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The Boy Stikes Again!!! Third Whitetail of the Season.
We got a last minute invite to hunt a ranch we'd not hunted before. So, we quickly packed up our gear and headed out the door about 4:00 yesterday afternoon. Arriving at the ranch, we met the owner at the lodge and he said to load up in his suburban. Throwing our gear in, we jumped in the back seat. Beginning what seemed like a safari!
On the way to the stand, we passed Wildabeast, Springbok, and about 30 turkeys! The gobblers were even beginning to strut!! Gotta love warm Texas weather.
We get to the stand and the owner drops us off to settle in and wait. This was the biggest Box Stand I've ever been in! I could have laid on the floor and taken a nap!
The deer were slow to move, but the African game never ceased! Continuing to see Springbok, we peered out the windows of the blind.
And then a pair of Sable showed up at a protein feeder and hung out for about 45 minutes. Moving in and out of the brush. My boy quite enjoyed the show.
Finally, 4 does showed up. But, unlike the African game, they were quite wired.
I don't know if you've ever seen those nature shows of the feeding flamingo flocks in Africa..........but that band of deer looked pretty much the spitting image.
Moving around in a tight group, never standing still, and only a couple feeding at a time while the others kept watch. I had a heck of a time trying to get my boy lined up on one. He would track one, waiting for her to turn broadside. Just to have a different one step clear and present herself. By the time he'd get aimed in on her, she'd be covered up by the group. This went on for several stressful minutes until they finally got spooked by a darting around Springbok and they headed for the brush. I was worried that we'd blown our chance. But, I shifted around the rifle Rest where he could comfortably sit in my lap when the time came and we got back in wait mode.
After what seemed an eternity, I saw two deer step out into another long Sendaro. The same one the Sable had been occupying earlier. They started our was and I slowly got my boy ready.
We waited for them to come closer, but they hung up at 130 yards and started doing the nervous pacing again. Great!!!
We bounced back and forth as to which one to aim at. Never presenting a stationary broadside shot. My boy finally asked if he could just shoot one in the neck while it faced us. I contemplated that, but decided we'd better wait for a more assured shot angle.
The minutes passed and I got frustrated again. Finally......one stood still, but it was quartering slightly towards us. We'd always practiced following the back of the front leg up to the chest. Then, moving halfway up the body to place the shot just behind the shoulder. Well, that just wasn't happening. When that sucker stood still like a statue, I quickly told him, "The right one! Follow the FRONT of the leg up to the chest. Halfway up the body. Shoot it right in the center of the shoulder as it's facing us!!!"
My boy quickly locked on and said, "Now?"
"Send it!"
The gun went off and I heard the impact. Watching the shot through binos, I didn't see the deer hunch, jump, or falter in any way. Just heard the hit and the deer spun and took off in a lope down the sendaro and then into the brush.
My boy said, "Did I miss? I think I missed!"
"No, I heard it hit. Did it feel steady when you shot?"
"Yes. But after I shot, all I saw was white!"
That was the sky. He'd never shot a deer from this flat an angle and the recoil bounced the Scope up into the sky beyond.
We sat a few minutes and then gathered our stuff to walk down and look. Arriving at the last stand of the deer, I began to walk along the sendaro following its path. No blood! But, I HEARD it hit!!
We get to the edge of the brush where I guessed it had left the sendaro. I'm looking and trying to decide where to go..........and I see a white belly lying on the ground about 15 yards ahead in the bushes.
Yes!!!!!
Walking up to it, we notice that it was a young buck who had apparently only had one small horn that he had already lost. One side had a small scabbed over pad where an antler had been and the other was just a little bump of skin.
I'm proud of my boy. This was a frustrating hunt with wired deer that would not stand still more than a few seconds. Talk about stress!! And, he made his longest shot to date at 130 yards!!
The buck was standing quartering towards us where the arrow is pointing.
I can't express how awesome the Spec-Rest has been in providing a stable yet fluid platform for my boy to shoot from. This thing has been an invaluable piece of kit. He's used it for all three of his deer this year.
The bullet struck perfectly in the center of the shoulder as he quartered towards us. Passing through and taking off the top 1/3 of the heart, it shredded the off side lung and lodged under the skin on the off side. The buck ran approximately 54 yards after impact.
