Y’all should know by now that when I post about a kill, it is usually a long one. So stop now, go pour yourself whatever beverage you prefer and come back. I just popped open a Sam Adams “Cold Snap” I’ll wait. 😁

I was hoping never to need Harold’s expertise but it came in handy Friday!

After spending the first half of the week at our lowndes club with little action, I went to our Bullock county lease Thursday afternoon and due to commitments, didn’t get into stand until 4pm. It’s a tiny (maybe 30y x 30y) plot in a powerline. At 405 a young lone doe steps out and feeds in front of me. I’m on a powerline and can see other property way down the line. I saw some does over on that property and then a pretty good buck steps out. He’s following a doe at 400 yards away and I’m just watching him through binos. He then sees another doe at the bottom of the hill and breaks off the doe he was behind and proceeds to go check this one out. I’m thinking “well maybe she will drag him over here. The terrain is such that I lost sight of him and just was content watching the doe in front of me. I pulled out the ole Johnny Broadway grunt call and decided to mess with her. I started grunting a little bit and she decided to GTHO of there and fast!. I guess she decided she didn’t want to be messed with.

So I’m sitting there watching an empty plot when at 425, the buck I was watching on the other land suddenly just pops over the rise in front of me and proceeds to walk directly to me. That’s when I got pretty excited! He comes closer and I decide to take him. He turns almost broadside and I squeeze off a shot behind his shoulder. He immediately hunches up and trots up a hill and into some woods. I can get glimpses of him as he’s actually slowly headed my way at an angle but a bit through the woods and I can’t get another clear shot off. Finally, I lose sight of him.

So I’m sitting there now and I’m a bit puzzled. 1, he didn’t drop DRT like all the other deer I’ve shot since switching bullets 2 years ago and 2, where did he go? I mean he just was slowly walking and then disappeared. So I’m glassing the woods and cannot see him and now second guessing everything. Did I even hit him? If so, where? Why didn’t he bolt like most deer do at the shot? I’m thinking I heard the shell hit the shooting house floor but did I bolt another shell in? Urrrrrrhhhgggg!!

So to be sure, I slowly ease the bolt back and confirm there was a live round in the chamber and eased the blot closed. At that moment, I looked up and saw the buck start trotting off directly away from me at 30 yards. I guess in the stillness he heard me messing with my rifle and got spooked. Last time I saw him he was headed over a hill toward a big pond. This has all happened over a span of 5 minutes. To say I was dejected is a gross understatement.

I started looking really hard in the woods with the binos and swore I was seeing blood in the snow about where he had been walking. I kept looking and looking. The more I looked, the more I became convinced I wasn’t seeing things and there was blood up there. I got down and walked through the crunchy snow and sure enough, there was blood! A confirmed hit! My excitement however soon turned back to despair when the blood trail started speaking to me.

There was a steady trickle of blood starting about 30 yards from the shot and very easy to follow….right to where he bedded down. Soooo that’s why he suddenly disappeared. He laid down and I could not see him from my stand even though he was less than 40 yards away. There was a good spot of blood at the bed but not a drop beyond. I made a loop hoping to see him but never found more blood nor any sign of him. That’s when I decided to back out. I knew I had a badly wounded deer but one that was still very much alive and did not want to risk pushing him anymore. Got back in truck and immediately called CNC. After telling him the scenario he said he felt pretty good about finding him. So we agreed to meet the next morning after things thawed out a bit.

We started out at the blood trail and his bed. Otis got on the trail pretty quick and after making some big loops started toward the pond. Harold had his nephew with him and we were hanging behind Harold and the dogs. Now when I say hills, this place is very, very hilly. I’m talking 300ft elevation changes per topo maps. So Luke and I were on a hillside overlooking the pond watching the dogs and Harold below at the pond edge. Almost simultaneously we both say “what is that in the pond?!” It looked like a log but I know every inch of the pond and there are no trees or anything in that area. So I’m thinking that’s got to be my buck! We start heading down there and Harold hollers “Here’s your deer!”

Sure enough my deer was partially submerged in the pond! Thank God he was only about 10 feet off the bank. Problem is that the water is about 12ft deep there. Nobody wanted to take a swim so we improvised! Quick thinking Luke took the 20ft leash off Otis, fashioned a lasso, and on the 3rd toss was able to perfectly loop the rack and pull him to the bank! Buck has been recovered!!

Cannot thank Harold enough! He knows his stuff when it comes to tracking deer!! He told me the night before how it would likely play out and he was pretty much spot on. I had hit him a bit back and it was a gut shot and acted pretty much like a paunch hit deer would. Harold, it was great seeing you again and many, many thanks for your help!

He turned out to be a 10 point but has his G2 broken but was still over an inch long so I’m counting it! Thank y’all for reading this long post. Hope y’all enjoyed the story and the pics!

Photos are in sequence from blood trail after the shot to recovery.
Blood trail:

Where he bedded down:

Where he ran:

In the pond:


Finally! Hands on his rack and Otis basking in his glory!

Congratulations!!

Nice Rutcation congratulations!

Awesome and enjoyed your recap

Congratulations sir!!!

Great story and recovery ! Way to go CNC and Otis !

Heck yea - awesome - congrats

Great job CNC!!

Nice. Is the G3 broken also?

Way to go!

Congratulations

Congrats

Congrats!

Congrats doc!

Awesome and great story enjoy ya a cocktail or 2.

Tiny chip off. I didn’t notice until today when I took the hide off the rack.

Fantastic!

Congrats and you spin a good story doc!

X2 thanks for sharing

Awesome story and recovery.

Congrats on the buck, the find, and enjoyed the story. Way to go Harold and Otis!!