Dead WTBD
Not much of a buck, but he was a special one.
We've got a family place of about 150 acres that's been heaven on earth to me since I was about 4. I killed my first duck out there, caught boat loads of fish, never had deer to speak of thanks to the local outlaws. I'd bet a sack of $20 bills there hasn't been a deer killed legally on that place in well over 60 years.
When I moved home last year, I scouted that place pretty good at Thanksgiving and couldn't believe how with our habitat, we had no deer. I left cameras on swamp chestnuts that had covered the ground with acorns for months. No deer. Cameras on corn, no deer. It was mindboggling and heartbreaking. One of the things I was most excited about in the move back home, was that farm, so the lack of deer was disappointing at best.
Fast forward to late July/early August and there was just a little corn planted around the tobacco fields and some small fields in beans. Walked the fields and still, zero deer sign to speak of. I kind of wrote it off. Tobacco and corn got gone and fields got disced a few weeks ago. Decided to just pull in the driveway Saturday afternoon on the way home from Pig Pickin over in Kingstree, and there were tons of tracks all over the disced up fields and driveway that I saw out of the window and I got a little excited. Got some yard work done after church yesterday and had a good east wind. Kids were at dad's house, wife was doing things elsewhere, so I loaded my shit up and went to the farm. Had a spot picked out on the map a couple hundred yards behind some beans, just west of bedding that laid out real good for the wind. Walked the edge of the beans into that draw and there was a lot of browse in the fields and on the edges. Found the main trail into the field and got back into where I wanted to get and got up in the saddle. Caught movement at about 7:00 20 yards to my north(right). Saw antlers and got into kill mode. Buck walked straight to me and stopped 2-3 yards from the base of my tree right in front of me. I had a lane at 10 yards, 15, and 18. I drew when he started walking again, he hit the 10 yard lane, I stopped him and sent the arrow. Big mule kick and I heard him run for about 75 yards and then it got quiet. I was pretty sure he was dead. Stayed in the tree for 20 minutes to settle my nerves and then started down the tree. Thought I had a pass through, but the arrow was broken off. Buckets of blood started about 5 steps after impact, so I thought he was dead pretty close. Tracked him all the way back into the beans, and shined ahead of me into a headrow and saw eyes. Cut my light and heard panting and gurgling and another stumble. Got pretty worried, backed out and waited on a buddy with a dog just in case. Went back to last blood and walked another 50 yards into the headrow and there he was, already getting stiff and cold mouthed.
It was pretty surreal to put my hands on that deer. I have literally dreamed of that moment for over 30 years. God sure is good!
Man and other animals were first vegetarians; then Noah and his sons were given permission to eat meat: “every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you” Genesis 9:3
"A man may not care for golf and still be human, but the man who does not like to see, hunt, photograph or otherwise outwit birds or animals is hardly normal. He is supercivilized, and I for one do not know how to deal with him." Aldo Leopold
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