At about 7am two fawns come bounding into the pasture. One's running around like crazy..the other just walks along looking at all the shenanigans. They cruise under my stand...eat a few acorns at the next oak...then disappear into the pines to the west. 20 min later a big bodied 8pt comes on out into the open pasture...lookin for something...listening...BOOM. Heads back into the cedars...hunched over and limping. I wait for 10 min...see his tail wavin like he's brushin of a fly...then he's lost in the thicket. I go get the dog and lose some layers.
The dog goes tearing right past the point where the buck got hit...and kept going...dumb bastage. I find blood and the entry into the thicket and kick the deer outa his bed...dagnabbit. Off he goes..straight down into the creek bottom...great....just great. I stop and listen for a few..hear him headed up the other side...then quiet. I know I hit hit him....damn. Too cocky...I shoulda had another cup of coffee.
Dog comes back looking for me...I put his nose onto the blood trail and off he goes. So I got up to follow and sure enough...the buck made it to the other side of the barbed wire fence...but not much farther.
He dressed out at 184lbs.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
