Twister: The 227-Inch Kentucky Giant
Two days. Two dogs. 43 hours after the shot. One world-class Kentucky whitetail.
Remember that little glimpse of antler we teased?
Well... here he is.
Meet TWISTER.
A preliminary tape puts this absolute BEHEMOTH at a staggering 227 inches. The score won't be official until the antlers complete the required drying period and can be properly scored, but there's no tape measure needed to know this is a once-in-a-lifetime deer.
And here's something that makes this story even crazier:
Twister was Ari's FIRST archery deer. 🏹🦌
Imagine drawing back on your first archery deer with 227 inches of antler standing in front of you. Ari was shaking—and I don't know many hunters who wouldn't have been.
The shot wasn't exactly where he wanted it, but what Ari did next may be the most important part of this entire story.
He didn't climb down and start looking.
He didn't walk over to check for blood.
He didn't grid search.
He left that deer completely alone.
Ari waited until it was good and dark, then slipped out of his stand in the completely opposite direction from where Twister had gone. He never pressured that buck after the shot.
And that decision is why we're able to tell this story today.
Had Ari climbed down and started pushing this deer, there's a very real chance Twister could have traveled a long, long way across multiple neighboring properties. Instead, when Rose the Nose came in roughly 14 hours after the shot, she worked the track about 240 yards and found him still in his first bed.
And she got close..
So close that we believe Rosie may have actually touched him before he finally got up. For a wounded deer to let a dog get that close before breaking from its bed is incredibly unusual.
When Twister finally stood, the way he ran told us something important:
This deer was still fading.
Fourteen hours hadn't been enough.
With a deer of this magnitude, nobody was interested in turning the recovery into a chase. After talking it over with Ari, the search party, and some other trackers, we made the decision to back out.
This time, he was getting a full day.
A day later, we returned with Merlin the Magician and started him right from the bed Rosie had pushed Twister from.
There were maybe 10 drops of blood in that bed.
Beyond it?
Nothing.
No blood. No visible sign. No trail a person could follow.
That's where the Magician took over. 🎩🐾
In short order, Merlin locked in. A few swishes of that magic tail, and we were moving.
Around the pond. Through the woods. Another 400 yards without a drop of visible blood.
Then a vulture lifted off ahead of us.
Ari and I looked at each other and smiled.
One more step...
A whole bunch of vultures exploded out of the cattails.
I looked at Ari and said:
"RUN!"
A few steps later, completely hidden and surrounded by cattails, there he was.
TWISTER.
All 227 inches of him. 🦌🔥
43 hours after the shot, a two-day recovery was finally over.
This track is everything we preach about wounded-deer recovery.
Ari made an imperfect shot—but from that moment forward, he did everything absolutely right. He resisted every temptation to go look, slipped out without pressuring the deer, called for help, and then had the patience to give Twister even more time when 14 hours proved not to be enough.
Sometimes the most important thing you can do after the shot is nothing at all.
And sometimes the most important decision a tracking team makes is knowing when to stop.
Huge congratulations to Ari on not only a true trophy of a lifetime, but one unbelievable way to put his first archery deer on the books.
I'm not sure how you follow up a 227-inch Kentucky giant, Ari. 😂
A huge thank-you to Donny (Ari's dad), Jordan, Austin, Charlie, and the property owners who provided the cooperation and permissions necessary to make both the hunt and recovery possible. A recovery like this can take a whole team.
And a special thank-you to Echos Deer Recovery - K9 & Drone for sending this track our way. When tracking teams work together and put the recovery first, this is what it's all about. We sincerely appreciate the referral and the trust! 🤝🐾
If there's one lesson from Twister's story worth remembering this season:
After a questionable shot, don't let the excitement of finding your deer become the reason you lose him. Give him time.
🐾 Rose the Nose started the story. 🎩 Merlin the Magician finished it. 🦌 Twister made sure we'll never forget it.
If you enjoy real recovery stories and want to learn more about what to do after the shot, like and follow Send in the Hounds Deer Tracking and follow Rosie and Merlin through the rest of the season.
Don't let one get away... Send in the Hounds! 🦌🐾
Comments