The big buck that nearly took my life

M

MattB

Guest
Hey Guys and Girls,

Just got home from the Kelowna hospital today. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the prayers and everything, it really means a lot to me!

Now to the story :) .

Me and Steve woke up early to head into one of our better hunting spots where we know some monster bucks like to hang out. Before we left the truck at about 8:00 am Steve told me to fire 3 quick shots if i ended up shooting something and we went our seperate ways. I headed into an area where i've never hunted but i knew was a likely bedding area for one of the bigger bucks in the area. Steve headed to some ridges that usually hold the bigger bucks during warmer days like this day was. I had been walking for a couple hours and was finally making it into the area i thought i would run into one of my bucks that i have sheds from. I noticed a few small rubs and a little bit of sign, nothing too promising but i still figured i might bump into something. I took the antler that i carry with me off my pack and decided to try and mock a buck rubbing a small fir tree. This tactic has worked lots for me in this particular area and i thought i could bring something in on this day. I racked the antler up and down the tree a few times, then stopped to listen for 30 seconds. I then proceeded to take a few steps forward and to the left to gain a little bit of a better vantage. After 10 steps, i rounded a fir tree and there right in front of my eyes was a massive 4 point muley 15 yards away and i immediately recognized the buck as one me and steve have 2 sheds from. When the buck and I made eye contact he turned to run, i barely had time to get the rifle to my shoulder and touch a shot off, i immediately saw hair flying in the air but was still unsure about where i had hit the buck as it happened so fast. I jacked another shell in the chamber and took five steps forward and saw the buck wheelbarrowing himself forward on his front legs. I tried to get a clear shot to finish the buck off, but the way he was dragging himself around and my adrenaline pumping made the task pretty difficult. Finally i threaded a bullet into his upper spine-neck area and the buck lay still for the final time. I then walked back to my pack and tried to calm down before walking up to the buck, i was pretty excited as this was the one buck in the area i really wanted to get. I walked up to the buck and admired his massive antlers. I was really surprised at how much mass the buck had gained as compared to last year. I then set the buck up for photos and took about 20 pictures to make sure i got some good ones. After the photos were complete i started to field dress the buck and was almost finished when i went to cut around the ass. I knelt down and started cutting at the deers rearend, i had a little bit of hide that needed to be removed so i put my knife blade under it and pulled directly towards myself :rolleyes: . My knife cut through the hide and plunged right into my left thigh just above the knee. I immediately felt blood squirting out of my leg, so i took the lace off my left boot and tied it tightly above the wound. That seemed to stop the bleeding so i continued to skin the buck so the meat would not spoil. I quickly realized that my knife wound was much worse than i had thought and that i better get out to the road ASAP or i could be in serious trouble. I took flagging tape from my pack and ribboned a trail from the deer to the road so that my brother would be able to find it when i was getting fixed. I continued hobbling down the road and realized that my boot lace wasnt tight enough around my leg, as my boot was now full of blood. I took a 8 inch stick and put it between my leg and the boot lace, then i gave the stick a few twists to tighten the lace and it seemed to help. I continued walking the road hoping to run into my brother somewhere along the way. I would call out for him every few seconds and never got a response. I started to feel really faint so i laid on the ground and elevated my leg for 5 minutes.I felt a little better after the short rest so i continued down the road until i hit a cutblock that me and Steve had split up in a week prior when we hunted this area. I had to rest again as i felt really close to passing out. I also remembered Steve telling me to fire 3 quick shots if i had killed anything, so i did that as well. After resting, I made it down to, and across a small creek and climbed up the hill on the other side. Once at the top i was really feeling sick so i laid down again and elevated my leg to slow the bleeding. I knew i could walk no further so i prepared myself for a long wait and tried to stay comfortable and not panic. I was looking all around me keeping an eye out for my brother when i saw a flash of movement across the creek. I saw my brother walk out from behind some pines, so i yelled to get his attention. He heard me and started coming my way. As he was walking towards me i told him i shot a big buck but that i needed serious help as i had stabbed myself in the leg. He didnt believe me at first as this seemed like something i would do as a joke to mess with him. Once he got a little closer though he realized the seriousness of the situation and ran and got his truck. Then we had a rough hour of hell bouncing up and down on the ride out. Steve took me home and my mom called the doctor to meet us at the D and T centre. The doctor stopped the bleeding and then i was sent to Kelowna general hospital to see a vascular surgeon. I had my leg operated on that night to repair all the damage. As it turned out i didnt hit the femoral artery at all, i cut a few veins and a lot of muscle and in total lost about 2 liters of blood during the 2 kilometers i had to walk out. Now my leg is all stitched up and i have around 6 weeks of recovery time to look forward to.

Heres some of my pictures.

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Here i am at the health centre in logan lake getting worked on.
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A few measurements on the buck to give everyone an idea of size-7" bases, 14" g2s, 10" g4s and a 26" spread.
 
Good to see that you are ok, and congrats on a nice buck. You canuks just need to remember: gut deer, not self.

