Injured deer

[mabr]

Had an Intresting hunt last night that went into this morning. This is long winded but I have to tell you folks just how tough this buck was.

Went out with the ML last night, at 4:15 I had a herd of does (5)come through. I was watching the does when I hear a limb break coming from the same direction the does had just come from so I get ready. Out pops 3 bucks, in the front of the 3 was the largest (8 point) I noticed he was limping real bad. Being it is late season and in all honesty Im getting wore down from a long season and Im getting the ice fishing itch I decided I needed to do what I think is the right thing and take him. I take the shot and right away I knew I hit high I knew I flinched at the shot. I gave it about 15 min and got down to see what kind of sign I had. I had blood right away, alot actually so on I went. Made it about 75 yards and I see a tail go over the ridge. Thinking it was one of the other deer I kept on the blood trail. Wouldnt you know it the blood trail leads to where the deer that just took off was. I find a bed with blood in it. Enough that It shouldnt be to long of a tracking job Im thinking. I go another 50 yards and hear a deer get up in front of me again. I continue to follow the blood trail another 50 yards and find his bed, only this time alot more blood than the first bed with pools of blood on each side where he was laying. I know he has to be hurting in a big way to bed that quick after being pushed by me. I take up the blood again and make it maybe 20 ft when I see a tail go bounding off towards the neighbors property. Now im worried, and decide I need to give it some time. I get home and begin worrying whether the coyotes will get him through the night but decide I better wait till mornng to look any further.

This morning me and my wife get out around 8 am to pick up the blood trail. I started at the point of last blood and follow it maybe 30 yards when my wife points to a deer running off. She ask do you think it was him and I said no way it had to be one of the many does in this area making its way back to the bedding area. I keep tracking but after another 20-30 yards lose the blood trail completly. Im stumped I thought for sure he would have been piled up within 100 yards of where i stopped last night. I have my wife stay put while i begin fanning out to find blood. I top out on a grassy area and there he is trying to get up again but this time he had ran out of strength to get up. I yelled to my wife i had found him but he was still alive. I had the ML with so I put the one shot i had to dispatch him quickly behind the shoulder at point blank range. I figured it'll be a few seconds and he would finally be down for good. Not this deer! His antlers had gotten tangled up in the grass where i had found him so after the dispatch shot I reached down to untangle them as I thought he was dead. To my surprise he was still alive!!!! He almost made it up to try and run again! I didnt have another ML load with me or I would have shot him again so I had to just wait. I knew he wasnt going anywhere now and rather than standing there watching him until he finally died I told my wife to stay near him (out of site but close enough to hear if he went anywhere)and Id be right back with the wheeler

I back the wheeler up close to him to drag him out. I pulled him close enough so I am able to tie him onto the rear cargo rack holding him up by his rack. When I now notice what I thought was a wounded front leg is in fact completly gone. When I finished him off he was laying on the side that he was lame on so I couldnt see it until i turned him over. When I skinned him out I examined the leg, he had already began healing up where the bone was sticking out but you could still see some infection from the wound. Based on how tough this buck was i would have no concern whether he would have made it had I not shot him. This deer had been shot on opening weekend of gun season by the neighbor who's land he finally died on, began healing from their shot to his shoulder, been hit by me High lung area and still managed to live another 16 hours and was still trying to survive.

I knew they were tough but i would have never belived this deer could have lost what blood i seen on the trail and still be going after 16 hours. Im still in awe of these great animals. Sorry this was so long but I still cant get over it and had to tell someone.

[bigbucks]

They can be crazy tough, good job staying with him & sealing the deal.

[fr0sty]

Deer are tough. I see gimpy ones on my winter tcam photos every year. I had a doe show up over and over one winter and spring with a huge infection bulge on her hind quarters. It eventually burst. She look bad back there, but appeared to have made it.

Mother nature is a cold bi0tch.

[Rippinlip]

my response was to Lighningbgs post, I should have copied it to the reply sorry.

Sorry for my reply, I should have read more thoroughly.

[K_Josh87]

No worries! :-)

[96trigger]

mabr, I had a very similar story about a buck last year. I could not believe how tough that buck was.

[Musky Buck]

The bottom line for me is in like 1981 my grandpa got a fawn caught up in his haybine, injured beyond repair he had me at the age of 11 drive the truck yes I had no license and those were the days anyway get the m1, he hammered it and put it out of it's misery the way he would a cow or pig or whatever, you never let an animal suffer. No cell phones, no internet, no 1 would ever know and we did the right thing. My grandpa really felt bad about it as there weren't boatloads of deer then, to top it off when the doe came looking later, anyway grandpa felt bad. But life lesson learned.