I almost wasn't going to post about this year's hunt as no wall hangers were dropped; but it was a good time and my dad managed to kill about the ugliest whitetail I've ever seen and it was an interesting kill to say the leaset. Here's the story:
We flew in the day after Thanksgiving and started hunting our lease the next morning. I managed to kill a 2.5 yr old that evening and a doe two days later. My dad on the other hand was seeing nothing but does for the majority of the week with the occassional little buck. The year prior was his year (will post those pics later) so he started to think this year would be a bust. On the second to last day of the hunt, he was watching a cut-over from a lean-to stand in the morning. A few does where running around like they were being chased but no bucks to be seen...then this thing walks out. He was about 300 yards out staring straight towards dad with his right side slightly showing. My dad being an excellent marksman and having a steady rest aimed in center chest and fired. Deer takes off like he wasn't hit!
My uncle and I are a few miles away on other stands and hear the shot. I knew it was from dad's direction and the shot sounded like it hit meat. My uncle shoots me a txt asking if it was dad. I txt dad and he confimrs the shot but doens't think he hit. Two hours later...uncle and I are coming off stand and getting ready to head in my dad's direction to help look for any sign of blood then dad txts me and asks how far out we are because he needs some help with his deer! Deer's dead in a creek about eight feet deep, with straight three foot banks.
Uncle and I get there and dad's already pulled the buck out (hurt his back of course). Somehow my dad had managed to hit him furhter back on the right side of the body and had gut shot it a bit. We can only assume that the buck tried to jump the creek and didn't make it. When my dad first saw the deer, he didn't quite think it was his as only the butt was sticking out of the water and first assumed that some one else had shot that deer and never found him. After field dressing, we assume that the deer might have drowned as his lungs were full of water.
At the end of the day, we were all happy that dad got a deer and the deer was recovered. We guess he was 7.5 yrs old or so and was going downhill antler wise. He didn't have a single tooth in his mouth. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the right antler was a nub about 6 inches long. It wasn't broken, it had just grown that way. The left side had four points on it.
We flew in the day after Thanksgiving and started hunting our lease the next morning. I managed to kill a 2.5 yr old that evening and a doe two days later. My dad on the other hand was seeing nothing but does for the majority of the week with the occassional little buck. The year prior was his year (will post those pics later) so he started to think this year would be a bust. On the second to last day of the hunt, he was watching a cut-over from a lean-to stand in the morning. A few does where running around like they were being chased but no bucks to be seen...then this thing walks out. He was about 300 yards out staring straight towards dad with his right side slightly showing. My dad being an excellent marksman and having a steady rest aimed in center chest and fired. Deer takes off like he wasn't hit!
My uncle and I are a few miles away on other stands and hear the shot. I knew it was from dad's direction and the shot sounded like it hit meat. My uncle shoots me a txt asking if it was dad. I txt dad and he confimrs the shot but doens't think he hit. Two hours later...uncle and I are coming off stand and getting ready to head in my dad's direction to help look for any sign of blood then dad txts me and asks how far out we are because he needs some help with his deer! Deer's dead in a creek about eight feet deep, with straight three foot banks.
Uncle and I get there and dad's already pulled the buck out (hurt his back of course). Somehow my dad had managed to hit him furhter back on the right side of the body and had gut shot it a bit. We can only assume that the buck tried to jump the creek and didn't make it. When my dad first saw the deer, he didn't quite think it was his as only the butt was sticking out of the water and first assumed that some one else had shot that deer and never found him. After field dressing, we assume that the deer might have drowned as his lungs were full of water.
At the end of the day, we were all happy that dad got a deer and the deer was recovered. We guess he was 7.5 yrs old or so and was going downhill antler wise. He didn't have a single tooth in his mouth. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the right antler was a nub about 6 inches long. It wasn't broken, it had just grown that way. The left side had four points on it.
