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Blowin' and Goin"

snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
it's blowing a gale outside right now, It's 68 degrees but the temperature is dropping like a turd in a well. So what do we do in southern Texas in weather like this? Why go hunting of course. This is the firsts deer hunting weather this year. It's suppose to get down to 41 tonight. So we're headed out. We only have one more week to shoot does in the county where we hunt, Jackson. So that will be our main focus. I'll tell you what happened later.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.

Replies

  • NNNN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member
    At least it is above freezing
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    Wow, it's dropped from 68 when I left to 52 right now and still dropping. Supposed to be 37 in the morning. This afternoon I saw 6 deer and one hog. I was horn hunting today so I didn't shoot anything. One of the deer I saw was a 4 or 6 point that I would have shot in a heart beat in years passed before the 13 inch limit. But this one was about 2 to 4 inches shy of legal. He came out on my side of the sendero to my left about 20-30 yards down from me and angled down the sendero away from me to the other side about 60 yards down from me. He was definitely tempting and he stopped and smiled for photos, but I was fresh out of film. Then two does showed up about 20-25 yards from me and came within about 15 yards of me. I almost took one, but it was too early. However, I didn't see anything after them. Just before the does showed up the hog came out of the brush and crossed the Sendero from the other side toward me. He would have been an easy shot. However, before all this I saw three deer, not sure of what sex, cross the sendero about 300 yeards to my left. I was facing southeast. and the Sendero runs more or less south west to north east. I never had time for a shot at that range. They were running pretty fast. My grandson saw a buck and two does but didn't have a shot because of the proximity of his dad who was in his bow stand. His dad never saw anything today. We're going back in the morning. It's supposed to be 37 in the morning. I'm smoking sausage tonight. It's good and cold outside so this is a perfect night. I filled the smoke house up so I have about 1/3 more to smoke tomorrow night.

    How's your hunting season going so far?
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    NN wrote: »
    At least it is above freezing

    That's true but with our humidity and the north wind at about 20-30 MPH it will get your attention quick. Actually We welcome the cold right now because it's been too warm to really see many deer until now.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • NNNN Posts: 25,236 Senior Member
    When the wind stops you better be in your stand.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    NN wrote: »
    When the wind stops you better be in your stand.

    Finally scored this afternoon at about 5:40 when two deer came out. I had seen 4 hogs earlier but they were 300 yards down the sendero and running as fast as they could. But all was quiet after that until after sundown. Then out they stepped. One was a buck and one a doe, or so I thought. I chose the doe because the buck was definitely not a shooter. He was that same 4 or 6 point that had been showing me glimpses all week. So I let him pass and zeroed in on the Doe. I put the crosshairs of the Leupold scope right behind the front leg low where I was sure to hit the heart. Then squeezed the trigger and boom. But when I regained from the recoil I the deer that I fully expected to be dead was standing there. Then she and the buck began a casual stroll to the South. perpendicular to the sendero like everything was cool. Then I let fire a second shot, and again they just kept walking. I was really frustrated and began to think I had knocked the scope off. But in desperation I let fly another round. And again they kept walking casually south. At this point I gave up. I didn't waste anymore ammo and I really was worried about the zero of my rifle. I had opted to use my .257 Improved with the 4.5-14x56mm VX-3L and was wondering if I hadn't bumped or dropped it hard or something. But I decided to give it time just in case I had hit it poorly and let it bleed out. While I was waiting another Buck stepped out which looked better but it was too dark, yes even with the Leupold VX 3 set on lowest power, to tell if it was legal. So I let that pass. I sat in the blind until my son in law came to pick me up and we drove to look to see if I had killed the doe. Well we went up the sendero to the point where it was when I fired the first round and turned 90 degrees in the direction they had moved off. I guess we drove maybe 60 yards using my son in law's Q-Beam looking all over for the deer when we saw it lying dead. When we got to it to inspect it we saw that it wasn't a doe but rather a nubber buck who's antlers hadn't yet penetrated the skin. I had hit it with the first shot right where I had aimed, just to the rear of the front leg. But I was puzzled that the deer didn't jump or run when shot but just ambled off in the company of the somewhat larger buck and died after it was out of my line of sight. I think it walked 50-60 yards. And I mean walked. That deer never got excited and didn't jump or run when shot.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • bisleybisley Posts: 10,815 Senior Member
    Your deer hunting adventures are completely baffling to me.
  • Diver43Diver43 Posts: 12,777 Senior Member
    Three hits? If not, maybe your scope is off.
    Logistics cannot win a war, but its absence or inadequacy can cause defeat. FM100-5
  • VarmintmistVarmintmist Posts: 8,305 Senior Member
    I shot a 8pt like that. Hit it and it didnt move except for a little flinch. It turned and walked 10 yards, then took off on the bounce. Made about 40 total.

