Glad that you found your buck!They sure can go along ways,even when hit good.

Too bad you lost it, but now you know it died quick.

Yes, I'm glad that I found it. It should be plain to see that stuff like that really gets under my skin.

I had so many questions. I wondered about everything you can think of and more. I thought maybe I'd hit him low, I wondered if the bullet hit a twig and blew up, which it did.

When I first started tracking it, I made a mental note, "down and to the left". I made a mistake while I was tracking, I was going too fast, but it was late in the day, and I was running out of daylight.

I should have flagged the trail and pulled off of it while I was sitting on that rock taking a breather. The buck had bedded down, filling up on the inside, within 75 yards of me.

Instead of tracking and moving right along, I should have been tracking, take 2 or 3 steps, stop and look up ahead and all around. I really expected to find it dead,

Thinking about it now, this is my best guess, when I jumped the deer, I think that was it's last little bit of energy. The trail was down and left. It came into a line of downed timber and tree tops, it turned hard to it's right and almost straight down the ridge. I's guess it was almost in a freefall at the time.

I knew I was getting down near the west side road, I didn't want to jump it again. That's when I flagged the trail, pulled off and went to the truck. They were calling for it to get into the teens that night.

After I flagged the trail, I took one last look, I could see the trail, out 12 or 15 feet. I thought it'd be easy tracking the next morning. I was wrong, the blood trail was gone. I could find blood 10 or 12 feet to my right, blood here and there, I circled around, it was just gone. I couldn't put it all back together.

If you've never lost a deer, you haven't hunted long enough.

My cousin sent me a text saying he shot a nice buck,and was on his
way to find it.
long story short, he had a friend with a tracking dog,and found it
the next day.That deer covered 400 yards and swam across (100 yards)
of a small watershed.
The dog followed it to the water's edge and they used bino's to luckily
spot the deer in the water on the other side.
He never did say were he hit it!

I know this stuff happens, and it sucks anyway that you look at it. I'm pretty careful about the shots that I take, and honestly, that's the first buck out of the last dozen or 15, that I haven't dropped or watched bite the dust. I remember a little 8-point that I shot one day, hunting with Moe, he trotted behind the timber and dropped maybe 30 yards out?

But while I have time, I'll tell you what happened with this last deer. Part of this is first hand, part of it is 20/20 and part of it will be my best guess. I'll start from the start.

I was hunting up the south side of a ridge, headed east, up near the top of the mountain. I jumped this buck, he was low on the north side of his ridge, headed up and away from me. I got situated, he came into a little opening (I thought) and I touched one off.

The deer hit the ground, I didn't know it at the time, but it fell with it's feet uphill. It slid up against a log, trying to get up, all I could see was it's head. I just didn't have anything to shoot at again. Thinking about it now, he would have been out 150 yards or so? Maybe a little bit more? But less than 200.

I sat tight, pretty much glued to that ridge, but there were 2 spots that I just couldn't see. I got a glimpse of it, for a split second, if I'd have had another split second, I could have had another shot, and finished it right then.

The deer got into the second blind spot, I waited and thought for sure he was down for good. Because of the brush, wine berry vines, and all the other briers, I had to swing wide right, up and around to get over there. I flagged the spot where I shot from.

I went to the spot where he first went down, and really I was just tracking him in the leaves. I remember one stretch, I only found one little speck of blood in probably 50 feet. It was just one deer alone, tracking gets really tough when you've got 3 or 4 deer all mixed up together.

Not to step on anyone's toes, but a lot of guys would take a look at that trail, and think: I must have just nicked him, and walk away. Sad to say, but true.

The blood trail got better and better. He was still going down and to the left. Going through the brush, I found a couple small saplings that he's painted up, if you know what I mean.

It was getting late in the day, and I should have pulled off of the track right then. Give it time. But I didn't.

I thought I'd take it a little bit more, and find it dead. The deer jumped, just on the other side of a line of downed timber. I did my best to "read", where it bedded. I had blood on the left, blood on it's right and out front. 20/20, I did get part of it's lungs.

My best guess, when he jumped, that was his last wild run. Running on instinct. Going down the ridge, that was a really good blood trail.

Thinking about it now, if I'd have had another hour of daylight, I'd have came home with it on the truck. I had a flashlight, just one. Where I was, with the timber down and all, it's just not a good place to be after dark. I don't trust that little light that much.

There is a lot more to the recovery and all. Anyway, I'm still pissed at myself, but I found him.

I've thought about this too, if I'd have passed up that shot, there would have been a chance for me to kick him out again. That way I'd have been able to hunt, and not search. I'd way rather hunt.

If you have never made a bad shot on an animal, you haven't shot at much.
Just my opinion!

I agree a feller will make a bad shot from time to time.

One of the first things that I thought about with this last deer, I wondered if my bullet had hit a twig. It did. Who knows how far in front of the deer? Who knows how many grains of the 130 grain bullet hit the deer? We'll never know.

The little cut, high on the deer's neck, was probably just a piece of the bullet's jacket? My best guess.

I think that I've mentioned this before, but I'll go over it again.

Years ago I was out hunting with my BAR 270. I was up high on the mountain hunting around the side, above a rock ledge. I remember about where I was. Long story short, at the base of the ledge, I kicked out a buck. I guess it winded me?

Anyway, when the deer jumped, it ran down his ridge, and while it was running down the mountain, I was getting into position. I'm pretty aggressive about getting a better shooting position. I mean, I might take 2 or 3 steps off to one side to get a tree-rest, or go down on one knee, or go prone. It just depends.

When the deer jumped, it didn't know where I was, he just ran. I got into a better position, the deer ran down the ridge, off in the hollow and stopped. He was just about broadside to me, I'd guess about at 125, 150 yards. (Before the ice storms, you could get an honest 200 yard shot on the ground).

Anyway, the only thing between me and the buck was a dogwood tree, just about in the middle. Half way to me, half way to him. I know some of you guys have wild dogwood trees, some of you might not. Dogwood trees are a slow growing tree, with dense wood and a dense canopy. Pretty white bloom in the spring, little red berries in the fall.

Through my scope, things looked good. I touched one off, the deer just stood there, other than it's head he didn't move. I could see the top of the dogwood tree shaking and all.

Things looked good to me, so, I fired my second shot. The deer just stood there, I could see the top of the dogwood twisting around an all.

I squirmed around and took a little bit of a different hold and fired my 3rd shot. The deer never took a step.

Thinking to myself, my last round is in the chamber, I'd just wait him out. I really expected it to just burn out around the side of the mountain, a run out of sight.

I waited and waited, he finally started to walk out from behind the dogwood tree. Like he was walking stiff legged. Thinking to myself, give me 2 more steps, and when he did, I dropped him.

I had to circle around to get down off of the ledge, walked by the dogwood tree. It looked you'd blasted it with a load of #2 shot from a shotgun.

Just a small twig will deflect a bullet. But that's one of those things, if you're hunting, it happens.

One other thing that I will add, that's the first and only time that I've ever emptied that rifle hunting. I did have a spare clip in my pocket. Just in case.

I'll add 2 links from WV Metronews, about WV's deer harvest.

https://wvmetronews.com/2025/01/02/west-virginia-buck-harvest-falls-for-a-second-straight-year/

https://wvmetronews.com/2025/01/04/ehd-and-fewer-hunters-contributed-to-lower-buck-numbers/

Bear harvest numbers should be out soon.