Hey Guys,
I spent last Sunday afternoon scouting an area on the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia that I had hunted last year. Last year in this area, I had seen several deer (including a couple of bucks) and it was covered up with scrapes. I intentionally stayed out of the area this year until now.
During last Sunday's scouting trip, I found a good rub line and a couple of scrapes, so I quickly hung a stand and left the area. I hunted the stand on Thanksgiving morning and around 10:00 a.m. this 8 point came cruising thru searching for does.
I hit him through both shoulders with a 240 grain Swift A-Frame from my 6" Freedom Arms 44 Mag. The shot took the use of his front legs away from him and he pushed himself out of sight with his rear legs. I didn't think that he would go far, and he didn't. I walked up to him and he was lying on his back with his antlers in the dirt. However, he was still breathing so I put another A-Frame through his chest cavity and this ended things quickly.
Due to the fact that I was about a mile away from the truck with no road or trail to drag him out on, I hoisted him in a nearby tree, skinned, deboned and packed him out.
Ready for transport:
On my back and ready to go.
It was a difficult pack out around the side of a mountain in wet leaves, but I tried not to complain. It had been an awesome morning to be in the woods.
