Buck down!..and eaten alive

coyoteshaddinner

Made me sick at my stomach..watched this buck for 3days..decided to take him on the 4th day..long story short..shot him at 110yards..down he went..did not move..waited 10 minutes as he was dead under my feeder..I thought..got my stuff together and started to leave blind..he raises his head..well crap. I putt another round between his shoulder blade..scurried down to where he was..about 40 yards out he does the same thing..what the heck? I raise my .308 and put crosshairs between shoulder again..CLICK.magazine was empty..I had forgotten to load my ammo..I thought I had earlier..but I didn't..I had a full box of core lokt in my blind..I literally walked backwards..keeping an eye on him as he struggled to get up..then he did..he is hurt bad..but takes off toward fence line..well I decided not to push him..he was too good of a deer..so I backed off and after talking it over with friends at camp..decided to wait till morning..fast forward 8hrs..found him just like this video..about 300yards from feeder..picked clean..dammit..

Sounds like you need a new group of advisors.....

Because of time I didn't tell the whole story..right decision was made..I trust their opinion..but it was my call..the right one..if you know anything about hunting..you don't push a wounded deer

How far did he go?

300 yards..it was nite time..no blood..only under feeder..

Dang that is frustrating and a good buck too!

Sorry, but that was a terrible decision to not go look for him an hour or 2 afterwards. You don't push a deer that is questionably hit & runs off. A deer that you have put a couple of good shots into & you know is hit good, you always go look for it after a few hours. Then if you don't find it, you call in trackers. Too bad your lazy-[censored] hunting buddies wouldn't help you go look for him, but the responsibility is all on you.

What you don't do is exactly what you did.

1). After the shot, let him lay there 30/45 minutes or longer, with your rifle ready to shoot again
2). Load more than 2 rounds in your dang rifle
3). Go look for the damned deer
4). Have the phone number to reputable trackers handy, & use it in these circumstances

I would like to know what caliber/load/bullet your using. If it's .223 or other marginal set up, that makes you even more wrong, IMO.

Hunters who did what you did, don't deserve to shoot another deer.

You just wasted a good deer. Be glad your not on my lease, or you'd be hunting a new place immediately.

maximus, I'm following you on here from now on. You may be my new thf favorite.

Geeze. He made a mistake. He may not realize he did it wrong, but take it as a chance to teach him. If most of his learning is from hunting shows, those idiots always wait til the next day.

Sucks but glad you found him. How was the blood trail? 300 yards is too far for a shot or two in the vitals with a 308. I use 30.06 and never had anything go further than 50 yards. Over 50 deer/pigs. Even 243 on a big pig maybe 100 yards.

Dayum lighten up Butt Head Yes he made two mistakes, one not having a full clip of bullets and two waiting until the next morning after putting two good placement shots in the deers shoulder.
If you would have read his post in its entirety you would have read he used a 308.

With your wonderful disposition, I would not hunt on the same dirt with you even if it was free!

I agree a lot with what Maximus says but not with tone used. In Texas with so many coyotes and predators present I'd never wait until the next morning to extensively search for a mortally wounded deer. Guessing you know that now and not our place to beat you down about it.

Agree with Stub

I'm with DQ, but you say you made the right decision. You have to open up a bit and see this was the wrong outcome.

Not beating you down over it. I make mistakes everyday and try to learn from them.

But things won't improve if you still think this was the right decision for a deer hit twice with a 308, enough to knock him down for 10 minutes.

If it layed there dead for 7 hours, the meat may be questionable, for future reference.

where was the first bullet placed?
308 Corelokt should have definitely anchored him place...

Your bullets suck

Me too!

Awesome. That makes 2 people in this thread that'll never set foot on my place.

Four and counting

I can't imagine myself or 1 of my hunters coming back to camp with that story & everyone not offering to help immediately. After waiting an hour or 2, we would spend all night looking, & call in trackers also.

The OP's episode was nothing but lazy hunters who don't care about taking game ethically.

Your already on the list. I wouldn't piss on you, if you were on fire.

I think someone needs to lighten up. People make mistakes. It happens.

