This reminds me of something that happened to me a few years back. I had been watching the biggest buck I'd seen on the farm all summer and had seen him a few times while bow hunting, but quite far away. I'd done all I could do to keep from spooking him. He was evidently bedding near where the tornado came through the government ground about half a mile up the hill. On cool, sunny evenings he would browse down the natural funnel to make his way to the clover field just before dark. The farm borders a few thousand acres of national forest which is a walk-in only area about two miles from the county road. There is an access road that isn't public, but it isn't uncommon for people to drive ATVs and UTVs through.
I had waited for a front to come through and had placed a stand just on our side of the fence row, knowing the buck would make his way down to get to the clover field. The day I was ready to make my move happened to be the first day of firearms youth season, so I knew there was a possibility of other hunters in the woods on the public side of the fence.
I made my way to the stand around 1500 with the expectation the buck would be coming through around 1600-1630. Sure enough, at 1545, he appeared. He made his way down the fence row and came within 35 yards of my stand according to my rangefinder. I never had the perfect broadside shot I had hoped for, but 35 yards wasn't unreasonable. I had been practicing to 70 all summer long and had set a limit on myself for 40 yards. I decided to take the shot. I had pressed the release and maintained focus on my pins perfectly bracketing him between 30 and 40. I let the arrow fly, seemingly in slow motion as I watched it strike the buck in his shoulder passing through to the other side just behind the opposite shoulder. It appeared to be perfect shot placement despite the mildly quartering angle.
I was more pumped than I'd ever been. I watched the buck attempt to jump the fence, but he had fallen. He mustered the strength to stand back up and clear the fence, spreading his blood all around the area. He slowly crested the hill 80 yards from my stand and continued on his way. I heard him crash once more and get back up. I heard stumbling, faintly in the distance. I decided to give the buck plenty of time to expire as to not bump him. After all, I had at least two hours of daylight and it was cooling off quickly.
Approximately one hour later, I decided to clear my stand and walk to where he had crested the hill. As I crossed the fence, I heard a UTV pull up. I heard excited voices, one of which said "look at the size of that buck Its fresh too!" I began yelling at them that it was my deer and took off running. They were about 250 yards up the funnel. I heard a tailgate slam before they drove away. I walked the blood trail all the way to where they were, found the first spot the buck had crashed, then followed the blood trail to within ten yards of the access trail where the buck's final resting spot was with disturbed leaves and a large pool of blood. But my buck was gone.
By the time I got back to my vehicle it was approaching dark. I drove up to the gravel road that leads to the public land just as a truck with a trailer behind it hauling a red UTV. In the bed of the truck, I saw antlers. I flashed my lights and did all I could do to get the truck to stop with no avail. By the time I got my truck turned around, the truck was out of sight and my deer gone; taken from me.
I spoke with my father-in-law who informed me that that was not an uncommon occurrence in that neck of the woods and it had even happened to him, though not with a trophy buck. Fortunately, the 20 acre section of private ground people have to trespass across to get to the access road came up for sale a few years later. It had been owned by an elderly woman that lived several hours away and was more or less abandoned. The family was able to purchase the land and harden it such that trespassers can't make it across so easily. If one wants to hunt the back portion of the government property behind our land, they will have to hoof it at least two miles.
