Just in case my readers haven’t heard, I now work for Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge as their marketing and media coordinator as well as a guide. And what an opening weekend we had!

The weather was hot and muggy as it always is in August here in the lowcountry, but that did not stop the big bucks from moving. We had a lodge full of hunters, and most saw some buck movement including the two pictured here in this post. Ken, up from Florida, shot the nice 105 inch buck above while Hank, from North Carolina, shot the giant 130 inch buck below.

We also had two misses and one wound, and they were all by the same Florida hunter that was sitting with me on our Pleasant Hill Plantation tract on opening day. I was running the video camera in hopes of catching a monster being shot, and I thought that it was all going to come together about 6pm when a great 130 inch buck stepped out at 350 yards. I dialed in the camera on him and gave the go ahead to shoot if he wanted.

However before my hunter could pull the trigger, I saw more bucks coming in to the field and told him to wait. Another great buck walked in to the food plot that ran down the edge of a huge millet field along with another two year old buck and a doe. And as I was trying to figure out which one was bigger and hoping that possibly more bucks would ease out, my hunter rushed a shot on the wider buck as he was heading out in to the field full of high weeds and millet.

Most of the deer just stood there, but the one he shot at jumped so I thought he had hit it. However a few minutes later we saw his rack walking around in the tall field, so we were pretty sure he had missed him. The other deer then joined him, and we spent the next 20 minutes watching racks, but not the deer, eating in the field. Finally they moved deeper in to the field, and we lost sight of them.

The two of us then just sat there quietly in total disbelief. And if you believe that, I have a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean to sell you… it was total chaos in the stand as we debated the shot, size of the deer and what exactly what had happened. Finally we both settled back down, and we waited to see if anything else would come out.

Unbelievably, about 30 minutes later, both bucks stepped out at 160 yards right under the feeder! Unfortunately, for some reason, the camera started acting up, and I could not get it to work right (later we would figure out that I had knocked a cord loose). So I put it down and grabbed my binoculars to try and help figure out which one was better. I decided that the taller buck would definitely score better than the wide one, and told Bob, my hunter, to shoot when he was ready. BANG!

The tall-racked buck dropped while the rest ran off. I congratulated Bob, but then told him to keep on eye on the deer since he was laying behind some tall grass still kicking. I then started looking through my back pack for my phone to call the lodge, and as I was doing so, I looked up and saw the buck standing up. But before Bob could shoot, he fell back over. Now I was worried that he wasn’t hit well, and I told my hunter to shoot him immediately if he stood up again. Sure enough, a minute or two later, the buck stood back up. However when I ordered Bob to shoot him, nothing happened…

Bob had forgotten to put another round in the chamber, and the buck was now starting to amble quickly down the edge of the field. He hurriedly shoved another round in, and as I “calmly” suggested that he shoot, did so. However he missed the buck just as he was hitting a thick patch of bushes. I was now really worried about how well the deer was hit, so we waited on Danny, the owner, to come and get us before looking for the buck.

About a half an hour passed before Danny go there, and the light was fading fast, so we ran over to the spot were the buck had fallen. There we found a round blood spot, but no trail leading away from it. So we headed over to where we had last seen the buck and fanned out in search of him. Bob and Danny headed back in to the woods to see if he had gone through the thicket while I worked the thicket he was headed into when Bob last shot at him. And as I stuck my head in to one of the big bushes, the buck bolted out of the other side.

I heard him run a little ways, but thought that he had stopped. So we headed over to where I was pretty sure he had gone and continued the search. However darkness finally settled in, and we gave up about an hour later to return to the lodge where we discussed what to do about the deer.

We decided that we would go back in the morning with all of the guides as well as see if we couldn’t find someone with a trail dog to help us. And after getting everyone to their stands before daylight, that is what we did. However, while we found a dead 8 point from last season, we did not find Bob’s deer. And neither did the trail dog that Pete Simmons from Buck Run Hunting Lodge brought out to help us.

After reviewing everything that happened, we all decided that the buck had been hit high in the back, and that is why he dropped but didn’t die. Pete also said that they hardly ever find bucks hit like that with the dog, but instead usually end up shooting them later since it is normally a non-fatal hit.

There are several lessons to be learned from such an experience. One is to wait for a good shot. Bob had consistently hit the 300 and 500 yard target the day before at the lodge’s shooting range. However that is not a big buck on the move! Most hunters heart’s are racing when they shoot at a deer, especially a big deer, and targets don’t move like a deer does. The second lesson is to sight your rifle in at 100 or 200 yards and compensate for drop only. Bob had his gun sighted in at 300 yards, and that caused him to hit high at 160. It is tough to remember to hold low for short shots and high for long shots when you are looking at a monster! The third lesson is to always chamber another round and keep an eye on your “dead” deer just in case he isn’t.

We have a few hunters in the field this week including a camera crew from Monster Plots TV, so hopefully I will have more kill shots and stories tomorrow.

Jeff

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