Big Michigan Doe Down and Stolen in 60min

[grizz49]

Yep!, On Thursday I decided to fill a Private Land 452 deer tag and harvest a mature doe. At 22 yards I put the slick Trick through the right side of her chest, the lumenok lite the path to watch the flight. Smack it hit hard pushing her over backwards on to her back, she roll up and got up and headed out. I came down the tree with my climber, tracked it for a short ways and marked the trail. Decided to give her some breathing room just in case, so my wife and daughter and I had dinner and got dresses for the track down. All was looking good, finding a broken blooded Gold Tip, Broadhead end. We pushed on paying close attention, I mentioned to my wife it looks like she is going make it to the road. Soon the trail brought us to the side road near our cabin Up north. We looked up and down and so no sign of the deer. Then my wife said what is that in the road. We all shined al lights in the direction she was pointing to. A large pool of blood in the road, and drag marks from the ditch where the deer had fallen. I waited to long, but who knew where she was going to fall, right in some road hunters lap apparently.


After almost six days of very cold wet hunting my prize was gone, and I was sick to my stomach. After 24hrs I soon recovered and headed back out to hunt some more. Now all the second guessing will start in my mind, should I have waited for a better angle, maybe a mechanical head would have dispatched her sooner. Who can tell, I have freinds that have lost deer like this and just could not find them. Its a sickning feeling in the gut. I'm back at home for now, the hunt is over till next time. Maybe by sharing my sicking experience some of you will keep these things in the back of your mind to help protect your hard earned Trophies, from the free loaders of our world.

[jim p.]

How far do you feel the doe traveled before being road nabbed ? This may help answer a few of your questions as to a better angle to shoot, broadhead even your wait. I suspect you'll find that the only thing you could have done is to persue until you found her. This isn't normal procedure for good hunters but then again, neither is picking up someone's elses kill.
Even if you had persued her, you may not have been able to stop it. Put the word out - most likely someone will know something.
Now, stop beating yourself up - you did what good hunters do. You gave it time to lay down and stiffen up. Most likely another so called hunter was in the woods, saw she was hit, waited to make sure she wasn't being tracked just yet - then tagged her himself. Hey if that's what some people feel hunting is, it's their loss in the long run

[grizz49]

Maybe 150 yards, maybe a little more, she travel from north to south with means she traveled thru the narrow part of two small parcels of private land!
Years ago, there would have been more time, a apple or something to stop them and let them calm while you took time. There has been no baiting up there for several years, and now the whole lower part of the state is no baiting. So Ambush tactics on the way to food plots is what most use.

[Daniel Boone]

Sounds you made a good shot.
DB

[jdawg240]

That just stinks. Look at it from a different view. Maybe someone thought you had lost the trail and didn't want the deer to go to waist. Probably not what happened but at least the yote's didn't get her.

[armyof1]

grizz the same thing happened to me 4 years ago. except mine was taken from the road. ok here is what happened. i was hunting on a friends property and i shot the bigest buck i have ever seen . prob was he was on the fence line to someone elses property . needles to say he jumped the fence. so i drive to the owners house ask permission to retrieve my deer . i go to get it only to find that a hunter on his property was graging it to his truck . he had put his tag on it and claimed it was his . not wanting to cause any probs for my friend with his neighbor i droped the whole thing but was mad as a stired up hornets nest. i told my friend what happened and he said the same gy dii the same thing to him a couple years earlier.

[Gator eye]

Was there any plastic on the road?? Maybe she crossed the road and got hit by a truck. the truck owner seeing 2000 dollars worth of damage threw the doe in his truck thinking he was going to get something for his 2000 dollar repair bill. Now who really deserves that deer??


Does that make you feel better??

Besides you get to use that tag all over again..... twice the fun for the price of one.

[armyof1]

good point

[Slippy]

somebody wants a deer bad enough to steal a doe freshly whacke by a hunter, they can have mine.

Just leave my buck alone!

[Scud]

What luck. At least it didn't go to waste and you got out of the dirty work of guttin and cleaning. You got a little target practice and will be that much more prepared when a big boy steps out. Win/win.

[grizz49]

No sign of accident, Oh well after all these years o Hunting I guess something like this was bound to happen. I like the practice idea, the bow, arrows and broadhead did a outstanding job! Thanks for the encouragement!

[hutchies]

2 years ago after passing bucks for years and years I had one I wanted come by. Nice P&Y 10 point. 37 yard shot.............Pass thru. Good blood trail. Told my wife to come meet me at the gate with a lantern. When I met she said some guy just left with a dang big buck. My stomach sank. We followed the blood trail all the way to a gut pile.

Hope you feel better cause that story still makes me sick to my stomach.

[Gator eye]

Originally Posted by hutchies

2 years ago after passing bucks for years and years I had one I wanted come by. Nice P&Y 10 point. 37 yard shot.............Pass thru. Good blood trail. Told my wife to come meet me at the gate with a lantern. When I met she said some guy just left with a dang big buck. My stomach sank. We followed the blood trail all the way to a gut pile.

Hope you feel better cause that story still makes me sick to my stomach.

Every hunters nightmare when you can't track right away.

[freeds_01]

What ever happened to good hunters ethics. Some people just don't get the whole point of hunting. It's not always about being able to say you got your game. I would have rather waited to see who shot the deer and then celebrated a clean harvest with the lucky hunter. But then again, we can't choose who's in the woods with us.

[grizz49]

Some years ago a friend of mine lost a 12pt almost in the same manner as you lost your 10pt. I wonder what lies where spun on both those bucks. I think if I was out this weekend and came across that type of deer, I might just sit on it awhile to assist the real hunter who shot it. I just don't understand why someone would take anothers Buck or deer of any kind. Guess my Grandpa taught me good woodsmenship and ethics. Mom always said God does not like ugly, and the bad things will happen to that one! Oh! well I think we should bury this and have more fun in the woods, anyone what to fling some arrows SWOOOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wildjerseyfirefighter]

i couldnt imagine that happening to me..I wouldnt be as calm as you are..

I am a firm believer in Karma thou, so he/she will get theres one day

[MTColl28734]

Stealing kills, stealing stands, stealing blinds, poaching; it's all the SOS. There are sportsmen and there are the rest of 'em.

[Mike F]

There's nothing wrong with your equipment, or what you did after the shot.
The problem lies with the person that took the deer.

[hstubblefield]

Dad had a 150" 10 point sole from him a while back.Bad thing is we found were a truck had pulled up and picked him up. it stinks for sure

[SpiritOfTheWild]

sorry about that brother, more than likely mistaken for roadkill. sometimes going against our better judgement is a must, and sometimes theirs jus nothin we can do, youll get another one