Broadside learns a lesson.

[frisky]

congrats

[Crispy]

Congrats!

[bucknbill]

good story..congrats on your deer...hope your other "dear" is understanding

[one shot scott]

Congratulations! Great post.

[BigNasty]

.

[j.krug]

Congrats on your first successful solo hunt! It sounds like you figured things out as you went and got the job done...way to go! Great story.

[Broadside]

Thanks for all the feedback and shared wisdom!

I added some pics of my deer after it was all field dressed and ready to go.

[Big58cal]

Congrats on the deer! Nothing better than fresh meat!!!

After I get a deer, if I've got a down hill drag (in most cases where I hunt), I'll drag it down to the bottom of the hill (about 100 yds or so) to a clearing where I can get the 4 wheeler to it, and field dress it there to keep the smell and such away from the immediate area where I hunt. If I've got an uphill drag of any distance at all, I'll open'em up right there to lessen the weight.

On the field dressing, cut from the tip of the sternum on down to the teets on a doe or the spam of a buck and no further (initially). You just want a hole big enough to get the guts out. If you open it up all the way (pelvic and rib cage), you're just opening the area up for debris and dirt during the drag. Once you get the guts out, cut the heart and liver loose and pitch them back up inside the chest cavity. Once you get the deer back to your vehicle, then if you want to cut the pelvic bone and rib cage open, you can and you won't really have to worry about all kinds of stuff getting inside.

My old crusty uncle that taught me how to hunt taught me that about the field dressing (making the cut just big enough to get the guts out). He and I always hunted back in the middle of nowhere and never seemed to have an easy or short drag if one of us got one.

As for the little woman............. I tell mine that I'll be home when I'm home. If you give'm a time, they hold you to it. Too many things can happen (as you just learned) that will throw you off schedule. Better to play it safe and have them pleasantly surprised that you're home early than mad at you for getting home late.

Congrats again on your deer! Experience is the best teacher in anything.

[strum]

i try to just wound my deer then i hold my crossbow on em and make em walk to the truck

[VixChix]

i try to just wound my deer then i hold my crossbow on em and make em walk to the truck

Gotta teach me that trick!

[Galgo]

Excellent story will be good to hear the follow up on those gun shots.

[chris4570]

Great story!! You need to find a good friend/hunting partner. It makes getting them deer out a lot easier. Also, look into getting a game cart, although with a Camry you don't have a lot of room.

[Broadside]

Got an update on all those gunshots.

Apparently the neighbours' dogs were attacked by coyotes during the week. He had them chained outside, and they couldn't escape. I don't know how badly the dogs were injured, but apparently he had to pay $2000 for stitches and treatments to patch them up. So he called his buddies and they went on some kind of coyote hunt. I don't know if they got any, but that's why they were shooting so much.

[sipsey]

Good story! There are many ways to move a dead deer but one of the easiest means to do so is with a piece of plastic sold by Cabelas (deer sled) that rolls up into relatively small tube.

When younger the dragging was no big deal, at 60 I now simply smile and pull my deer easily behind me with one hand.

[bucont]

Congrats on the deer. That story shows us some character right there. Good job.

On a side note, I have learned after 30 years of marriage that you can forget a tarp, a light or a knife but don;t forget the cell phone call to the wife, it eases the pain greatly.
Damm cell phones took all my fun away.