Could be too many hunting shows in the Midwest where deer are arrowed and not recovered until next day. They often don't explain their rationale fully or fact that night temps are in 20s and predator population low.

Five. you need to learn how to read before spouting advice

I've heard way more stories of people pushing deer too far and losing them than of finding them eaten in the morning.

No blood trail at might could make it difficult for recovery.

I could understand either choice as both are responsible decisions where the hunter is doing what they think is best.

Make that 5 of us that couldnt be paid to hunt with such perfect people.

Oh come on DQ, you are being to politically correct, just tell the guy he is being an A Hole and needs to shut the F up

What was the plan after recovering a deer that had been decomposing in the woods for 8 hours?

Well tough guy you sure talk big I will give you that.
I was one of those hunters in camp that night and know all the details.....you don't.

But since you have all the answers I have a question for you. When you go and attempt to recover a buck that clearly was not hit in the vitals and you jump him what do you do??? Keep in mind it's dark so shooting is highly illegal.

I was thinking the same thing as Stub after reading one of maximus’ comments on another thread. I wouldn’t hunt with him if he paid me to come out and teach him how.

he's consistent...gotta give him that

I mean, he hit him twice in the chest & the deer was obviously hit hard. I just don't see why you wouldn't go back & look an hour or 2 later. Even if I had to call in trackers, call the Game Warden & advise them, or call more buddies to come help me look.

That's not enough effort to recover game for my place. I can't imagine giving up that easy.

Drink more beers with your buddies back at camp?

Well said Stub.....I mean DQ!!!

I'm with you, I don't get the logic. The low in Coke County was what, 50 lastnight? Assuming the deer was shot during legal hours and found after sunrise; that's a 13 hour period.

Dude you weren't there and hindsight is always 20/20 so chill the f out! I love people that think their chit don't stink!

I have a dog trained to blood trail in camp. Following a wounded deer at night does no good even with a dog if you can't legally finish the deer off.

It's not your advice that is lacking....it's your delivery

Sec. 62.011. RETRIEVAL AND WASTE OF GAME. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), it is an offense if a person while hunting kills or wounds a game bird or game animal and intentionally or knowingly fails to make a reasonable effort to retrieve the animal or bird and include it in the person's daily or seasonal bag limit.

And would have still been edible if the coyotes didn't get him but had they pushed him he may have never been found.

Did you not see the tag in the picture? It is included in his bag limit!

Has anyone confirmed there was a blood trail? No moon, I would get lost 300 yards from a feeder. If blood trail, then yeah, need to search.

Not at 50 degrees for 13 hours it wouldn't be.

Reasonable effort was not made to keep the animal in edible condition.

I was there. No blood trail from the feeder to the fence which was probably 250 yards. After he made it over the cross fence just a few blood spots. It was only luck we found the spot where he jumped the fence which led to the recovery.

It's easy to second guess any decision that has a less than perfect ending. Bottom line is it looks like the deer was still alive when the yotes found him. That means he would have been alive had we found him that night and no legal means to finish the job.

Edible for who.....13 hours at 50* is still ok to safely eat. May not taste great but it would be fine to eat!

Or y'all may have never found him had y'all pushed him. Y'all did what yall that was best and that's all you can do! I'm glad he at least has a nice rack to enjoy!

!

My first advice would be for him to learn to shoot the rifle. Maybe even upgrade to a better bullet. But of course this is coming from a guy that shot a deer that took 6 rounds to put down. lol Actually, it was a deer that was injured from a shot to the neck that first went through a 2" mesquite limb the week before. When I shot it to was a shoulder shot that was high. The buck fell down a slope and the horns wedged into and around a tree. I walked up to a very alive buck so I pulled my pistol and put two rounds in the side thinking they were heart shots with my .25acp. Went to retrieve the truck thinking it would be dead by the time I got back only to find the buck gone within the 10 minutes I went for the truck. I tracked that stupid deer toward the fence and I found it as it stood up to go through the fence. I freehand a shot from about 75 yards that knocked it down. This time when I walked up I placed a final shot in the neck.

