a great find and a horrible find

[Brad]

I was out picking milkweed pods with my wife last night around 8:30 PM last night and found a ton of pods. We were driving down a trail that goes through the middle of a corn field, and I found a trotting buck track that we must have kicked up in front of us. He was at a fast walk or slow trot but he went about 75 yards before jumping into the corn and going down a row. I do not have any cameras out yet but I think I will try puttiing one here since I can drive to it, and we have seen nice bucks there before doing the same thing.



I went down the road a little ways to get more pods and a bald eagle flew up out of the ditch, which I found pretty cool to see. I figured he was eating on a rabbit or a coon or something. We went on our business and filled the rest of the bags with pods, and then on the way back my wife saw a dead deer down in the ditch , which would explain the eagle. I got off the UTV and walked down and sure enough it was a buck, looks like he is a 2.5 year old, probably a 90-100 inch 8 pointer. I hate to see any deer get killed, but especially bucks. I wouldn't have shot him this year anyway, but possibly next year but I guess it doesn't matter much now. He had been hit since we got to the farm an hour and a half earlier, his neck was still flexible like a fresh kill, and no bloating or stink yet either. The odd thing was the eagle was eating the intestines, and had just started from the looks of it. I figured they would go for the more desirable meat first, but apparently not.

[Black Squirrel]

Too bad on the dead buck. Maybe call the warden and see if you could get the velvet horns, make for a nice little wall plaque. That is if, they would still be good.

[Brad]

The other weird thing is I notice on his G2 he has some antler showing through, so perhaps they might just be starting to rub the velvet off. It could be from the crash too, but the side thats broken was still 100% velvet, so hard to say for sure either way. I thought about calling the warden but decided not to since I didn't kill him. Either way sad to see, in that very same spot on halloween in 2010, a 15 pointer got hit. It is right across from the bean field and there is
CRP on the side the buck was hit on, so I think they are still using the beans for now anyways.

[DEERSLAYER]

It sounds like they like to use the CRP for bedding.

[cwoods]

Bummer.

[ Post made via iPod ]

[backstraps]

Nice looking track Brad, hope you can get on him!

Sad to see the deer meet his death like that. Sure hate to
see them go to waste. :(

[U.P. MAN]

Bummer on the buck :(

[ Post made via Android ]

[Stanley]

Disappointing foe sure.

[Singing Bridge]

The eagle was likely trying,to get through to the internal organs, which coyotes and other predators will try to get to first as well... It is much higher in nutrients than the prime cuts we enjoy, and animals instinctively seek it out.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Swampthing]

Man that sucks,