Sad Day.........But not end of world

[Musky-buck]

Well I know some of you may have read my forum earlier to " worst bow season ever" Well it got a litter worse. Come to find out the deer I had been hunting the past 3 years who I called Lebowski wont live to see another season. I just found out that he was taken 2 miles from the area I have more than 40 trail cam pics. I know that the area I was hunting was his home. Lebowski is projected to hit the 200 inch mark. I know im not the first person to experience this, but talk about a kick to the nuts. I have poured my heart and soul into this deer. Apparently he was taken sunday night with 7 minutes left in the gun season. I wanted to hunt late season but now I cant get myself to sit freezing my butt of just knowing he will never be seen again......

[lawdog]

This thread is worthless without pics!

[Jeff13]

That is crazy with just a few minutes left! I'm sure your boy has filled the area with his genes over the years so you'll find Lebowski jr. Running around in the next few years.

[Musky-buck]

how do I load pics....

[ZachD]

how do I load pics....

email me [email protected]

I can post them..

otherwise you have to click the little box with the blue up arrow 4 icons to the right of what you click to put a smiley face in your text then click choose file in the pop up menu then add file... then choose another file and add file till you have all the picks loaded then click done adding files

[1eyeReD]

RIP Lebowski. May your backstraps be served and your rack be hung on some lucky guy's wall. Like mentioned above Musky-buck. The sons and grandsons of Mr. Lebowski should be filling his hoofs soon enough. Get out there and smoke a deer if you still have a tag.

[leech~~]

how do I load pics....

Here ya go! Big but 200?

[Kyle]

Great deer!

I'm learning more and more every year that "hunting" is less about harvesting the animal. With as many pics you've got of this deer I'm sure you feel like you have some connection to the deer/relationship. Sounds cheesy but it's the love for the animal and connecting with them in their daily life. You were more fortunate than most just to have this connection with the deer. Congrats on the encounter's you've had through your camera!

[PropsterII]

Gross plus gross plus credit for good intentions, plus 10% tax, he'll make it

[96trigger]

Not going out? When a big buck gets shot, often another moves in. Sometimes he is more careless than the one that was there and knew the area. Bummer yes, keep you out of the stand, no way.

[Big Country]

Musky Buck, did he happen to get shot in Ottertail county? I have friends out there who have been chasing a stud like that. The whole family was involved, starting with bow then ending with my buddies wife shooting him durring rifle season. Curious as to if this may have been the same deer. BC

[sticknstring]

That's too bad - he's a great buck and all the history makes it special. Unfortunately, that's how the rut goes sometimes. Happens to us all. Obviously you have the right cover to house at least one mature buck, there will be more to hunt.

[InTheNorthwoods]

It must be something about "musky" and "buck" hunters that lends that combination of person to a defeatist attitude...

I think you have a bit of the wrong attitude about this deer. You should feel lucky that you had the opportunity to hunt this deer, and to know he occasioned your woods. Big deer - all deer, really - will travel, and 40 pictures over several years doesn't exactly mean he was pinned down to your acreage (the neighbor probably had 300 - and the guy that shot the deer might have had 500).

I wholly understand your disappointment in knowing this guy isn't out there any longer, and the let down based on the time you have put in; but your own post said you had little chance of tagging this deer. Big deer require lots of hours, lots of sits, and provide very little opportunity for success in most cases. Look on the bright side, at least you didn't miss your chance at him only to find out he was taken under questionable circumstances (I've been there). The best advice I can offer is to learn from this. You'll have to move on eventually, and many great deer get shot by other people. The good news is you will have another opportunity at another nice buck (if there is one, there will be more), and at some point, you'll realize it is about the pursuit, not the kill. On the bright side, your own posts make it sound like you have a number of other nice bucks to continue chasing.

Congrats to the hunter that took the deer, its a great one. I don't disagree that it will approach 200".

[InTheNorthwoods]

Musky Buck, did he happen to get shot in Ottertail county? I have friends out there who have been chasing a stud like that. The whole family was involved, starting with bow then ending with my buddies wife shooting him durring rifle season. Curious as to if this may have been the same deer. BC

Post a picture, seems like it would give a real good idea of whether it was the same deer.

[harvey lee]

I would continue to hunt, a larger buck could have pushed him out of his core area. Many times a big buck gets harvested but there are others out there that would make many very happy to shoot.

We had a huge buck we saw a couple times a year for 3 years and then he was gone. I figure we would have heard if he got shot so I assumed he either died from old age or a hard winter.

One way of looking at it, some lucky hunter got a true trophy and not a car or a poacher.

[lawdog]

Dandy buck! I agree with others though, you never know what else may move in now that he's gone...

[DTro]

This one?

[InTheNorthwoods]

That is not the deer posted in the trail cam picture.

[certified jumbo]

I understand your disappointment, but you will have more in time.

About 7 years ago we had a buck we named "crazy train". He wasn't as big as yours rack wise but reached a very old age. All the neighbors had pics of him and new he was around. Most, infact even had a close chance to harvest him. In the end, he was poached as a 7 year old at the end of december at a birdfeeder in someones backyard. At least, it sounds like your deer was harvested legally which makes it a little easier to swallow. Can't fault another hunter for the legal harvest and congrats to them. (and i know you weren't blaming the other hunter).

You have pictures and story which is cool. And another deer will come.

Btw, i'd say thats close to 200" also....

[Scoot]

Muskybuck, I'm sure it is a big kick to the groin for you to find this out. It's easy for us to get a "my buck" attitude about a deer that we get a lot of pictures of or that is on property we own or can hunt. However, as I'm sure you can understand, it was never "your buck". I'm sure you can think your way to that conclusion, but it's likely hard for you to totally think like that at this point. But honestly, is it a "sad day", as the title of your thread suggests? For you, I suppose. But what about the lucky hunter who shot the deer? For that person it was an unbelievably great day! You could be happy for the person who was graced with the chance at that monster and made good on the opportunity.

Three times in my life I got locked into hunting one particular buck. I was lucky enough to shoot one of those three bucks (in '09 I think). The other two times I didn't shoot the buck and both times each buck was shot during the gun season. I was totally disappointed and felt like someone had shot "my buck". So, call me a hypocrite! I've been there and I can appreciate the fact that it's hard not to feel slighted and disappointed when this happens. I imagine it feels even more so with a buck of that caliber. At this point, though, I'd be totally thrilled to have a 160" buck to look forward to having a crack at. Having a buck like that to fuel my bowhunting desire would really get me excited. I'd never really expect to shoot the buck though- the odds are never good you'll shoot one particular buck that you target (in spite of what you see on the TV shows all the time).

I'm not trying to be a jerk or rude about this. In fact I'm pretty sure you "get it", given the second part of your title ("But not end of world"). My guess is I'm not saying anything you don't already know at some level. My point really is, you can't lose to someone else what you never possessed in the first place.

[Scoot]

This one?

No- definitely not the same deer (as was said above).