Not sure how much of this I covered in my "sleepless night" post but here goes. Shot the deer Saturday morning right as the rain let up. He was coming right at us and as he quartered toward and to my right I aimed at the leading shoulder. Shot felt good, but the deer didn't go down. He simply turned and ran off with tail tucked. Turns out I pulled the shot left and the bullet didn't enter the upper chest cavity - it entered half way up his side and exited almost at his boy parts. The liver was shattered, but I never touched the lungs or heart. The deer ran into the cover and was gone. We took up the trail right away and found a weak blood trail. Because of other family obligations later in the day we pushed on for the recovery. At one point I thought we spooked a doe - looking back I think we bumped him from his bed. We continued on (again not thing we bumped him). We lost the blood and as such we got the dogs out. Turns out one of them found the buck but bumped it from it's bed and the deer ran into a large area of standing water. I know the dog bumped the deer - he simply made that sound like he does (he is part coon dog and has that yip when he is chasing and a bawl when he finds something). He bawled and then changed to the yip - I knew that was bad news. We where done for the day. I went back sunday with water redheaded, but the creek still very flooded. With no sign of the deer or blood I still looked and looked and looked. I found nothing sunday. I had to suspend the search thru the week - I wouldn't get home until it was dark. I picked up the search again this Saturday. I started on my side of the creek and worked the dogs and a grid pattern through areas. Where my side was complete, I walked the crrek bottom - in case the deer tried to cross the creek, but didn't make it and was in a snag. I walked roughly a mile stretch of creek bottom in my chest waders and still no luck. I then moved across the creek and begin the grid searching again. We worked from one edge of the neighbors property and continued to work further and further. I was working the last realistic section and I simply saw the deer laying there. The dogs never gave me any sort of sign. Looking back I screwed up several times and I know it. We started tracking to soon, we didn't back out and we pushed the deer maybe more than once. If I had used my head there is a chance I would have had my deer that sunday.
I was surprised that the yotes had not found the deer either, there was no blood so I think that made it difficult for them to find the deer. The lost blood trail thru the then standing water I think was a big part of that. The yotes have been active lately, but I don't have a huge issue with them - I am surprised however that they didn't get to the deer in a weeks time. The meat wasn't any good which sucks, but I have the piece of mind that I did find him. I am not planning on putting him in a shoulder mount - I have larger deer on the wall - I will more than likely go euro or skull cap. If I tried to put another deer on the wall right now my wife would shit a kitten!
