survivor buck

[willy]

Here is a buck I have had a couple year's of history with. He would show up in Oct and was fairly nocturnal, especially this year.
He was hit by an archer in Oct. of 2017 on a bordering property and the pics I had of him showed him to look like a dead deer walking. He disappeared from cams until late December and he looked scraggly.

I always put a corn pile out after the late antlerless season is over to survey survivors. He showed up and apparently still had some bad ass attitude because when he was at the pile all the other deer just stayed back. That was not the case with any of the other bucks.

I was amazed he was still alive and in the shape he was in. I thought there was a good chance he would make it to the next season.

Oct 2018 comes around and he shows up on about the same day. I was amazed at the bone he put on with seemingly no ill effects of the arrow besides some cosmetic issues. The wound had killed some muscle tissue and connective tissue as he now looked like a brahma bull when he put weight on his injured shoulder side.

My buddy ended up tagging him opening morning and we are all still high on happiness for him and can't believe that was taken on our farm. HIs daughter was supposed to be the hunter in that stand but she ended up backing out and so I told him to get a tag. He hadn't shot a buck for ten years. In fact his last buck was the first buck to be shot on our property since we bought it.
I don't know how many more inches of bone he put on but I am guessing 30 at least. A guy who hunts the neighboring property found one of his sides last spring and is going to score the shed to see what it is to give me an idea. What would have happened it he hadn't had the stress of the injury? Wows me even more to think about that.

I'll let you all guestimate the score and will give what my buddy came up with via the boone and crockett scoring system via the net in a couple days. He and I only care about gross, as has been said several times, "nets are for fishing" No disrespect to B&C meant, I just want to know what they grow. Water displacement would be the truest way to determine but oh well.

pics from 2017 early 2018
fall of 2018
Happy Hunter-it truly is as big as the picture makes it look. The trail cam pics gave us no indication of the actual mass he has.

 

[Catscratch]

What a brute! Cool story too. What's with the arrow injury? Did the arrow glance off him and not penetrate?

 

[gwm]

Dandy. Great brows.

 

[Dukslayr]

Wow. What a stud. Congrats to you and your buddy!

 

[H20fwler]

Wow!!!!
Very nice buck and good story on him. Kudos to you for letting a buddy hunt on your place and take a hog of a buck, is his daughter kicking herself for not going?
Buck looks like a monster in the pics, my guess is over 170 gross.

 

[willy]

Thanks all, H2O, she really was happy for her Dad. I don't think she really is into hunting, just into it because her Dad likes to hunt with her. She just started high school so things/interests change. Her Mom really is not a hunting supporter and I believe that is changing things as well. I hope I am wrong.

 

[SWIFFY]

What a giant! Id say it will go close to 180 gross with all the junk. Congrats to your bud for ending his drought, and on such a fine buck!

 

[Native Hunter]

That is a heck of a deer and great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[SELFILMED]

Awesome buck! Cool story and thanks for sharing

 

[Bill]

Man he really did pile on the inches in one year. Holy moly.

 

[kl9]

182. Awesome buck


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[willy]

Thanks all.

Catscratch, The bow hunter said it was a quartering shot with 8 to 9 inches penetration. I was very careful in skinning and disarticulating the shoulder area trying to find evidence of penetration into chest cavity but found no evidence. To me, from the pics I think the arrow rode the ribs and lodged in shoulder blade area. I found no evidence of damage to the scapula. They followed it a little over a mile the night he hit it. That one black and white pic of him broadside was approx 12 days after being hit.

 

[Catscratch]

Thanks for explaining it. That's what it looked like but you never know, I've seen deer survive crazy stuff.

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[Badger22]

Love those big thick brows

 

[willy]

Amen Badger!

My friend scored it at 177 2/8 gross

 

[Bill]

Not for nothing. But are you sure that's the same deer?
The right brow on last years deer curved in hard. This "beautiful" deer you're holding on to doesn't seem to have that same trait.

I'm not there and haven't lived with or seen all the pics. You have seen the scars so you would know. But with no history it looks like you killed a monster that might be new.

Just thinking maybe the 2017 buck is still around and still kicking. Obviously you have pics of him. But I'm not certain thier the same. Again I'm not privy to all the pics or intel on the ground.

 

[roymunson]

Great deer.

You're making me rethink some of my "kill list" strategies. I have a couple 4 year old 8 points that won't score anything that I think I'd kill... But seeing what a deer can do from 1 year to the next makes me think twice. Even injured that buck put on a ton of antler

 

[willy]

By the way good job to those who guessed. I would of had no idea on how to estimate that thing.

Bill, I know it's hard to believe as it added so much bone but it's the same buck, of that I am 100 percent sure. The pictorial history I have of it from last year and this year plus the scar and damage to it's shoulder are undeniably the same. That brahma bull look it had when it put weight on that shoulder and hoof is the same as it was after the injury and up until he was killed. The pics all show it. I have many more pics that show the same thing.

 

[Bill]

By the way good job to those who guessed. I would of had no idea on how to estimate that thing.

Bill, I know it's hard to believe as it added so much bone but it's the same buck, of that I am 100 percent sure. The pictorial history I have of it from last year and this year plus the scar and damage to it's shoulder are undeniably the same. That brahma bull look it had when it put weight on that shoulder and hoof is the same as it was after the injury and up until he was killed. The pics all show it. I have many more pics that show the same thing.

Like I said you have the intel on the ground. He really did explode this year.

 

[roymunson]

Like I said you have the intel on the ground. He really did explode this year.

Some guys have all the luck...

My luck is the up and comers get gunned by the neighbors, or flatline from year to year and are the same at 4 as they were at 3