Poaching/Waste or lost deer in GMU 149

[castie2504]

Found this deer in area we hunted. Someone shot it and left it or couldn't find it or maybe something else happened?. Take a look at the picture the deer is still in velvet and the blood below the head is frothing so it looks pretty fresh but the body was already bloated. Wish I would have taken a pic of the body. It was found on MF opener in the afternoon.What do you think may have happened?

[jason stevens]

I would guess lost , poacher would have cut off the head.was it shot in a good spot or bad shot in need of tracking.

[Todd_ID]

I'd guess a lost animal, also.  A deer in the open country can somehow disappear without a trace sometimes.  Without a great blood trail maybe the hunter just couldn't get a break in the tracking and lost it.

[Dhoey07]

Maybe spit was nicked in the neck and long slow death from muzzy season 

[jason stevens]

If there is no clear signs of shot maybe a predator tried and didn't finish.

[castie2504]

Lost deer was my first thought but the body was bloated. It had to have been there for sometime? It was found on opening day in the afternoon. How long does it take for a deer to bloat up? It hasn't been to warm but then again if was there for sometime I guess the coyotes would have gotten it. Guess we'll never know what happened.

[jrebel]

In the sun...they will boat in a day.  Could have easily been shot opening morning and bloated by the evening (if it layed in the sun).

Nice deer.

[billythekidrock]

In the sun...they will boat in a day.  Could have easily been shot opening morning and bloated by the evening (if it layed in the sun).

Nice deer.

 

And some will look bloated within minutes of being shot.

[j_h_nimrod]

In the sun...they will boat in a day.  Could have easily been shot opening morning and bloated by the evening (if it layed in the sun).

Nice deer.

 

And some will look bloated within minutes of being shot.

I have seen them bloated within a couple hours, I always theorized it had to do with what they were foraging on.

Overall it looks fairly fresh and most areas I know in this country are infested with coyotes so it would not look like a deer within a few days. Birds would have been at it too.

[Jonathan_S]

In the sun like that they can bloat in 30-45 mins.

Two years ago I shot a buck during MZ and it died in the sun.  It took me about that long to find him and he was very bloated (I hit him quartering away and passed through guts before reaching the lungs)

Trust me that buck might not have been there long

[HunterStrait]

Most likely a lost buck.
Shame, he would've been a good roast.

[j_h_nimrod]

Maybe it's just me but I would have checked the meat using the good old organoleptic senses. If good I may have salvaged some if practical even if illegal. I hate seeing game go to waste.

[Band]

Very interesting that it is still sporting velvet at this time of year.

[boneaddict]

Birds are hungry, and in open country, his eyes would have been gone within short order.   Could easily have been thumped in the morning and lost.   Bloated by afternoon.   

[Encore 280]

You could probably get an idea by how cloudy/glassy the eyes were at the time.

[GameHunter1959]

GMU 149 is a big GMU. Pending the location; the temp has been between 72-85 degrees. The eastern side of the unit was 85 degrees the day before the season. It cooled off into the mid 70s opening day. I'd guess it was a lost deer that you likely found in tall grass, where it could have been easily lost.

[bowhunterwa87]

Off with his head!!!