*WARNING. If you are
not a hunter or do not enjoy hunting stories, please skip this post*
This morning started off easy and lazy. We were just moving around, making a late
breakfast, with the doors and windows open.
It was a beautiful morning.
That’s hunter “code” for “not seeing any deer” and we certainly were not
seeing any deer inside the camp. Out the
window, we saw Cory coming back to the camp from his morning hunt. Considering Cory usually stays out all day
during this time of the season, Jeff immediately knew he got his deer. We anxiously awaited his story.
Cory had been watching this atypical buck for weeks. This guy had points everywhere and a big body,
but his antlers were short, stubby and strangely shaped. Cory is an excellent and diligent
hunter. His patience paid off this
morning when he finally got a shot on this guy.
However, he was not confident in his shot . . . it only took a little investigation
to see it was not a good shot, which is uncharacteristic of Cory. All-day hunts do make for a tired hunter by
the end of the weekend. He was
disappointed in his shot, but he knew to leave the area and let the deer bed
down.
We ate breakfast and got the play-by-play of his hunt. We were all excited to track the deer. After the deer had about two and a half hours
to be still, we suited up. Roux (our
tracking Lacy dog) started jumping around wildly when I picked up his GPS
collar. Off we went!
I am always excited to take Roux for a tracking
adventure. Today, our friend, Clifford,
was in the area and stopped by for coffee.
Clifford breeds Lacy dogs and, secretly, I was really excited to show
him that Roux is an awesome tracking dog.
Jeff’s grandmother used to say that all crows think their babies are the
blackest . . . and even that is probably an understatement when it comes to how
I feel about Roux.
At the spot of the shot, before I could give the command to
track the deer, Roux picked up the scent and took off. Just for good measure, I yelled “Find It!” in
the direction of Roux’s tail. Hey, I had
to act official . . . we had spectators.
From my handheld GPS monitor, I could see that Roux was
about 100 yards into the woods. He has a
different bark when he has an animal bayed and that is the bark we heard. We knew the deer was still alive and we
stopped moving forward. Roux had him
bayed (the GPS showed he wasn’t moving), so we started moving in again. The deer wasn’t willing to challenge Roux,
but Jeff and Cory got to within 10 yards and the scent of humans was too much .
. . the deer bolted before Jeff could get there with his gun. Oops.
It is interesting to stand in the woods, surrounded by
palmettos as tall as you are, listening to your dog chase a deer. The buck was crashing through the palmettos
making lots of noise. We can’t see a
thing, but you learn so much from the sounds.
The deer ran through the waters of the slough and over a ridge. Along the way, he slowed down from his
injuries. Roux was with him the entire
time. Then silence.
We were about 150 yards from Roux. By the time we got there, the deer was down
in the water of the bayou and Roux was with him. The water was deep (for Roux), so he would
swim to the deer but turn around to the shore when he couldn’t bite or pull on
him while swimming. Cory got there
first, just in time to see the current start carrying the buck down the
bayou. When I arrived seconds later, I
saw Cory emptying his pockets and taking off his shirt. Before I knew it, Cory was in the water . . .
in January! He made more noise than Roux
when that water hit his chest, but he made it to the deer and pulled him to the
shore on the opposite side.
Talk about dedication!
I was in awe of Cory. Roux wanted
to be there, but I kept him on our side of the bayou.
Cory was wet and cold, but smiling big.
Here is the atypical buck.
He weighed 226 pounds. An
excellent cull buck.
A great Agriana adventure and a truly beautiful morning.
