No kidding! Post em up people......I can't go until Saturday evening, have to travel for work tomorrow. Wish I was out there now.
I made a sickening discovery this morning. My son and I were going in to tie up some loose ends I didn't have time for last trip and saw buzzards, and I jokingly said that it was probably one of our big bucks dead. Well, it wasn't one we're hunting, but it was a 120 class 3 year old 10 point. It had to be poached, and the likely culprit is the pumper. If I can prove it, he's in trouble.
Was it rifle shot?
I couldn't tell because the carcass was already picked clean by coyotes and buzzards.
The only way is bullet recovery, and ballistics comparison.
I've watched the Game warden show in Alaska. They use a metal detector to try and find a bullet so they can do that. Their animals are a lot bigger than ours, so finding a bullet is more likely than a whitetail.
I climbed in my stand at 630 yesterday morning. At 7am, my old friend, who couldn't handle the buck I shot 2 years ago and ended our friendship over it, stomps in at 7am and climbs a tree 40 yards away. It's public land, so I can't get mad, but he knew I was there and still setup. I saw 2 does at 40 yards but they didn't stop, so I didn't get a shot. I had 2 young 8 points come within 7 yards, but they smelled the other guy and left back the way they came.
About 930 I hear him mouth bleet and his crossbow go off. I hear the deer run off. I'm happy for him as I wouldn't have seen the deer he shot. 10 minutes later, I hear a deer blow behind me and turn to see a good buck haul butt out of there. I'm very meticulous about advent control, but know the other guy isn't. I wait for him to get down and go find his deer. He hollers when he finds it. I quietly get out of my tree and head out as he's on his phone making a racket. Don't know what he shot...
About 930 I hear him mouth bleet and his crossbow go off. I hear the deer run off. I'm happy for him as I wouldn't have seen the deer he shot. 10 minutes later, I hear a deer blow behind me and turn to see a good buck haul butt out of there. I'm very meticulous about advent control, but know the other guy isn't. I wait for him to get down and go find his deer. He hollers when he finds it. I quietly get out of my tree and head out as he's on his phone making a racket. Don't know what he shot...
