Three Season Deer

[Twispriver]

I finally killed one of the deer yesterday that I have been seeing on my trail cameras all fall. I wrote "killed" in the first sentence because I had already "shot" this deer in the muzzle loader season and it didn't turn out very good.  I first started to get trail camera pictures of this buck, a nice two point with eye guards and a dandy 4x4 with split eye guards in September just as the apples in my little orchard were beginning to ripen. Until early October I had pictures every night on one or more camera but except for a few sightings in early summer I had never seen these deer in the daylight.
A few trail cam pics of the 3x3 and the 4x4.

[Twispriver]

With a multi-season tag I hunted for these deer off and on during the archery season and never saw them once in the daylight but in early October I started to get pictures of them coming by the cameras right before dark so during the muzzleloader season I started to sit on stands overlooking the trails I knew they were using. It seemed that wherever I would choose to wait I would get pictures of them on a different camera using a different trail. One night I was walking back to the house after it got too dark to see through the peep on my gun only to look back an see one of them following me out on the same trail. Then on October 7th everything came together, or so I thought. The 3x3 walked right out in front of me with plenty of light at 30 yards, chip shot right. Should have been except I had been hunting all week and hadn't unloaded my gun and made sure I had fresh powder. Hang fire. I jerked it, he moved, or both. When the smoke cleared the deer was standing out in the open field minus an antler and I had blown my chance.

[Twispriver]

I never got another picture of the 4x4 after October 3rd and after I made the bad shot on the 3x3 he disappeared from sight as well. I had an elk hunt to go on so I missed most of the modern season and had resolved to give it another go when the late seasons rolled around. Then yesterday I had a few hours to hunt in the afternoon so I checked the cameras and picked a spot to try. I had been getting pictures of the two-point pretty regular but still no sign of the other two so I didn't expect to see much if anything but you never know. The deer showed up about 5:45, not on the trail but walking right down the center of a field. I was surprised to see it was the one antlered three point but happy at the same time to have another chance. I moved out of the brush to get an angle, he saw me and walked right toward me. I took a rest on a fence post, aimed right where his neck meets his chest and at the shot he folded up mid stride. He stunk something awful and his neck was swollen and I don't know whether his boldness in walking down the field in broad daylight should be attributed to the rut or being knocked silly a few weeks ago.
If you're wondering , the deer was wearing orange when I shot him and even though I live on a farm out in the sticks and no one would ever know I notched and attached my tag. 

[JakeLand]

Congrats!! Great story

[erk444]

Never saw a deer wear orange but hey...anything can happen

[andr3wxmma]

I'm surprised the shot to the antler didn't knock him out cold. Congrats on a good buck and a even better story.

[savagehunter]

Best story so far now you can glue the antler back on

[fishnfur]

Great story.  Way to stick with it.  Congrats on your success.

[fish vacuum]

Awesome story.

[redi]

Great story

[Twispriver]

We've been very fortunate this year and the freezers are full of fish, pork and elk so with the exception of a few choice cuts, I canned the whole deer. I smoked most of the back straps and tenderloin and canned them in au jus and the rest I just cut into stew-meat sized pieces and canned with beef broth and a little pepper. I ended up with 65 pint jars. 

[Turner89]

I really want to get into canning venison. Best sandwich I've had was canned venison. Nice job 

[tgomez]

Congratulations on getting the 3x3 you missed earlier in the year. Glad to see you stayed with it and God rewarded you for your hard work and dedication. Thanks for the good story and great pictures.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Nice Buck! Congratz

[JDHasty]

Cool story

[quadrafire]

Great story. Great eats!!
What is your favorite way to use the canned meat?

[PastorJoel]

I really like your story.  What an adventure.

If both of the antlers were shot off then the buck wouldn't be legal anymore.  What a strange thought!

Your deer story reminds me of a fishing story.  One time when I was a boy, I hooked a fish by the eye and it popped out while reeling it in.  My grandpa told me to cast the eye in the water as bait and, no joke, I caught a one-eyed fish.

[C-Money]

Congrats! Glad you got him. Hope that 4pt shows up again for ya, he will be a real whopper next year!

[Twispriver]

Thanks for all the nice comments. With the Methow herd in such a desperate state i decided to forego my usual haunts this year and just hunt on and around my farm. I cut trails with the tractor in June, placed trail cameras and started baiting with apples in September just to see what might show up. I got over 700 pictures of the deer I ended up killing.
Checking the cameras every day or two and being able to walk out the front door to go hunting made this hunting season maybe my most fun ever. (And for me, the multi-season tag is worth every penny)