I have eaten many deer that were shot late in the evening and recovered the next morning in the marshes of Louisiana.

We were covered in coyotes and I dont ever remember finding one that had been chewed on.

We always divied up all of the meat and I never had a bad cut.

Hunt anywhere west of 35 and your deer will be eaten alive in no time. I have seen them pick one clean in less than hour of being shot leaving only the head. You better get them quick. Not saying the shooter had a choice here, it is just what happens. I made a mistake before and all we had left was a head.

Let's give the OP a break. He tried something, and did not get a positive result. He has learned something from this experience. Many hunters have waited until the next day to try and retrieve game that was shot the night before. His deer was eaten by coyotes, so that make him a F UP? I don't think so.

I trust JCB's judgement in matters like this and if any of you read the entries he made in this thread and still second guess then go back and re-read them. Deer went 250 yards with no blood trail, from the signs the deer was still alive when the yotes found him and quite possibly would have been if they had gone after him during the night without the yotes having found and killed him. Sounds to me like a high shot that stunned he deer with a back strap hit. I put my dog on one 6 hours after it took one Hornady bullet from a 30-06 at about 125 yards. Deer lay there over 15 minutes before the hunter got out of the stand, while getting out of the stand the deer got up and ran off. That deer did a circle back and bedded about 100 yards behind the stand from the feeder it was shot at, with the loop it made that was almost 400 yards before it lay down again. About an 8 inch puddle of blood where it lay for 6 hours and if not for the dog we would have never found that spot. When the dog jumped him in thick cedars we had no shot to dispatch it and it ran to the next property where it jumped the fence with over 20 feet between where it left the ground and where it hit on the other side. That buck was back on camera within two weeks.

Just saying only the OP and JCB were the ones there and the rest of us were not. Their decision and JCB has helped make such call more than some that have negatively responded on this thread.

Keep personal attacks to a minimum and please follow the rules of the forum, if you need a refresher the link to them are in my sigline.

Ill never forget the time in Denton I shot a spike with my bow and by the time I went and trailed him 25 minutes after the shot he was eaten up good. Not to mention I heard him crash from the tree stand.

Scope may be off. Go to the range and check it. Sometimes they break.

Maximus the keyboard warrior!! Everybody is a tough guy behind a computer. Willing to bet you aren't nearly as tough in person. The guy made a judgment call and right or wrong it's his call not yours or Texflip's. Reasonable effort was made in recovery, technical the deer was recovered. But keep piling on the guy if that makes you tough guys feel strong and smart.

Neither one of y'all will ever step on my dirt to hunt that's for sure.

I got my own dirt to hunt on.
I'm not trying to be a tough guy. I just believe, as sportsmen, we should make a reasonable attempt to recover game. I don't think watching a deer run off from 40 yards and heading back to camp over night is a reasonable attempt.
I'm okay with having the unpopular oppinion.

Something needs to be done on this forum with the rude azz people. This is supposed to be a friendly place and for the most part it's not.

Ain't nobody trying to be a "tough guy" or anything of the sort. Where is that coming from? A reasonable effort was not made IMO. What other facts do those present have? I hadn't heard anything that would keep me from going back & looking an hour or 2 afterwards. The "8 hours later" is obviously BS. If he shot him at last light, that's like 5:30pm. Sun up is what, 6:45am? That's longer than 8 hours, for all y'all bad at math.

I'd been back by 8/9pm looking. Either with buddies, dogs, or more.

The mistake of not having more ammo is something I can see, & live with. Shooting a nice deer, going back to camp & not worrying about til the next day, I don't get.

Did anyone call the GW or neighbor, before crossing the fence?

& I wouldn't ever use Core-Lokts, or any cheap bullet, when hunting trophy bucks. I know them & other cheap bullets have killed lotsa stuff, but there's way better bullet designs out there nowadays for not much more $.

ANYONE who thinks the effort to retrieve was adequate, would not be welcome on my place. I wonder what a GW would say about the effort to retrieve.

GW told me it was okay to dispatch a deer after dark if it was leagally hunted.

