Flintlock doe in the rain or PRB do the darnest things

[KHickam]

Well, I decided to flat camp last night for my primitive hunt this morning on the little woodlot I lease - It was a very overcast morning with a light drizzle coming down - the woods were quiet except for a few hoot owls and squirrels and other animals throughout the wood lot - early in the morning I had a doe come to the little food plot I have near the road - it was too dark to get a good shot - could hardly see my sights so I passed on it.

I kept watching the trails and another little doe showed up - it was a nice broadside 40 yd shot - I sighted down the long barrel and squeezed the trigger - to my relief the gun fired and the 100 grs of FFFg sent the .480 PRB speeding on it's way - my aim seemed true because the doe dropped in it's tracks like it had been hit with a sledgehammer

I climbed off my perch (in the forks of a live oak tree) reloaded once I reached the ground and walked over towards the deer - to my surprise she got up and stumbled about 60 yds - I followed her - she stumbled several times I found her under a tree still alive and administered a coup de grace behind the ear with my rifle.

After dragging her out and field dressing her we took her to the kennel and hung her up for skinning.

During the skinning we discovered that we had an entrance and an exit wound? on the same side - we looked and looked for another wound but were unable to find another.

What we decided happened was my shot was high but hit the spine or a little low in the spin - we feel that the bullet flattened and ricocheted off the spine producing a jagged wound just forward of the neat entrance wound - never saw that happen before but it is really the only explaination I can come up with for two wounds on the same side

The way she dropped was amazing and had I not be shocked by her lifting her head and moving off and had shot her there she would not have been 5 ft from where she initially went down :idunno:

 

[wattlebuster]

Congrats. Never saw a ball do that myself but I guess there is always a first time :idunno:

 

[roundball]

Personally...repeat: personally...I don't believe a lead ball could ricochet / reverse direction like that inside a big tissue animal like a deer and come all the way back outside of the body...has to be another explanation.

For example, thinking completely outside the box:
You could have double ball loaded without realizing it and would not have noticed any difference in recoil on live game;
She could have already been shot with something else;
etc;
etc;
Dunno...

But never-the-less, congratulations on your deer !
:hatsoff:

 

[KHickam]

Not sure either - but no exit wound and two wounds on the entrance side -

Just trying to figure it out - she hit the ground like she was poleaxed - was kicking I thought she was just a dead deer

She got up and stumbled and lay down stumbled and lay down about 60 yds before I killed her with a shot to the head

 

[roundball]

I based my reply on this statement: "..... it was a nice broadside 40 yd shot....."

In my own experiences I've found there's sometimes a lot more angle in a deer's stance than what initially appears to be a flat 90* 'broadside'. If that might have been the case, a possible explanation could be she was standing with a lot more angle than showed up in the lighting of the woods and your ball went in on a shallow angle, hit a glancing blow on bone, and came back out on an equally shallow angle...

 

[Patocazador]

Deer "double up" all the time when they bend to lick their backs, rumps, etc. It's possible that she started to do just that as you shot. The smoke hanging in the air would obscure your vision after the pan flashed. The ball could have entered on the 'bowed' side, run along the spine a ways and exited on the back of the 'bowed' side thus resulting in 2 holes on the same side.

 

[Spikebuck]

Congratulations! Regardless of what happened, you were able to quickly get another shot in her and it all ended very well. :hatsoff:

Is she a piebald? Maybe it's just the picture, but she looks like she has a lot of white on her.

 

[stuartg]

Interesting story! Congrats on putting some nice meat on the table.

 

[KHickam]

Yes, this is my 2nd deer - I got a little buck on Veterans Day and this doe today - picked up the meat from the processor as we dropped off the doe

Something is going on with my rifle or eyes or both - gun is shooting way high and to the right now - figured I had it fixed but this deer was a high shot too - but pretty center - not sure what happened thought I had aimed low enough for the rise of the bullet on the down ward angle from the tree

Either way both hides are fleshed and in the bucking solution for me to wet scrape in a few days to tan for buckskin pants :thumbsup:

 

[will5a1]

Congrats, she will make for good eating no matter what that ball did, it is interesting though.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Maybe shot before, or a wound from an arrow from a young kid and not good penetration. Or maybe you hit something like an axe blade and split the ball in flight. Or possible the deer was like wwwwaaaaaaa and used its hoof to karate chop the ball in half. But I got with my first thought, or you double balled it by mistake, I done that on the range when we get to trash talking, go check target and theres 2 holes and not one.

 

[hanshi]

All I have to say is congratulations; you got her.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Same here :hatsoff:
B.

 

[Alden]

I based my reply on this statement: "..... it was a nice broadside 40 yd shot....."

In my own experiences I've found there's sometimes a lot more angle in a deer's stance than what initially appears to be a flat 90* 'broadside'. If that might have been the case, a possible explanation could be she was standing with a lot more angle than showed up in the lighting of the woods and your ball went in on a shallow angle, hit a glancing blow on bone, and came back out on an equally shallow angle...

+1

 

[robinsroost]

It matter4s not how straight the shot, nor charged with punishment the scroll, you are the master of your fate, and you have done well. Congratulations. Keep yer powder dry.....Robin :wink:

 

[agill]

:hatsoff:

 

[Christophero]

Pure lead is very soft. I once head shot a squirrel with a .32 ball in the side of the head. The top of the skull shaved off a perfect disc of lead which traveled down the spine between the meat and the hide. I found it at the base of the tail upon skinning.
I wouldn't be surprised if a section of your ball came out upon hitting bone.

 

[wtilenw]

Could have blown a chunk of bone out too.

 

[KyFlintlock]

Way to go!! :hatsoff:

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I wouldn't ignore the possibility of bone shrapnel. If you watch a billiard triangle break up it is easy to imagine a chunk of bone flying backwards