"That there be some good eaten"

[NRS]

My friend and I had early Nov tags in 36c this year. Due to some health problems his wife has, our time in the field was limited so we drove out in the mornings and could only hunt to early afternoon. Opening day we got to our parking site and got our gear out. That is when I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong box of shells and only had empty cases and no bullets to shoot. Getting to our glassing perch at glassing light, it was a beautiful morning. Just after sunrise, I spot a buck walking into a water hole about 300 yards away. Since I did not have any bullets, my friend had the shot and missed high. The buck turned and walked back into the trees and disappeared before he could shoot again. We decide to go check and make sure it was a clean miss. As we start for the spot, the buck appears again and makes it to the water before we can get set up again. When he comes back from the water he shoots again and the buck jumps and disappears in the trees again. We go over and find that the deer was limping, but only a couple of very small spots of blood. We spent the rest of the day and the next looking for that buck with no luck and no indications from the coyotes or ravens that there was an injured deer in the area.

 

My friend was done hunting due to other obligations, but felt he had a successful hunt because of actually getting his first ever shot at a big game animal, and knowing that his close miss was not serious and the buck would live to be hunted another day.

 

I hunted the area for the next several days, and only saw small bucks, nothing to shoot at yet because it was either too small or too far away before it disappeared into the thickets of trees.

 

With only a couple of days left in the hunt and not having and game meet in the freezer in several years, I decided it was time to put some meat in the freezer. Sitting on a rock perch overlooking a flat with several trails to water, a doe and fawn came down the trail about 8:30 in the morning. A little behind them was another deer that I thought was another doe. As it got closer, I could see 2 little spikes and since the day was already getting hot, I decided to take him home for the freezer. He stopped broadside at 100 yards and the hunt was over and the work began.

 

 

As Jeff Foxworthy says in the Incomplete Deer Hunter, "That there be some good eaten"

[CouesWhitetail]

Congratulations on a successful hunt!! Enjoy the very fine eating!!

 

Amanda

 

[jakehaffey]

Awesome, good meat! i love that unit! How did the burn look if you saw it?

[NRS]

I was on the north end that burned about 3 years ago. The country looked good with lots of grass and other deer foods around, but the waters were drying up real quick.

[Ernesto C]

Oh man that's one of my nightmares! getting there and find out I had no ammo, rifle and/or a tag. So far I have never being in your situation and I hope never be.

 

Congratulations on a succesfull and enjoyable hunt! Thanks for sharing.

 

Ernesto C

[jakehaffey]

Seems like the water is drying up everywhere!

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Well done!

[thegunsmith2506]

That is the perfect eatin size!!! congrats!