watery' blood. I knew I was hosed. I burn the rest of daylight looking for blood and burning up texts trying to locate a tracker.

I had a recommendation for Troup's Wounded Animal Recovery - 325-642-1650 - Troup Bishop. Troup was on site in about an hour and minutes later, Copper, Troup's dog was on the trail. 800 yards later and less than an hour, Copper was on the buck! It was an awesome ending to the hunt!

Very nice buck, waiting to the end paid off

I commend you on not messing around and getting a tracker on it, I think this buck will look great on your wall and would have other wise likely been lost.

Nice buck, good job man!

Great buck Andy! Nice 2's and 3's on him.....what was the inside spread?

Congrats!!

What County?

Congrats, Andy!

that's a very nice buck right there. congrats

Nice job!

Congrats Andy,,

Just put a tape on him, Mark. He was 17.5" wide.


Brown


Thanks to everybody for the kind replies! I didn't notice last night; he has a double throat patch and a really cool black stripe that goes from the bottom patch straight down the middle through the brisket.

Man glad you found him

Nice job and congrats on a fine buck

Congrats on a very nice buck. Glad to see a good dog put to work. Well played.

Agree. Smart move to recognize the mistake and bring in a pro ASAP.

Congratulations Andy! That's a great buck!

Congrats, glad you got him!

Congrats on a great buck, glad you got him.

Glad to see that it worked out for you, nice buck!

Good job getting the dog on him.

Was the deer alive when the dog caught up with him? We had a similar experience Opening Weekend when my buddy gut-shot a buck. That deer was very alive and fighting when the dog bayed him up 600 yds later. Things got a little Western for sure...

Thanks.

Unfortunately, the deer was still alive - but he didn't have much time left. We followed him to an interior fence that he jumped. Apparently he was pretty weak at that point as there was about a three foot length of small intestine hung on a barb. He went another +/-150 yards and laid down for the last time. He didn't have much fight left when the dog got to him.

Watching the dog 'nip' at him was a little tough as I thought about how many still living animals get picked apart by predators. It made me hate coyotes just a little bit more.

If it took the dog an hour to track him just imagine how long it would have taken you! A very wise decision to get the dog involved so quickly. Congratulations on getting your buck.

I have his number programmed in my phone. I should have used him last season but hind sight is always 20 20. Nice buck and a good call on getting a tracker.

Time to bump this thread as this buck's journey is complete. Picked him up this morning and he's on the wall at the cabin.