My wife, the dogs, and I took an impromptu NYE trip to the lease, getting there and in the stand later than I liked, but decided anything is better than nothing. She and the dogs went on a walk the opposite side of the place. I watched a few young bucks still trying to work their way up the pecking order with some late season sparring and doe chasing, but not much else....until they stopped altogether and started staring down the field. I couldn't see what they were looking at at first, and light was getting less and less, but they weren't budging. Finally, with about 10 minutes left in regulation, I got to see what they were looking at, which was a nice 9 point. It made its way to the feeder and stood broadside for what seemed like all of those 10 min, but I didn't know it was what it was till it finally picked it's head up and looked my way. I knew right then it was now or never, and thought that trigger would never break over. Once I shot, it hit and he darted forward back into the trees. I sat for a couple minutes, but knew the 230 yards I was going to have to walk was going to take just long enough for me to not be able to see much once I got there, so I made my way.
Behind the trees was a creek that had some water running in it. While approaching, I couldn't tell if what I was hearing was the water or the deer moving through the leaves, so I backed out and made my way to the camp to get some help from a better flashlight, my wife, and maybe the dogs. After we returned, I was relieved to start seeing a drop or two of good, bright red blood. We left the dogs in the truck and continued in the trees, with the trail getting more and more pronounced within the leaves, but stopping at the creek. At this point it's dark, and I'm relying on my headlamp to find whatever tracks I could see in the mud just below the water. Right then, I lifted my head up to look at the top of the 6' embankment on the other side, where I saw the silhouette of the buck, and I was very relieved.
This is my personal best, and a beaut, Clark, but the best part of this whole experience came from my wife, who crossed the creek with me (she had to put my waders on because she didn't have the right boots on), helped me gut it by holding the chest open and keeping it from rolling, and helped me lower the buck down the embankment, through the water, back up the other embankment (slippery leaves didn't help at all), and into the truck. When we got back to camp, we got a weight of 140#, and we felt every pound trying to get it through near 40 yards of creek embankments and tree line.
This morning, I got to finish up the trip with a trip to the small lake on the property, and got a few ducks to add to the tally.
What a way to finish 2023 and start 2024!
Behind the trees was a creek that had some water running in it. While approaching, I couldn't tell if what I was hearing was the water or the deer moving through the leaves, so I backed out and made my way to the camp to get some help from a better flashlight, my wife, and maybe the dogs. After we returned, I was relieved to start seeing a drop or two of good, bright red blood. We left the dogs in the truck and continued in the trees, with the trail getting more and more pronounced within the leaves, but stopping at the creek. At this point it's dark, and I'm relying on my headlamp to find whatever tracks I could see in the mud just below the water. Right then, I lifted my head up to look at the top of the 6' embankment on the other side, where I saw the silhouette of the buck, and I was very relieved.
This is my personal best, and a beaut, Clark, but the best part of this whole experience came from my wife, who crossed the creek with me (she had to put my waders on because she didn't have the right boots on), helped me gut it by holding the chest open and keeping it from rolling, and helped me lower the buck down the embankment, through the water, back up the other embankment (slippery leaves didn't help at all), and into the truck. When we got back to camp, we got a weight of 140#, and we felt every pound trying to get it through near 40 yards of creek embankments and tree line.
This morning, I got to finish up the trip with a trip to the small lake on the property, and got a few ducks to add to the tally.
What a way to finish 2023 and start 2024!
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