TOM'S
1st POPE & YOUNG BUCK
February
2003
Eastport, NY
It
was my first weekday of bow hunting, and it was also the start
of a 10day planned hunting vacation, which I always plan for
this time, besides other days.
It was Friday morning, and under 30 degrees as the sunrise began
to peak above the horizon. Along with clouds and even a brief
period of sleet, it made for a noisy start to the day. All of
a sudden, it had become so still and tranquil, it was like someone
turned a switch off. As I turned around, I spotted a real nice
buck emerging from the thickets, and knew he was a shooter. I
picked my spot way up in front of him (42 yards) and let it fly.
The big buck immediately hit the ground screaming out loud. He
then raised his head and dragged himself down the hill, all through
the woods screaming the entire way until out of sight. I could
not believe this buck got up!
I tracked this deer for 6.5 hours on Friday, which led me to
a nearby swamp about a ¾ of a mile from where I originally
hit him. I heard the buck moaning as I stood on the edge of the
woods that bordered the swamp. I was physically exhausted so
I decided to wait for my friend Jim to lend a hand, being that
tomorrow was Saturday. We headed to the swamp where I had left
him just 16 hours prior. We thought we would just have to locate
him, and dress him out, but no sooner did we step into the swamp,
the huge buck (Bigger then I thought) emerged and crashed through
the swamp, exiting it on the opposite end. I could not believe
how big he really was. We again found a great blood trail along
with half the woods being dragged as he headed back to where
he was originally hit. (1.5 miles now)
We jumped him 2 other times on Saturday before noon, but eventually
lost blood near a county road. Jim had to return home, due to
his son's soccer game. So upon reaching home, I could not except
the idea that it was over, so I contacted a friend who furnished
me with a telephone number of a dispatcher, who turned around
and provided me with the correct number of a licensed deer tracker
in my area. She agreed to meet me at 2 pm, and informed me that
her dog needed at least 50 yards of fresh blood. I replied no
problem; her beagle Hoover immediately took to the trail and
crossed the road. He led us through yards, thickets and fields,
eventually putting us next to a woodlot at the end of a field.
Hoover seemed a little confused so I looked back to reflect on
just how far this buck had taken us (over 2.5 miles), when all
of a sudden, Lee yelled to me "There he is, Shoot him"
After running with the dog for a few hours, I blew the shot just
over the top of him, Damm! Then the dog got loose, but fortunately
his leash got hung up on a downed tree branch, as he was right
on the bucks tail just before crossing a major highway. Lee explained
that she really should not be pursuing live deer, but agreed
to let the deer lye another night and maybe he would finally
expire, being that he had lost so much blood, and also agreeing
with me that this deer was hurt bad, and could not possibly go
much further. Lee reiterated what a magnificent buck this was
after he emerged from the end of the field, not 15-20 yards from
us. We both knew he was a Pope & Young buck, and wanted to
go after him.
The next day we ended up crossing a major highway, going over
an elevated railroad tracks, and ended up in the thickest piece
of woods that any of us had ever seen. After almost giving up,
Lee asked that we stay back because she wanted to work Hoover
alone because he wanted to go back to the same area. All of a
sudden Hoover began to go crazy, and Lee yelled, "Knock
an arrow and get over here". After running through these
woods, Jimmy and I were cut up pretty bad, and I was bleeding
badly on my face from the thorny vines. The buck jumped again,
but only went about 20 yards and laid back down as Jimmy ran
to the right to keep him between us all. Lee yelled to Jimmy,
do you see him, he replied no. Lee informed Jimmy that the deer
was between Jimmy and her and they were only 15 yards apart at
this point, and Jimmy could still not see the deer.
Lee informed
Jimmy to keep crawling towards her voice until he could see the
buck and maybe get a shot. As he continued to crawl through the
vines, the buck moved slightly, and finally presented me with
a final shot to end this incredible adventure. It finally ended
after 3 days, and over 3 miles. I had pursued this incredible
animal for over 18 hours, along with the help of my friend's
Jimmy, Lee and Hoover. Jimmy shouted, Tommy you got some buck,
"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 points" and a perfect rack, what
a buck. He weighed 170 pounds putting his live weight at about
220-230, and has a 21- 5/8" inside spread with long G'2s
and G'3s. I will have the deer officially scored by the end of
January, but he should score between 143 & 153. None of us
will ever forget this incredible experience. (note: the deer
officially had a gross Pope & Young score of 144-4 and net
score of 141-4) |