Pressured Deer Are EASY To Pattern

[Etxbuckman]

I think and hope so. I dream of Fiddy.... You understand.

By the way, i just saw where you asked about Dads season. for the first time in ..i dont remember when, we didnt get it done for dad. Ill type that story up in the next few days.

I do understand. I’ve got a buck I’ve been after for 2 years now and every time I go back and look at trail cam pics of this season it makes me lament how slowly the next 8 months will go by.


I hate to hear that for your dad. Hopefully next season is different for the both of you (and me).

[GarGuy]

Dads Quest For Kicker3

Before season this past year, Dad picked a deer to hunt. I was thrilled he picked Kicker3 as I know his entire life story. For years, I had this main frame 9 that always threw a kicker off his left G3. He never amounted to much and at five, I decided to let a kid kill him for his first buck. Well long story short(er), the kid missed him.. He was about 110 inch deer and he needed to go.

That fall was our first time to hammer the food plots on that particular place with chicken manure and his antlers were already done before it was in the vegetation. To my great surprise, he took the first big jump of his life from 5-6 years old and went to a typical ten with much longer tines and better mass! He improved from his stagnant 110 inches to close to 140 in one year. The fact that he wasnt an inferior deer but had been nutrient deprived hit me like a hammer! What a learning experience.

We had hammered the food plots again so I put him off limits even though he was six and a darn nice deer. He owned one of my corn piles most of the season but was absolutely opposed to having his picture taken at a feeder. Nov 18th rolled around and an 8 year old 8pt that had been missing since Oct came home. A serious battle for the corn pile ensued and left Kicker3 missing his left eyeball. I named the old 8 EyePopper and we went after him. Lil David whacked him eventually and he is posted in this thread. Kicker3s entire head got infected and swelled up. i couldnt decide whether to kill him or not as I was afraid he would die. He didnt and eventually started looking better around January.

I was really looking forward to seeing him this year and was surprised when he threw a big blade off his left base(above the blind eye) that had a couple points off it! For the first time in his life he threw a 6x5 frame with the big hooked blade having two extras on it. Also for the first time in his adult life, he didnt have the signature kicker off his g3. What a cool deer he was at seven years old and I had tried to let him go as a cull at 5!

Dad decided he wasnt going to bowhunt this year. K3 stayed regular all through Oct and I figured we would get him killed as soon as rifle season opened. I sat with dad opening morning and we had K3 there when it got legal shooting light but Dads eyes just couldnt be sure of the shot. He rolled in right at last light that evening with the same result. repeat this story for SIX CONSECUTIVE HUNTS! Dad could sense my frustration. We has a perfect rest for the gun and the deer was coming out of two different trails one at 100yds and the other about 210yds. I started gently urging him to take the next shot opportunity.

Thanksgiving day, we sat again. Tons of deer out including a nice four year old 8pt when it started getting dusk. I was watching the trail when the 8 threw his head up , looked into the brush and bolted. I knew he was coming. Seconds later a high horned stud walked out of k3s trail. I knew it was him even though ID light was low. I told Dad to shoot him. Just as he was about to shoot, the deer bolted across the food plot to the edge of the brush. I told dad I was going to stop him and I did.

Dad shot. At the impact, the deer whirled and ran back across the 20yd wide food plot. He looked humped up and I told Dad I was pretty sure the deer was hit. Dad said he should be shoulder shot as he had followed a leg up and shot because he was having trouble seeing the crosshairs against the deers body.

(To be continued later)

[TildenHunter]

In for the rest of the story!

[GarGuy]

..... I got the truck and we drove up to were the deer ran across the road. Immediately, I saw paunch contents strewn through the road and food plot. He was almost broad side with just a tiny bit quartering away. Paunch contents was a bad sign. We marked the trail and headed home to eat super and give him a while.

