Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Successful, But Expensive Deer Hunt....

It was too windy and cold to sit in our stands on thursday afternoon, so we sat out of the wind near the top of a draw overlooking a creek valley. Had a good time, enjoyed the tranquility and serenity of being outdoors and headed in about 5 pm. On our way back to our trucks at the top of the field we scared all the deer which werent in the woods, back into the woods. Somehow as we carefully sneaked into the woods about 2 pm, they must have snuck out of the woods. Then after spending the afternoon hanging out by our trucks, they simply headed back into the woods as we headed out. It was almost like we were hunting with Elmer Fudd back in the day! Anyhow as I am writing this, I realize I gave way too much credit to the intelligence of the deer earlier. In hindsight I now realize there is just simply something about my truck that deer are attracted to! On my way home from deer hunting I was traveling down the road about 55 mph (the speed limit just in case my insurance adjustor reads my blog) and out from the field an 8 point buck comes running across the road right out in front of my manly F250. Had I not been just finishing up a conversation about our hunting expedition on my cell phone with my brother, I probably would have seen the deer coming, but nonetheless I hit the deer dead on! I only had enough time to hit the brakes less than one second before impact, but oddly enough only really remember sizing up the antlers and being disappointed the moment before the crash�.


Look under the Ford emblem and you will see a nice gift the deer was so kind enough to squirt out at impact. I dont think I scared the crap out of this deer, more like knocked the crap out him!

We finished gutting the deer on the side of the road and are going to turn him into jerky. Also we are going to put his head on the wall too. Not because of the size of his antlers, but just merely for decoration and a nice conversation piece� Mainly though because Justin is finishing up taxidermy school this winter and needs some regular bucks to practice on before mounting our monster deer we shoot from next season!!!

Y'all ought to hunt in Ohio next year. Truck season opens a full month before gun season here.

I limited out November first 2 years ago.

Next time stick with a truck, they pack way more a punch than a car does.

I guess if you can't hit anything with a rifle, use a larger caliber.

Sounds like the "bigger caliber bullet is better" argument. If you hit them in the right spot with the smaller car they die just as fast! I swapped from a Diesel Suburban to that car because of the mileage: 20 vs. 50 mpg on my commute. I think the repair bill would have cost about the same either way!

When I saw the deer it was on the left of the road facing right. What went thru my mind in a split second was "If I continue going straight, and he runs, it'll come up over the hood and thru the windshield. If I cut behind him I might miss him, but I gotta stay on the road."

If I would have cut over another 2 feet to the left I would have missed the deer, but that would have put the left tires on grass, with a mailbox and a telephone pole not quite 40' past where the deer was standing. My only regret was not hammering the brakes harder (after learning to drive without ABS, the instictive thought is that I'll lock them up and if I slide, I'm screwed.)

I also thought "Damn, if I had to hit a deer, why couldn't it have a nice rack instead of a little basket rack?"

so im not the only idiot who thought about the size of the rack!

Heck No!!

On the way back from Montana in early October on I-94 near the "breaks" in eastern Montana right by Dawson, MT, I saw a mulie buck in the left lane, facing left and looking at me over his left shoulder. My first thought was "How the heck will I get the rack home if I hit him"? It was the biggest deer rack that I've seen in person, and larger than almost everyone that I've seen in the magazines. In describing it to my cousin, he said it was 36"-38" wide, maybe wider. With the buck looking towards the left, the outside of his left main beam was right above his withers.

Driving thru Eastern Montana on 200, I've never seen more deer, both whitetails and mulies, sometimes both in the same field. I was driving thru the area right before sunset, and I seriously thought about stopping because there were so many deer feeding right at the edge of the road. They wouldn't even pick up their heads as I drove by.

Nate, if insurance buys you a new bumper and the old one is not beat up badly, save it for me please.

n8ly sounds like you need to spend more time on the range. I'm 2 for 2 on head shots. They cause a lot less damage. Got one with a old womanly 93 Buick Le Sabre and 1 about a month ago with the verging on manly S-10 pickup. I wouldn't recommend swerving with the S-10, especially when the deer gets thrown under the back tire - that was a scary ride for a couple seconds.

Lifetime score I've been in the vehicle on 4 deer-car collisions. 5 if you count the time the guy next to me smoked one and the hoof clicked off the side of my car.

These were all Iowa deer too, real hogs. When I lived in Mississippi I debated if it was even worth hitting the brakes for those chihuahua sized deer

Just a request, but if you can take better pictures of the rack next time and dispense with the field dressin' lesson, heh heh. I can only say I would like to see what that buck would have looked like next year Nate.....seriously though, glad you are not hurt, and glad you were able to recover him...I remember video from last year of a hit not so clean...enjoy the Jerky.

Aww, it's jest a little bit of red paint.

Esshup my wife has the same vintage diesel Jetta as yours. Thanks for the pics so I know what they look like after whacking a deer, this why I dont have to find out for myself

rexcramer:

The good thing that came from the hit is that I replaced the factory headlights with Hella e-codes and slipped Hella Micro DE Fogs in the little vents below the headlights. I feel lucky that no air bags went off. Hood, radiator support, grill, emblem, hood latch and front bumper were replaced.

steffen,
If I would of sped up instead of slow down I would have had a much cleaner head shot, but I guess I was more interested in the rack than the meat. In those split second moments you just rely on your natural instincts.

joe,
will post pics of the rack once we get er mounted on the wall. it was too cold and dark to waste time photographing.

ok Nate don't make me come up there and teach you archery. This is your second buck and you seem to be using more powerful weapons each time. Come to the dark side and switch over to stick and string and earn those deer.

Or at least hit them with a bicycle.

I'm just a pulling your chain a little Nate. A buddy of mine just back from Iraq got a little 4 point today on my place, he was tickled as punch to get to hunt and harvest a deer. Military folks on active duty can purchase a license in PA and are exempt from the antler size minimums for harvest, so he didn't have to identify 4 point on one antler before he shot, he just put the deer down. I ended up gutting, dragging, and skinning for him. We ate back straps for lunch and he just left with 4 quarters in his cooler and a big grin. I am still going out to hunt doe tonight with my .50 cal Hawken so I may be bloody yet again today. Red paint, heck my garage floor is red going on black by this part of the year, heh heh.