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With so
little blood, I knew I'd need help to find this one. I called a friend and
asked him to post a message on the
DeerTexas.com. He was trying to leave for his own deer lease at the time, so I asked
another friend to retrieve the info from Death Wish's post for me. A little
while later, I was chatting with Jeff. Although he was in Dallas at the
time, he was headed my way. Said he'd probably be there around 5:30 p.m. I
asked if the blood would be too old to track by then and he assured me it
wouldn't. After the familiar sinking feeling I had about the possibility of
losing another buck this year that was music to my ears!!
When 5:30 rolled around, Jeff arrived on time as promised. With him were
Trapper, a wirehaired dachshund, and his lovely wife, Cathie. As soon as he
pulled up and rolled down the window, I knew his dogs were ready to go. I
could barely hear him over their howling, whining & barking. To say they
were excited would be an understatement! It was apparent these dogs live for
this stuff.
Jeff put Trapper on the spot the buck had first bedded down on. Within
moments, Trapper set off on a beeline in the direction I had seen the buck
go. It was as if someone was suddenly reeling him in. Jeff struggled with
the check cord as Trapper yanked him along. As we entered the dark tangle on
the neighbor's property, I turned my flashlight on and did my best to keep
up.
Under, over, around and through the brush and fallen trees we went.
Occasionally I'd catch up enough to watch the ground whiz by on each side of
the check cord dragging behind them. Every now and then I'd notice a splotch
of blood go by which confirmed we were on the right track. This was getting
exciting!
As we proceeded, dozens, if not hundreds, of startled turkeys flew from
their roosts above us. A few hundred yards in now, I began to wonder how the
deer made it this far. About that time, we heard the familiar thud of hoof
beats just ahead. Trapper started to whine. Jeff said, "there he is!" As he
held the flashlight on him, I finally finished the buck off. I was elated
and so was Trapper! I thought that little dog was gonna rip Jeff's arm off!
Jeff explained that Trapper's typical reward was to chew the hindquarter a
bit. He warned me not to grab the deer during Trapper's reward unless I
wanted to get bit. Hell, at that point, Trapper could've chewed the
backstraps & tenderloins out of the deer for all I cared. I was just
thankful this one wasn't lost!
We walked up on the deer and Trapper immediately went at it. While he was
enjoying himself with a mouthful of deer butt, I began wondering why this
buck had so much "ground shrinkage." After pondering the whole situation all
day long, I think the buck grew in my own mind. Maybe that was it, or maybe
it was because although legal, I shot him in less than perfect lighting
conditions. Maybe it was because it was the biggest deer I'd had an
opportunity at since early October. Maybe it was a combination of all 3.
Regardless, I've about decided that I need a second place to hunt. One with
some older age class whitetails roamin about. South Texas and Mexico have
spoiled me. Anybody know where I can find a deer lease ? (j/k)
After dragging the buck out with Jeff’s assistance through what seemed like
16 miles of hell on earth, we breathed. After a quick personal check, I was
relieved that I was only soaked from sweat and the only blood on me that was
mine was one little scratch on my arm caused from running hell bent through
the devil brush. We breathed some more. Once I gained some wind again,
Cathie took a few pics. |
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The bullet had been 6” low. It
broke both front legs and put a 2” hole, a superficial wound, in the bottom
center of his chest between his front legs.
In summary, I certainly don't look this gift horse in the mouth. I'm
thrilled to have found the buck, and I owe it all to Jeff and Trapper.
Simply outstanding! Both of em!! It was great to finally meet y'all, and
meeting Cathie was just an unexpected bonus! Thanks again for your
assistance and generosity! God bless ya and Happy Rut!
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