Need Muley Advice ASAP.......

[iminrut]

This morning the wife and I got on an exceptional buck with his does(especially for the flatlands here in ND)........but problems quickly revealed themselves in a scope that somehow lost zero in the past week.....

My question for you is this.......can a deer, especially a Muley run hard enough to bloody their nose ??

We are somewhat certain we had a hit, but aren't exactly sure, as we didn't here the audible "woomp" of a hit.......he took off like a bat out of hell with his does, and seemed to be traveling just fine......then as they passed the next ridge about a mile+ away, the does came out, but the buck did not.......when we finally get over there, the buck is laying down in tall grass with head down. A premature celebration found us looking back at a buck that was now sitting up, head erect !!! And as I brought the glasses up, i saw he was bloodied a little around the nose, which was then followed shortly by an "explosion" of brush and high grass as he made a dash for the nearest draw........but as he jumped a nearby fence, 2-300 yards away, he simply walked from there down into the trees........

Was this simply a wise old buck, playing dead, but winded.........or is this deer possibly mortally wounded, and just buying time ??

 

[Buck Fever]

I would back out for a least a day and then try to find blood or tracks. Do not push!! Its possible that you hit him to far back and thats where the bloods coming from. Ive seen deer hit to far back and not bleed at all. They head for the brush and hide. Good Luck!!

 

[Bwana]

My guess is that he is hit and not feeling to perky at this point. Perhaps it was a gut shot and he was laying down to rest but had enough reserves for the "explosion" but soon tuckered out, hence the walk down into the trees. I'm thinking he should be stiff by morning although I would have a tough time waiting that long with this snow coming down.

I think a bit of tracking, from the place you last saw him, is in order.

Did you look at the bed where he was laying down after the initial shot?

 

[iminrut]

The part that sucks, is the place he dodged down into.......that particular landowners farm yard and surrounding area where he feeds his cows are off limits......I stopped and talked with him, and he said no way.......even leaving the gun in the truck and a simple walk in to try and find him was out of the question.....I'm hoping that he makes it back the couple hundred yards to land we can hunt, which is pretty much everything except the section of land he is currently on.......

 

[280rem]

If you don't find it on the adjoining property contact the local game warden to help you gain access to the property you've been denied to enter. The game warden may be the only one that can enter the property. No matter what the buck deserves to be recovered. Best of luck!

 

[mattobertin]

All you can do is track him, if he is on the private land I would also recommend talking to the game warden or possibley a ninja mission! LOL! From what it sounds like I am sure you hit him, they are tough animals and will get out of dodge even if mortally wounded,especially if pushed! Good luck let us know what happens.

 

[iminrut]

Well, it is almost daylight and I thought I would check in before we head out........we're gonna cover every draw on all of the surrounding property, gonna be a long day....well hopefully not.

Possible good news, is while glassing from a ridgetop last evening, I saw an old "grizzly" 3x3 that had been run off by this buck, and he was over a mile off from where I first saw him, so I repositioned myself in the area, and at last light I think I saw him.........it was at about 200 yards, but it was hard to tell because of the loss of light, but he carried the same heigth and frame.....if I could have seen the couple extra kickers off his back forks I could have verified it for sure.........

If it was him, he was definately having no problem moving.....like he was able to quickly bound up and over the ledge when he spotted me......as I lay awake thinking about it last night, I thought that if was indeed him, he sure looked alright and that maybe the bloodied nose I saw came from a branch as he made his first hasty exit.....

One thing is for sure, I ain't gonna give up...either till i find him, or that i verify that he is fine......or till we possibly get a second crack at him.......

Which brings up another thing........I ALWAYS hit the range before season, and the rifle was dialed in at 250 yards before our opener.......but after yesterday morning I headed back to the range......somehow it ended up about a foot high and about 3 inches to the right ?!?!? It is now dialed back in, but I think it is time to go back to a Burris scope with PosiLok......

 

[Moosie]

or possibley a ninja mission! LOL!

HAHA.. I've pulled one or two of them

I've never seen a Bluck bleed from Running but I've never walked up on a Buck after it was running I guess ?!!? Sounds like a bad hit. It happens. Keep looknig and good luck. a few days have gone by and if it's walking still thats a good sign. If it was hit good, it is still on "Mr don't come around here" property dead..... Keep us updated.

 

[Jaeger22]

Absolutely. That's a dead deer walking. Don't push and do what the guys have said. He's there.

 

[iminrut]

The more I've thought about this bucks reaction, the more I think we probably had a hit that was either high or maybe back some, but some schrapnel (spelling) probably got one lung.......I think that is why he was acting winded, cause he probably was with only one good lung........

Two mornings ago when we spotted him, he was running off a big ol 3x3, and also a young pup 4x4.......there was also another young 4x4 in the area. As of this morning, I know that one of the young 4x4s had been wacked, but I have seen both that 3x3 and other 4x4 on a regular basis.....in fact this morning I saw them both and the young 4x4 now has a broken left main beam.........but no sign nor sight of the big fella. I covered a good 10 miles on the ground yesterday on surrounding land, and this morning I covered another 3..........I think you guys are right, that he is dead and on that property, and I will be following up on my two final options after church this morning.........wish me luck.

 

[Jaeger22]

I do wish you luck. The deer deserves to be found and you'll fee better about the experience. It may well be too late for the meat, but the principal, and the antlers, are still involved. Good luck!

 

[powderburn]

Hope your options work for you. Here in Alberta if a land owner won't let you on to retrieve an animal shot legally on boardering property we call Fish and Wildlife they will confince the land owner to either let you get your animal or get it for you. Wrongful waste of wild game charge.

 

[iminrut]

Well I can say now without a shadow of a doubt, that this buck is alive and well.........after endless spotting and hiking and an additional 3 hour recon mission behind enemy lines, I spotted him for what now is the 4th time last night, and he looked to be just fine while running off the busted 4x4 and chasing some doe tail.

In a sad way, we burned up the last two days of rifle season looking for this buck thinking he was possibly dead......so we'll be eating tag soup, but at least I can go to sleep with a clear conscience, knowing I did everything I could to either find him or verify he was OK......and it's good to know he'll make it another year, as I know what I will be going after with archery tackle in 2008 !!

 

[mtmiller]

I will be over in ND mid-December with mule deer archery tag in hand. Just send me the coordinates and I will be set.

I hunted Aug 1 - 2 September in nearly 100 degree heat and said heck with this. Now I am guessing I will be there in December when it is hoovering around zero.

Oh well, at least one more deer hunt this year.

Glad to hear the buck is alive and well.

 

[Bwana]

Sorry you weren't able to find the buck in a nice little pile waiting for you to tag but at least it looks like he will be around for you to chase next year, unless of course mtmiller does a little ninja work himself.