Bittersweet End

This last Saturday I finally got out to do some serious shed hunting. I asked again for permission to search for a buck that I hit last fall. If you may recall, I never found this buck, and I was not pleased about it. I took Michael Parker with me as usual, and we headed out in the wind and flurries.
We got to the creek crossing and essentially picked up where we did last time looking for sheds along the way. I circled back towards the creek and found this:

Based on the location, condition of the carcass, and the general configuration of his rack it could have been him. Then I looked closer. His hooves were too small and the one I chased had prints like a Gurnsy. The antlers were just not big enough. I knew this wasn't him. Michael and I continued our quest for antler. I circled back again towards the feeder creek just as I had done the first time I searched. Then I saw him. Coleman's Legacy. He was as beautiful as I remembered. The kicker of it all was I remembered this spot. There was a large Black Willow growing out of the creek bank and the was a small rise I stood on whilst talking to my father as we gave up our search last fall.

I looked closer again and realized how close Dad and I really were. In the next photo there is another willow that Dad stood next to when we left. This buck was literally feet between us.

He was not as big as I remembered but did have the characteristics I recalled. Tall, setback rack, and huge hooves. Michael noted how much large his head was than the first one we found. This was on the same line of the original blood trail. I am 100% certain this is him. Yes, it was nice to find him, but it was a bittersweet ending for me. We didn't get to enjoy the venison. No picture with a big goofy grin after countless hours of searching. He may go on one of my slabs, but he doesn't go in the living room with Coleman's Giant or Coleman's Beginning.
This was a reminder and and eye opener. DO NOT GIVE UP. We knew he was dead. We knew where he would be and that he was in there somewhere. I thought I did everything I could. Next time we will do more, but as many have told me, at least I found him.
The right side was very unique and the end of the beam curved up making it look like another tine. Very cool. This ended up with three bucks off of the area this year. Too bad they were deadfall finds.

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