an emotional buck

[scattered_grass]

Going on success in recent years, I really like to try to get some time in the stand during the first part of November. I decided to drive up to Northampton Co. to hunt Friday evening and Saturday morning. With it being the first cool snap, I figured it would be a good time to catch a buck thinking with his other head Got in the stand fairly early Fri. afternoon, which was fairly warm and breezy. As the sun began to fall behind the trees, I started to see some movement. First I saw two small does, one may have been a button buck. They ate soybeans and ran around with each other for a while before going back in the woods. With light getting scarce, I noticed three deer coming out of the woods to my left. I put the scope on them and saw that they were bigger does, which made me think that there might be something else close by. I blew my grunt a few times and waited. I then notice a dark figure standing in the field to my left. I put the scope on this deer and sure enough all I see is horns! Due to branches that have overgrown the stand, I could not get a shot at the deer. I watched him quarter away from me and finally angle out enough where I can maybe avoid the branches. By this time, "Buck Fever" has set in a bit and I try my best to steady my .270 enough to squeeze off a shot. The deer finally stood broadside and stopped for a second and I pulled the trigger. It was a rushed shot and I really didn't know whether I'd hit him or not.

I go to the edge of the bean field where I thought he was standing to look for blood...nothing. Continue to search for 45 min or so...nothing. I am very disappointed at this point and decide I will look some more the next morning after I hunted. Sit in the stand the next morning, eager to look for the deer from the night before. Get out of the stand earlier than usual to start looking. After a while of looking in the field and in the woods, I decide it's a lost cause. "If I did hit the deer, I'll have to wait for the buzzards to find him", I thought to myself. On the way back to my truck, I see an opening in the woods and a pretty well traveled path. I figured what the heck, if I was a deer I'd go in here..so I walk in to find a pile of entrails, and a big pile at that. Well with no guts he can't be that far I thought to myself, so I called my granddad to come help me track the deer. There really was no trail of blood, I found a couple of spots where the deer must have stopped for a second, but we pretty much just walked circles through the woods. At this point I'm really wondering if I am going to find this buck or not. We come through the woods to an adjacent farm and the guy happens to be riding his golf cart around the edge of his field and my granddad yells to him and we talk to him for a while. He thinks the deer is not far, but in heavy cover in the woods that we had just come from. So we decide to go back in and look some more. As we are walking down the edge of this field, looking for the best place to re-enter the woods, I glance over my right shoulder into the rows of soybeans and guess what I see..I could not believe it! This was such luck to happen to glance over and notice the deer laying there in the beans of the next farm over. I was ecstatic. My 130gr. had basically field dressed the deer, as he ended up about 200 yds from where I shot him.

[Bird Dog]

It's amazing how tough those animals can be sometimes

Nice buck

[gameover]

nice wall hanger there dude...

I like the shot next to the tower also, you got any project update photo's?

[scattered_grass]

nice wall hanger there dude...

I like the shot next to the tower also, you got any project update photo's?

I'll take some of er when we get the hardtop and riggers on, which should be in the next few weeks I hope

[weekender]

WOW! AWESOME deer. Losing any deer would not be good but one like that and I may never sleep again. CONGRATS on a very nice trophy.

[offshore]

Fantastic North Carolina buck and a great story to read. Glad you found him and your dog was glad too!!