direction for 250 meters. Clearly, this was no coincidence. If I had had any doubts, they were gone. This was the correct buck that had been shot the day before through one lung. The other thing I was pretty sure of was that he was too strong to catch up to with just a tracking dog on a leash. I also forgot to mention the other strong, evasive maneuver he used that worked pretty well for him.
I am sitting here writing this article with my arm in a sling because at one point, when he started the 250 meter retrace in the field, it appeared he purposely avoided an easy crossing of a 7 foot deep by 4 foot wide ravine and jumped across the ravine at an awkward spot. Well, his pursuer, me, fell into that ravine when a log he used as a bridge broke! Of course, I am pretty tough too, so I handed the leash to the hunter for awhile and hobbled along until I got my wind and could take the reins again. The buck continued back right past the original hit sight and eventually got on the back trail of the original trail he had followed before he was shot. At this point, I considered all of the following information I knew about the deer:
1. One lung hit that collapsed and stopped bleeding.
2.Hole in bottom of chest but not really that much blood likely lost.
3.Was willing to go up a very steep hill within one or two hours of being shot the
day before.
4.Never let us get close enough to see or hear him even in some very open
hardwoods after chasing him 1 ½ miles after the button hook bed.
5.Appeared to be able to run through the forest at will without struggling 24
hours after the shot.
6.Made a very large 500m circle and had enough wits about him to throw in a
250 meter back track.
7.Tried to kill his pursuers (and almost did) by setting up a booby trap at the
ravine!
I decided to give up the trail. As long as this deer can fight off any ensuing infection, this deer has a good chance to recover from his wounds.
I hope my own shoulder heals as quickly!