The surprise 11 pointer

[Charliefrank]

Years ago while hunting I surprised a buck tending to his does. 3 or 4 does as I recall and a another I couldn't be sure of. As I surprised them at about 30 yards they began to take off immediately so I only got a quick look. But one thing was clear, that rack! As they began their rapid departure the buck decided to run directly away from me. I snapped my .270 to my shoulder and as soon as the cross hairs landed upon the back of his neck I let one fly. And there he went unfased. Clearly a miss. That's what I get for taking a snap shot like that. Just the same I put my hat on the ground where I was standing and began to walk to the last place I saw him before he disappeared down over the ridge. Not one speck of blood. Not too terribly surprised I went back to my hat and tried again. Again, no blood, no hair nothing. I went back to my hat sat down and smoked a cigarette mad at myself for the miss. Before continuing my hunt I decided to look one more time. As I move along scouring every inch of forest floor I realize I'm looking at antlers. Have I found a shed? Holy <deleted> those antlers are attached to a deer. Holy <deleted>, I got him. As I began to examine him two things become immediately apparent, beautiful long tines and the antlers are wiggling all over the place. I've shot him in the back of the head, right between his antlers. I now realize two things, 1 this deer dropped immediately hence no blood. 2, the big rack I saw keep going was the other deer I initially couldn't identify. I cleaned my prize out preparing for the long drag back to the truck. I had to sacrifice one of my bootlaces to tie the antlers together as to not lose them on the way out. What a great day. It will always be etched in my mind. As a side note there wasn't a piece of skull left bigger than a nickel. Not surprising considering a 130gr Nosler ballistic tip going 3000fps making contact at 35 yards. The deer by the way was an eleven pointer. The odd thing is he only weighed 118 lbs dressed.

 

[buck460XVR]

Around here during deer seasons there are a myriad of "Big Buck" contests. Some determine their winner by rack score, others by weight. Very seldom do the two correlate. I've always been under the impression that dominate bucks fight and chase does during the rut and generally do not take the time to eat. In the wild, mature bucks are generally the first to die during hard winters because of the huge amount of body fat lost during the rut. Non-Dominate bucks still may breed, but they breed by opportunity, not by fighting and constantly defending their does/territory. Thus, they still eat, and keep their fat reserves, thus weighing more. Antlers, while being affected by the deer's heath are also influenced by genetics, age and mineral intake. The fact that there was another large racked buck with the one you shot, along with the group of does tells me, he may have been actively defending them, as he had been all season, and could be a reason his weight was low.

 

[Charliefrank]

Around here during deer seasons there are a myriad of "Big Buck" contests. Some determine their winner by rack score, others by weight. Very seldom do the two correlate. I've always been under the impression that dominate bucks fight and chase does during the rut and generally do not take the time to eat. In the wild, mature bucks are generally the first to die during hard winters because of the huge amount of body fat lost during the rut. Non-Dominate bucks still may breed, but they breed by opportunity, not by fighting and constantly defending their does/territory. Thus, they still eat, and keep their fat reserves, thus weighing more. Antlers, while being affected by the deer's heath are also influenced by genetics, age and mineral intake. The fact that there was another large racked buck with the one you shot, along with the group of does tells me, he may have been actively defending them, as he had been all season, and could be a reason his weight was low.

Makes sense, thanks

 

[LoonWulf]

Years ago while hunting I surprised a buck tending to his does. 3 or 4 does as I recall and a another I couldn't be sure of. As I surprised them at about 30 yards they began to take off immediately so I only got a quick look. But one thing was clear, that rack! As they began their rapid departure the buck decided to run directly away from me. I snapped my .270 to my shoulder and as soon as the cross hairs landed upon the back of his neck I let one fly. And there he went unfased. Clearly a miss. That's what I get for taking a snap shot like that. Just the same I put my hat on the ground where I was standing and began to walk to the last place I saw him before he disappeared down over the ridge. Not one speck of blood. Not too terribly surprised I went back to my hat and tried again. Again, no blood, no hair nothing. I went back to my hat sat down and smoked a cigarette mad at myself for the miss. Before continuing my hunt I decided to look one more time. As I move along scouring every inch of forest floor I realize I'm looking at antlers. Have I found a shed? Holy <deleted> those antlers are attached to a deer. Holy <deleted>, I got him. As I began to examine him two things become immediately apparent, beautiful long tines and the antlers are wiggling all over the place. I've shot him in the back of the head, right between his antlers. I now realize two things, 1 this deer dropped immediately hence no blood. 2, the big rack I saw keep going was the other deer I initially couldn't identify. I cleaned my prize out preparing for the long drag back to the truck. I had to sacrifice one of my bootlaces to tie the antlers together as to not lose them on the way out. What a great day. It will always be etched in my mind. As a side note there wasn't a piece of skull left bigger than a nickel. Not surprising considering a 130gr Nosler ballistic tip going 3000fps making contact at 35 yards. The deer by the way was an eleven pointer. The odd thing is he only weighed 118 lbs dressed.

Great story, thanks!

 

[Art Eatman]

Generally, bucks go on a sort of feeding frenzy during the month before the rut. The tallow is thick and white. They apparently eat little during the rut, so late in the season the tallow is thin and sort of yellowish. So, early season bucks will weigh more than late-season bucks.

 

[Charliefrank]

Great story, thanks!

It was a great day

 

[Patocazador]

Generally, bucks go on a sort of feeding frenzy during the month before the rut. The tallow is thick and white. They apparently eat little during the rut, so late in the season the tallow is thin and sort of yellowish. So, early season bucks will weigh more than late-season bucks.

I've found that the fat turns pink when the bucks are going downhill during and following the rut. This observation only applies to whitetails as I have little experience with mule deer.

 

[Ks5shooter]

The old "Lee Harvey" shot,,,,no tracking.