Houdini "the Mountain Goat"

[44magHunter]

Sunday 11/9/14: Sunday brought a beautiful 30° morning with a perfect 7-10mph SW wind that made one of my favorite rut sets finally an option. I got in the stand later than I wanted, but big bucks can cruise by at any time during the rut. After 3 hours of seeing no deer and only hearing turkeys and more than enough squirrels, I catch something out of the corner of my eye that somewhat resembled a train with legs and antlers. A closer look with my binoculars showed it to be a mature buck. This was a 150" ten point. A 4-1/2 year-old buck that I had passed up last year (from the same stand) as a 130" ten. "Houdini" as he is now called, was quartering into the wind on the highest ridge of the property and cruising for a hot doe. While I watched him, he freshened two scrapes and rubbed a sapling to death with his antlers. After watching him for a thirty seconds or so I grabbed my bow off the hook and pulled my grunt tube out. One loud, authoritative grunt stopped him mid-stride and got his attention. Three short staccato grunts made him turn his body and take a few steps toward the noise. A low, long growl and three or four more quick grunts had him coming in on a string, thinking some other buck must be enjoying a hot doe in this guy's core area. I came to full draw when his head was behind an old red oak tree at 15 yards. He heard something he did not like and stopped with his chest blocked by the same tree. He started backpedaling and trotted to 34 yards, stopped, and looked back. I had a good shot opportunity as this was a quartering-away shot. I buried my 30 yard pin into the boiler room behind his shoulder. Squeezed throug... Thump.... Thwack!!! But a louder, harder thwack than I wanted. I missed my mark by only 3 inches, but at that angle the arrow went into his backstraps and slid up his spine, crunching bone, but not vitals as it slid into him. Arrow went in over half way. Lots of penetration but no pass-through. Tons of blood pouring out when he ran off. I never heard the musical crash of him hitting the dirt for an eternal nap. I followed the blood for 100 yards or so until I realized the buck was heading for some of the nastiest terrain on the property and could take a while to expire. I headed to the house and waited for three hours then resumed tracking him. My best friend and hunting buddy came over and helped me follow blood. There was a LOT of very bright red blood, but no bubbles. We tracked him for 5 hours and followed blood for over a mile and a half. Up and down hills and ditches. Through thick, nasty brush and several drainages. Sometimes blood was crazy good and sometimes just pin-head drops every five feet or so. Tuff tracking, but Caleb and I know how to track and know never give up is the name of the game.

The buck never bedded down to die. He stayed on his feet. He was following his scrape line and chasing does as far we can tell. He ran in a figure-eight at one point, but never pulled the fatal 90 and he did nit circle back downwind as a wounded animal typically will do. Just ran all over, following the brain between his legs. Like he didn't even care he had been shot. I do not believe it was a fatal hit and I am pretty sure the arrow did not damage internal organs. The clean, bubble-less blood indicates the hit is only muscular. He bled A LOT but I do not believe he is dead. We backed off for the day. I do not believe he will succumb to his wound, but it is the worst feeling in the world as an ethical, responsible hunter to wound an animal and make them suffer. I feel like my stomach is full of riprap gravel. I feel awful! If I do not find him tomorrow he is going to survive for now and I will put out trail cameras and keep this buck as #1 on the hitlist. I will not hunt any other deer until I do everything in my power to bring a quick, humane end to this bucks suffering.

Monday 11/10/14: This morning I trailed the blood north, towards the house about 100 yards and then across the road and down parallel to the river then he went out into the open fields where there are always half a dozen or so does feeding after harvest. Bucks like to dog the does there because they know the does will be there. He did not head for the big bedding areas down there. It looks like he was still just chasing does and checking scrapes. He never bedded. Not once. He will probably stay at it for a while I guess. If it's really a muscle hit then it will probably localize, scar up, and heal according to what a veterinarian friend told me. The arrow may stay in and just become part of the scar tissue I suspect. Since the stand I shot him out of is obviously no good now, I am focusing on a different part of this bucks range and focusing on doe bedding areas and travel corridors that he has to cross get to hot does. I believe I know where I can get another shot at this buck and I am not going to be giving up.

Bowhunting is tuff. It is a blood sport. Life and death. Injuring an animal and not recovering it is the most gut-wrenching feeling in the world. I have not been able to lie down and close my eyes without thinking of how awful it must be to run around with razor-sharp arrow in your back. I am staying at it. Not quitting. I have to clean up my mistake. Houdini has an appointment for heart surgery.

[44magHunter]

Sorry about the somewhat long read. And yes I know it is off-topic from leverguns, but there are levers and such on parts of my bow

[44magHunter]

Oh, and if I did not have to shrink all my pictures to less than 10% of their size to upload... I might actually try

[piller]

No need to apologize for a bow hunting post. A lot of folks who like leverguns are also bow hunters. Besides, I don't see the moderators telling you that it is not what we post on here. I hope you get that buck.

[RIHMFIRE]

i know how that feels....but keep after him....and good luck
if he does not make it ...the buzzards will let you know...

[EdinCT]

I've been there and it is gut wrenching. I have killed two deer in my life that had broad heads healed in them. One in the spine and one in a does neck that still had an inch of shaft sticking out! Every predator has near misses but we should try our best and it sounds like you are.
Hope you can close this deal for both your sakes.

[AJMD429]

I guess your Ma didn't raise a wimpy idiot after all. Her stubbornness is probably why you insist on doing things the hard way, like hunting with a pointy stick and strings. Your dad is probably proud of you for being so dedicated to ethical hunting, the health and well-being of the game and land; if I ever find out who he is, I'll ask him.

Now go study.

[JerryB]

DocAJ, you raised a real man and hunter.

[Rusty]

Some posts here just bring out an involuntary smile. This was one of them.

I have a feeling you'll get that buck.

[M. M. Wright]

From what you've said about his present activities I wouldn't give up on the stand you shot him from. He just might check the scrapes there again. Sure hope you get him, stay with it.

[44magHunter]

From what you've said about his present activities I wouldn't give up on the stand you shot him from. He just might check the scrapes there again. Sure hope you get him, stay with it.

Your point is valid as he is clearly still thinking about does and breeding rights, and his core area. The buck knows whatever bit him in the back came from my treestand. He seemed to pinpoint the noise and know it was coming from up there. Because the woods are so thick with tall timber and pesky tulip trees up there, the oaks and maples that grow there do not have many lower branches. I happened to luck upon a 175-year old-ish white oak that has a red maple growing at a 45-degree angle, right up against said white oak, thus crating the only tree with cover worthy of a bowhunting stand. There is no other such worthy trees within 200 yards haha. I have a few other stands hung where he is likely to happen by. Hopefully his heart will get a nice pointy T3-tipped arrow through it.

[Nath]

Was it the Hoyt bow? Now if you used a Martin

Joking aside, I wish a successful follow up brother.

N.

[Griff]

I guess your Ma didn't raise a wimpy idiot after all. Her stubbornness is probably why you insist on doing things the hard way, like hunting with a pointy stick and strings. Your dad is probably proud of you for being so dedicated to ethical hunting, the health and well-being of the game and land; if I ever find out who he is, I'll ask him.

Now go study.

I know just how ya feel!