At 8 AM on 11/5/09 I had a good shot at a nice doe and took it. The hit looked good; low in the ribs. The deer left tail low at a hard run. After 1/2 hour I got out of the stand and followed a fair blood trail for 80 yards to where I found my arrow. To my surprise there was paunch material on the arrow shaft so I backed out for the day. At home there was a call from a neighbor that he had a buck hit in the shoulder. Though all evidence indicated a shoulder hit the hunter was positive he had killed the deer and would not believe the evidence. Trail #15 of the season ended with a frustrated hunter and a tracker frustrated with the hunter.
At 4 PM, in a freezing drizzle, after an 8 hour wait, I took up the trail (#16/2009) of my deer. Karma took me 300 yards where we jumped the three other deer that had been traveling with my doe. We cruised through the bedding area to a deep gully where, thinking she was tracking the healthy deer, I pulled her off and took her back to the first 80 yards of marked trail. This time she followed the same trail to the deep gully. Grudgingly I followed Karma's insistent advise and there in the bottom of the gully was our deer, still alive, but very sick. I dispatched the deer and the celebration began. I wish I had a better photo but I guess this the best an excited old, worn out, sweated up, hunter in a gully bottom, in the freezing rain can do.
Some times Karma has to track one for The Gipper.
Kevin
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