Most of the responses here have missed the main point..shot placement. I'm sure in hindsight MOW would've made different decisions, starting with the shot. Every responsible hunter gets that sick feeling when they lose an animal. Give the guy a break. He lost the meat but at least saved the head.

I've let a lot of deer walk because I didn't have a broadside or quartering away shot and within my range. I think all my years as a bowhunter made me more patient. I'd rather let a good deer walk and let another hunter take the deer than me risk wounding and losing him.

A lot of these poor shot placement decisions I attribute to hunting shows where I've seen them time and again take ill advised shots when it's clearly unnecessary. They teach bad habits in the name of entertainment....

What would a reasonable attempt have been? By account of JCB, the deer looked to still be alive when the coyotes got to it. Which means if they had continued to track him, he likely would have been jumped again. It sounds like given the circumstances, which seem to be a couple of shots that missed the mark, they were left in a situation where neither choice was a good one.

OP or his buddies could have called a local GW & confirmed this in 5 minutes.

Then called in the trackers. Around here, they can come find your deer nearly 100% of the time, for $200.

Read the whole thread and found it interesting. First thing I'll say is two very poor shot's were taken that created this mess and that needs to be corrected before hunting again. As far a decisions made back at camp I'll only say that I or we would have been out there trying to find that deer. Saying you'll wait until morning is accepting the fact that the deer may be lost to predators and the meat may have gone bad. I will not eat a deer that's laid out over night unless it's well below freezing and even that's taking a chance.

Let me also say after rereading the OP's post it sounds like no attempt was made that day by either he or others at the camp to retrieve that deer. I'm sorry but I do not find that either acceptable or ethical. Had an effort been made and then the decision to wait was made it might be different.

I don't know. Maybe going to where the deer initially fell and see if he left blood. That's usually how any tracking job starts.

Although I absolutely agree with Maximus with most of what he said his tone sucks! People make mistakes! We learn from our mistakes! And if they were doing what they were taught and thought was right then they need to be educated! They do not need to be pounded on! I've screwed up a couple of times...I know hard to believe but yep I've screwed up...and I have to tell you I've never forgot! BUT I will never make the mistake again! NEVER! These guys simply need to be taught and they need to learn so they don't make the mistake again. Maximus, if they were on your lease you wouldn't have allowed them to make this mistake, you'd have known what to do and would have helped them...I think based on what you said in a preceding post, so the buck would have been recovered. As for the guys at the camp being "lazy" PLEASE! Them not making the right decision I agree but calling them lazy because they made the wrong decision. I didn't read anywhere in the ops post that he tried to get them to look for it but they just didn't want to. They all have been educated by people that don't know what they are talking about. I agree it sounds like what you see on the TV hunting shows.

So my advice, learn from your mistakes and NEVER make this mistake again...cuz if you do THEN you wouldn't be welcome back.

Do you mean like approaching the deer only 10 minutes after the shot?

I went back and reread the whole thread to see if I was missing something. . I missed that they didn't know there was no blood until the next day. I got the timeline messed up and thought they found no blood and then waited. Yeah, I'm leaning the other way now that I got it all straight.

I've spelled out what I think a reasonable attempt would be. Whatever it is, it ain't going back to camp 10 minutes after center punching a buck, twice, & waiting 13+ hours before going back.

What evidence is there that coyotes found him alive? CSI:THF. The coyotes could have found the deer at 7pm.

I will give props to OP for at least finding the buck & tagging him, & I hope he learns alot from this experience.

CC, I agree with you! It's unfortunate but there seems to be a lot of folks on here that like to take potshots at people and it needs to stop. I enjoy being on this forum but I don't see a lot of guys that used to be on here all the time and I miss them. I've often wondered if perhaps what you mentioned is why they are no longer on here.

Once I reread everything, I agree.

I would have loved to hear the conversation back at camp that evening.

I can't believe so many here are ok with that level of attempt at retrieval. But then again, few things surprise me on THF any more.

The way I read the Ops first post is he hit him in the vitals...not a high shoulder shot.

