Considering she now has this story to tell, I think eventually she’ll be okay with what happened in the woods that fateful late season day.
Depending on where you live, whitetail deer season is either already basically over (e.g. Pennsylvania), closing soon (e.g. South Carolina), or still fully in force (e.g. Florida’s panhandle). At least the hunters I know had a successful year and I hope all of you got a chance to get out in the woods and find some meat for the freezer, or at least have a brother who will send some venison your way like I happen to have.
There’s no shortage of wild videos that people take in the woods, such as this Oklahoma buck that landed right at the hunter’s feet, but this latest clip is downright confusing, if not a bit hilarious.
Brandon Quandt is the outdoorsman behind the YouTube channel Killin’ It, and part of the Drury Outdoors Team, and he takes viewers on his hunting adventures in Illinois. He was recently out with a young girl this past season, and while she was successful, what happened in the seconds after firing her rifle is so crazy that if we weren’t looking at the aftermath I doubt we’d believe it.
Right after she fired and the round struck the buck, it dropped its antlers…
Excuse me, what? It’s a very rare thing to see a buck actually shed its antlers, though they do so every year, so the fact that she got to witness that in the split second after pulling the trigger is timing that has such long odds I can’t even begin to put a figure around it.
Fortunately, she seemed to be in good spirits about the whole thing which is proof that she’s being raised right. Yes, a big antler rack looks great on the wall and every hunter wants one when they walk in the woods, but at the end of the day it’s about being connected to the food chain, knowing where your meat comes from, and helping to put food on the table, all while enjoying yourself in the great outdoors.
Fellow hunters in the comments were so supportive of her, which is another sign that there’s still good in humanity:
“That story is worth more than the trophy. Congrats! Plus, you can always glue the antlers back on if you decide to mount it.
Still counts!
Nothing a little epoxy wont fix on a euro. That’s a good story though”
But many other hunters were wondering exactly how they wound up tagging the deer, considering it didn’t actually have antlers by the time they got to it…
“Pop that doe tag on then
So do you tag it as a buck or a doe now
Do you tag it as an antlered or antlerless?
Antlerless deer tag?”
Given the fact that this crew are honorable outdoorsmen who respect the culture and tradition of hunting, I’m betting they still used their buck tag on him, especially because this whole thing is on video and would be a tough look trying to defend it to a game warden who starts asking some questions.
From some forums online I’m piecing together that they should use the antlered tag because they were still attached when the shot was fired.
Regardless of the legal dos and don’ts, the fact that this happened to this little girl is interesting in so many ways.
