Hunter: Phil Graham
Points: 10 (5L, 5R)
County: Screven
Season: 2020-2021
Hunt Story
Killed in the 12 acres behind our new house. Upon purchasing the property I blazed a trail, hung a camera and backed out. After weeks, finally got him on camera two days in a row at 7:30 to7:40 a.m. last week. I hung a climber and hunted every morning and evening and Friday morning, he finally came in. I saw a doe pass by that kept waving her tale and looking behind her. I grunted once and he snort wheezed, stomped, and started kicking dirt every where. After about 30 seconds he ran out into the small opening below me and I made a hard quartering shot. he went about 6 feet and fell over. After 25 minutes of watching him lay motionless, I dropped my back pack to the ground, and began my descent with my climber. I reached the ground, put on my backpack, grabbed my gun, and headed towards the buck 15 yards away. In astonishment, he rose up and tore off out the woods and into the cotton field behind my property. I was unable to get off a second shot due to a large oak between us. I checked his lying area and found fresh feces and no blood. I followed the broken tree limb debris out to the field slowly and found blood. I backed out, and waited about an hour or so. My neighbor had been hunting this buck as well and he phoned to see if it was the "one." I told him I wasn't sure and he asked me to ride over and we would discuss. After conversing for a bit we believed he wouldn't be far. So he, his cousin, and I hit the field and walked about 50 yards following his foot tracks. When the tracks stopped we believed he jumped left to the woods or right to the waist high cotton. We spread out and found blood on the cotton and he lay maybe 5yards from it. I have never in my life dropped a deer and have it runoff after so long. I guess I will sit another hour or two next time. Big Thanks to Travis Timms and Chad Timms who helped me find this buck. As a hunter for 20 something years there is no worse feeling than losing a deer and when he got up that terrible feeling hit me. Grateful for friends and neighbors.