Seriously, that had to be pretty scary.
Andy
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-16-04 AT 05:44PM (MST)[p]Man, thats a story you will remember forever..Its pretty awesome you posted this the day you got home..Sounds like your going to heel up just in time for the shed season. Congrats on a great buck.


I would love to see the sheds from that buck when you get some time.
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www.browtine.com
Later, Brandon
 
matt....great pictures, great buck, terrible story....hope you mend soon, good luck
 
Good to see your OK. My buddies dad did the same thing about 6 years ago. He was life flighted off the mountain and barely made it. Congrats on the great buck!!! Every time you look at that buck on the wall I'll bet you remember that day and how lucky you were to have made it out alive. You must have someone watching over you.

M&T
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-16-04 AT 06:07PM (MST)[p]Congrats again. Happy to hear that you are okay. You owe quite a bit to your bro! Kudos to you on being able to maintain a clear head and assess the situation accordingly. You could easily have been six feet under right now and that buck would be feeling a lot better!

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 
Glad to here your doing okay. I think I would be mounting that buck with the knife on a plaque below it. I would have been in a world of hurt had it been me, there is no way a vehicle is getting in to where we hike to. I will remember to carry extra batteries for my radio now...................rf
 
Congrats on a nice buck and a hunt you will never forget! Glad to hear you are OK, could have ended a lot different.

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting
 
Glad that you are doing so well. Amazing story and great pictures. I hope for a speedy recovery.

Garrett
 
Great that you are fine Matt and that is one nice looking buck. Give us a couple measurements, width, mass, etc.... (in inches please ;-) )
 
Measurements- 185"gross.........26" outside spread, 6" bases,10" g4s, 3" brows.

I will try and get some pics of the rack and the sheds tonight.
 
Even the writing of your story makes you sound like a cool customer. Way to stay calm and good luck with the injury.
 
Since it turned out OK that is a GREAT story...could of easily turned out the other way. So glad your OK and have a great buck to show. You need to write that down and pass it on to the kids when you have some. Congrats.

CPSANDMAN
"The Buck stops here...I hope!"
 
Great account of the hunt just too bad that unable to view the pictures now. ImageCave Bandwidth Exceeded it says now.
Glad to hear that you are home and on recovery and good luck.
Brian
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-04 AT 06:10AM (MST)[p]Congrats Matt, Great buck!. I'm very glad to see your going to be ok...This is a great lesson to all of us to be very careful when gutting our animals. It can happen to anyone...
 
MattB

Nice buck. Glad all is OK! These things can happen in a hurry if we don't take time. It kind of makes me think about not hunting alone.

Congrats

Chuck
 
Wow, that's an amazing story. I don't know if the outcome would've been the same had it been myself. You stayed amazingly calm...I've heard of this happening and most people's reaction would be to HURRY back for help, but in doing so, they essentially bleed themselves to death as their heart rate increases and pumps more blood thru the wound. Something similiar happened to a bowhunter here in CO recently but he had been walking with an arrow nocked and slipped...unfortunately, he did not make it...Glad to hear you're all right and this makes for a good lesson for myself (and others)...
 
Thanks God your alright!!!

All hunters should take note of your story! You kept your cool, took care to stop the bleeding, and had a buddy (your brother) in the area. All of us should try to be as prepared as possible, as you never know when something like this can happen!

Oh yea, I almost forgot: GREAT BUCK!

S.

:)
 
Glad you came through everything OK, Matt. Congrats on a great buck and an even greater story. Thanks for sharing.
 
Glad you are alright. Good job keeping your cool and not panicking. Great buck too, I'm sure it will be a hard hunt to forget for a couple of reasons.
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-04 AT 09:16AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Nov-17-04 AT 09:15?AM (MST)

Resized them a little for you. Nice buck and I hope you recover quickly.
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mattbuck029.jpg

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Holly chit man! You scared the crap out of me! I bet your mother is ready to kick your butt! I'm glad you kept your cool and came out of this mess ok. Congratulations on a great buck and one he11 of a story to go along with it!

Glad to see everything work out the way it did!

NvrEnuf
 
Matt,
Super Glad you made it through your ordeal:) Wouldn't want to lose a shed hunting partner especially now that you have access to that new area. :):) Congrats once again on a awesome massive buck. Can't wait to see and hold the rack in person.
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Thanks again for everything guys!

Heres some pics of the rack with the sheds.

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Its kinda tough to tell that the sheds are off of this buck, but when you get to hold the sheds and position them correctly it becomes pretty obvious.

Nemont-thanks for resizing the pics, im not sure how to do it on the laptop im using because im not familiar with the imaging software on it.
 
All I can say is "wow" - what a great buck, and what an equally incredible story. A tale for the ages. Congratulations on the buck, and best wishes for a quick and full recovery.
 
First- Glad to hear you are ok.
Second- Major Congratulations on a great buck. This one will not be forgotten after the ordeal especially.
Thanks for letting us know everything is ok.
Best,
Jerry
 

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