Son in laws buck

[bigmacc]

Well this is quite the huntin story.....A couple weeks ago my son in law was selected for the wounded warrior hunt in the state of Kentucky,he has been putting in for it for a few years now and was selected this year. The hunt is open to wounded vets who put in for the tags and are selected,the wounded warrior folks knock on doors and get access to alot of private property that is tough to get access to,even the stingyest of landowners allow these vets to hunt there land during these 3 days,the state of Kentucky has wardens on call and it seems whole communities are supportive of this event. The W.W foundation offers guides,field dressers,skinners if wanted or needed,most are local hunters who volunteer their time for the field work. A top notch event for our wounded vets put on by the foundation with alot of help and co-operation from land owners,local hunters and the state of Kentucky. The drawn hunters are alowed 1 buck and unlimited does,I beleive the hunter can keep the buck and 1 doe and all other does are cut and wrapped and donated to the needy,once again all butchering done by volunteers.  My son in laws 1st day of hunting was a good one,he had access to about a 800 acre farm that a warden had told him the day before held some big deer and he was pumped to say the least! About 2 hours into the hunt he spotted a buck that was going to be his "1 buck",he put the crosshairs on him    at about 150 yards and squeezed the trigger,a solid hit but the buck didnt drop. The buck jumped a fence and hobbled about 75 yards and went into a thicket. He knew it was a different peice of property and did not jump the fence to go in. He watched the deer lay down in the thicket thru his binos and watched him for about 10 or 15 min and could see he wasnt going anywhere. He is one of the most ethical people I know and knowing that deer was on a different piece ment he was gonna get permission before he went after it. He walked back out and drove to the base camp and had a W.W rep and a warden go with him to talk with the other land owner. 3 or 4 hours have passed by now and they found the home of the land owner,went to the door and the 3 of them said who they were and the situation,the owner was more than happy to let them go in . As the 3 of them were getting ready to go in the owner tells them to be aware there were some other hunters out there that he had given permission to(not wounded warrior hunters). It took them about a half hour to make it to the thicket only to find a fella dragging a deer out to a skid road near the thicket,they walked up to the guy and looked at the buck. It was the one my son in law had shot,the guy said he found it dead in the thicket,waited awhile and then put his tag on it. The warden basicaly said "I,ll let you 2 fellas take a walk and talk this over". They did,and when they got back to the warden and the rep my son in law said "lets help him load his deer". They did and the guy drove out the skid road on his way home. My son in law and the other 2 walked back towards the farmhouse,they asked him what the heck happened! The guy told him while the 2 were having there talk that he too was a vet and had a number of ailments including PTSD that he was just diagnosed with. He told my son in law he had never got a deer before and heres the kicker......He told him he "might not wake up in the morning" if he couldnt have this deer! My son in law being a disabled vet himself and not wanting something like that on his conscience possibly, gave the deer to him. The guy came back later with the head and my son in law got his picture taken with it......Maybe its something only the two of them can completely understand .

[Boss .300 winmag]

Sounds like they both had a great day! 

Nice story.

[huntnphool]

Awesome

[fishnfur]

Great kill by your son-in-law.  He's surely a super nice guy to give away his kill to the other vet. 

The story is a little unsettling to me, being retired Navy.  I certainly understand the sufferings of our wounded vets, whether it's a physical or mental injury.  They both certainly have disabilities.  The other hunter suggesting that he might not be there in the morning if he didn't get to keep that buck not only suggests that that individual is not mentally healthy, but also indicates that he's probably not getting the care that he needs to successfully recover.  Good thing he didn't get in your son-in-law's rig and claim that as his own.

I'm wondering if your son-in-law got chance at another buck, or did he just hang his tag on that buck too and call it good?

[bigmacc]

Great kill by your son-in-law.  He's surely a super nice guy to give away his kill to the other vet. 

The story is a little unsettling to me, being retired Navy.  I certainly understand the sufferings of our wounded vets, whether it's a physical or mental injury.  They both certainly have disabilities.  The other hunter suggesting that he might not be there in the morning if he didn't get to keep that buck not only suggests that that individual is not mentally healthy, but also indicates that he's probably not getting the care that he needs to successfully recover.  Good thing he didn't get in your son-in-law's rig and claim that as his own.

I'm wondering if your son-in-law got chance at another buck, or did he just hang his tag on that buck too and call it good?

First off, thank you for your service fishnfur. My son in law has mostly longterm physical injuries,he spent 11 years in the army and did 2 combat tours,he,s full blooded Cherokee from Oklahoma with a long line of relatives who have served our country proudly,he,s a good husband to my daughter and a good father to my grandchildren and he loves the outdoors. Yes he was picking up on some mental issues during his conversation with the other fella and felt some compassion I guess for him,once again the conversation and my son in laws decision may be something the 2 of them will only understand,maybe a bond,I dont know. As far as shooting another buck goes,no he did not. In his mind I guess,that was his buck and he killed it even though he never used his buck tag. The warden told him all was well as far as shooting another buck but he declined,he did however shoot 5 or 6 does and kept a 180 pounder for the freezer,the rest went to the needy per the wounded warrior program.

[elkoholic1]

 

[DOUBLELUNG]

A hero and a class act.

[bigmacc]

A hero and a class act.

Thank you DOUBLELUNG, I,m pretty proud of him.

[quadrafire]

Wow......That is great story. Thanks for sharing

[boneaddict]

Great story.   It sounds like a successful program.  I like how the warden let them sort it out and it sounds like your Son in law was the bigger man in this occasion.  Hopefully he comes away feeling successful with his hunt.

[Rainier10]

Great story all around.  You should be very proud of him.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

 

[PlateauNDN]

 

[bigmacc]

Great story.   It sounds like a successful program.  I like how the warden let them sort it out and it sounds like your Son in law was the bigger man in this occasion.  Hopefully he comes away feeling successful with his hunt.

Yes bone,a real neat program for our vets IMHO,wish we had more of this stuff for our vets/sportsmen. Yes he was feeling pretty good about his hunt and his decision

[subagang707]

Great story!  I only wish more people in our society showed half the compassion and understanding this hero did!