Submitted by Paul Zelinsky
It was the last day of rifle season 2:30 in the afternoon. I was going to give up and go home.
I had a disappointing season from hot, cold, rain, snow, sleet to a truck driving down the gas line where I sat one day.
I figured I’d stay and I heard a noise!
I thought maybe a squirrel but it seemed heavier!
I waited to hear it again and then it’s a buck!
It ran right in front of me 20yds away and stopped.
Now I had to pick up my rifle without him seeing me.
I got the gun up without him noticing, he’s looking around a little spooked and then he looks up at me in the tree and turned and walked away from me.
No shot!
He stopped again turned broadside and to a final look at me and began to run!
I was on him the whole time and boom!
I shot at that moment he ran crashing through the laurels I can hear him running and running, oh no!
I waited for a little bit got out of my stand and went to where I shot.
There was blood and poop!
So I waited even longer and didn’t want him to keep going.
What seemed like forever I finally started tracking.
He was bleeding good with some poop still coming out!
Then the poop stopped and then there was bubbles in the blood, lung!
I waited a little longer again.
As I began tracking him once again I had my head down and oops I saw another hunter!
He was a younger guy and he asked if I needed help.
I said if you want to.
We tracked and tracked and came to no trespassing sign!
I was hunting game lands and the guy says don’t worry it’s his dads land!
We walked a little bit more and across the creek was my buck!
He asked me if I wanted to get his quad and take the deer to his house since my drag would have been like a mile.
I said yes and he went and got it while I gutted my deer.
When he came back I told him I left my license in my jeep and that it was up to him if he still wanted to take it without a license.
He said yes and gave me his address and I walked to my jeep and drove to his house.
I didn’t know him from nothing.
Thank god he didn’t lie to me!
I got to his house and his dad was there and his fiancee.
I filled out the tag and put it on the buck.
Done deal!
I thanked him and his dad.
He had my buck on his trail camera and I thought that was cool, then he asked me if i got a 11 pointer back in 2012.
I said yes and again he showed me pics of my buck on his trail camera again!
But the pic of the 11 ended up being a 10. He broke one tine off by the time I shot it!
The guy Justin took the time to help me on the last day of the season with a couple of hours to spare.
When he could have walked away and hunted.
True sportsmanship.
You couldn’t write a better story!
