VFL

So here’s the icing on the cake and a GREAT GUY alert... Gobblengrunt volunteered to help me look for the shed and after some hard work and piecing key information together, he worked his magic! Not only did he refuse compensation, he didn’t even let me buy him lunch!! The irony is, we found out we have a mutual friend, too - small world!! This hunt and experience goes beyond a great deer. I’ve had some great people help me along the way and that’s what hunting is all about. Again, thanks for all the support and advice and thank you Ron for driving over an hour away to help a complete stranger!

Awesome deer! Congrats!

Great job!

Joined 6 hours ago, in Somerset county and only posted to this thread. Interesting....

I can guarantee you I don’t regret shooting him. He’s a mature whitetail that’s has outsmarted many hunters. Finding the shed would be icing on the cake.

Thank you and excellent work!

Mostly liver. The small amount of stomach matter must’ve been from the intestine because the stomach was fully intact.

Absolutely. I almost passed on him but I knew I would’ve regretted it. Thank you!

No trail cam pics but he was a bit wider with only two drop tines. He got a bit narrower and grew a third drop tine.

Maybe 50 yds from where I last saw him

Meat is fine, thankfully. He wasn’t too stiff this morning. It was a liver hit, so that helped

State land - been hunting this deer for two years. Almost didn’t shoot him yesterday due to the fact that he only had one side but I feel like if I put enough time in, I can find his other side. Someone had pictures of him on Thursday, not far from where I shot him, with both sides. Again, if anyone can recommend a shed dog, I would be ecstatic!

Darren and his dog did find him. I cannot thank Darren enough and what a great guy! Pics to follow soon. Thanks for all the support and advice!

That was my plan...hopefully I get lucky with both recoveries.

Thank you! Hopefully he sees this post and can help me out..

I’m getting a little ahead of myself by posting here, and I’m hoping I’m not jinxing myself. Here’s the long story...short. I’ve been hunting a triple drop tine deer for over a year on public land. He came in tonight at 27 yards, but he only had one side. Contemplating whether or not I wanted to shoot him for a few minutes, I wound up pulling the trigger on my release, heard a loud crack and thought I went through the shoulder. He sprinted about 75 yards, stopped in the middle of a field for 30 minutes and walked off hunched over. My heart sank. I waited about 45 minutes after I lost sight of him, looked at the arrow and confirmed that fact that I hit him back then completely backed out (I’m assuming I clipped a branch and had my arrow deflected). I already have lined up a dog tracker to help me out at first light and I’m very hopeful in the recovery, but mad at myself for not doing a great deer justice by making a better shot on him. If/When I find this deer, I really would like to look for his other side. Does anyone have a shed dog that they’d be willing to help with this search if need be? The location is near Somerset.

How far did you walk in them? I’ve been looking to buy these bc my feet froze Friday and Saturday.

Different deer

Brothers Marquart

I have a new HSS X1 harness still in the box if you’re interested

I bought this pack in 2014 for an elk hunt and used it again this year for another elk hunt. Other than that, I have not used it. The pack is in very good condition (like new). I can send pictures to you if interested. Here is a link to the exact pack (there are others that are just the external frame; this is the frame with the pack) https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1007597290?pid=623982 Asking $150

I’ve been wanting to use grape vines for scrapes for years. Heard they work well - I could never get my hands on one.

Sitka gear is worth it if you can afford it - also look into first lite. You get what you pay for. First lite has some of the best merino wool on the market. Merino wool is great for all seasons. If you look on camofire or black ovis, you’ll find deals on all kinds of gear.

Pictures?

Bill dance was always something I looked forward to