    When I opened him up, I had disconnected the heart from the plumbing by taking a V out of the top where the white fat lays and it was loose in his chest.

    All deer are different.
    It's boring, and your lack of creativity knows no bounds.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    I shot a 8pt like that. Hit it and it didnt move except for a little flinch. It turned and walked 10 yards, then took off on the bounce. Made about 40 total.

    When I opened him up, I had disconnected the heart from the plumbing by taking a V out of the top where the white fat lays and it was loose in his chest.

    All deer are different.

    You not kidding they are different. But when I skinned this one I saw I had hit the leg bone with one of the shots too that I couldn't see until I took the skin off. Everything around the bullet holes was pretty bloody making it hard to see. But he was moving for the second and third shot. The first one I'm confident is what killed him. For whatever reason it just took awhile.One of the two follow up shots evidently missed completely. That was a Combined Technologies Silver Ballistic Tip (I don't know why they call it Silver, the tips are white and the bullet black.) It penetrated the heart area and pulverized several organs.
    With the damage it did I don't know why or how it walked off 60 yards before it died.

    It was a classic heart shot just behind the front leg and about 4 inches up from the bottom. The heart, liver and a few other things were pulverized. And the amazing thing is the meat was hardly bloodied.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    bisley wrote: »
    Your deer hunting adventures are completely baffling to me.

    Why? I've read a hundred such stories on here that sounded very similar, all different, but they all have similarities. Like Varmintmist said, every deer is different and some survive something that would have killed 10 others. Also, as I said just a minute ago, I did find another hit on the deer, but that one didn't kill it. I feel the first shot killed it and that shot was exactly where I was aiming. Right behind the front leg and about 4 inches up into the body cavity. It hit the heart and pulverized it. The only thing about this that baffles me is that he walked about 60 yards before he expired and I never saw any indication I hit him, much less fataly.

    Actually both shots that hit the deer hit right about where I was aiming. The one just hit an inch or two to the right of the fatal shot and hit the leg bone deflecting the shot. For some reason it didn't break the leg bone and the deer kept walking like he'd never been hit. I'm surprized that I even hit it again because he was moving and I was a little over anxious to get him on the ground.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • JerryBobCoJerryBobCo Posts: 8,227 Senior Member
    Next time use your .270. I hear it kills like the Hammer of Thor.

    Oh, and congratulations on your kill. Sounds like you have some great table fare.
    Jerry

    Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    cpj wrote: »
    Lmao


    1 out of three hits ain't bad....

    Agreed, and you're the only one on here besides me that would agree to that, :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

    Actually, when I skinned it I did find another bullet hole in the foreleg. But the killer was the first shot. Actually the second hit was very close to the first. Because the deer was slowly walking and I had time for that second shot and third shot. But one shot out of the three was a complete miss. And it wasn't the guns fault.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • snake284snake284 Posts: 22,429 Senior Member
    JerryBobCo wrote: »
    Next time use your .270. I hear it kills like the Hammer of Thor.

    Oh, and congratulations on your kill. Sounds like you have some great table fare.

    It has been known to do that....:rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

    And thanks for the nice words. Yes, it is a great eating size deer.
    Daddy, what's an enabler?
    Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
  • ZeeZee Posts: 28,456 Senior Member
    bisley wrote: »
    Your deer hunting adventures are completely baffling to me.


    This.
    "To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
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