tddeangelo
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2011
- Messages
- 53
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My new custom rifle finally got to strut its stuff tonight a bit.
I sat a field edge stand that had deer near it almost every evening since the opener. With the wind (sustained at 10-15, gusts to 25-30), I started to think I'd made the wrong stand choice, but hoped the wind would calm down enough at the end of the day to get deer to come out to feed.
At about 4:45, a small doe came out from my right side and started feeding. I was in a 2-man stand (by myself, lol), so I scooted around with my leg up on the seat so I could shoot toward my right side. I ducked the long barrel around some low branches, lol, and got my left hand on the stand rail and waited.
She had to come about 10-15 steps to get to a clear spot. She walked right through it and into the next opening and almost through that, too. I had the gun cocked at the sights on the front edge of her shoulder (she was angled toward me).
I gave a soft bleat and she stopped. I just let the pressure on the trigger start to stack, focusing only on my sights. KerRROOOOOOOOM! The wind was still there enough that the smoke was whisked away so I could see the result of the shot.
The big 0.600 ball hit her high and forward of the near shoulder, and exited aft of the far shoulder, about half way up the body. I have never seen a deer react like this when shot. She went down, but that doesn't really do it justice. It was about like someone used a big flyswatter and literally slapped her down to the ground. She hit the deck, belly up (sort of like my lab when he wants his belly rubbed, lol), legs up, and never twitched.
I found hair 6 feet toward the stand from where she had stood when I shot her, lol.
The shot distance was 42 yards. I am shooting a 0.600 ball (324gr), a pillow ticking patch with bear grease, and 120gr of Goex FFg.
Pulled off the hide, and there is absolutely no blood shot meat obvious around either the entrance nor exit. They are big ol' holes, lol, but the meat is not beat up bad at all. Sort of like an arrow wound, really.
She's a young one, but not small enough to be this year's fawn I don't think. Maybe a very late one from last year? Or a really big fawn from this year. She was not pregnant.
I've had a few close calls where I nearly got to take a shot with the new rifle, but I got to actually pull the trigger tonight! :thumbsup:
Here's the rifle, deer, bag, and horn....a pic I've wanted to take for a while!
I sat a field edge stand that had deer near it almost every evening since the opener. With the wind (sustained at 10-15, gusts to 25-30), I started to think I'd made the wrong stand choice, but hoped the wind would calm down enough at the end of the day to get deer to come out to feed.
At about 4:45, a small doe came out from my right side and started feeding. I was in a 2-man stand (by myself, lol), so I scooted around with my leg up on the seat so I could shoot toward my right side. I ducked the long barrel around some low branches, lol, and got my left hand on the stand rail and waited.
She had to come about 10-15 steps to get to a clear spot. She walked right through it and into the next opening and almost through that, too. I had the gun cocked at the sights on the front edge of her shoulder (she was angled toward me).
I gave a soft bleat and she stopped. I just let the pressure on the trigger start to stack, focusing only on my sights. KerRROOOOOOOOM! The wind was still there enough that the smoke was whisked away so I could see the result of the shot.
The big 0.600 ball hit her high and forward of the near shoulder, and exited aft of the far shoulder, about half way up the body. I have never seen a deer react like this when shot. She went down, but that doesn't really do it justice. It was about like someone used a big flyswatter and literally slapped her down to the ground. She hit the deck, belly up (sort of like my lab when he wants his belly rubbed, lol), legs up, and never twitched.
I found hair 6 feet toward the stand from where she had stood when I shot her, lol.
The shot distance was 42 yards. I am shooting a 0.600 ball (324gr), a pillow ticking patch with bear grease, and 120gr of Goex FFg.
Pulled off the hide, and there is absolutely no blood shot meat obvious around either the entrance nor exit. They are big ol' holes, lol, but the meat is not beat up bad at all. Sort of like an arrow wound, really.
She's a young one, but not small enough to be this year's fawn I don't think. Maybe a very late one from last year? Or a really big fawn from this year. She was not pregnant.
I've had a few close calls where I nearly got to take a shot with the new rifle, but I got to actually pull the trigger tonight! :thumbsup:
Here's the rifle, deer, bag, and horn....a pic I've wanted to take for a while!
