Its new years eve and 75 degrees in Alabama. I have been in the woods since 4:30 am and at 4 pm I decide I've had enough and would still hunt/scout back to the truck before the nights shenanigans begin. I climbed down from the saddle and began walking quietly through the woods with a steady wind covering the crunchy leaves beneath my boots. I'm covered up in a leafy suit with full face mask and have the wind in my face. This is a new area full of sign but yet to see deer in daylight hours so I am hopeful to spot some and try to pattern their movements. I get into the bottom of the pic and a group of 3 does spot me hung up in a thorn bush and blow blow blow and haul ass. I held my north course and in about 40 yards this madness ensues. I see movement and look up to see a deer nervously jumping and looking at me. It barked, ran about 10 yards into the very thick cut pines and then came right back to see what I was. It doesn't like me and kind trotted away not too spooked in the direction of the orange track on the pic below. I get to a cut road (where the right turn in red is ) and the woods are impenetrable. I decide to say screw it Im sweating and tired lets just get back to the truck. The road pictured following the woods is about 8' tall of brush and thorns so i followed game trails in the pines along the red route. There is fresh pig **** every where. I'm getting very excited as this stuff is stiff very warm. I keep walking and get to a mess of trails converging and to keep direction I hop over some thorns making noise. This scared the deer (who i thought was a big nasty pig) literally to death! Loud crashing through the brush then silence only about 10 yards away. I circle around and nock an arrow. I keep hearing brush breaking in the same spot. I for some reason started making pig noises thinking it wouldn't run away and i could somehow get a shot. As i come closer i can see that it is the deer laying in the brush! Its unable to move its legs only its mouth is moving. I was completely shocked and didn't know what to do! I decided to try and shoot it to stop its suffering. The vegetation is thick. The first arrow is deflected and grazes the neck and rips open the shoulder. the second barely grazes the neck. Finally i put one in the heart and the deer dies immediately. This deer from what i could put together ran from me and broke its neck when exiting the pines. I found it with its neck in a 90 degree ( see pic) This deer was not injured, had not been shot, and was perfectly healthy a few min prior to the best of my knowledge. I was kind of nervous about the meat but I inspected it thoroughly and could not find any signs of sickness or anything funny. Loaded it up and now I have 3 deer for the season!
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?