I recruited Sam and came back at 8pm. At first it was just guts but after a 100yds or so, he started bleeding pretty good. We trailed him until 10pm and half a mile before finding the first bed. It was obvious we had jumped him there. we gave him a little while and then pushed ahead slowly. 30yds and another bed. Sam, Dad , and I all agreed we had to back out. Dad was exhausted and Sam had to leave for work soon so I recruited Lil David. I wanted to wait until daybreak but Dad was just sick and said the coyotes would have the deer cleaned up by then. I agreed to go back and we picked the trail up again around midnight. The deer made a straight line to a pond and watered before taking another line across my sanctuary. Around 2am we made a lose and I called it for the night.

As soon as the sun was up, we hit it again. I brought Lil David and Aaron with me while dad sat at the truck. He was tired and couldnt sleep. We searched an hour or so before Aaron found a spot of blood on an unsuspected route. We were on him again! I have to shorted this saga so i will just skip ahead some. We found the buck around 1230 over 2 miles of tracking. To my amazement, it was a SPIKE BUCK! Three inch polished horns! we drug him to an old road and went back for dad. he thanked us for trying so long and we told him that we had found his deer. he refused to believe he shot a spike as he could see high horns on him. it was in fact a spike though that was shot right at the bottom of his belly and had a gaping hole on each side. We tagged him up and got him on ice pretty quick.

Now for the puzzle.. That big stud came out and was obviously mature. I could see he had big horns. Heck he ran a 4 year old eight point off yet there was no doubt we trailed the deer he shot. Two weeks went by without a pic of Kicker3. Finally, I got a couple of pics of him about 1am. he looked like death warmed over! He couldnt walk on his left front leg and had a gaping exit wound in front of his other shoulder. The picture became clear.... the reason Kicker3 dashed across was to chase a spike off that was about to come out. dad shot him low and slightly forward. the bullet exited and struck the spike that we had not seen. Likely K3 went straight into the brush while the spike ran across.

Dad was just sick and we were pretty sure coyotes would kill him or else the shot would really hinder him into the Spring. Neither was the case. he continued to eat corn every night and by January, had gained back almost all of his weight. the holes healed up in record time and he doesnt even show a limp! Dad was totally uninterested in shooting another buck the rest of the season even though we had some other darn nice bucks coming.

Kicker3 looks fantastic now. He shed his horns Friday and I still cant freakn find them! One thing is for sure... Dad has his deer picked for next year!

[HighwayHunter]

That K3 sure has been to hell and back! Blind in one eye, survived being shot. That is one tough SOB


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[GarGuy]

That K3 sure has been to hell and back! Blind in one eye, survived being shot. That is one tough SOB


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Yeah and missed two years ago by a kid.

[HighwayHunter]

Lucky and tough. He's a beautiful buck, hope y'all get him this year.


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[TildenHunter]

Wow. That is a story worth reading.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Man, I hope he makes it so your dad can close the deal on him!! What an awesome buck! Ol' K3 is gonna be your dad's "fiddy"... Maybe y'all can double up next year during bow season before they split up out of their bachelor groups...

[MASTERS]

Wow. That is a story worth reading.

agreed!

[GarGuy]

Wow. That is a story worth reading.

Yeah... i hated to tell the story. I know i was pushing him to take a shot he wasnt comfortable with. He just dont see as well as he once did. Of course i will never forget trailing a gut shot spike for 16 hours. At least the kids learned a ton about blood trailing.

[GarGuy]

Man, I hope he makes it so your dad can close the deal on him!! What an awesome buck! Ol' K3 is gonna be your dad's "fiddy"... Maybe y'all can double up next year during bow season before they split up out of their bachelor groups...

That sure may happen. K3 is a real home body and hangs around pretty close all year. I have seen him many time but NEVER at a feeder. I can pile corn 25yds from a feeder and he will live in it but he AINT going to the feeder.

[TildenHunter]

Yeah... i hated to tell the story. I know i was pushing him to take a shot he want comfortable with. He just dont see as well as he once did. Of course i will never forget trailing a gut shot spike for 16 hours. At least the kids learned a ton about blood trailing.

Happens to everyone at some point. No problem with a well told story!

[Hix]

That’s crazy. Hope he show up next season.


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[GarGuy]

That’s crazy. Hope he show up next season.


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If he is like normal, i will watch him all summer.