rjm158
Handloader
- Oct 15, 2009
- 714
- 672
This is the second weekend of the firearms deer season in Missouri and my 26 year old stepson, Tanna, and I were hunting on my mother's farm. He had never killed a deer although he has hunted hard for several years. It seemed the hunting gods hadn't seen fit to smile on him. Until today.
We were hunting separate locations and I texted him to ask if he was seeing anything. The wind was blowing hard and apart from a spike chasing two does early this morning we hadn't seen anything moving. He answered that he was watching a buck and was pretty sure it was an 8 point. I asked if he wanted me to come to his location in case he needed some help and he said he did, but to be careful of my approach because the buck could spot me. I walked to within 40 yards or so then low crawled the rest of the way.
The buck was grazing in some brush and it wasn't possible to get a good view of his antlers to know if he was legal (gotta have at least 4 points on one side an inch or longer). We watched the deer for the better part of an hour but he was content to hang out in the brush. That is, until a doe appeared and began walking along a fence line.
Immediately he began following her and she led him out of the brush and into an open spot between two cedar trees where he stopped. Tanna was already alert and waiting but followed what I had shown him, waiting until crosshairs were where they should be, nothing behind the buck that could be damaged or injured, and squeeze, not jerk, the trigger. At the report the buck whirled and ran, while the doe stood dumbfounded at what just happened. Tanna worked the bolt on his .308 Model 700 and hammered the doe with a 150 gr. Ballistic Tip, dropping her in her tracks. The buck had gone out of sight into the brush he came out of a few minutes earlier. Tanna said he didn't think he missed the buck because the shot looked and felt right, but added he guessed he might have missed.
We went to where he saw the doe fall. I told Tanna to drag her under the fence into the cleared pasture while I went to look for his buck. I walked along a deer path about 40-50 yards from the doe and found his buck, very dead. I checked his antlers and found he was an 8 point but one tine had broken off some time ago although it was still in excess of an inch. I dragged him to the fence and Tanna, after doing a Rocky-style victory dance, pulled him under.
Tanna had never field dressed a deer before so I coached him as he cleaned the two. He did a good job and soon had them both ready for the processor.
Examination of the wounds found the buck had a perfect behind the shoulder entrance/exit, the 150 BT smashing through both lungs. The doe had been hit higher, damaging the spine and the left lung before exiting. Both shots were taken at approximately 125 yards.
In addition to the other firsts, both deer were killed with the first batch of center fire ammunition he had ever reloaded.
Ron
We were hunting separate locations and I texted him to ask if he was seeing anything. The wind was blowing hard and apart from a spike chasing two does early this morning we hadn't seen anything moving. He answered that he was watching a buck and was pretty sure it was an 8 point. I asked if he wanted me to come to his location in case he needed some help and he said he did, but to be careful of my approach because the buck could spot me. I walked to within 40 yards or so then low crawled the rest of the way.
The buck was grazing in some brush and it wasn't possible to get a good view of his antlers to know if he was legal (gotta have at least 4 points on one side an inch or longer). We watched the deer for the better part of an hour but he was content to hang out in the brush. That is, until a doe appeared and began walking along a fence line.
Immediately he began following her and she led him out of the brush and into an open spot between two cedar trees where he stopped. Tanna was already alert and waiting but followed what I had shown him, waiting until crosshairs were where they should be, nothing behind the buck that could be damaged or injured, and squeeze, not jerk, the trigger. At the report the buck whirled and ran, while the doe stood dumbfounded at what just happened. Tanna worked the bolt on his .308 Model 700 and hammered the doe with a 150 gr. Ballistic Tip, dropping her in her tracks. The buck had gone out of sight into the brush he came out of a few minutes earlier. Tanna said he didn't think he missed the buck because the shot looked and felt right, but added he guessed he might have missed.
We went to where he saw the doe fall. I told Tanna to drag her under the fence into the cleared pasture while I went to look for his buck. I walked along a deer path about 40-50 yards from the doe and found his buck, very dead. I checked his antlers and found he was an 8 point but one tine had broken off some time ago although it was still in excess of an inch. I dragged him to the fence and Tanna, after doing a Rocky-style victory dance, pulled him under.
Tanna had never field dressed a deer before so I coached him as he cleaned the two. He did a good job and soon had them both ready for the processor.
Examination of the wounds found the buck had a perfect behind the shoulder entrance/exit, the 150 BT smashing through both lungs. The doe had been hit higher, damaging the spine and the left lung before exiting. Both shots were taken at approximately 125 yards.
In addition to the other firsts, both deer were killed with the first batch of center fire ammunition he had ever reloaded.
Ron
