The hunter told me when I pulled up that there was coyotes in the same head of woods last night raising hell. He was afraid they had already gotten to him. When we tracked the deer though, the track went on forever. We tracked at least a mile….all within a 200-300 acre head of woods around some cattle pastures. I think the yotes he heard may have gotten after the deer and run him around and eventually out of the head of woods.
The funny thing about the track is that the deer was putting down spots of blood here and there nearly the whole way but never bedded that we saw. He jumped a tight 5 strand barbwire fence about 3 different times along the way. I believe he was being chased or pushed just judging by his route and behavior. He was doing stuff that a hit deer wouldn't want to do if given the choice.
He originally took us all the way through the head of woods to a dirt road……at which point he jumped the fence. For some reason the landowners had the fence set off of the dirt road about 20 yards creating a little strip of woods between the fence and road. Instead of crossing the road, the buck turned an ran down the strip of woods for about 150-200 yards before turning back into the head of woods and jumping back across the fence again.
At this point we’re headed right back the way we came except we’re down the hill a little ways from the original line. The buck went a couple hundred yards before turning and angling back up hill and crossing over the original line. He had done a complete loop…..still putting down blood here and there. He crossed over the original line and kept angling around until he eventually circled us back around headed toward the dirt road again. To make a long story a little shorter….he eventually jumped the fence again and went across the dirt road the second time. That’s where we had to call it….it was just as well at that point anyways it seemed like. He had went a long ways.
There was a little brown and white hair at the hit site. That along with the blood we were finding leads me to believe the deer was hit low somewhere. The hunter was up in a climber shooting down on the deer at around 130 yards or so I’d say. He may have just clipped it in the brisket or behind the leg.
