It's funny how small the huntin community is. Yea I grazed him with an arrow, again, about 15 minutes after that piece of video you just watched. I don't know if you noticed in the video but there are two small drainages between me and the buck, there was also two lone pines to the right of him. He finally moved behind the pines and I made a run for it, got to the bottom of the second small drainage and knocked up, peaked over the top, 54 yards. He had moved just uphill of the pines and laid down, slightly quartering towards me. It wasn't the most perfect shot opportunity but it was all I was going to get. I still am not sure what happened and I've played it in my head 1000 times. I can tell you that my arrow had blood on it from end to end and that I watched him lay down in the adjacent basin until I couldn't see through my binoculars. The shot was through the tips of sagebrush and may have defelected, I still don't know. Backed out and went to the cabin, long night. Followed him the next morning in fresh snow until it melted about 3:00 the next afternoon. Hound dogged him all day. This deer let me get within 15 yards of him 3 different times, but not much I could do with an arrow. It was obviously a superficial wound and I thought if I pushed him enough I would get another chance. Some deer are not meant to be killed. He was still alive and I should have killed him opening morning of the rifle hunt two weeks later. I came in from the east end of the mountain and was climbing by 4:30 that morning. I know his escape route and was positioned within 200 yards of it. As you know YH, predawn pressure pushed him through this saddle before daylight, I never saw him. My hunting partner, who came up the same side of the mountain as you, saw him crest with the eastern sky in the background. As far as I know, noone saw this deer again. He is still up there.
In 2005 I had a couple of opportunities to kill this deer in the archery season (I have still yet to lay eyes on him in October). I had watched him and his very spooky buddy lay down and for some reason that day I had an East wind, very seldom happens. I got to my landmarks and peaked over, the Ghost was laying facing straight away and his buddy was just above me, neither knew I was there. I was reaching for my rangefinder when the wind swirled for just a second, the spooky buck caught it but the Ghost didn't. I thought "It's now or never" as he stood up I came to full draw, held 40, released. It was 46 yards. My arrow had fat on it from end to end, bottom of the brisket. I will never forget that.
Some of the know it alls and arm chair quarterbacks may criticize my actions and choices but I can tell you this; I made the best of the opportunities that were given me, those of you who have hunted long enough and hard enough know what I mean. Hunting the Ghost was an opportunity I may never get again, something I will never forget. Sometimes, the really big ones aren't meant to die.
WyoXtec