Chattahoochee National Forest 8-pointer Locked Up With Decomposing Buck Still Attached

On Thanksgiving Day afternoon, Nov. 24, Nate Martin went hunting in Whitfield County in the Chattahoochee National Forest. He was hoping to get his first buck, but little did he know that he would return home that afternoon dragging two bucks—or at least the remains of two bucks.

“After we all ate, I went to my cousin’s house, which is bordering the national forest. I walked about 2 1/2 miles back into the ridges and found a spot in a thicket to put my chair down and sit,” said Nate.

Nate was hunting in an area where he saw good sign, but he had never hunted there before. As soon as Nate sat down, he used his grunt call to cover up the noise he made walking in.

“As soon as I grunted, a deer grunted back. It was loud, and I knew he was close,” said Nate. “So I grunted again, and he grunted back. After I heard him grunt, I took my J & S deer urine and sprayed it because the wind was blowing in his direction.”

Nate hit his rattle bag, and when he did, there was a big ruckus in the leaves. He turned around to look, and the buck was only 20 or 30 yards behind him.

“When I saw he wasn’t but like 30 yards from me, I put a .270 through him. I didn’t even know he was locked up with another buck until I went down there to see him,” said Nate.

Before Nate made the shot, he had heard antlers knocking together, but with the adrenaline from his buck fever going, he didn’t realize what the sound was.

“I’m guessing that when the two deer got locked up, they eventually got tired and went to lie down. When they did, I’m assuming coyotes got a hold of them. The one was killed and had been decomposed for days, and the other had a chunk out of his leg,” said Nate.

It took Nate 45 minutes to get the two bucks unlocked and ready for the 2 1/2-mile drag back.

“You read about this happening all the time, but to actually experience it… I mean I’m still in shock,” said Nate.