Home› Main Category› Hunting
bullsi1911
ModeratorPosts: 12,309 Senior Member
Finally got one on the ground-
bullsi1911
ModeratorPosts: 12,309 Senior Member
So, this was the last weekend I was going to be able to do a full hunt before buck season ended, and then we would be in the late 'spike/doe' season. So I was determined not to go home this week empty handed.
Every time I went this season, I was playing benevolent dictator and letting a lot of stuff live. Mostly because they were small, or that they were ones that we wanted to go ahead and breed this year. So, this time I made up my mind- if it was not one of the named bucks that we had 'pardons' on- it was going home in a cooler.
Yesterday, it was foggy- could not see 50 yards until late. A few does came into the shooting lanes, but they were tiny. Last night, I switched blinds, and NOTHING came in. So I checked the camera at my regular blind, and saw that there were a whole poo load of deer that came in. One was a shooter.
So this morning, I went back to MY blind. I got everything set up, and waited. It was really overcast and hazy, and even past sunrise it was hard to see with such little light. Suddenly, deer came out of everywhere. I had clean shots at up to 7 deer at a time. But with the dim light and patchy fog, I could not tell if there were any bucks in the groups. Finally, the light came up enough to ID a buck that we had labeled a shooter. He was a smallish 8 point, and was at a laser confirmed 130 yards. I had to wait for the does to clear a shot to him, and...
130 yards, uphill, slightly quartering away. The 155gr Hornady A-Max Match entered just ahead of the diaphragm, shredded the heard and lungs and blew out through the off side shoulder. The deer took 3 steps and went down in a cloud of dust (seriously- even though it is foggy, it is so dry that dust comes up from every step). Post mortem showed the bullet did an amazing amount of damage. Parts of either the bullet or bone blew throughout the body cavity and cut parts of the tenderloins and backstrap. The offside shoulder was destroyed- very little meat could be salvaged. I am reconsidering using this load again. Might go with something simpler.
But, I bloodied the AR-10 finally!
Oddly enough, within moments of my shot, my brother took a 7 point with HIS new AR-10.
Every time I went this season, I was playing benevolent dictator and letting a lot of stuff live. Mostly because they were small, or that they were ones that we wanted to go ahead and breed this year. So, this time I made up my mind- if it was not one of the named bucks that we had 'pardons' on- it was going home in a cooler.
Yesterday, it was foggy- could not see 50 yards until late. A few does came into the shooting lanes, but they were tiny. Last night, I switched blinds, and NOTHING came in. So I checked the camera at my regular blind, and saw that there were a whole poo load of deer that came in. One was a shooter.
So this morning, I went back to MY blind. I got everything set up, and waited. It was really overcast and hazy, and even past sunrise it was hard to see with such little light. Suddenly, deer came out of everywhere. I had clean shots at up to 7 deer at a time. But with the dim light and patchy fog, I could not tell if there were any bucks in the groups. Finally, the light came up enough to ID a buck that we had labeled a shooter. He was a smallish 8 point, and was at a laser confirmed 130 yards. I had to wait for the does to clear a shot to him, and...
130 yards, uphill, slightly quartering away. The 155gr Hornady A-Max Match entered just ahead of the diaphragm, shredded the heard and lungs and blew out through the off side shoulder. The deer took 3 steps and went down in a cloud of dust (seriously- even though it is foggy, it is so dry that dust comes up from every step). Post mortem showed the bullet did an amazing amount of damage. Parts of either the bullet or bone blew throughout the body cavity and cut parts of the tenderloins and backstrap. The offside shoulder was destroyed- very little meat could be salvaged. I am reconsidering using this load again. Might go with something simpler.
But, I bloodied the AR-10 finally!
Oddly enough, within moments of my shot, my brother took a 7 point with HIS new AR-10.
To make something simple is a thousand times more difficult than to make something complex.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Replies
Good job!
Adam J. McCleod
hitches up pants, adjusts package
I'm going back out this next weekend and try again, and I'll gladly shoot anything that I can convince myself of being 13" between the beams, or a cull buck - doesn't matter much to me at this point. I'll also be using my new AR-10, too - except mine is a 7mm-08.
Always good to blood a new rig.
"The Un-Tactical"
"The Un-Tactical"
I'm loving this cold front! Watched a couple of does eat corn this morning for about 30 minutes before they moved off. If I hadn't taken that spike Saturday one of those does would have hit the ground!
AKA: Former Founding Member
Tim- I walked the dog this morning and was thinking "THIS is what hunting season is supposed to feel like!"
-Mikhail Kalashnikov