IL buck hits the dirt...well mud!

[air_rn]

Shot him yesterday morning at 0900. Not my biggest buck ever but a respectable buck. I actually have passed this buck up 3 times with my bow. Yesterday morning I was hunting a drainage ditch in a large CRP filed. The ditch is a mud pit. But it cuts right thru the middle of 100 acres of 15year old CRP tree program. It is a great sit for the Muzzle loader as you have a 200 yard window to shot. I heard a shot to my west and about 10 minutes later 3 does crossed the ditch in front of me at 100 yards. I reach for my binos and I see a buck slide down the side of the ditch. He stands up and I can tell he has been shot in the front leg. It was completely shattered. No vitals just high front leg. I watched him try and get out of the ditch for 5 minutes before I decided the right thing to do was harvest him. Quick check on the range finder put him at 141 yards. Knight Master hunter off safety and the rest is history. Used a Barnes 245gr MZ pushed with 120 gr triple 7ff. I took a high shoulder and he dropped in his tracks. Older buck we guessed him 4.5. dressed weight was 220lbs.

 

[hawgslayer]

:yeah:

Congrats :!: :!: Nice buck 8)

Ray......... :wink:

 

[ShawnT]

Condrads on a Fine buck. :yeah: Hats off you for ending his misery. :goodman:

 

[oldfox]

Well done! Nice looking buck! :yeah:

 

[jg2006]

Definitely the honorable and humane thing to do and a nice buck on top of it! Congrats!

 

[GregK]

You did the right thing & harvested a great buck at the same time. Well done!

 

[cayuga]

nice buck... I sure would have never let him walk.

 

[LarryBud]

Congrats on a fine buck.

Nice shot at 141.

 

[jims]

That was the correct thing to do.

 

[air_rn]

Thanks all. I agree! I would have shot him even if he was a spike, or a doe. It was the right thing to do. I am not sure if he would have lived had he not got down in that ditch. I have seen 3 legged deer running around. But there was not a doubt in my mind he was not going to make it. He was wore plum out!

 

[CoHiCntry]

Yep... what everybody else said. Good for you.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

Congrats! :applause: Nice buck!

 

[03mossy]

He was a shooter wounded or not! But good job ending his suffering.

 

[Widude]

I would do the same. I was a little easy on the IL deer this past hunt. The largest I scoped while he stood at 40 yards was an 8 ptr. I had an anterless I could of took later too. I held my fire in part because our sightings were down a fair amount, 40 min North of Peoria. There were reports of 'blue tongue' in the area, dead deer to show.

I almost had a shot at one of the 2 coyotes I saw. I also considered ridding the farmer of a pesty possom. My main jolly came from pushing a 7 pt to a guy who was able to bag his biggest deer to date(MN hunter). During that same drive another guy had a clean miss on an 8 pt, a 4 pt & one or 2 does came by too, slowly. It's a finger of cover that really never gets hunted, after a few days the deer use it to sit out the season.

 

[JStanley]

Congrats on an honorable harvest that would look great on any wall! :yeah:

 

[teebugg]

Nice buck!