Sad and Happy at same tme

[OhioBowHunter]

Not Many in this forum are likely familiar with this Deer, But I thought I would share my recent find from this past weekend.

This was a Deer I was in Pursuit of During Bow season, I had captured this Deer on my Homemade Trail Camera that I built from knowledge gained fom this site. This game camera was later stolen, But I was fortunate to capture several Live Photos of this Deer in Velvet. Which can be Viewed on my Webshots albums Under Target Trophies..

BTW... The avatar seen here by my name is This Buck when he was In velvet

This Past weekend while shed Hunting I made a discovery, I found in a VERY heavy thicket. Bones and piles of fur. It was scattered several hundred yards, My belief is the Coyotes in the area had scattered the remains, I kept searching to find the head, I was determined since I did not know it was a doe or a buck, I was beginning to loose hope, thinking someone else had found it before me. I then stumbled onto it rite up along a fence line in a VERY dense thicket, even now before greenup.

What Killed this Deer I do not know, Im sadened by it, But elated as well to find it. He was 1 of 3 I was after, I had 2 Opportunities at this Deer, Both shots were not what I was looking for and decided to pass on them, He was a Gorgous Buck and I would have taken him given a better Opportunity, But felt there was always tomorrow, I got hurt Mid season and had to stop the chase, I wanted badly to find the sheds of some of the Deer I was seeing, well Instead I found this to my Surprise...

It was picked clean, But I decided I would finish the Job, so I boiled it in Peroxide and finished the cleaning, Got it done today.

I scored this Deer as a Non typical: Here is the breakdown:

This Deers main Frame is a 10 Point With Both L&R G2's forked His best trait is the GREAT mass. H1-H4 measurements combined add up to 35.750" Inches.

The Deer has 15 Scoreable Points 8R and 7 L with a few others just falling short of the 1" minimum.
The Main Beams are short But VERY thick throughout. R is 20 6/8" L is 20 2/8"

Tip to Tip spread is 13 6/8"
Inside spread is 15 5/8"
Greatest Spread is 20 2/8"

G1's >5 3/8" R 5" L
G2's >10 3/8" R 10" L
G3's> 7 2/8" R 7 3/8" L
G4's> 6 2/8" R 7 2/8" L
H1's> 6" R 6 2/8" L
H2's> 5 7/8"R 6" L
H3"s> 5 4/8" R 5 5/8' L
H4's> 5 2/8" R 5 2/8"L
E> measurements Right Beam total> 5 4/8"
E> measurements Left Beam total>7"
E> Measurements Combined total 12 4/8"

Gross Right beam 72 5/8"
Gross Left Beam 73"
Spread Credit> 15 5/8"
E Totals> 12 4/8"
Total Deductions> 2.875"

Overall Gross Score>173.50"
Net Scored as Non Typical with E measurements> 170.625

Here are some Pictures Of the Rack as it cleaned up...Hope you Enjoy

Dan "OBH"

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Here is another view of the rack looking down on it

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Another View looking at it from Right side Tilted Inward

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Another View tilted left and Inward

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Last View

 

[Russell Bro.]

What a rack and a shame...hate to see somehting like that happen...congrats on the find and it prob makes it a little easier to have two more good bucks to go after

 

[Bond]

Wow awesome buck! That really isn't a good feeling though, what a waste.

 

[coyotebandit]

Holy crap Dan!

I feel for you, that is a once in a lifetime deer for most all hunters. I can't image what it was like to find something like that. I have found more dead bucks and does then I care to remember, but nothing in the B & C caliber. I found a buck in November that I had over 20 pictures of in 5 different locations, I even saw him a couple times, I was really hoping he would make it another year since he had such a unique rack. I was sad to see a nice buck in his prime go to waste, I'm sure you feel the same way. I have found a couple dead P & Y bucks over the years, and was glad I found them and able to enjoy displaying their racks. At least animals were able to feed off it over the winter, but like I said before this was a deer of a lifetime for most. I'm glad to see you took the time to clean it up and will still be able to display it and enjoy it for a lifetime.

I don't think I've ever seen a 170" live deer before, maybe 150-160 at best. I hope you get one of the other two target bucks this year!

I made a template for a skull pedistal for displaying euro mounts, let me know if your interested. It can be mounted on the wall and looks nice in red oak.

CB

 

[WBPruett]

Awesome Story and Beautiful Rack,

I believe most of us who hunt do so because we love deer. Hunting a particular buck becomes the ultimate challenge.

I am glad your back is better. It is good to know you will have the rack and skull to enjoy. If I read correctly, you have two bucks left your were chasing last year.

Sorry this old trophy won't be there for you to chase, but he will be on your wall and in your memories. He didn't get away, but you had a different ending in mind. I always enjoy seeing that picture in velvet beside your post. You named your topic right - sad and happy.

