Mule Deer Matador

C

crabcreekhunter

Guest
True story. About 1990 I was hunting a particular 5x5 muley that had been snacking on our ranch in Eastern Washington. One morning I spotted the boy high-stepping accross a sage flat and into a small grove of Russian Olive, from which he didn't emerge. Figuring he bedded for the day, I put the wind in my face and slowly slipped into the tree grove. I wasn't ten feet into the shadows when I nearly tripped over a bedded doe. Busted! Our eyes twinkled at each other with love for a split second, then she roosted straight away from me like a 500cc dirt bike leaving the starting line at a National MX race. She didn't carry any other deer with her. I remained frozen, just listening and scanning into the shadows for the buck. Maybe 5 minutes later I took a few steps forward then heard the distinct sound of a muley pogo-sticking away from the tree grove to my right. In about 10 leaps I cleared the trees and saw the 5x5 smoking straight away from me accross a salt grass flat heading back the direction from which I had approached the trees. About 100 yards out the saltgrass funneled into a cattail patch. He and I both knew that if he beat my bullet to the cattails he was home free. As he entered the cattails, my duplex was rolling up his backside and the old 270 rocked just as it crossed his head. I could tell it rolled him, and I knew it was terminal. I walked up to where he entered the cattails and went into the patch. After about ten feet the cattails opened up into another small salt grass flat about twenty feet in diameter. This flat was surrounded by cattails, except for the west side which was the bank of Crab Creek. I entered this opening from out of the south side cattails. Looking to my left I could see the buck laying in the water of Crab Creek with it's head down, but propped up out of the water on some reeds. I looked at him for a few seconds, head shot dead I figured. Then I unloaded my rifle and leaned it up against the cattails on the south side of the small salt grass flat about 15 feet from the buck. I aimed to grab him by the rack and drag him up onto the dry saltgrass flat for dressing. When I was about eight feet from the boy I got the biggest surprise of my life. His eyes were closed! Then they opened! Then I got an even bigger surprise. His head snapped up and he looked right at me! Then he exploded out of the creek in a full blown rack down charge aimed to hit me about in the knees. I will always remember my thought, which was "I am in real trouble." The power that mature buck put into that charge would rag-doll the toughest human alive. I was in for a real good antler whipping. Then, just about the time he was going to connect he kind of went cork screwing past my right knee and piled up about 20 feet away in the cattails on the northside of the saltgrass. What the heck? He missed! Then here he came again. I didn't have a chance to move before he covered the 20 feet, but about half way through the second charge he dipped off to my right again and rolled into the cattails on the south side of the grass flat just missing my Remington. When he missed this second charge, I realized that the bullet had hit him somewhere off dead noodle, probably close to an ear and taken out his equilibrium. He got turned around from his second pile-up and took off at me a third time. Now I had his number down. I stepped to my left like a matador, and the buck went past on my right for the final time. He crashed back into the creek in exactly the same spot where he was first laying and just sat still. I backed away from him, retrieved my rifle, dropped in a round, and finished the fight. Upon examination, the bullet had traveled along the left side of his skull damaging his inner ear as first suspected. I am very lucky to walk away from that kill sight, it may just as easily been mine. Now very few hunters will have an experience where a wounded deer will show that kind of aggression. I made mistakes. I took for granted that I'd killed him with a head or upper spinal shot, because I was 100% positive that I put my bullet in that zone. Then assumed that a high velocity expanding boat tail is going to kill every time you place it in that zone, because it always had in the past. I didn't even think that he might not be dead as I approached him. Then I should have looked at his eyes before I approached. I remember seeing his closed eyes for a split second before they opened and just starting to think that something was different with this buck. I almost believe that buck was faking dead, and he was waiting for me to get in range, because as soon as his eyes opened he was charging, like pre-meditated. Know this and learn this. We've seen some video footage of so called aggressive pet deer knocking people around for what ever reason. They are playing. When you watch rutting bucks fighting and pounding the hair off each other, which gets pretty violent at times, it's not for the kill. If you want to know what kill mode looks like with a mature wild mule deer buck, it was filmed years ago and shown on the opening captions for Walt Disney TV Series. A cougar was backing a mule deer buck up and planning on making a meal out of him. When that buck realized he was cornered and gonna die, he hit that cat before it could even flinch and did a pile drive number on him that makes NFL linebackers look like barbies. They are bad when cornered. Do not get complacent when approaching them. Look at the eyes from binocular range. Make sure they are open. Do not ever approach them if they are closed. They are not bambies or barbies. Dan
 
I shot a deer a 4x4 here in Washington a few years back, bedded in tall sage and all i had was a head shot so i took it, walked up to him after he flopped over in his bed and and sat there for about 5 minutes waitin for him to stop kickin, realized my bullet had only grazed the top of the forehead taking a little hide with it. after that one i always make damn sure they are dead.
 
