While all kinds of hunting brings excitement and thrills, deer hunting instills the same feelings, but often at the expense of great effort and patience. When the harvest becomes a reality, the work waged seems to dissipate and blends with the glory of a successful hunt.
No one knows that better than Gage Paulk of Swartz, a small community in the northeastern part of the state. After having hunted a prize buck in Monroe’s Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, he was forced to share it in the end with the most unlikely of candidates, two entitled alligators.
Paulk had been hunting the same ground and tracking his prey for two years. He had settled in on Oct. 2, and at 6:47 p.m., his destiny was defined. He drew his bow and released his arrow, but would soon question the accuracy of his shot.
“I suffer from a bad back and had surgery,” Paulk said. “I had my bow turned down but still allowed for an ethical shot.”
Elusive buck
That reduced resistance allowed him to draw and fire on the elusive buck with a Wasp three-blade 1 1/8 cut broadhead. Although Paulk would later find his shot struck the animal’s liver and lung, he began to question his skill after following the animal’s blood trail for 200 yards to come up empty-handed. Paulk would undoubtedly get his steps in as he continued his expedition for another two days.
“I walked 20 miles the next day,” Paulk said. “I walked and searched from daylight to dark and did the same the following day.”
It was the late afternoon of his second day of searching, and he grew utterly bewildered as to the location of the deer. Paulk climbed a tree over 900 yards from where his arrow contacted the animal. He scanned the horizon, searching for any sign that finally arrived, but not in a visual format. When the wind shifted and blew in his face, he knew the deer was indeed dead and nearby. Dismounting the tree, Paulk kept the wind blowing in his face. Following the scent, he discovered the dead deer.
Surprise ahead
Excited to locate his opponent in a two-year game of hide and seek, Paulk quickly approached the dead animal. He was so impressed with its rack that he overlooked the two alligators there that had been feasting on his prize.
Approximately four feet from his heels, one of the alligators spun its body up and released a territorial growl, indicating he and its partner had now taken ownership of Paulk’s bounty.
“It was the most God-awful noise I have ever heard,” Paulk said.
All parties involved in the unlikely meeting were scared off in opposite directions. When he deemed it safe to return, Paulk cautiously claimed what was left of the animal. The 9-point rack scored 133 1/8 inches and was the only thing salvageable.
“The alligators had just ruined it from where they had been feeding on it,” Paulk said. “It really is disappointing to have put so much time and effort into hunting this deer. It leaves you wondering what’s next.”
