San Angelo White Eyes..end of tale

[MichaelW]

It's a shame to see nice ones you're hoping for in the future to go to waste like that.....especially if at the hands of some ignorant roadhunter!

[KHo]

That bites...

[supertrooperl14]

Sorry to hear this TD. If it was poachers I hope they get what they deserve one day. Enjoyed the story. Thanks for sharing.

[T6driver44]

Dang Doc, White Eyes had a hoss of a neck on him! Hate to see the wrath of a .223 take him away from you. Hope you find a better buck hanging at your feeders this year.

[Low Fence]

Hate to see that.







At least it wasnt east texas this time

[sticknstring]

Thanx for sharing Tuth...was wondering if there was any sign of bullet holes/cracks on some of the other bones laying near by? I always have a tendency to look for shoulders or ribs with holes in them when I encounter something like that .

[happy bowhunter]

Glad you found him John,Poachers really **** me off,

[KingsX]

John,I know you've had a issue loosing deer from the neighbors and Landowners Nephews but do you think any of these deer died of natural causes?
I'm just asking because we find deer every year that had to of died from natural causes and not poaching.........I think one of my leases had 3 just this past season.........and another had a couple. I do believe we have lost a few to maybe the highway/neighbors wounding a deer and wondering back to die on our side but those deer are always near the property boundaries in my experiences. I always get suspicious when I find one near the borders of our properties but not the ones deeper on the ranch "We don't have the problems like yall do though" with inside trespassing. I did have one unique deer come in and stay on my feeder this past season though. He had a huge open wound to his neck apparently from a gun shot that took about half of his neck meat off one side and was still bleeding some.....ouch!!!!! I watched this deer for 2 months and it's amazing how fast a deer can heal up from such an injury and seemingly healthy the entire time. Long story short this deer coming to this feeder is far from any of the boundary lines and had to of traveled miles from where he got shot initially.........always leaves me never underestimating the home range of a deer.

[BadtotheBow]

Sad story. Glad you found him though

[tuthdoc]

Dang, Gold, you cleaned up the freak's head nicely. Maybe I'll get White Eyes to you.

The story on the Freak goes back to the year that Pretty Boy was poached. Later that year, we had all the cards stolen from Dog's cameras at his protein and corn feeder. Same place that Pretty Boy had been shot. The only deer that disappeared that we knew of was a young 10 that I called Baby Crab 10. He was going to be a tremendous deer. Typical 10 with kickers as a 2 1/2 yo. He was a regular at Dog's and my feeders. We gave him up for dead.

Last year, Cindy brought in pics of the Freak. There was something familiar about the deer but I couldnt put my finger on it. I went through my files trying to find a deer similar to him and when I got to the Baby Crab 10, bam, there he was. Same facial features. What I believe happened was that the poacher had found a good place to sit above Dog's feeder and watch it. When he shot Pretty Boy, he left a cigarette butt, a throat lozenge, and the cartridge casing. Seeing that it worked so well, he went back later and shot the BC10. When he checked for the deer, he got himself captured on camera. All 4. Only thing to do was to steal the cards. The buck undoubtably got away, wounded. We didn't see him, or at least didn't recognize him the next year as he recovered. Last year, he came back as the Freak. At least Cindy got to keep the skull. I'll dig out pics of the BC10 tomorrow.

[tuthdoc]

You always lose a few. Problem is, these are not deer that are disappearing after the season or rut when they're run down. They are "here today and gone tomorrow deer". I only get concerned about the home deer. Those that are regular as rain. White Eyes was at one of our feeders every day. He was in peak condition from what you can see. Odds of another one of our deer killing him is not great. Also, almost every carcass that we find is within 100 yards of a road. I found three this past weekend while shed hunting. White Eyes was about 30 yards off a road, a young 7 was about 50 yards off a road. The only other carcass that I found was one I knew that I shot last year. He was a sick deer with a green, oozing abscess that we called Pus Pocket. It was a mercy killing and I knew the area where he died. Two years ago, we found 8 buck carcasses within 100 yards of our road on the south near the Feed Lot. If they were scattered about the lease, I'd say most were natural mortality. The proximity to the roads of the majority of the carcasses indicates something else. I also don't comment on the deer that are border deer that disappear. I could run a pretty good thread of those deer that disappear, but that's just part of a low fence property. You lose those deer. It's the internal deer that chap my hide. Freak was probably a border loss. White Eyes was internal. Pretty Boy was definately internal. Lucky was definately internal. I lost a camera at his pen during that time. I figure once again that he was shot around my pen and they had to take or disable the camera to remain anonymous. We have so many cameras on the place that eventually they'll get caught.

[Gold]

John, here's some pictures of Sweeper from 2006.


Do you think that the Freak could be Sweeper????

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[tuthdoc]

Sticknstring, I went back to the carcass Sunday morning. I KNEW where it was and you still couldn't see it from the road. I turned the carcass over and checked the legs to see if there were any broken bones, but he had been out there for almost a year and a half and it was in such bad condition that I couldn't tell.

[tuthdoc]

I don't think so Robyn. Freak has the same black face characteristics as BC10. Sweeper had more of a brownish face. When I look at Sweeper, I don't see, and didn't see, BC10. When I looked at the Freak, I KNEW I had seen him in the past. When I dig out the pics, I think you'll agree. It's possible maybe, but I'd say the possibility is low.

[Wudstix]

Nice deer guys thanks for the looks.