What "needs to be done around here" is some people need to grow thicker skin. OP made a series of mistakes, coupled with a lack of effort, & pussyfooting around it ain't helping him. I'm not being rude, I'm being frank. If you would like to see me being rude, let me know & I'll start.

Geez, guess i'll go back to TBH. This is supposed to be fun

You guys that judge..wasn't my intention to start a debate..I've been hunting for 60years..and the decision I made was the right one..at the end if the day..the buck was recovered..so I will remove myself from this post..y'all have a blessed day..and happy Thanks giving..y'all be safe..I can't stress this enough..judge yet he be judged..GOD BLESS!!!

You guys that judge..wasn't my intention to start a debate..I've been hunting for 60years..and the decision I made was the right one..at the end if the day..the buck was recovered..so I will remove myself from this post..y'all have a blessed day..and happy Thanks giving..y'all be safe..I can't stress this enough..judge yet he be judged..GOD BLESS!!!

The whole situation might have been avoided altogether. This scenario reinforces that no matter how confident you are of your shot--even if you are 100% certain the deer is dead on the ground--always wait a minimum of 30 minutes before approaching a deer shot with a rifle. Double that waiting time for a deer shot with arrow.

A fact not known until the next morning since you say yourself you immediately backed out and no attempt was made by all involved to retrieve it. If I'm wrong please correct me! I'm searching for a reason to support the decisions made and I've yet to hear one.

People piling on is common around here.
Kind of like a wounded deer running off in coyote infested pastures.

Booner I really hope you are joking

CC You are right! I should not have used such Vulgarity and demeaning language towards Maximus
Maximus I am truly sorry I called you a Butthead, I am sure it caused you much distress and mental anguish to the point where you might need counseling

All kidding aside two wrongs do not make it right, I am sure Maximus has been called a lot worse by his friends to his face and had a good laugh about it

Deer hit with two well placed shots from a 308 do not lay there and then get up and run away 300 yards. I think its safe to assume shot placement was less than desirable or bullet failed.

I would go check the zero on the rifle.

It could have gone either way, you could have pushed him had you pursued him or you might have come up on him fresh dead. Like others have said in many areas in Texas with our temps and predators/scavengers a deer that sits over night has little chance of a recovery of anything but the horns in usable condition so I will not let one sit over night. Give it a few hours and try looking, if you cant find it then there probably is little chance waiting longer would have done anything. As much as pushing them makes them run, it also keeps wounds open and bleeding.

I can say I have gone to the blind with only 2 bullets before as well and it has come back to bite me too.

Usually, only my good friends call me derogatory names.

Funny how the winds have shifted in this thread.

But now that OP has evoked God & the Bible, everything is all better.

You are truly the all knowing my 40 years of hunting knowledge pales miserably to yours hope to never be on lease with you and your hunting gurus !!!

Sorry, but have to weigh in on this one. Sounds like OP learned a few lessons on this.

1. Patience - give the shot deer plenty of time to bleed out.
2. Always have plenty of ammo in gun if going to retrieve.
3. Give deer time to lay down and die, but definitely track within a few hours of shooting.
4. Don't air dirty laundry on a forum without expecting a heavy ration of ....let's call it critique.

This ^

The main thing to take from all this is to never
post about a failure of any kind on social media.
Especially if it involves the Holy Magnificence of a Whitetail Buck.
It will not be tolerated.

Thanks for telling your story sorry bout your bad luck I'm sure most people have similar experience if they hunt long enough. Bow hunters seldom get to fire second shot. Lots deer are lost don't sweat it I would rather hunt with you than those know it all's that weren't around .

There's a lot of ways to say things and get the point across without being a jerk....some people choose to be jerks simply because they find joy in being jerks.

More straw man arguments.

What I won't tolerate is a complete lack of effort to recover a trophy buck. Mistakes happen, sure. But to shoot a buck & hit him good twice, then leave for camp 10 minutes later & not come back for +\- 13 hours, I have a problem with that. Most ethical hunters would, & I wonder if a GW would also.

Know-it-all must = ethical hunter who reasonably attempts to recover trophy white tails.