The Survivor buck project.

huntnut78 · May 28, 2014

This buck had a pretty cool backstory. It was shot once by my customer the previous year with a bow, the shot was basically straight down below the stand. The arrow entered and exited on same side of the spine. It was the bucks right side, only getting one lung. They trailed for several hours and over a mile only to run out of blood. The hunter was pretty upset. The buck disappeared for several weeks, only to show back up on trail camera late season. He made it through the winter and looked perfectly healthy at the end of the next summer. That fall he was again shot by the landowners son. The shot was in the right side and he got approximately six inches of penetration, he caught the back of the shoulder blade and it was a longer shot, hence the shallow penetration. the buck took off like nothing was wrong and they only found a few specks of muscle blood. A few weeks go by and my customer sees him chasing a doe through the timber. The buck ends up chasing the doe into bow range presenting my customer with a broadside shot on his left side. He made a perfect shot this time. Crazy thing is he said it dropped like he was shot with a rifle and was dead in seconds. When they field dressed him his right lung was completely shriveled up and black, about the size of an orange. So he was shot three times in the vitals by two different people over two years. These animals never cease to amaze me with their toughness and desire to live. The customer brought me what was left of one shed they found along with two of the recovered arrows. He wanted them incorporated into the mount. This is what I came up with. I am pretty satisfied with how this one turned out.

verne · May 28, 2014

Nice ; thank`s for sharing .

Andrew M · May 28, 2014

cool story and nice mount!!

antlerman · May 28, 2014

Heck yeah.....nice presentation. But he looks kind of funny just floating around in mid air. Is he an angel buck by chance? Might explain why he was so hard to bring down.

Bucksmith · May 28, 2014

what an awesome mount brotha...I really like that and you did him justice! everything looks top notch to me!

mdupertuis · May 28, 2014

Nice looking mount and a great story. They are a tough animal to bring down if not shot right.....and go down so fast with a well placed arrow.

Whitetailfreak84 · May 28, 2014

Very nice mount and story huntnut . Good thing they didn't want you to incorporate the black lung ;D

Randy Miller · May 28, 2014

Not buying it. Lung is lung. Customewrs are so often FOS.

huntnut78 · May 28, 2014

Oh I don't know Randy, doesn't seem like that big of a stretch to me. I get plenty of bull-crappers through here but this customer is as stand up as they come. He works in the medical field as well. He is not a lung surgeon, but he is no dummy either. Does spinal hardware surgeries. I think what happened is the first shot injured his lung severely enough that it atrophied and turned to a ball of scar tissue, but wasn't severe enough to kill him. The second shot on the same side just carried the broad head into a void where the lung used to be. The third shot hammered his one healthy lung. Hence the rapid expiration. I have personally single lunged a big buck only to have them live through it. I have seen whitetails survive with bigger handicaps. Guess it could all just be a story as well.

Bucknut · May 29, 2014

Randy Miller said:

Not buying it. Lung is lung. Customewrs are so often FOS.
Click to expand...

I shot this one in 2011. It had 6 inches of arrow and the broadhead in it. The broadhead was right in one lung which was shriveled up and black. Another time I rattled in a big 10 point right under my tree. Drove an arrow in right next to the spine and single lunged it. The arrow was stuck in the ground so a complete pass thru. Followed the blood trail for 2 miles and it never even bedded down. My buddy shot it a week later from the same tree during shotgun season. I was there when he gutted it out. My arrow had went thru one lung. Same thing. It was all black looking. A big mature buck is a whole different animal.

Bruce

huntnut78 · May 29, 2014

That is a cool looking buck Bruce!

verne · May 29, 2014

Enjoy these stories ; keep them coming . ;D

realdeer · May 29, 2014

Deer are amazing! They can and do live with one lung. Seen it several times over 40 years of hunting them in illinois. People can live with one lung and so can deer.

Steven Klee · May 29, 2014

Beautiful mount Huntnut.

Best, Steve

gray squirrel · May 29, 2014

I sent this on to all of my "experienced, good bowhunter" buddies ages 68 to 38. very interesting & explains a few non recovered animals we have had over the last 49 years of my bowhunting!!
It does defy the training I had as an EMT in 1978 about something called "spontaneous pnuemothorax (sp?)"

Randy Miller · May 29, 2014

Nice buck, Bruce. I suppose it's possible. I once lost a deer shot with a foster slug, found buckets of blood and pieces of lung, trail went bout 80-100yds then just vanished. I guess that's why I keep deer hunting; my motto is "anything's possible"!!

Bucknut · May 29, 2014

Here's the shaft and broadhead from the buck in the pic I posted. I guess it is closer to 4 inches than 6. Guy thing I guess. ;D

Bruce

Andrew L. · May 30, 2014

Nice job!

Whitetailfreak84 · May 30, 2014

A big mature buck is a whole different animal. Bucknut I couldn't agree more. I ve been trying to tell a buddy of mine for yrs that . Maybe I should forward this thread to him I ve lost my share to these warrior bucks . Anyone who is a whitetail freak and spends a lot of time in the woods has lost a mature buck or two , if not they haven't been hunting long Nice buck as well Bucknut

SWIFFY · May 31, 2014

Just beautiful as always! I love that form too!

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The Survivor buck project.

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Bucknut 176 5/8

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Bucknut 176 5/8

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