Brian662
5 year old buck +
Back on December 2nd I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to take my first buck off the new property we purchased in SW WI. It was opening day of muzzle loader and I was hunting a pretty aggressive spot for the wind direction but after a fresh snow I was expecting to see one of the shooter bucks.
A doe and a fawn were milling around in the kill plot I was hunting over and then a small buck came to the opening on the timber edge. He was followed closely by a deer that I first saw the rack of. I put the binos on the buck and immediately saw the G2 kicker and knew which one it was. As I was trying to get the blind door open quietly and quickly (the doe&fawn were inside of 15 yards) the latch on the window caught and made a noise. The doe, fawn, and small buck took off and I thought I had blown my opportunity. The target buck had been broadside at 40 yards and he didn't know what happened so he walked a little deeper into the woods edge but stood broadside at 50. I am normally able to compose myself when getting shot opportunities but with the recent events I was pretty amped up. Because the buck shifted I had to open a different window while he is at high alert. I'm able to get the window open and settle my muzzle loader on his shoulder. Squeeze off a shot and drop him in his tracks. He does the typical squirm on the ground and then goes motionless. Awesome! I text my friend who I own the property with and he calls. So we talk for a few minutes and I can see the buck laying there motionless. I told him I would send pics when I get up to it. I pack up my gear and get down from the stand but I did reload the muzzle loader just in case...when I get to the spot he was laying, he is GONE. Amazed and in a slight panic I assess the situation and decide to back out, I can see the leave rustled from the fresh snow in the area he was struggling before going motionless.
I head back to the house and try to figure out wtf just happened. I come back up in an hour just after dark with my 4 wheeler and headlamp. I don't find any blood and pretty quickly lose his trail from the kicked over snow. Frustrated but no idea, I decided to call a drone to see if he could be located. I'm certain he just got a second wind and died somewhere nearby but I don't have any help and I'm supposed to be at work in the AM.
The drone shows up about 5 hours after I shot him and within 20 minutes we locate him walking about 600 yards from where I shot him!!! I'm completely amazed at this point, but the buck beds down and he gets a few photos of the buck with his spotlight. Law says the drone can't help me locate a wounded deer that hasn't died, so the operator had to back out and I'm on my own.
Here was the view from drone.
The shot was higher than I'd hoped, i think the chaos that ensued caused me to rush a bit and I forgot my muzzleloader is zeroed at 100 so it would shoot a few inches high at 50 yards.
When I saw the Pic from the drone, my first thought was "he's a dead deer". But i decided to wait for daylight when I could get a friend to come help. Next morning we set off into the direction I believe he was bedded. After 1.5 hours we find the bed and some blood but no deer. Following the trail he walked but without blood there was another bed about 80 yards away. Now I'm thinking what kind of wounded deer beds twice in a 80 yard stretch without being significantly hurt. We continue to look for 4 hours but the majority of people I contacted thought the hit was non fatal above the spine. Not knowing what to do or where to go, we decide to pull the plug and wait to watch if he shows back up on cameras.
With every passing day of no pics, I'm more and more convinced he's dead, but I don’t know where. Concerned we bumped him when looking and he's dead a 1/2 mile away...
Fast forward to this weekend and able to get back down there for the first time since the hunt, I secured permission from the neighbor to search his property in the direction he was headed when we gave up the search. My friend's son came up on him this morning about 400 yards from where his last bed was, 200 yards across the property line. Finally, closure.
My guess was he was dead already when we were looking in the morning but we just didn't know where to go and I didn't have permission to look on the neighbors.
I guess the coyotes have to eat once in a while too but I wish this wasn't the ending.
My guess is he's 5 years old but I didn't have any history to say for certain. 23 3/4" inside spread. Will have him measured at the taxidermist.
Here is a photo of his rack and my archery kill from WI. The archery kill was 151 1/8. Any guess on the score for this one?
A doe and a fawn were milling around in the kill plot I was hunting over and then a small buck came to the opening on the timber edge. He was followed closely by a deer that I first saw the rack of. I put the binos on the buck and immediately saw the G2 kicker and knew which one it was. As I was trying to get the blind door open quietly and quickly (the doe&fawn were inside of 15 yards) the latch on the window caught and made a noise. The doe, fawn, and small buck took off and I thought I had blown my opportunity. The target buck had been broadside at 40 yards and he didn't know what happened so he walked a little deeper into the woods edge but stood broadside at 50. I am normally able to compose myself when getting shot opportunities but with the recent events I was pretty amped up. Because the buck shifted I had to open a different window while he is at high alert. I'm able to get the window open and settle my muzzle loader on his shoulder. Squeeze off a shot and drop him in his tracks. He does the typical squirm on the ground and then goes motionless. Awesome! I text my friend who I own the property with and he calls. So we talk for a few minutes and I can see the buck laying there motionless. I told him I would send pics when I get up to it. I pack up my gear and get down from the stand but I did reload the muzzle loader just in case...when I get to the spot he was laying, he is GONE. Amazed and in a slight panic I assess the situation and decide to back out, I can see the leave rustled from the fresh snow in the area he was struggling before going motionless.
I head back to the house and try to figure out wtf just happened. I come back up in an hour just after dark with my 4 wheeler and headlamp. I don't find any blood and pretty quickly lose his trail from the kicked over snow. Frustrated but no idea, I decided to call a drone to see if he could be located. I'm certain he just got a second wind and died somewhere nearby but I don't have any help and I'm supposed to be at work in the AM.
The drone shows up about 5 hours after I shot him and within 20 minutes we locate him walking about 600 yards from where I shot him!!! I'm completely amazed at this point, but the buck beds down and he gets a few photos of the buck with his spotlight. Law says the drone can't help me locate a wounded deer that hasn't died, so the operator had to back out and I'm on my own.
Here was the view from drone.
The shot was higher than I'd hoped, i think the chaos that ensued caused me to rush a bit and I forgot my muzzleloader is zeroed at 100 so it would shoot a few inches high at 50 yards.
When I saw the Pic from the drone, my first thought was "he's a dead deer". But i decided to wait for daylight when I could get a friend to come help. Next morning we set off into the direction I believe he was bedded. After 1.5 hours we find the bed and some blood but no deer. Following the trail he walked but without blood there was another bed about 80 yards away. Now I'm thinking what kind of wounded deer beds twice in a 80 yard stretch without being significantly hurt. We continue to look for 4 hours but the majority of people I contacted thought the hit was non fatal above the spine. Not knowing what to do or where to go, we decide to pull the plug and wait to watch if he shows back up on cameras.
With every passing day of no pics, I'm more and more convinced he's dead, but I don’t know where. Concerned we bumped him when looking and he's dead a 1/2 mile away...
Fast forward to this weekend and able to get back down there for the first time since the hunt, I secured permission from the neighbor to search his property in the direction he was headed when we gave up the search. My friend's son came up on him this morning about 400 yards from where his last bed was, 200 yards across the property line. Finally, closure.
My guess was he was dead already when we were looking in the morning but we just didn't know where to go and I didn't have permission to look on the neighbors.
I guess the coyotes have to eat once in a while too but I wish this wasn't the ending.
My guess is he's 5 years old but I didn't have any history to say for certain. 23 3/4" inside spread. Will have him measured at the taxidermist.
Here is a photo of his rack and my archery kill from WI. The archery kill was 151 1/8. Any guess on the score for this one?
