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Elizabeth Marker with her 8-point buck
Elizabeth Marker of Buchanan, Mich. shot this 8 point in Berrien County Nov. 16th from 50 yards and the buck dropped 10 yards from shot. It was her first buck, and she said the most memorable moment was dragging it out by herself and seeing her husband and kids running down the lane to see it and greet her with hugs. She shot the deer with a Ruger American 350 legend.
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Luke Parsons with his Dad's 11-point buck
Cory Parsons shot this 11 pointer on private land in Elkhart County. It was a special buck as it was the first time his three-year-old son, Luke, sat with him in the blind.
They are from Edwardsburg, Mich. Cory shot it with a .450 Bushmaster in mid-November.
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Brendon Swem with 8-point
Brendon Swem from Buchanan Mich. ended his five-year drought without a buck. He shot this 8 point in Berrien County with his Mossberg 20 gauge at 85 yards away.
It was a double lung and the deer ran 30 yards before dropping.
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Willis Buck
Brandon Willis harvested this 10 pointer on an Indiana evening hunt early in November. He said it came in chasing two does, and after some grunting and doe bleats, he scored a double lung shot. It was his biggest Indiana buck and dressed out at 202 pounds.
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by Jay Anglin
Trophy Deer
The deed is done. You assume you’ve hit the target, but instead of dropping quickly, the deer has trotted or walked off into cover. The wait begins and it’s agonizing. Buddies are texting you, “wait at least an hour” and asking you to replay what happened over and over. Some may say “he’s smoked” and laying right inside the thicket, while others are doing the mental forensics and aren’t buying it.
Any experienced whitetail deer hunter has experienced some version of this scenario and the anxiety that goes along with it. Sometimes, there is a happy ending, and other times, deer hunters carry the disappointment forever – wondering what happened to that deer. It may even take weeks before a full night’s sleep is possible or stop thinking about it every waking hour. In a nutshell, it really sucks losing a deer.
While there is no secret to tracking deer, for some reason, many hunters grow impatient and do exactly what they shouldn’t, and that is go charging in too soon and consequently messing up the “evidence”. Some hunters are just better at tracking and the first thing they may say when summoned goes something like “don’t move…don’t go look. I’ll be there as fast as I can” because they know how critical a clean scene is to put the pieces together.
The situation really isn’t much different than a crime scene investigation that is hindered by a local deputy who tromps around touching things before the trained investigators get there. Think of it that way.
With cooperation from adjacent landowners and acceptable weather conditions, some hunters do manage to pull off miraculous recoveries. Sometimes, it happens a day or two after the broadhead or bullet broke skin. But, even with today’s amazing technology and the help of a modern version of ancient canine utility, many hunters still manage to lose their deer. Regardless of how the situation evolved, nearly every time a deer is lost, impatience is the cause.