People discredit the .243 Winchester as a youth cartridge. Stating that while effective, it is too anemic for marginal shots. Well, I'm here to tell you that the low recoil of the cartridge combined with muzzle and sound suppression has allowed my boy to consistently place precise shots on on 3 deer and hit every one in the heart so far. The internal damage has always been significant and resulted in dead deer after a short run. It may not cause the biggest blood trails, but with a proper bullet and shot placement, that cartridge flat out works!!!
It all boils down to either the kid can shoot or not. Setting them up with a heavier cartridge that is going to induce poor marksmanship is the wrong way to go about things in my book. I have a young boy who can attest to its shootsbility and effectiveness on game.
I am yet again, a proud father.
On the way to the stand, we passed Wildabeast, Springbok, and about 30 turkeys! The gobblers were even beginning to strut!! Gotta love warm Texas weather.
We get to the stand and the owner drops us off to settle in and wait. This was the biggest Box Stand I've ever been in! I could have laid on the floor and taken a nap!
The deer were slow to move, but the African game never ceased! Continuing to see Springbok, we peered out the windows of the blind.
And then a pair of Sable showed up at a protein feeder and hung out for about 45 minutes. Moving in and out of the brush. My boy quite enjoyed the show.
Finally, 4 does showed up. But, unlike the African game, they were quite wired.
I don't know if you've ever seen those nature shows of the feeding flamingo flocks in Africa..........but that band of deer looked pretty much the spitting image.
Moving around in a tight group, never standing still, and only a couple feeding at a time while the others kept watch. I had a heck of a time trying to get my boy lined up on one. He would track one, waiting for her to turn broadside. Just to have a different one step clear and present herself. By the time he'd get aimed in on her, she'd be covered up by the group. This went on for several stressful minutes until they finally got spooked by a darting around Springbok and they headed for the brush. I was worried that we'd blown our chance. But, I shifted around the rifle Rest where he could comfortably sit in my lap when the time came and we got back in wait mode.
After what seemed an eternity, I saw two deer step out into another long Sendaro. The same one the Sable had been occupying earlier. They started our was and I slowly got my boy ready.
We waited for them to come closer, but they hung up at 130 yards and started doing the nervous pacing again. Great!!!
We bounced back and forth as to which one to aim at. Never presenting a stationary broadside shot. My boy finally asked if he could just shoot one in the neck while it faced us. I contemplated that, but decided we'd better wait for a more assured shot angle.
The minutes passed and I got frustrated again. Finally......one stood still, but it was quartering slightly towards us. We'd always practiced following the back of the front leg up to the chest. Then, moving halfway up the body to place the shot just behind the shoulder. Well, that just wasn't happening. When that sucker stood still like a statue, I quickly told him, "The right one! Follow the FRONT of the leg up to the chest. Halfway up the body. Shoot it right in the center of the shoulder as it's facing us!!!"
My boy quickly locked on and said, "Now?"
"Send it!"
The gun went off and I heard the impact. Watching the shot through binos, I didn't see the deer hunch, jump, or falter in any way. Just heard the hit and the deer spun and took off in a lope down the sendaro and then into the brush.
My boy said, "Did I miss? I think I missed!"
"No, I heard it hit. Did it feel steady when you shot?"
"Yes. But after I shot, all I saw was white!"
That was the sky. He'd never shot a deer from this flat an angle and the recoil bounced the Scope up into the sky beyond.
We sat a few minutes and then gathered our stuff to walk down and look. Arriving at the last stand of the deer, I began to walk along the sendaro following its path. No blood! But, I HEARD it hit!!
We get to the edge of the brush where I guessed it had left the sendaro. I'm looking and trying to decide where to go..........and I see a white belly lying on the ground about 15 yards ahead in the bushes.
Yes!!!!!
Walking up to it, we notice that it was a young buck who had apparently only had one small horn that he had already lost. One side had a small scabbed over pad where an antler had been and the other was just a little bump of skin.
I'm proud of my boy. This was a frustrating hunt with wired deer that would not stand still more than a few seconds. Talk about stress!! And, he made his longest shot to date at 130 yards!!
The buck was standing quartering towards us where the arrow is pointing.
