Found him!

Three of our buddies got bucks in the last week in a half.  Two ten points and an eleven point.  The eleven had an interesting story.  Another hunter (not one of 'the guys') called range control to report he'd hit a big buck but couldn't find it and needed some help.  Hubby and several of the guys went to help him look.

When they showed up he was telling them how there was 'great blood' and he thought it would be an easy trail, but it was fast getting dark, so he thought it best to call in help.

Well, to make the story shorter, he was the ONLY ONE that thought it was a good trial.  Hubby said there were a lot of white hairs where the initial shot was.  There shouldn't be, in case you didn't know.  White hairs on are from the belly or underside of the legs, both of which indicate you did not get a good shot.  They were worried that there was a gut shot deer out there, which no one wants, to they did their best to track it but hubby said they were just finding specks of blood and they were very far apart.

After literally two hours, the guy finally mentions that it was odd because after he shot him, the deer LIMPED off.

Yes, he shot it in the leg, apparently.  They looked some more but eventually the blood droplets stopped.  Hubby and the guys reported to range control that the guy, despite what he said, made a bad shot, they all figured he hit it in the leg and, once again, they all felt there should be some sort of bow qualification shooting required before you just let people out there to hunt to avoid stuff like this because now there's a big wounded buck out there potentially suffering, which ticks all hunters off.

So.....a full week goes by.

We have one buddy who only shoots a buck if it's a big, mature buck.  He won't shoot 6s or 8s, he feels they  still have growing to do.

Well, he called.  He had a big buck on the ground.

If he says it's a big buck, I believe him, because he's very particular about this issue.

The brought it to the house because the taxidermist is a friend and was on his way to our house to cape it out for him for mounting.

Beautiful deer, big bodied and by his ground down teeth we knew he was quite old.

As the taxidermist (also a friend) is skinning him in the lighted garage, several of us see, at the same time, that he's got a mark on his front to inside of his left side front leg.  Everything stops so everyone can look.  It's not a mark, it's not dried blood from the drag.....it's a scab/forming scar/wound.

That idiot that made the bad shot?  Well, our buddy found his deer!


(Side note:  The last three deer that have been skinned/cut up here have had MASSIVE amounts of fat on them.  Think we're in for a hard winter, folks.)