At the end of my season I enjoy looking back and reflecting what I could’ve done differently, better or not at all..
The morning of November 3rd has been haunting me on and off, because I lost my second biggest buck with a bow. I got closure with the first buck, as my friends bosses brother was lucky enough to tag the buck. This second Buck left a very bittersweet taste..
As some may already know, I made a poor shot on this buck. 12 yards, broadside and ended up clipping a twig. I couldn’t see the lightned nock on impact because it hit at an odd angle. My vane had clipped a twig that was out of sight through my pins...
The blood and gut matter on my arrow led us to believe it was a gut/liver shot, so we had waited 8 hours to track.
Here’s where my question lies.
After the shot and on the phone with some buddies, another hunter had literally stumbled upon me. He was clearly under the influence of something (stumbling, unsteady gate, bloodshot eyes, impaired speech, delayed reaction...)
I reluctantly explained the situation to him and asked if he wouldn’t mind staying out of the general area, because we would be tracking this buck and the blood dog was meeting us there at 5PM. He agreed, wished me luck and I pointed him towards the trail out.
At 4PM we pull up to the parking area and this same gentleman’s truck was parked in the same lot as that morning. Nervous, we all wore orange and began the track with the dog. While on the blood trail, she took us past this crossbow bolt (pictured above). Evidently, the guy was also toting a crossbow...
There’s no doubt in my mind the guy had gone back in behind us and tried shooting my dying buck. As anyone who’s tracked a gutshot deer, tracking a jumped gutshot deer makes the challenging situation A LOT more difficult.
My question to y’all is: Would you have told the hunter the situation (“I shot a DEER, going to track later today”) OR would you have played it off as nothing happened?
Has something like this ever happened to you or someone that you know? ... Or am I just extremely unlucky
Post Season Reflections - Input
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Post Season Reflections - Input
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Re: Post Season Reflections - Input
Sorry for the situation man. You've probably got to tell him and hope for the best. If he was walking around that much, there's a good chance he would've stumbled upon the blood trail and tracked/bumped it anyway. At least you gave him a chance to do the right thing.
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Re: Post Season Reflections - Input
I think you did the right thing, you just can’t control what the other guy did. I think 9 out of 10 hunters would have stayed out like you asked but someone else could’ve just as easily pulled up after you left and unknowingly jumped the deer too. (Assuming you were on public)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
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Re: Post Season Reflections - Input
Wlog wrote:I think you did the right thing, you just can’t control what the other guy did. I think 9 out of 10 hunters would have stayed out like you asked but someone else could’ve just as easily pulled up after you left and unknowingly jumped the deer too. (Assuming you were on public)
This was on public land, I should’ve included that.
It’s always possible that another hunter could’ve walked in unknowingly. The odds of that hunter shooting a crossbow bolt with the same colored vanes as the guy I spoke to earlier though...
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