The Ghost of SherwoodNovember - Me and my buddy Steven Haggard (Bowhunting Director of Salt Grass Archery Club) drove down to Cotulla to hunt.
The Ghost of Sherwood
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November - Me and my buddy Steven Haggard (Bowhunting Director of Salt Grass Archery Club) drove down to Cotulla to hunt. On our way out we had plenty of time to discuss herd management and how we wanted to get some of the cull bucks out of the herd so we'd only have good bucks breeding. We had talked about Cope Bailey taking his awesome drop tine buck the opening weekend of the season, while he was hot, sweaty and stinking - all the things the books tell you will end your hunt before it starts.
We parked about 200 yards from the feeders, wished each other good luck and headed for our stands. By 5:30 it was pitch dark. I couldn't see anything except silhouettes, but I could hear the corn crunching. Then I remembered the night-vision scope my friend Tim Pluta had given me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I dug it out of my backpack and started watching the animals. There were about 6 or 7 does, young ones and adults, around my feeder. With them was a 7-point buck, with about a 20" inside spread. I could barely wait for daybreak to come. After a little while, the feeder went off and deer scattered in every direction. About half an hour later the young does started coming back in, followed by the mature does. And finally - the 7-point was back!
To make a long story short, the buck was under the feeder at 27 yards. I started the video camera and zoomed in on the buck. I quietly nocked an arrow fitted out with a Thunderhead 125 on my Hoyt Stryker bow. I put my 27 yard mark on the buck's heart. Then the worst thing happened to me - the buck dropped about 10". My arrow went through him, high up on his body. Steven and I studied the video over and over and finally Steven said "He's down. Let's go get him". When we got to where the deer had been standing when I shot him we found my arrow, covered in blood from the broadhead to the nock. But there was no blood trail. I went and got the dogs and we searched for 2 days with no luck. I was so depressed. It hurt to make such a good shot and still not be able to find the deer. I really believe in my dogs and in my ability to follow a blood trail. I just knew he was alive somewhere.
So I came back home and went back to work, but I couldn't stop thinking about the deer. Three weeks later I finally got the chance to go back to Cotulla. I decided to check out the lake because I knew that a wounded animal will head for water. I started walking around the lake and Tilly, one of my dogs, kept sniffing around the same spot and wouldn't listen to me. So I went to see what she was so interested in and found a pretty good sized spot of dried blood. It looked like it had been there for a while.
About a hundred yards from the spot of blood was the stand that my friend Glenn Masters used to hunt. After Glenn left the lease, I continued to feed because Glenn had seen some nice deer at that feeder. So I packed some food and water and my camera in my backpack and hunted Glenn's old stand all day Sunday. In the middle of the day I saw the same group of does I had seen in November, but the buck wasn't with them. I called my wife that afternoon to tell her I'd be staying another day. I just had to see if the Ghost of Sherwood was still around.
A little before dark the 7-point (which by now I had discovered was actually an 8-point with a broken tine) showed up at the feeder with the scar from my earlier shot. He was so spooky that every little noise, every little click sent him running off about 20 yards. Then he would settle down and slowly make his way back to the feeder. I didn't want to take a chance on running him off for good so I just sat and waited until he finished eating and I slipped out of my stand and went back to camp.
Monday morning the same young deer came out, followed by the mature does. At last! He's back! I put my pin down low on his chest because I already knew he was capable of dropping 10" before my arrow could reach him. I let the arrow fly and yes, he dropped again!. But this time I hit him in the spine and he dropped in his tracks. I grabbed my bow and my camera and I got down from the stand. I walked over to where the buck lay and I took a quick picture while he was still alive, then I quickly finished him. I was so happy to have had a second chance with this buck. I was so afraid I had injured him and the coyotes had gotten him.
He is now at the taxidermist. The taxidermist told me the buck was about 5 years old and would probably score in the 120s. I will have the official score soon.
Yours in Archery,
The Greek
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