Finally getting around to editing the post. I've been shooting for almost 40 years and never really seriously hunted but this is my first deer. I shot with 257 roberts with 110 gr. AccuBond. Its an older savage that i rebarreled. The load is 44.4 gr. of h-4350 loaded to an O.A.L. of 2.88 inches. A lot longer than saami but the savage magazine will take it. It was a 308 and after playing with some mauser milsurps i really liked the idea of a roberts and have been happy with it ever since. I was down in central georgia at one of my nephews friends family property. It was cold at least for GA. at about 30 degress. i got in the stand about 6:00 am that was in a creek bottom. At about 6:50 when the sun was just about to break over the top of the hills the doe walked out of some thicker woods into the swampy bottom. When she walked out into a 4 foot break between the brush i shot to my left side and hit her. Since the shot was very definitly a pass through there was one hell of a splash as what i think was most of her heart and the bullet splashed into one branch of the creek. I sat for about ten minutes thinking how i was going to track her with all the running water around. When i finally got off the stand and walked the 60 yards where she was shot at and looked about 25 yards to the left she was laying in the creek. After looking at her and all the blood she spit out on the tree in front of where she collapsed i wondered how she got that far. I never thought any thing could live that long being that hard hit. Dragging her out of there was the worst part of the morning as i tripped and fell in the creek. I didn't want to ruin any one else's hunt so i climbed back into the stand and froze my but of for 2 hours. Although as pumped as i was i don't really think i felt the cold wetness for and hour and a half.