 

[The Buck Stopper]

Yes, I've followed your stories and hunts on that buck. I was pulling for you, hoping you'd get him. Guess you did get him in the end, just not the way any of us wanted you to. However, I am glad you found the rack. It would have been terrible to have never seen that deer again, and just wonder what had happened to him. Looks like you got lucky, and no squirrels or mice got to it. Shed hunting paid off! Thanks for the great pictures, and I hope you get one of the other two this year!

 

[deershed]

WOW!!I see where your coming from.That deer would have made a AWESOME hunting trophy not that he's any less a trophy finding him like you did.Taking his pic on the trail camera and having two close encounters with him while hunting.Sounds like you were putting a good game plan together then you find him dead.At least you got the chance to go one on one with him for a short time.Hopefully he passed those quailty genes down to future generations.You've still got those two other buck and the rack of this guy to go with the memories of the times you spent hunting him.

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Thanks Everyone for the Comments. Its sometimes strange how things happen or end up. The teeth are still all present in the Upper Jawbone area of this Skull, I also found the Lower Jawbone. With the teeth I was able to age the Deer and it appears he was only 3 1/2 years old from best I can tell from wear.

I made a mistake in the Mass H1 meaurements, should be 45.750 Inches not 35.750 Inches I forgot to carry a 1... Thought somehing looked off there. Old school training, should have used a calculator. all them eightts got me screwed up a bit.

I was amazed at how far the head was from the rest of the carcas. those Yotes drug it along ways. Nothing left but bone and hair, sure would like to know what killed it, I never see many winter kills in this area, Only car Kills, where I found him was close to a fenceline that buts up to a highway. he may have been hit by a car, Noone has hunting permission here except myself by the landowner So Unless he was hit from a good distance away and travelled here, Dont think it was hunting related. But you never know.

CB,
That plack you refer to, I would be Interested in seeing that. I was considering making a template of the state of Ohio on a 30 degree angle with a dowel thru the center and mount it that way, Is this more or less what your refering to?

Dan

 

[coyotebandit]

Not exactly Dan, it looks more like the one pictured below. I wanted something I could hang on the wall with about the same angle as a shoulder mount.

You could also do something like this to mount on a table or desk.

 

[Leinie's]

OhioBowHunter,

Great buck and story, thanks for sharing. It looks like you did a great job cleaning up the skull.

 

[buckhunter24]

Awesome find!! Too bad they couldn't have been his sheds though. If he was only 3.5 he had some awesome mass going for him. Nice job on the european mount. I found a nice dead buck this spring as well but he still had all the hair on him so I'm going to let the bugs clean it up this summer.

 

[Backcountry]

That is a great story and incredible pictures. The rack looks like it cleaned up very well. You can hope that this buck was overly sucessful spreading his DNA with the local doe population.

Cheers, Backcountry

 

[Tsmola]

WOW!

what a shame you didn't get to harvest that one Dan, but at least his rack won't be eaten up by tree rats, you'll always have the pics and memories of hunting him.

3 1/2 years old?! my god that's incredible

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Thanks Everyone for the comments...

It was Picked pretty clean when I found it, which was surpising to me. Under it there were a ton of beattles, they seemed to have had a time of it... I never did a Rack like this so I did a lil research online as to how, In the past I just Boiled them and they came out nice and white, But these were fresh...

This was not coming out white still very yellowish and brown... I used 2 15 Oz Bottles of Hydrogen peroxide, boiled for 1 hour at a medium Boil, that seemed to do the trick.

CB,

The Placks I like those. Do you make these? or who does, I would be Interested in 1 of each of them

Dan "OBH"

 

[arlow]

Thats too bad he did not make it Dan. I am happy that you were able to find him though. If I remember correctly you decided not to harvest him this past year because you had thought he had broken off some points. Now that you have the rack in hand are there any broken ones? It looks like he is in one piece from the pictures. Either way he would have been an awesome deer in a year or two. He was an awesome deer as young as he was, but once he body stopped growing and the growth could go into the rack I bet he would have easily gone into the 200's. My condolences on the end of one dream, but I have the feeling you won't have trouble finding a new target for long

Take care my friend.

Rob

 

[OhioBowHunter]

Hey Rob,

The Deer with the broken tine was a differnt Deer... 1 Of the 3 I was trying for, Had a good Opportunity at him, But he had broken off a Huge Tine and part of another on 1 side, So Im hoping to get a chance at him this year, God willing. you have a good Memory to recall that ...

This Deer Is in perfect shape, no chips or anything... I would have loved to harvest him, I keep rethinking the time I had him in range and did not take the shot, But thats hunting. I try to stay with high % shots. Few get to be this way and I would hate to make a shot and not recover the Deer.

I have had it happen in the past and it just haunts you. But then again now this is haunting me... sometimes you just cannot win...

Dan "OBH"