Back to my story.....sorry, had to actually get some work done for a while since I am not like "W"!
Anyway, Connor lays the hammer on this doe and we are high-fiving and hugging, boy-was I proud of him on that shot! Then I hear there is another deer! Yep, you guessed it, a little buck was bedded down right by her and he got up and walked to her. He licked her and pushed her, and wouldn't leave. Well, little Bryant Thevis who is also 10, has never killed a deer before. We get him and his dad up to the front of the pack and get him set up. After a little coaching to control the bad case of "buck fever", he finally gets that barrel to stop moving on the rifle and lets it fly. It was a hit, just wasn't sure how good of a hit it was. The deer bucked, but never fell down, then we watched him run through the rice fields towards the woods for over a mile. Where he crossed a field road, I went inspect and found no blood, only tracks. I told his dad we needed to wait and pick up the track later that day to let him lay up.
Well, we went on to our hog hunt after a few photos and it was incredible. Good dog work, good amount of hogs, and a bunch of kids always equals a good time. It was so wild, we had multiple bays going at the same time, and not enough catch dogs! To make a long story short, we got on some big sows quick to wear those young ones out. Then after lunch, all hell broke loose! The dogs got on one about 3:00, and they could not stop it. Several times we went to the bay, only to have the hog break before we could get into the fight with the catch dogs.
At about 4:00, I break off of the hog trails to take the boy and his family to go look for his deer. His mom actually went to my house and get my little tracking dog for me. We get JD on the ground where I last saw the deer in the rice field 5 hours earlier. Almost immediately he picked up the track, although I was doubting him from the get go. I just didn't think that deer would have turned where he did, but as they say - "trust the nose". I let him go another 100 yards, and about the time I figure he is trailing something else, he shows me blood! I yell at Paul to work his way to me since I had them looking for blood and JD continues on the track. Another 100 yards, and he finds a huge wound bed, and I now have confidence in finding this deer. 50 yards later the dog jumps and I see the deer laying in a pile of weeds next to the levee. I yell at Bryant - "Come get your deer" and I got to watch him run through a rice field like Trindon Holiday! It was awesome, and his mom was even there to witness it! Way cool!
I get all this crap picked up from our cookout and get everyone back to the trucks. Everyone, except my dog handlers, my brother-n-law and our two sons. They are still fighting this big hog the dogs are having trouble with. Now, they are out of radio range, can not get them on cell phone, and they are no longer on my proerty. When I finally get them, they are 3 miles from me, lost, and it is now dark. The hog is cornered in a canal, is tearing the dogs up and has 3-4" cutters. I tell them to shoot the SOB, and I am on the way. I find them an hour later, have to get permission from another landowner to get access and then have to fight getting a 353lb Barr hog out of a canal. It was a very, very long night, but worth every minute! Only minor injuries to two dogs and some good eating for a long time!
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