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Bitter sweet buck harvest

HalfsackZac

HalfsackZac

New Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2021
Messages
27
Location
Iowa
Sitting in my service truck letting a final drive drain and thinking about my hunt last Friday. It’s bitter sweet and I feel like we always hear about the “40 yard double lung” “didn’t go 20” kills but seldom do you hear the “not perfect kills” the ones that remind us we are human and all the practice at the range doesn’t always end in the perfect shot/kill. This buck was my target buck and I did everything right leading up to the big moment. Waiting a week to take a day off work because Friday temps were dropping and wind was perfect for the tree I planned to hunt by where I had seen this beautiful buck frequently pass through. Everything played out perfectly, got in the stand at 5:40am and at 8:00Am here comes my target buck down the trail to tend his scrapes!! I’m shaking like a leaf watching the biggest buck I have ever had a chance at coming within 12 yards to check his first scrape (not a good shot) he then turns and goes to his other scrape, 18 yards perfect shot from my tree just to my left, but he is facing directly away from me. I wait while he tends the scrape and as I can tell he is getting ready to move on down the trail and my nerves are though the roof I decide to go ahead and draw back, as I hit full draw I can see his body saying he is about to leave but last second he slightly turns and gives me a 18 yard quartering away shot and I let one fly…. I can tell it is lower then I wanted and forward but it makes contact and he takes off like a bullet. My heart sinks and I go from shaking from excitement to shaking from fear. I can see him 70 yards away in a thicket moving around but not doing what we all hope to see which is falling over. After waiting I decided to do something that most would think twice about. It’s raining and windy so I can be very quiet. I decided to try and stalk up and put a second arrow in him. I will try and keep this part of the story short even though it was not and at the time it felt like ages. I stalk up and am able to get eyes on him but he ends up seeing me and keeps moving but not well, he does not seem to be able to use his front legs. After 2 hours and 500 yards I stalk up a hill and he is at the bottom. 20 yards no idea I’m there. I sneak an arrow right in the pocket and feel relief rush through my body. I sit down and spend the next 40 min with this beautiful animal as it dies and I can’t decide what emotion is strongest, sadness that this animal was put through such a difficult painful end to his life or joy that I know I killed the biggest buck of my life and target buck for the season. After getting my wits about me I go down and look at my kill…. My first arrow entered deflected off shoulder bone and exited low completely cutting off his right arm at the elbow!!!! I have never seen this or heard of such a thing but this amazing and tough creature traveled almost 600 yards with a bum shoulder and a missing left leg. I felt so much sorrow I did not do the usual ethical clean kill, but it Reminded me we are not perfect and hunting is hard, you make decisions in a split second that once you let an arrow fly you can not take back. I got my buck and I was so full of joy but I wanted to share this because we do make mistakes and that is part of hunting but I feel we should not hide it, or lie and say we dropped it in 20
Yards because that doesn’t always happen. Please comment if you have had situations like this, maybe a new hunter will read these and it will give them perspective of what can and most likely will happen at some point if they stick with the crazy obsession that is chasing deer. I attached a pic of the buck and you can see his leg that is missing the lower half. Thank you all! Good luck! And be safe.
 

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Wow, that is a crazy story with a great end result. Glad you trusted your gut to get on him and make the final kill shot. Sometimes things just don't go according to plan and we have to do our best in our response. Congrats and what a great story you will get to tell for years! Well done!
 
Great buck brother, that's an awesome deer and story. Don't sweat it! Sh*t happens and we all make mistakes. Don't be too hard on yourself. Enjoy your moment. Remember, it's only a mistake if you don't learn something from it. Congrats on that hammer !!!
 
The real lesson here for new or inexperienced hunters is that you took advantage of the conditions and stayed on the deer until the job was finished. As disheartening as hunts can turn out sometimes, the outcome was still better than almost every other death he might have faced in nature. That is a great deer. Congrats!! And props for staying through til the job was done.
 
Thanks for sharing. The didn't go 20 is awesome when it happens. But hunt long enough and you will get one of these stories. Maybe a few. Way to stick with it, and finish what you started.
I think these stories teach us a lot about hunting. Watching an animal expire up close is a rather sobering experience. I have done my share and possibly more.
Good story, great buck! Congratulations!
 
Thanks for sharing this story. Its an awesome buck and one to be proud of despite the circumstances, Congratulations! Anyone whose hunted any length of time can relate to your story. After 49 years of hunting whitetails I have more of these stories than I care to admit to. The key is you followed through and did what was necessary to complete the job. My hats off to you.
 
Thank you for all the love fellas! It’s awesome to have a community like this where you have the opportunity to reach out and hear from people who you would otherwise never get the chance to share hunting stories and experiences with! Who would have thought buying my first saddle and being starved for information about a piece of hunting equipment could land me in such a cool forum!
 
First, awesome buck.

Second, awesome story.

Third, "Halfsack" is a heckuva handle. Do I wanna know?

Deer are definitely tough. I've got a 9 point on my wall that I killed who was missing his left front leg. I didn't realize it until I walked up on him. He was cruising a scrape line like it was just another day.
 
Nutterbuster said:
First, awesome buck.

Second, awesome story.

Third, "Halfsack" is a heckuva handle. Do I wanna know?

Deer are definitely tough. I've got a 9 point on my wall that I killed who was missing his left front leg. I didn't realize it until I walked up on him. He was cruising a scrape line like it was just another day.
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Lol let’s just say this. Motorcycle vs minivan…. Minivan wins! I broke 23 bones and blew up my left ball, happened almost 10 years ago now and the nickname Halfsack stuck right away. I’ve got buddys who idk If they even know my real name lol!!
 
This is hunting at its finest.
If all we ever felt was joy or elation over the kill we are not men (or women) of substance. I feel saddened just as much as I feel joy when I take an animal.
We as hunters must remember it is not the youtube or outdoor channel world that we venture into, it is real, the animals are wild, trying to survive. We have been domesticated and we are not doing this to survive. These emotions are why I hunt. Some of them I like, some I do not. I feel I must embrace all of them. If I don't, I disrespect the game and myself.
 
Sziggy2.0 said:
This is hunting at its finest.
If all we ever felt was joy or elation over the kill we are not men (or women) of substance. I feel saddened just as much as I feel joy when I take an animal.
We as hunters must remember it is not the youtube or outdoor channel world that we venture into, it is real, the animals are wild, trying to survive. We have been domesticated and we are not doing this to survive. These emotions are why I hunt. Some of them I like, some I do not. I feel I must embrace all of them. If I don't, I disrespect the game and myself.
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Couldn’t say it any better if I tried!!
 
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