First Time Deer Hunting and I Blew It!

[excess650]

"I have never heard the term "buck fever" before but that about sums it up. I just got so excited at the sight of him that I pretty much forgot everything I know about shooting and marksmanship in a matter of seconds and panicked."

That is a textbook description of Buck Fever. :haha: Some folks never get over it. On the target range, on stationary targets, its known as "target panic".

You didn't mention your barrel length or diameter, but a swamped or tapered barrel does remove enough weight to change balance. I have a 42" 15/61" .50 that is heavy (to me), and unwieldy enough that I don't take it to the woods. At the target range its one of my favorites for offhand shooting to 100 yards. :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Some other things to consider...,

I try for a lung shot, not a heart shot. I like to eat the heart, and a proper lung "hit", which is through and through both lungs and out the opposite side, never had a problem putting down the deer. After seeing the results of a "shoulder shot" when the deer is facing the hunter and is "quartered" (standing at a 45 degree angle)..., I am willing to try this type of shot placement, but haven't as yet.

I have found that bucks tend to go farther than doe when fatally hit. Now that's from four bucks and seven doe over the past few years. Perhaps a good sample; perhaps not.

Remember that steep angles, like shooting downhill, will change your point of impact vs. what you get at the range which is level.

After you shoot..., reload and wait at least 10 minutes. Some folks like to wait 20 minutes. I like to set the reloaded rifle aside, and smoke my pipe. Once the pipe is finished and out, I go looking for the deer. WHY? Well suppose, for whatever reason, you had a mortal hit on the deer, but not as quickly fatal as normal? You reload and go after that deer inside of two minutes, and it's not quite dead yet..., it bounds off and makes tracking and finding a whole lot more difficult. I lost a buck several years ago by not waiting. He bounded off onto another's property, and by the time I was able to get over and ask about looking for it..., another fellow had found it and tagged it, and was taking it home. Oh well, live and learn.

60-80 grains is fine for your rifle for taking deer out to 100 yards, as long as it shoots straight with whatever powder load you use. Once you have verified that it shoots well with a specific load, trust the rifle. You should get a whopping big hole in the deer, and a good blood trail. But..., if you don't or if you don't quickly find it..., don't assume a miss (as others have pointed out). Trust that you hit it, and thoroughly search just as you did this time.

Don't just look at the ground. I've seen where the deer was hit very well, didn't leave a trail directly on the ground. When I found the deer, I realized the deer had been coughing a large amount of blood on the bushes about 3 feet off the ground. My head was down and didn't see it at first.

Deer when hit will often go downhill, and/or take the easiest path. If the blood seems to peter-out and you have a choice, try the easiest path from that point to search for more sign, first.

Good luck next time. OH and as for the rifle..., bag a couple of deer with her and you'll find out she's not too bad to carry after all.

:grin:

LD

 

[Nativearizonan]

It's great to hear about a new hunter getting the bug. You never really get over buck fever, but you learn to control your actions better the more encounters you have. Encounters are the key. Sometimes just getting that close to a buck is as exciting as taking one. You prayed for success and you got it. That was a successful morning, as now you are a hunter. Dressing and eating game is mainly work. You got most all the fun part right and got rewarded for it with a great experience. Even if you don't get another shot, you will remember this hunt for a long time, quite possibly your whole life.

Congratulations and good luck with the rest of your hunt.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Missing deer, I know it well. When I first started shooting a flintlock I flinched every time the pan flashed, really bad.

I was out on a snowy day, down in a hollow when I heard grunting and chasing. A monster buck chased a doe in front of me and stopped broadside panting at 35 yards. I put the sight on him and snatched the trigger, the pan failed to flash. I cocked it back, sighted in again, pulled the trigger. The pan flashed, I flinched, the gun hang fired and my last sight picture as the gun went off was at least a foot over the deer's back.

This was no ordinary buck for this area, he was a 150-160 class buck. He was so rut crazed he didn't react to the shot and proceeded to resume his doe chasing until he was out of sight.

 

[excess650]

.610" PRB over a Wonder Wad, 30" barrel, Goex ffg chrono data from Blackpowder Hunting magazine:

50gr 1103fps
80gr 1381fps
100gr 1520fps
120gr 1637fps

The higher the impact velocity, the more and more quickly the ball will flatten.

.605" recovered from under hide, off side shoulder of 285#+ live buck, impacted less than 35 yards, 100gr fffg., 7/8" x 15/16"

another recovered ball (not photographed) recovered from, 125# live WT buck, impacted more than 125 yards (steep, downhill) knicked the spine and dropped out on the floor as the hide was pulled down over the brisket/chest; that ball was round enough to be loaded again, so demonstrates how much velocity is lost over distance

 

[don hepler]

Been hunting for over 50 years and I still get excited, especially on a big buck. I've taken many deer, too many to count, but I just missed an easy shot on a doe. I was shooting steep down hill and shot right over top of her. It's like looking at a globe....you want to shoot down at the equator, but you're looking at the North Pole. On level ground, I have no problem, but up hill the tendency is to shoot low and on down hill the tendency is to shoot high.

The best way to get over the excitement is to be out around the deer, as much as possible. My best years, have been the years, that I bow hunted. By the time muzzle loading season is open, I've settled down, and become calmer. If you have time, you can talk, to yourself, to settle down. A calmness will come over me, and I'll say to myself, Take your time....cock the hammer....set the trigger....aim at a spot on the deer...follow thru, when you fire. Sometimes, I still miss.

 

[Spikebuck]

opted for a longer barrel so I could have more of a transitional rifle and opted not to have the barrel swamped because of my budget. Does that really make a difference in terms of balance? I normally shoot this gun from the bench, but toting it around was really unpleasant. It's a very front heavy, unwieldy rifle. I'm wondering if maybe I should have gone for the more typical, short barreled 'Jaeger' style rifle.

Do not equate "short barreled" with "balanced." The very finest balanced rifle I have, and one that is truly a pleasure to carry, is a Virginia with a 44" swamped barrel. In .54, this barrel is probably about as "thin" as one can get in that caliber and the waist of the swamp seems extended (longer) than I've seen on other swamped barrels. In addition, the builder knew how to remove wood! The forestock is very lean, further reducing weight.

On the other hand, I've picked up short straight barreled rifles that feel like a boat anchor. Frankly, my Jaeger with a swamped 31" barrel has no where near as pleasurable a balance as the Virginia.

Welcome to the front-stuffer hunting club! We have all missed something we should have hit. It sounds like you have learned well from your mistake. I remember a friend of mine telling me about his young son's first shot and miss at a whitetail. He said "I just told him we ALL miss our first deer!" :grin: That's probably not far from the truth. Best wishes for more success...and yes, just getting that opportunity was success. :hatsoff:

 

[robinsroost]

When you are shooting at a buck, don't look at the antlers, it will just mess with your mind. I like to shoot at a spot about 1 to 1 1/2 inches behind the front elbow. The advice from the movie The Patriot, "aim small, miss small", still holds true. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Keep yer powder dry.......robin :hmm: