tddeangelo
Handloader
- May 18, 2011
- 2,019
- 2
Today was the traditional "general" season opener here in PA. We get one buck a year, and I'd used my tag on a nice 8pt in archery season, so I was out looking for antlerless deer only.
The weather was unseasonably warm. I got up at 5AM to find the temp at 53 degree. got myself sorted out, ate a quick bowl of cereal, got dressed, and headed for the door after kissing my wife and newborn daughter goodbye (Bella gets up around 5 for "breakfast", lol).
I was running a little later than I wanted. I planned to be in my stand and settled by 6am, and I pulled in to park just before 6, but I only had about a walk of about 300 yards or so to my stand. I was settled in and sitting quiet by 6:15. There was some light in the east, but usable light was some time off yet. Shooting time was 6:35AM.
Here's the sunrise I was enjoying (sorry it's blurry, I didn't see on the digital cam's screen that it was blurred):
Sometime after 8, about in the center of the woods pictured above, I heard movement. That picture was shot looking back over my right shoulder. I turned and saw a doe approaching at about 40 yards. I switched the rifle to shoot lefty, but she was where she'd bust me if I tried to bring it to bear. I saw more deer behind her, 5 more, actually, so I wanted to let her keep walking. The wind was light, and going in the direction of right to left as you look at the sunrise pic. Should be good if I don't move.
Well, the rambunctious squirrels that were enjoying the warm temps caught her attention, and she locked up to listen and figure out what was making the rustling ahead of her. As she spent several minutes doing this, the wind shifted to go directly how the pic is pointed, which meant right to the deer. The two mature lead does were lifting their noses in no time, and then decided to go somewhere other than where they were. They turned and trotted right into my shooting lane (not pictured, but to the right as you look at the pic)and went straight away on the lane. Whenever a deer turned to look back, there were at least two others right on top of her. No way to shoot....so I watched them amble back to the safety of the "sanctuary" we've established on our hunting property.
My dad had offered to let me take his 357 revolver, and I was tempted to, but decided not to bother. I could have shot this doe with the revolver, no problem. They were on my right (strong hand for pistol shooting) side at 30 yards. I can make that shot, no problem. Was second-guessing not having the pistol, for sure!
Maybe 45 minutes later, I see a deer in the valley below me.....after a quick inspection with the bino's, I decide I think it's the "dumb one" we kept seeing in this area. I'd been seeing it since August, and it was a spotted fawn then. It was D-U-M-B. Would let me walk up to about 20 yards or sometimes less and just look at me when I'd be pruning lanes or planting food plots. I let it walk over the far ridge, only to hear a rifle crack just after it disappeared.
I heard some shooting in the area, but not much. Surely not much compared to years ago when it sounded like a firefight practically.
A bit after 10, I see movement below me in the valley I'm watching, and there's a deer headed from the bank I'm on over to the bottom I'm watching. I watch her cross the access road right below my stand, but couldn't check for buttons. I could have dropped her right on an access road at that point!
Then the smaller one following comes out. Not small, but smallER. After watching for about 30 seconds, I decide the bigger deer is a doe and the smaller one is ok on its own.
I wait for an opening, settle the crosshairs, and let the 257 Roberts bark. The doe is dropped immediately, starts back up on her front legs, then collapses and it's over.
Here are a couple of pics:
I shot her with a my late grandfather's Winchester M70 featherweight in 257 Roberts using a Nosler AccuBond, 110gr flavor, on top of 45.0gr of RL22. This has produced outstanding accuracy in this rifle. In the past, my dad owned a 257 Roberts and we had spotty bullet performance. I gotta say, the AccuBond performed like a champ. The bullet went in about mid-way from the hip to the ribs, just missing the spine. It came out just behind the opposite shoulder.
The lungs had a nickel-sized tunnel bored through them. Blood POURED out her nose when I lifted up her head (which is why it's tilted back in the pic, so obscure the mess!).
The AccuBond traversed the deer's body cavity diagonally, producing a nickel-sized exit wound and no evidence of fragmentation at all. The deer was absolutely PARKED on impact.
I got the deer off to the butcher, did some prep for the evening hunt, and then spent the last 35 minutes of hunting time with my two big girls, Megan and Anna (below, Anna's in the foreground, Megan in the background):
Temps were in the mid-60's, so it was a great day to get them out. You can't see it in the pic, but we're sitting under a dropped treetop that's overgrown with vines. We're looking out over a corn stubble field. The girls had a ball, as we talked (as quietly as we could) about different aspects of hunting and nature to pass the time while sitting. Didn't see any deer,that was ok...the kids loved being out there with me, and that's a great start!
Today was the first time EVER that I swatted mosquitoes while rifle hunting in PA!
All in all, a great first day for rifle season, and a fantastic season so far.
The weather was unseasonably warm. I got up at 5AM to find the temp at 53 degree. got myself sorted out, ate a quick bowl of cereal, got dressed, and headed for the door after kissing my wife and newborn daughter goodbye (Bella gets up around 5 for "breakfast", lol).
I was running a little later than I wanted. I planned to be in my stand and settled by 6am, and I pulled in to park just before 6, but I only had about a walk of about 300 yards or so to my stand. I was settled in and sitting quiet by 6:15. There was some light in the east, but usable light was some time off yet. Shooting time was 6:35AM.
Here's the sunrise I was enjoying (sorry it's blurry, I didn't see on the digital cam's screen that it was blurred):
Sometime after 8, about in the center of the woods pictured above, I heard movement. That picture was shot looking back over my right shoulder. I turned and saw a doe approaching at about 40 yards. I switched the rifle to shoot lefty, but she was where she'd bust me if I tried to bring it to bear. I saw more deer behind her, 5 more, actually, so I wanted to let her keep walking. The wind was light, and going in the direction of right to left as you look at the sunrise pic. Should be good if I don't move.
Well, the rambunctious squirrels that were enjoying the warm temps caught her attention, and she locked up to listen and figure out what was making the rustling ahead of her. As she spent several minutes doing this, the wind shifted to go directly how the pic is pointed, which meant right to the deer. The two mature lead does were lifting their noses in no time, and then decided to go somewhere other than where they were. They turned and trotted right into my shooting lane (not pictured, but to the right as you look at the pic)and went straight away on the lane. Whenever a deer turned to look back, there were at least two others right on top of her. No way to shoot....so I watched them amble back to the safety of the "sanctuary" we've established on our hunting property.
My dad had offered to let me take his 357 revolver, and I was tempted to, but decided not to bother. I could have shot this doe with the revolver, no problem. They were on my right (strong hand for pistol shooting) side at 30 yards. I can make that shot, no problem. Was second-guessing not having the pistol, for sure!
Maybe 45 minutes later, I see a deer in the valley below me.....after a quick inspection with the bino's, I decide I think it's the "dumb one" we kept seeing in this area. I'd been seeing it since August, and it was a spotted fawn then. It was D-U-M-B. Would let me walk up to about 20 yards or sometimes less and just look at me when I'd be pruning lanes or planting food plots. I let it walk over the far ridge, only to hear a rifle crack just after it disappeared.
I heard some shooting in the area, but not much. Surely not much compared to years ago when it sounded like a firefight practically.
A bit after 10, I see movement below me in the valley I'm watching, and there's a deer headed from the bank I'm on over to the bottom I'm watching. I watch her cross the access road right below my stand, but couldn't check for buttons. I could have dropped her right on an access road at that point!
Then the smaller one following comes out. Not small, but smallER. After watching for about 30 seconds, I decide the bigger deer is a doe and the smaller one is ok on its own.
I wait for an opening, settle the crosshairs, and let the 257 Roberts bark. The doe is dropped immediately, starts back up on her front legs, then collapses and it's over.
Here are a couple of pics:
I shot her with a my late grandfather's Winchester M70 featherweight in 257 Roberts using a Nosler AccuBond, 110gr flavor, on top of 45.0gr of RL22. This has produced outstanding accuracy in this rifle. In the past, my dad owned a 257 Roberts and we had spotty bullet performance. I gotta say, the AccuBond performed like a champ. The bullet went in about mid-way from the hip to the ribs, just missing the spine. It came out just behind the opposite shoulder.
The lungs had a nickel-sized tunnel bored through them. Blood POURED out her nose when I lifted up her head (which is why it's tilted back in the pic, so obscure the mess!).
The AccuBond traversed the deer's body cavity diagonally, producing a nickel-sized exit wound and no evidence of fragmentation at all. The deer was absolutely PARKED on impact.
I got the deer off to the butcher, did some prep for the evening hunt, and then spent the last 35 minutes of hunting time with my two big girls, Megan and Anna (below, Anna's in the foreground, Megan in the background):
Temps were in the mid-60's, so it was a great day to get them out. You can't see it in the pic, but we're sitting under a dropped treetop that's overgrown with vines. We're looking out over a corn stubble field. The girls had a ball, as we talked (as quietly as we could) about different aspects of hunting and nature to pass the time while sitting. Didn't see any deer,that was ok...the kids loved being out there with me, and that's a great start!
Today was the first time EVER that I swatted mosquitoes while rifle hunting in PA!
All in all, a great first day for rifle season, and a fantastic season so far.
