My son?s first hunt was yesterday. He?s been on a lot with me, but it was the first with a big game tag in his pocket. We heard an ATV moving through an opening a short distance through some timber from a sage opening we were in. It stopped, a shot rang out, and after a short moment, it drove off. After a few minutes a nice little three point comes out of the timber, limping heavily through the opening and into the timber on the other side. My son, dealing with a first experience with buck fever, wasn?t able to but the deal together to kill the buck.
Long story short, before I could say anything, my son decided we had to make finding that deer the priority. He didn't want to hunt anything else knowing a wounded deer was in the area. As dry as it has been, there wasn?t much in the way of tracks. He was moving slow enough in the timber to not turn over any duff. It took us 30 minutes or so of sweeping to find the first sign of blood. There was a bit of bone as well. We spent about two hours covering the next 400 yards or so. His trail had been consistent until that point and then took a turn uphill. I was too focused on the trail or I would have caught the significance of that move. We blew him out of his bed a few moments later. I'd wondered at him taking a turn uphill when that hurt, but just didn't think through that he was seeking to bed. Naturally he would want to bed up hill of his back trail by that time of day to scent any thing following him. It was a large mistake on my part. If I'd been thinking, one of us could?ve moved 20 or 30 yards up hill and maybe have pulled off catching him in his bed for a shot. It was thick stuff, but sometimes if one gets down low to the ground and glasses, he can pick up a part of the deer.
We never picked up his trail again. It put a damper on the rest of the day. He left several pieces of leg bone on that trail as well as a bit of flesh. I've seen a couple of three legged deer over the years, but always down in farm country. Odds are stacked for the little buck, this late in the year, needing energy to heal, put on winter weight, and be able to migrate to winter ground...
I suppose who ever shot him may have thought it was a clean miss. Whether a 20 yard shot or a 800 yard shot: follow through! Mark where the animal was, go there and scour the area for track, blood, hair, etc... Make sure you know he is not hit before moving on. I don't know that it would have made a difference in this buck?s case, but one never knows. My error in not thinking through the significance of his turning up hill to bed was inexcusable as well. I am grateful for a young man who was willing to spend most of opening morning, mostly on hands and knees, trying to do right for this one particular young buck. It is kind of how that kid rolls. Still need to get him his deer.
Long story short, before I could say anything, my son decided we had to make finding that deer the priority. He didn't want to hunt anything else knowing a wounded deer was in the area. As dry as it has been, there wasn?t much in the way of tracks. He was moving slow enough in the timber to not turn over any duff. It took us 30 minutes or so of sweeping to find the first sign of blood. There was a bit of bone as well. We spent about two hours covering the next 400 yards or so. His trail had been consistent until that point and then took a turn uphill. I was too focused on the trail or I would have caught the significance of that move. We blew him out of his bed a few moments later. I'd wondered at him taking a turn uphill when that hurt, but just didn't think through that he was seeking to bed. Naturally he would want to bed up hill of his back trail by that time of day to scent any thing following him. It was a large mistake on my part. If I'd been thinking, one of us could?ve moved 20 or 30 yards up hill and maybe have pulled off catching him in his bed for a shot. It was thick stuff, but sometimes if one gets down low to the ground and glasses, he can pick up a part of the deer.
We never picked up his trail again. It put a damper on the rest of the day. He left several pieces of leg bone on that trail as well as a bit of flesh. I've seen a couple of three legged deer over the years, but always down in farm country. Odds are stacked for the little buck, this late in the year, needing energy to heal, put on winter weight, and be able to migrate to winter ground...
I suppose who ever shot him may have thought it was a clean miss. Whether a 20 yard shot or a 800 yard shot: follow through! Mark where the animal was, go there and scour the area for track, blood, hair, etc... Make sure you know he is not hit before moving on. I don't know that it would have made a difference in this buck?s case, but one never knows. My error in not thinking through the significance of his turning up hill to bed was inexcusable as well. I am grateful for a young man who was willing to spend most of opening morning, mostly on hands and knees, trying to do right for this one particular young buck. It is kind of how that kid rolls. Still need to get him his deer.
