Kentucky's early ML whitetail season opened this morning, so I had a go. It's only a two-day season, but what I like about it is that it's warm, and if I collect a deer, I don't have to freeze my butt in December. Temperature was 31° at sunrise, sky clear, no wind, a good deer day. Name one which isn't.
So much bulldozing and fencing has been done on my old farm since I sold it that I wasn't at all sure my favorite spot would still be there, but it was, and I settled in 20 minutes before legal shooting time. Hunting on the ground, ambush style, hoping all the changes on the place haven't changed the deer. Turns out it hasn't. After about an hour I saw two does walk along a high ridge 150 yards away and into the woods on my right. I got ready, just in case they changed course in my direction, and sure enough, in about 5 minutes a doe came from that direction and walked across in front of me within range. Problem was, the new owner is not cropping some of the ground in my field of fire, and it has grown up more than head high. I saw her ears, not much else. I was just muttering to myself that any other deer coming my way would probably walk that same path and, unlike bull fighting, ears are not adequate reward for my efforts, when a buck poked his nose out of the trash in front of me. He walked right out into the clear and moseyed across my view, 30 yards out, head down and moving slowly. I held center chest and squeezed off the shot. The buck bucked, went half down, recovered and ran through the trash into a small pocket of woods to my left. I thought I heard him hit something, and hoped he had gone down, but was startled to see a buck pop out of that same spot in the woods and bounce off to the right, in the clear and looking mighty healthy. My Deer? Even dead deer can run like that. I always wait a few minutes before following a deer, so I did that, then stood up and began reloading. I was facing behind my spot, and, surprise, surprise, off to the left of where my buck had gone into the woods, a buck about that size hopped out 75 yards away up there, and it didn't seem to be moving just right. My deer? I thought probably so.
I didn't find him down in the woods where he entered, and also didn't see any obvious signs he had ever been there. Was he the right deer or the left deer? Neither deer? I hiked a wide circle found nothing, and decided I had to find something to help me choose which to follow. After a few minutes I found a few spatters of blood right where he had come out of the trash, so I settled down to track him until one direction or the other became obvious. That took half an hour, a lot of it on my hands and knees, and you won't believe how excited even a speck of blood made me. It was the right deer, no doubt, and the trail led right up to a wire fence. I crossed the fence...not a totally easy thing for an 82-year-old... and found blood on the other side, so I knew I was right, it was the right deer, the one which bounced away so healthy looking. Damn it, I know I hit that deer hard, what's going on? Well, no use giving up a good trail, so I set out again... and didn't take 5 steps before I found the buck dead in a tangle of trash. He was shot through and through, with bloody froth at the wound, indicative of a lung shot. Small antlers, huge buck. Young buck on his way up, or old buck on his way down?
He was well hidden in the weeds not 50 yards from where I shot him. It's very easy to lose a killed deer if you have even a slight inclination to give up and decide you missed.
I won't bother with the problem of getting that buck over the fence using my deer hoist and a passel of rope, but it was an epic tale, believe you me. Crossed that $@#^&%*&^ barbed-wire fence eight times.
I hoisted, skinned and butchered him, and the buzzards sat in the trees not 25 yards away, impatiently waiting. I know how they felt, I was afraid that one was a goner.
I was using my Jackie Brown 20 gauge smooth rifle, no rear sight, 80 gr. Goex 3F, 1/8" hard card, 1/2" fiber wad lubricated with beeswax-lard, .600" homecast round ball in .018' ticking lubricated with the same, 4F prime.
One of these days not far away I'm going to shoot my last deer. I hope this wasn't it, but it wouldn't be a bad one to quit on.
Spence
So much bulldozing and fencing has been done on my old farm since I sold it that I wasn't at all sure my favorite spot would still be there, but it was, and I settled in 20 minutes before legal shooting time. Hunting on the ground, ambush style, hoping all the changes on the place haven't changed the deer. Turns out it hasn't. After about an hour I saw two does walk along a high ridge 150 yards away and into the woods on my right. I got ready, just in case they changed course in my direction, and sure enough, in about 5 minutes a doe came from that direction and walked across in front of me within range. Problem was, the new owner is not cropping some of the ground in my field of fire, and it has grown up more than head high. I saw her ears, not much else. I was just muttering to myself that any other deer coming my way would probably walk that same path and, unlike bull fighting, ears are not adequate reward for my efforts, when a buck poked his nose out of the trash in front of me. He walked right out into the clear and moseyed across my view, 30 yards out, head down and moving slowly. I held center chest and squeezed off the shot. The buck bucked, went half down, recovered and ran through the trash into a small pocket of woods to my left. I thought I heard him hit something, and hoped he had gone down, but was startled to see a buck pop out of that same spot in the woods and bounce off to the right, in the clear and looking mighty healthy. My Deer? Even dead deer can run like that. I always wait a few minutes before following a deer, so I did that, then stood up and began reloading. I was facing behind my spot, and, surprise, surprise, off to the left of where my buck had gone into the woods, a buck about that size hopped out 75 yards away up there, and it didn't seem to be moving just right. My deer? I thought probably so.
I didn't find him down in the woods where he entered, and also didn't see any obvious signs he had ever been there. Was he the right deer or the left deer? Neither deer? I hiked a wide circle found nothing, and decided I had to find something to help me choose which to follow. After a few minutes I found a few spatters of blood right where he had come out of the trash, so I settled down to track him until one direction or the other became obvious. That took half an hour, a lot of it on my hands and knees, and you won't believe how excited even a speck of blood made me. It was the right deer, no doubt, and the trail led right up to a wire fence. I crossed the fence...not a totally easy thing for an 82-year-old... and found blood on the other side, so I knew I was right, it was the right deer, the one which bounced away so healthy looking. Damn it, I know I hit that deer hard, what's going on? Well, no use giving up a good trail, so I set out again... and didn't take 5 steps before I found the buck dead in a tangle of trash. He was shot through and through, with bloody froth at the wound, indicative of a lung shot. Small antlers, huge buck. Young buck on his way up, or old buck on his way down?
He was well hidden in the weeds not 50 yards from where I shot him. It's very easy to lose a killed deer if you have even a slight inclination to give up and decide you missed.
I won't bother with the problem of getting that buck over the fence using my deer hoist and a passel of rope, but it was an epic tale, believe you me. Crossed that $@#^&%*&^ barbed-wire fence eight times.
I hoisted, skinned and butchered him, and the buzzards sat in the trees not 25 yards away, impatiently waiting. I know how they felt, I was afraid that one was a goner.
I was using my Jackie Brown 20 gauge smooth rifle, no rear sight, 80 gr. Goex 3F, 1/8" hard card, 1/2" fiber wad lubricated with beeswax-lard, .600" homecast round ball in .018' ticking lubricated with the same, 4F prime.
One of these days not far away I'm going to shoot my last deer. I hope this wasn't it, but it wouldn't be a bad one to quit on.
Spence
"#!$& fence! :surrender: 