The buck I shot last year in Colo layed down with his head on the ground eyes open!he was very alive Im glad he tried to go the other way!He sure looked dun for.Take no chances make sure before getting too close!!!!!!!!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-24-07 AT 09:00AM (MST)[p]Any wounded animal is dangerous. The "flight" instinct has turned to "fight" and they will defend themselves to the death.
A good, yet little known and much safer way to tell if a wounded animal is dead, instead of looking at their eyes, is an involutary nerve check. When approaching a wounded animal, always try and approach the hind end and try and give the animal an escape route. Upon approaching, if possible, grab one of the back legs by the hoof, be careful, if still alive they will kick, but this will also make them run instead of turning and fighting. Approaching straight on, will turn on the "fight instinct" as they will feel they are cornered. If you can then grab the hind leg, take your knife and carefully poke the animal between the hooves, this is an area loaded with nerves and if still alive, they will involuntarily react, and will try to flee. At any rate you will know if they are still alive enough to attack. If they do not react, then it is safe to assume they are either dead or incapcitated enough to begin field dressing.

Adrenaline is a very strong drug. Any wounded or frightened animal is overloading on it. I have seen deer run on pure adrenaline, with no heart, for over 400 yards. I have also seen a deer run 150 yards with its throat cut and four broken legs - pure nerves and adrenaline.

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
There are times when I'm watching one the many hunting videos out there (of a guided hunt) and watch as the hunters approach a downed buck and they poke him with their rifle to make sure he's dead, right about then I find myself wishing the animal would jump up, just so I could see the expression on their faces or watch them go limp with suprise/fear.
I know, that's a cruel thought!

--JadgBob
 
Great story, thanks for sharing. I watched a friend rope a buck by the neck that had been shot with a bow. He was in a creek. Lenny tried to drown the buck after jumping on his back.....lots of bruises and laughter as he went for a ride. No major injuries, lots of torn clothing, and a funny memory, he won't do that again.
 
Great story! Reminds me of a story about the first buck I ever killed.

I was hunting on my friends property in S.E. Utah and decided to shoot the first buck I saw. About 45 minutes into the evening hunt, I saw a small spike walking with a doe and a fawn, about 75 yards away. I got exicted and pulled the trigger. The buck jumped and ran about 20 yards, where I saw him collapse under a big bunch of sagebrush.

I approached the buck and poked him with my rifle to make sure he was down. Since he was under the sagebrush, I grabbed its hind legs and dragged it out into an open area to start field dressing it. Once it was in a clearing, I picked up the head and looked at the horns. Then I took out my knife and started to cut the throat (I dont do that anymore, I was taught wrong). I had just started cutting when my buddy walked up. He heard me shoot, and decided to come over and see if I got anything. My knife was kind of dull, so I asked him for his knife to finish cutting the neck. He handed me his knife and asked me "where did you hit it?". I really didnt know, so we started looking. Well we soon found the bullet hole, I had hit the back on his back hip area. My buddy was the one who found the wound, and said "You hit him right here", poking the wound with his rifle. Just then, the buck jumped up and took off running. My rifle was sitting over by the sagebrush, so I grabbed my buddy's rifle and aimed at the buck as it ran off. When it got about 50 yards, I fired and hit him in the back of the head, dropping him dead...FINALLY!

After the buck dropped, my buddy and I just started laughing about what had happened. We still get a good laught about it when we talk about it....the suprise look on both of our faces was priceless!
 
