Though I manage a couple of nice private properties I still get my kicks taking a mature buck on pulic land.. So today I took a quick hunt after work today in the Francis Marion National Forest. Being time restrained I slipped into an area close to home that I had seen a nice buck at 60 yds during bow season.. As I approached the oak flat I was hunting the vultures jumped up.

It looked like a pretty good shot and was lying in the wide open. I can't imagine that there wasn't a great blood trail judging the shot and it was in the wide open flat and should have been an easy track job..

Not wanting to think the worst I suppose maybe an unexperienced hunter took the shot, lost the blood trail which I found easily or maybe he freaked out and went back the next day and found him? Probably weighed 160 ish but no tarsal staining at least none left to show.. Looks to be 3 days old tops.. The worst someone shot him,cut the antlers off and didn't feel like the 1/4 mile drag.. Either way it SUXXXX!!!!!

Bummer. I've found a couple of those over the years, both within 50 or so yards of a road.
One white-tail with the antlers cut off and a mulie doe. The doe had obviously been thrill killed.

I'm not seeing how your "best" case scenario is possible? An inexperienced hunter took the shot, either lost the trail or freaked out left to comeback later and never found the deer?

What do you mean by he may have come back later to retrieve the deer? It's obvious that didn't happen, since the antlers are gone. Are you thinking someone else happened by, saw the dead deer, realized the meat was lost and cut the antlers off? I guess it is possible but I'll bet my left nut someone poached that buck, took the antlers and left.

I agree with Dog_Hunter and think you are being too generous. It seems he was taken only for the rack and left to rot. You might consider calling a warden in and they can look into foul play.

I've found a few as well. Found two on one place and after asking around found that the slob hunters hunting an adjacent property were shooting deer and if they didn't fall at the scene, they didn't even bother looking for them. Pissed me off, but alot of people are piles of chit these days.

I found this buck with his head cut off. They at tempted to tale the front quarters but gave up though they did gut the deer. Thus soured me from hunting private land.
this right here makes me want to blow some knew caps off with some nasty hollow points in my 45.

Those of us that are happy just to see A DEER period really take exception to this. My self included. If there was any way possible to bring these folks to justice, I'd drag them through the courts until they were so broke they couldn't even pay attention. Scum of the earth is what they are, and nothing else. Hopefully they get their comeuppance in the end.

Saw one 2 days ago 50' off the edge of the highway, w/in city limits w/head gone.-Muddy

I was driving back from Chattanooga and just at the county line someone had cut the antlers off a deer that was probably a roadkill deer. Maybe by the time the deer was discovered the meat was already spoiled, but I doubt it.

A guy I hunt with found one 2 years ago that a tree had landed on. He cut the horns off (was a pretty nice rack). Most of the body was gone when he found it.

Completely different scenario, but if someone shot that one and couldn't find it, I wouldn't fault the next guy who came along and found it bloated for taking the horns if he had a use for them...even if the original guy who shot it didn't find it until the next day and it was spoiled I'm ok with him taking the horns (but he needs to burn the tag for it).

Shooting it then just taking the horns and leaving the rest if it isn't spoiled is pretty low...

I found a large 8 point on the third day of gun season one year. It went into the seventies two of those days. I took a picture of it. The right side horn at the base had a hole through it like a drill was used. About a .270 or 7MM. I went through there on Friday and the rack was gone. You never know, someone could have found the deer you are talking about and just cut the rack off. I did find a deer one year that was way back with a huge body and no head. It had been caped out to the shoulders. That was pretty obvious what happened there.

I meant as in the hunter, lost the trail at night, got scared whatever and came back the next day, found it, meat bad ( its hot here) and took antlers..

However I think someone didn't want to drag it the 1/4 mile back to road.. Its thick here no road shot was possible.

I notified several of my buddies in the area including the GW.

Lots of that chit go on around here.

I found several dead deer laying out in hayfields last fall. Both does/fawns and bucks(skull notched).


All kinds of deer get dumped in the road ditch as well. Saw a couple new carcasses this morning on a county road. They were gutted, headless, the usual.

The big thing here in washington is the bucks have to be three point or better. We have some very large two point mulies with no eye guards. Every now and then you will find one that has been shot and when the hunter walks up to it thinking that it is a three point will turn and walk away. They don't look close enough before pulling the trigger. If it is that big it has to be legal in their mind.

Not doubting your claim, but how do you know you found that buck with his noggin lopped off?

I came across a huge bodied whitetail buck with its head cutoff on my Uncle's private land a few years back. Funny thing is whoever did it was either riding the rails or walked in a mile and a half to poach it. Either way it pizzes me off!

Found a doe one day on a wildlife management area and someone had removed the backstraps and left the rest.

Fkin garbage human being deserves the same treatment.

Maybe it's my background but I tend to see things differently.
I don't make it a standard practice to carry a hack saw into the woods.
The cretin who did that did it premeditatedly.