Post by Sasquatch on Nov 19, 2012 18:34:00 GMT -5
I got a call from the Landowner requesting assistance recovering a deer. The out-of-breath call was placed from near the bottom of one of the deepest pits on the property, or as I like to call it, the "Hill of Woe." Not all the way down, but far enough for one to tear his clothes in despair. Worse- from a recovery standpoint at least-- the deer was a large-bodied buck. ( shot at 3:00 PM. )
I had to wait for my seven year old to get off the bus, but we were soon there. We drug about 200 feet of marine grade braided nylon rope down the hill and when I saw the deer I silently thanked myself for buying it on clearance a few years back. This was no job for cheap rope. The buck was a huge-bodied beast of a nine point with a gray nose and thick antlers that had one of the most serious cases of shedded bark I've ever seen.
With one end of the rope attached to a back leg and the other to a distant ATV, I awaited the trial ahead. Suddenly the rope went taught and the deer began to slide up the 45 degree hill. A little bit later, Sasquatch was taking bigger strides than he ever did at Bluff Creek, a death grip on the dark-colored rack. The ATV was dragging us both up the hill at a comical pace, far faster than I could ever climb it alone. I would look ahead for obstacles and then leap to one side like some bizzare mountaineer, steering the carcass to one side. We only got hung up once (for a minute or two!
) and were soon at the top.
We took some more pictures and at one point My son was opening and closing the eyelid. "Asleep, Awake...asleep, awake!" he said. ;D
Once more the dreaded abyss has been conquered.
The deer was certainly mature and I'd say a certain 200 lbs. The rack wasn't huge but it had heavy mass, and was somewhat overshadowed by the huge body. The rack was also tight, and it seems like they run that way around here.
I had to wait for my seven year old to get off the bus, but we were soon there. We drug about 200 feet of marine grade braided nylon rope down the hill and when I saw the deer I silently thanked myself for buying it on clearance a few years back. This was no job for cheap rope. The buck was a huge-bodied beast of a nine point with a gray nose and thick antlers that had one of the most serious cases of shedded bark I've ever seen.
With one end of the rope attached to a back leg and the other to a distant ATV, I awaited the trial ahead. Suddenly the rope went taught and the deer began to slide up the 45 degree hill. A little bit later, Sasquatch was taking bigger strides than he ever did at Bluff Creek, a death grip on the dark-colored rack. The ATV was dragging us both up the hill at a comical pace, far faster than I could ever climb it alone. I would look ahead for obstacles and then leap to one side like some bizzare mountaineer, steering the carcass to one side. We only got hung up once (for a minute or two!
) and were soon at the top.We took some more pictures and at one point My son was opening and closing the eyelid. "Asleep, Awake...asleep, awake!" he said. ;D
Once more the dreaded abyss has been conquered.
The deer was certainly mature and I'd say a certain 200 lbs. The rack wasn't huge but it had heavy mass, and was somewhat overshadowed by the huge body. The rack was also tight, and it seems like they run that way around here.
