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I woke at normal time and dressed in my Brush Country camo in preparation for
the morning hunt. Before I left, I walked out back to check on my deer
only to find that the beagle from the neighboring ranch had eaten the face from
the deer which had been hanging upside down. I was a little miffed, but
decided that it would still be ok to take to town to measure. I drove out
to my blind before deciding that it was going to heat up pretty quickly after
daybreak. I opted to forego the morning hunt in favor of getting things
together and getting to Cotulla so the meat didn't spoil. No contest is
worth ruining good meat!
It was still dark, but I decided to load the doe onto the tailgate of my
pickup and pull it around the side of the cabin so it would be shaded when the
sun came up. I packed the cavity with more ice to add additional chill,
then decided to crawl back in bed for a little while until the sun came
up. After about 45 minutes, I walked back outside where I found that the
beagle, along with another mutt friend, had dragged the deer off the tailgate
and into the dirt and were just about finished with the left shoulder!
Luckily, the dogs ran off before I could get my hands on a weapon.
With those events, I decided it best to just quarter the deer and get it on
ice in a cooler. I hated that I had not quartered her the previous
evening. Had I done so, I would have been able to not only get in one
additional hunt, but I would have had another shoulder's worth of meat!
After quartering the deer, we packed our gear and made our way home, stopping
by the Cotulla farm long enough to repair a feeder for our return hunt on
December 7th, 8th and 9th. I hope you'll join us then for that exciting
Live Hunt!
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