Lost my first deer this weekend.

[323ssplt]

Ok, so here is the background.....I've been deer hunting for 20 of my 32 years. I can't even begin to tally up the number of deer I've shot. This year alone, up to this weekend, I've put 7 on the ground, 2 in Tennessee and 5 in Mississippi. And I have NEVER had to look more than 50 yards for a deer. I normally try to shoot them in the shoulder or break the spine. Call me lazy or responsible, but I hate letting an animal run very far, if any. Which is why the following story sucks.

In Mississippi, they have eliminated the muzzleloader season and now call it a primitive weapon season. They allow you to hunt deer during this season with bow, muzzleloader and single shot hammered rifles chambered in a caliber 38 or larger. I was hunting some new property with my single shot 45-70 all weekend and didn't get a shot at anything. At 4PM on Sunday, a good sized buck with a messed up rack walks out at 199 yards. I take a shot and he jumps like he's hit. He runs about 200 yards, then goes down. While I'm waiting the obligatory 30 minutes, the buck gets up and runs another 200 yards towards the woods, but goes down again. I'm thinking he's done by this point. I knew he was hit, I thought it was a good shot, so i waited a few more minutes, then go looking.

As I'm walking out, he gets up AGAIN and runs into the woods. I back off and wait again. Then go look. LOTS of blood. I follow the blood trail for about 30 yards then it disappears. I look and look and finally find more blood about 25 yards away. This happens several times as I followed him for almost a mile.

It's now 2 hours after I shot him and I still am following him. I lost the blood trail AGAIN and went into some heavy cover that is a HUGE bedding area. I see a large blood pool where he had laid down but had obviously gotten up again. That was the last blood I found. Never found the deer. Looked for another hour and nothing. I felt, and still feel horrible. I'm not a religious person, but when I finally had to give up, I kneeled down and said a prayer for this magnificent animal that refused to give up and "just die".

Sorry for the long story, but I had to share.

Edited January 29, 2009 by 323ssplt

[KahrMan]

Go back in the morning and I bet you will find him. It is tough to lose a deer. You owe it to yourself and the deer to do everything you can before you give up. Sometime though you lose one. It sucks but it is part of hunting.

[Guest Mugster]

Thats tough. All you can do is the best you can. After that its up to luck and guy upstairs.

[323ssplt]

I wanted to go back the next morning, but I was hunting in Columbus, MS and I live in Memphis and this happened Sunday. I actually thought about calling in on Monday just so I could go look some more, but I had a project at work that HAD to be out the door Monday night. It was a heart wrenching decision, especially as hard as this noble creature fought for his life, I felt like I owed it to him, but there was just nothing more I could do. I would have stayed out all night looking for him, but I wore out the batteries in both of my flashlights and had to drive back to Memphis and get to work the next morning.

[memphismason]

I know how you feel. I have lost one deer before, and it sucks bad. I commend you for offering up a prayer, sometimes that is all we can do. I always like to say one when I kneel next to the fallen animal right before I start field dressing them. It is just something and Indian fellow once recommended me doing, and I can understand why.

When I was younger (yeah I know I am only 26), I had no problem killing an animal, but now, taking a life (any life) seems to have a larger bearing on my soul. I always offer the Lord a prayer of thanks after killing on of his creatures. It is just good sportsmanship I believe.

Thanks for sharing your story.

[323ssplt]

I always say a quiet, quick prayer for every animal as well, but this one actually had me on my knees with a tear in my eye.

[war4peace]

Go back, if you can, to the last spot that you trailed him to. Then try find him by walking 20-30rds around that area and maybe further if you find any signs that the weather didn't wash off. The same thing happened to me earlier this muzzle loader season. i didn't find the deer until gun season when i was trailing another one and saw dried blood on the stumps of small trees. I followed the blood and found my guy. The meat was already bad, but non the less i did find him.

I feel you pain man. I know what its like to shoot a deer and not find it. Don't give up yet. There's still time to keep looking.

[ShaunM]

Go back in the morning and I bet you will find him. It is tough to lose a deer. You owe it to yourself and the deer to do everything you can before you give up. Sometime though you lose one. It sucks but it is part of hunting.

A big +1

[Jasongar8]

I feel your pain. I lost a deer my first year of hunting. I think I was like 14 or 15. I shot an 8 pointer and he dropped. When my dad walked closer to him he got up and ran off. We backed out for a few hours and came back, we never found the first drop of blood, anywhere. The thing is I dont know what caused him to drop like that. We looked and looked but never found anything. I came home that night and just felt so bad, I couldnt help but to think he was out there suffering. Im not going to lie i shed tears over it. But that lesson I learned very early in my hunting career was very important. I repect the animals I hunt now more than ever. We should respect the wild game we hunt, they deserve a prayer after their harvest to give thanks to them and to their maker. Thanks for your story.

-Jason G

[Guest Mugster]

Here's something to think about.

I still like a self loader for deer over a bolt, lever, or a pump. I can hold my sight picture better without taking my rifle off sticks or a rest to reload or whatever. If they get back up from a falldown/knockdown, I don't care how hard I think I hit them, my current policy is to pop em again with any shot I can get assuming it stays within whatever firing lane i have picked out. I'm not going to chase a wounded deer halfway around the county trying to save a little meat. Just not going to do it. If it means wasting a ham, so be it. I just decided that some years ago and it works for me.

I doubt you can pre-think through everything that may happen because hunting is just like that, but having a few little basic plans to keep in mind may help when the stress is on you. Just something to cogitate on for the next time.

[323ssplt]

Mugster...I wish I had had the option to choose my action type. However, to hunt during this late season, Mississippi law says you can only hunt with an exposed hammer single shot..uuggghhhhh... I normally shoot a bolt action 30-06 and have had to make FAST follow up shots..but I credit sniper school with teaching me how to manipulate a bolt QUICK! However. the first deer I ever took was with a semi, as a matter of fact a Remington 760 in 30-06 that my Dad borrowed from a friend. I'm still trying to buy that gun. He promised me he will me it to me in his will:)

[memphismason]

Mugster...I wish I had had the option to choose my action type. However, to hunt during this late season, Mississippi law says you can only hunt with an exposed hammer single shot..uuggghhhhh... I normally shoot a bolt action 30-06 and have had to make FAST follow up shots..but I credit sniper school with teaching me how to manipulate a bolt QUICK! However. the first deer I ever took was with a semi, as a matter of fact a Remington 760 in 30-06 that my Dad borrowed from a friend. I'm still trying to buy that gun. He promised me he will me it to me in his will:)

The 760 is a pump gun. Remington's semi-auto are the 742 and 7400.

[323ssplt]

My bad....it was the 742 it was the remington semi auto twenty years ago. Thanks for the correction. I never can remember which model is which.

[memphismason]

That's cool. I killed my first deer with my Dad's 742, and I killed my first buck with my Grandfather's 742, and I have own my 7400 for about 13 years now, and love it.

[DaveS]

jasongar8 A big "thumbs up" for your post!

WD

[Guest Mugster]

That's cool. I killed my first deer with my Dad's 742, and I killed my first buck with my Grandfather's 742, and I have own my 7400 for about 13 years now, and love it.

You guys can call it the semmy remmy. Reduces confusion.

[war4peace]

Back to the original post, did you ever go back to look for the deer? Was it ever found?

[323ssplt]

Back to the original post, did you ever go back to look for the deer? Was it ever found?

I wasn't able to get back. Like I said I was hunting three hours away from home and HAD to get to work that Monday. My Dad lives down there, and while he is laid up right now with a hip problem, a friend of ours did go back and look while he was hunting, with no more luck than I had. Just sucks a big one!!!