Call ma a wimp if you want, But THIS HAPPENED TO ME STOIRES ARE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME. If there is a shadow of a doubt that the animal is alive, ribs moving, eyes closed, leg kicking, they get another bullet, bullets are cheap compared to the doctor or worse. The last bull I killed, I was going through some pines and walked up on a herd of elk the bull was at a hard quater away from me, I had my 300 RUM, I shoot one hole groups with this gun, I pratice up to 500yds with it. Me and my 300 RUM are like one, like an extention of me, I love this rifle. I took aim and shot BOOM,(125 yds offhand) The bull took off like I had missed. I thought in that split second HOW? He ran around a pine tree like a rocket, I swung on him trying to break his back BOOM, Still nothing, what in the heck is going on. I wasent even shook up yet, It happened too quick. So I took off at a dead run in the direction he went just in case I had not missed, Thinking and praying he might be just around the trees that he bolted through, When I came around the trees he ran through I lookes up and saw him flat on his side, NO movement. Nothing. I eased up behind him. He could hear me walking up behind him and his back leg kicked 15 yds from him he got another one. That ended all of that. Come to find out all three shots were good. The first one caught him in front of his back leg and went across his body took out the heart and far sige lung. The bullet was in front of his off side shoulder. The second shot was the back shot. I thought I missed. I shot so close to his backbone that it pulled the meat off of the bone but did not break his back. Ruined some backstrap :-( But animals are tough espiecally bull elk, I have killed several elk with my 300 RUM that just planted them. This bull took a 180gr 300 RUM hot handload like it was nothing. I always carry a sidearm just for close encounters with critters of down game. If in doubt shoot again. Works for me.
 
I know a guy who several years ago muzzeloader hunting shot a big mature four point buck. started tracking him came around a tree and the buck was waiting for him. charged him, knocking his gun away and goring him in the thigh. He said the strength and power the deer had was amazing, the guy stayed on top, he said he knew if the buck got him down on the ground it would kill him. this went on for several minutes. He finnally got the bucks head pinned down where he could get at his knife and cut his throat then try and keep for getting killed while it took a few more minutes for the buck to die. he ended up having wounds to his legs and hands. then on top of that he got infection and damn near died. he was in the hospital for quite awhile.
 
About time we get a great thread started.

Great stories guys. I have a similar one to elkslayers only I was using 280 grains coming out of a .444 Marlin. These bull elk are tough and that experience taught me a very important lesson. I will follow elkslayers adviceand drop another round in the animal no hesitation.

Lets hear some more!

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While we're tellin' stories...

A couple of years ago I was up on the mountain on the final day of my muzzleloader hunt here in Utah. I had not found anything worth taking home and decided that if the evening came without any luck I would shoot a meat buck. I blew a stalk on a 27" 4-point in the morning and the mid-day hunt proved worthless. So, about an hour before dark my friend Brian and I were down in the timber when we spotted a little 1-antlered forky which we had seen numerous times. I thought... well, there's my meat buck. I lined it up, shot, and down he went. Turns out I hit him a few inches lower in the chest than I would have hoped. My friend and I walked down to him and set our packs down. He was still gasping, so I figured I would hurry and slit his throat and put an end to it. I grabbed my knife and started to approach when my friend grabbed his antler and the deer jumped up. He started kicking his feet my direction and I backed off. My friend held on to him as long as he could (which was some of the 20 funniest seconds I can remember, I wished I would have had a camera). Needless to say, he finally broke free and ran straight down the hill... we followed him for about an hour and never was able to find him. He went into some of the grizzliest terrain I have ever been in. In fact, I ended up hurting my knee and it took me several hours to get down off the mountain. I'm sure the lions snatched him up, which was not the ending I hope for unfortunately, but it happens. My friend still says if the deer would have had both antlers he could have held on!

-Lucas :)~

http://www.monstermuleys.com/cgi-bin/stories/site.pl?page=lucasdavis10103
 
"Ghostinthewoods" That's a very accurate discription of the wounds one can expect to recreive, especially the hand injuries. When that buck was making passes at me he would whip that big rack with incredible speed. I recall thinking during the event that he would rip my grip loose if I went for his rack, and those marbled bases were going to take flesh. Like your friend, I knew I'd have to stay on top off his head, suck up tight, and try to ride it out to exhaustion. One 30" buck at the house has 5" dagger eye guards. If a lad tangles with a chap like that he's gonna know all about sucking chest wounds. Your friend must have felt very poorly, and then the infection. Was it Staff? I got nipped in the hand by a critter in a trap 35 years ago, w/o antibiotics I'd only have one arm. Dan
 

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