Shot a doe just before dark. I let her lay for a hour
Or so while I helped a buddy recover a deer. When
we recovered the doe she was missing her eye and
half her face. She was not like this before I shot her.
I am on a HF and have never had yotes.

Any ideas?

Chupacabra?

I've seen dogs do this, but usually to the opposite end of the animal. In a HF you'd think you'd have some idea what is in there with you....

If she wasn't gutted buzzards, coon or fox. Buzzards usually start with the face or rectum if there are no other holes. Should have been another hole where you shot here so I really don't know.

Hogs. My cousin shot a deer and came back about an hour later and her cheeks were chewed off and it was hogs.

Bobcats will usually eat on a hindquarter. Coyotes will usually go for the soft tissue. Buzzards or Cara Cara will start on the eyes or rear end or bullet hole. I have had Buzzard or Cara Cara get on a shot deer in less than a minute and all started on the eyes. Never seen a hog, coon or fox on a dead deer to see where they would start. Would imagine with a hog there would be more than one and you would not have much of a doe left at all. Could have been a possum or maybe a skunk. Put a gut pile in that same location with a TC on it late one evening to find out.

thats crazy baby.......

Buzzards got to her. They love starting at the face!

Big Foot

I agree that it sounds like buzzards. In some areas, they have learned to come in at the sound of a gunshot.

My vote is buzzards or Kara Kara. I shot a deer a number of years ago tagged it and went to get the truck 30 min later I got back and chased off buzzards that had eaten one eye and the a... anus out. That was in 30 minutes.

2 years ago shot a buck in south texas, watched him go down in the middle of the sender I was hunting on. Before I got out of the stand, less than 5 minutes, there were 3 Kara Kara's pecking at the eyes.

Cara Cara's start flying as soon as the shots ring out.

Zombie... Be on the lookout and aim for the head.

Late in the season they are flying already before you shoot. I used to make a blind choice to hunt when I would find a buzzard sitting on top of a blind. They knew there was something to shoot there and was telling me.

Kind of like us coona$$es fishing the birds, never thought about it for deer

Well those birds do have to eat to live also....and when I was shooting it was an all you could eat buffet daily for them.

He said he shot it just before dark. Doubt it was buzzards or cara cara.

If you have to leave a down deer for a while, to keep the buzzards etc off them, use an old timers trick. Put your hat, coat, etc on the deer. Varmints will not go near it.

I would guess buzzards other than you mentioned the shot was just before dark. My assumption would be the buzzards would have been on roost. Sooooo... face eating Zombie it is

I shot a yote Tuesday evening with the bow....stayed in the stand fort he rest of the hunt and had buzzards circling after about about 5 minutes

Chupaca....never mind.

I watched hawks and buzzards eat the face off animals. That would be my guess. Was at the lease a few months back and a hawk flew out from under a bush about 10' away so we stopped and looked. It had a fresh rabbit kill and its face was eaten off.

I know I have trained buzzards around my place lol

I'm guessing it was hogs. Last year I mentioned on this forum that I had shot a hog right at dusk. I guess he weighed around 125 to 150 pounds. I didn't plan on eating it, so I decided to just leave it there till morning and then move it. In the morning there was a greasy bloody spot and a couple of leg bones and that was ALL. Ate the whole dang thing. Of course...I'm assuming that it was hogs.

Damn bath salts...

buzzards or those kara-kara's they will eat the eyes and the [censored] first. it doesn't take them long to respond to a carcass.