Well a squirrel hunt turned bitter sweet today. On the way from shooting a few squirrels headed to the next oak flat my brother says from a few yards away

"There's your buck!"

Back in September i shot one of the nice ones on the farm. Shot was a bit back. We tracked it 300 yards to have the blood trail dry up. Well we found him about 400 yards from the stand. I had been back the day after and several days in the following weeks to no avail. I feel a little better now that I know. I've lost deer in the past and it never gets easier.

He was a regular at the mineral licks last summer.[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3]

That's bittersweet Tom...but glad you found him. Heck of a deer!

I was in the exact same situation as you a few years ago and the ending had the same outcome. It is part of the game unfortunately, at least you have closure and he can make the trip home. Great buck Tom! Congratulations on a Dandy.


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TJ ,
  I knew something was missing this year as I told a friend a month ago that I Haven't seen any Big buck kills from TJ this season and wonder if The Zipper bows were keeping him so busy He hadn't time to hunt.
Well I am happy to see you got one and found him and my 2017 hunt sounded the same as yours except the Lord led me to mine 3 days later with a hit a bit back. These things happen to many and part of hunting them. I'm sure you gave it your all searching for Him .Thanks for sharing and he is a Nice oneFor sure. If it isn't a hard thing to do could you Show about where you think your actual hit was.

Bittersweet but good to know. If you have that issue again call me. I'll be glad to bring my dog down and see if we can't track him. 765-561-6761.

Wow Tom, that's a wonderful & unique buck...

I too was wondering how you were doing throughout the season. Glad you found him and posted

Nice one Tom..!!

Who is immune from failure?

The realistic possibility of hi potential success is what the hunter strives for before executing a shot. You have always demonstrated that you have a formula for hi success. And hunt with the highest of ethics and upmost respect for the quarry you pursue. Your disclosure merely exposes you as being human.

A lost animal is most painful and often extends in the future for the truly concerned hunter.

May the next opportunity be successful.

Bummer.  Hope he passed on his genes, that's a cool rack!

Quote from: Keefer on February 16, 2019, 04:38:50 PM
TJ ,
  I knew something was missing this year as I told a friend a month ago that I Haven't seen any Big buck kills from TJ this season and wonder if The Zipper bows were keeping him so busy He hadn't time to hunt.
Well I am happy to see you got one and found him and my 2017 hunt sounded the same as yours except the Lord led me to mine 3 days later with a hit a bit back. These things happen to many and part of hunting them. I'm sure you gave it your all searching for Him .Thanks for sharing and he is a Nice oneFor sure. If it isn't a hard thing to do could you Show about where you think your actual hit was.

Hey Keefer, Yeah after that happened I didn't hunt too much. I did get out and shot three does during the season but did have alot of work to do that kept me out of the woods as much as I am used to. Glad you found yours as well.

Quote from: meathead on February 16, 2019, 04:55:02 PM
Bittersweet but good to know. If you have that issue again call me. I'll be glad to bring my dog down and see if we can't track him. 765-561-6761.

Oh man, this is great to know. I will definitely call if ever needed. Thanks Brother!

Quote from: KAZ on February 16, 2019, 04:59:21 PM
Wow Tom, that's a wonderful & unique buck...

I too was wondering how you were doing throughout the season. Glad you found him and posted

Thanks Travis!

Quote from: Friend on February 16, 2019, 06:06:07 PM
Who is immune from failure?

The realistic possibility of hi potential success is what the hunter strives for before executing a shot. You have always demonstrated that you have a formula for hi success. And hunt with the highest of ethics and upmost respect for the quarry you pursue. Your disclosure merely exposes you as being human.

A lost animal is most painful and often extends in the future for the truly concerned hunter.

May the next opportunity be successful.

Thanks Scott. Hope you had a good season.

Were you surprised where you had searched prior. Did look at that area?
I agree with Nathan, tracking dogs are a wonderful thing to get closure.

What a toad! glad you found him.

Quote from: The Night Stalker on February 16, 2019, 10:11:34 PM
Were you surprised where you had searched prior. Did look at that area?
I agree with Nathan, tracking dogs are a wonderful thing to get closure.

Tim, we didn't walk past where he was when looking for him back in Sept. I passed him many times on the way to another stand after that later in the year. It was just too thick with leaves to see where he was, he was about 10 yards off the field edge.

Hey brother, glad you were able to find him. 

Congrats to, glad you have some closure.  I know you didn't give up the tracking/searching easily. These animals ability to hide is truly astounding.  Great buck btw.

Man that's awesome! Hope it helped dull the pain you've felt since that day. He's a hoss congrats

Quote from: Cyclic-Rivers on February 17, 2019, 09:27:36 AM
Congrats to, glad you have some closure.  I know you didn't give up the tracking/searching easily. These animals ability to hide is truly astounding.  Great buck btw.

Wore out some boot soles looking for him. I never saw the buzzards either as he ended up opposite direction from where we were looking. Just measured it on a map. He was 462 yards from tree stand.