Not the biggest, but a drop-tine buck!

[Mudslinger]

I have TC pics of this buck in velvet and thought that if I had a chance, he would not get a pass from me this year. My TC's have been messed up so I did not know if he was visiting the stand or not. With the temps going to drop during this past week, I ventured to the lease on Wednesday morning in hopes of catching the deer moving with the advance of the cold front. Nothing worth shooting showed up either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, but Friday morning was different. It was a chilly 25 degrees, but no wind. I got set up in the stand where the TC had last taken pics of this deer back on the 2nd of August, but no pics since. The feeder spun at 7:30, but nothing showed until 8 AM when a doe and her twin button bucks showed and began to feed. Normally the does and young ones will tell you when another deer is coming into the feeder, but these showed no reaction when this buck walked out of the mesquites from my left. I immediately recognized him and reached for my bow. I waited for a short time waiting for the buck to turn slightly when he turned more than slightly and walked back into the mesquites. Thinking that my chance had just walked away I hung my bow back up and settled back into the chair to watch the twins and mom feed. I spotted movement to the left of the feed area in the thick mesquites and with the binos I could make out "him" coming back in again. I grabbed the bow and got situated in the blind for what I hope was a soon to be shot. As usual, he feed facing me for about 5 minutes before he turned broadside. As he turned completely broadside, he kept popping his head up to look in my general direction, but the sun was directley behind me, so I thought there was no way he could see me. I waited until he put his head down to feed and left it down. I drew, anchorded and settled his pin behing the sholder and about 1/3rd up his body. The shot was a little high and about 2" back of where I wanted to hit, but still in the "good boiler room area". The buck spun away at the hit and took about 2 steps and collapsed in his tracks. I was shocked. The arrow was hanging out both sides and he was trying to get up so I reached for another arrow for a second shot, got it nocked and when I raised my bow for the shot i looked at the buck and his head was slowly reaching the ground and you cold see the air go out of his lungs for the last time. I really did not know what to think. I sat there a little trying to make sense of the shot and after a couple of minutes I got out of the blind and walked up to the buck to find him like I thought and hoped he would be, DEAD. I admired the buck and then drug him to a suitable spot for a little picture taking and then off into the brush for gut time. I got him gutted and got the 4 wheeler to him, but AI could not get him loaded. Thankfully, Dean a member of the lease to the south was down and helped me load him on my 4 wheeler for the trip back to camp. When I weighed him at camp I realized why I could not get him on the 4 wheeler. This is the biggest buck we have killed weight wise in the 7 years we have been in this area, 152#'s field dressed. he is definitley not the best scoring deeer I have ever killed, but with 9 typical point and split brow times and a drop tine of his right main beam, he was a definite trophy to me. He will be put on the wall in a left turn shoulder mount to show off the drop tine. I beleive the drop tine was caused by a accident he had in velvet as there is a pretty good indention right underneath his G3 on his right side. But as you can see in the pics of him in velvet and the LDP's, his right side at the accident area definitley changed from the first of August to the time he shed his velvet. Now I can coast the rest of the year and look for a bigger buck as our lease in in 2 counties and I can kill a buck in each. It will either be a rather large buck (125" +) or a cull, and I already have my eyes on a huge 6 point mature cull. Enjoy.

[Mudslinger]

For follow up, I have no idea why this buck dropped like he did as when I gutted him, there are broadhead holes in both lungs unless one of the Inverter BH's blades caught part of the bottom of the spine, but the shot is not that high. Who knows, maybe I was lucky in not having to track this deer thru the waist high grass and head high sunflowers.

[Sbanger]

Congrats on a great buck! what did he score?
you also have a pm

[rdwhunter]

Great buck! Congrats!

[Dc78]

Nice one Doug. Like those split brow tines. Got get me a droptine one of these days.

[brunner]

congrats! Great looking unique buck!

[firemandon]

Nice buck. Well done!

[HubCityThumper]

very nice. congrats Doug.

[Biggs]

i love the character

[Shane]

That's a very cool buck. Congrats! Congrats on the SHORT blood trail too.

[red]

nice deer! and a unique drop at that! congrats

[ronny]

Nice buck, congrats

[Nitro1970]

Sweet


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[Tx-Burt]

Congrats on an Awesome Buck

[Buff]

cool looking buck