I can't express how awesome the Spec-Rest has been in providing a stable yet fluid platform for my boy to shoot from. This thing has been an invaluable piece of kit. He's used it for all three of his deer this year.
The bullet struck perfectly in the center of the shoulder as he quartered towards us. Passing through and taking off the top 1/3 of the heart, it shredded the off side lung and lodged under the skin on the off side. The buck ran approximately 54 yards after impact.
People discredit the .243 Winchester as a youth cartridge. Stating that while effective, it is too anemic for marginal shots. Well, I'm here to tell you that the low recoil of the cartridge combined with muzzle and sound suppression has allowed my boy to consistently place precise shots on on 3 deer and hit every one in the heart so far. The internal damage has always been significant and resulted in dead deer after a short run. It may not cause the biggest blood trails, but with a proper bullet and shot placement, that cartridge flat out works!!!
It all boils down to either the kid can shoot or not. Setting them up with a heavier cartridge that is going to induce poor marksmanship is the wrong way to go about things in my book. I have a young boy who can attest to its shootsbility and effectiveness on game.
I am yet again, a proud father.
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Replies
JAY
I couldn't agree more on all fronts, and those same attributes apply for adult hunters. The .243 Win is WAY more formidable than people give it credit for.
"You shoot mule deer with a .243 Win??"
Yes.
"You'd even shoot big deer with it??"
Yes.
From your son's experience, to mine, to my friends who have now adopted it as their go-to western deer cartridge after seeing my results, the .243 will impress if you give it a chance.
Biggest cow elk I ever personally saw killed was taken by my dad with a single shot from a .243 Win. Now he was a "behind the ear" shooter, never took heart/lung shots but I expect the result would have been the same had he done so.
Good memories. Sure do miss that man.
Sako
Edit to add congrats to your boy Zee, he is doing a fine job with that .243:worthy:
PA hunting boards are having a hissy right now. The game commish is allowing semi autos for the first time. Mag restriction to 5. You should see the whining on some of the boards because a "223 is to small for deer" along with folks saying a 243 is marginal. It is a butt ton load of anecdotal he said evidence.
He kinda likes hunting now.
Uh......yeah.
One of the biggest bull elk I've seen in person was dispatched by a friend of mine following up a bad shot by another hunter with a larger cartridge. He tracked the bull into the aspens and jumped him from his bed after the other hunter wounded it. One shot in the neck from his .243 dropped the bull onthe spot.
I just don't get it. As with ANY cartridge.......bullet selection and shot placement. It ain't rocket surgery!!!
As for you, I cant begin to imagine the pleasure you get from watching him grow up and providing the opportunities you do. :worthy:
I am following that disaster over on that message board and just shaking my head. The ignorance of those against the allowance for semi-autos is mind-blowing. I think Varmintmist is being exceptionally kind by calling what the anti-semi/anti-AR-15 crowd is citing as evidence being even anecdotal. Most of it just straight being pulled out of their asses. Better still is the deafening silence when you point out that an AR-15 with a 5-round mag holds the exact number of rounds as a Marlin 336 lever gun. According to some, guys with the AR are going to be more prone to spray-and-pray. Like nobody with a lever rifle has even done that in the PA deer woods...
Will do. Thanks.
Adoption is out of the question. However........How good do you look in a French Maid outfit?
I should add, there is a video floating around out there somewhere of a gal taking a cow elk with a .243 at something like 600 yards. Clean kill.
Better than Zorba
Not many folks have a Spec-Rest to shoot off of:jester:
"The Un-Tactical"
Thought it over, planned it out, thought he could do it, checked it with the boss, held tight.
I'm liking this kid. . .a lot.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Give him a big congratulations and old fashioned high five for me. He is getting to be more and more like you, before you know it he will be making long shots from weird positions.
The .243 is one of my favorites. I have had one "bullet failure" using it, a Winchester Power Point blew up after passing through the shoulder at ~20 yards. That doe went maybe 60 yards. I would not be worried if I took mine after bigger stuff.
Dad 5-31-13
Going to try and get him an axis and/or another Whitetail before the season ends. I have room in my freezer for about 1-1/2 more deer.
We have tried twice for an Axis now but the right one continues to elude us.
For Deer rifles, magazine capacity is only relevant for practice.
Unless I was worried about confronting something like an angry bear, I don't know why I would even load five rounds.