Poper
Member
This year's deer hunt was really short and easy.
When I arrived, I had a pheasant run across the access road right in front of my truck as I was driving into camp. I was a little later than everyone else and they were out for the opening morning hunt. So I parked my truck, grabbed my shotgun and shells and went for a pheasant walk. No shots fired in anger and I found a lot of deer tracks between the adjacent alfalfa field and brush cover on the opposite side of the access road/trail. This was interesting to me and gave me my late afternoon plan for the late day hunt: Pick a hay bale in a low spot that showed evidence of deer traffic nearby. I drew a "antlerless whitetail" tag this year.
Along about 3:30 pm I saluted the other guys and walked off to the south side of the shelterbelt (about 150 yards from camp) and began walking east. After the first 20 yards or so after turning the corner, I looked to my right while walking and there was a whitetail doe, head up, watching me. I had my rifle slinged over my shoulder, so I just kept walking thinking she may not think me dangerous to her if I kept going and did not stop. I didn't stop until I was behind a hay bale and she could not see me. I peeked around the bale and waited until she returned to feeding. I then brought my rifle around the bale and aimed using a kneeling position, waiting for her to raise her head. I let the trigger break on the kill zone when she was standing still, looking in my direction, taking the typical, classic heart-lung shot. She was quartering towards me from her right side and she was slightly higher than me at about 70 yards or so. I took the shot it and hit her mid point of the second rib. The bullet broke the rib, deflected upwards, struck squarely on the spine and blew out about four inches of spine and an additional six inches plus of backstrap meat! Woe is me!!
Total hunt time to kill: About 7 minutes.
Rifle: Tikka T3 Hunter. .30-06 Spfld.
Scope: Leupold VXII 3-9x40 in Warne rings.
Ammo: Federal 150 grain Sierra Game King.
Performance: 3 round groups right at 1 inch, center-to-center.
Sighted: 2" high at 100 yards.
For next year, I am going to practice my head/neck shots and concentrate. I feel like I am being lazy taking the heart/lung shot that close in. At least a head/neck shot doesn't destroy meat.
When I arrived, I had a pheasant run across the access road right in front of my truck as I was driving into camp. I was a little later than everyone else and they were out for the opening morning hunt. So I parked my truck, grabbed my shotgun and shells and went for a pheasant walk. No shots fired in anger and I found a lot of deer tracks between the adjacent alfalfa field and brush cover on the opposite side of the access road/trail. This was interesting to me and gave me my late afternoon plan for the late day hunt: Pick a hay bale in a low spot that showed evidence of deer traffic nearby. I drew a "antlerless whitetail" tag this year.
Along about 3:30 pm I saluted the other guys and walked off to the south side of the shelterbelt (about 150 yards from camp) and began walking east. After the first 20 yards or so after turning the corner, I looked to my right while walking and there was a whitetail doe, head up, watching me. I had my rifle slinged over my shoulder, so I just kept walking thinking she may not think me dangerous to her if I kept going and did not stop. I didn't stop until I was behind a hay bale and she could not see me. I peeked around the bale and waited until she returned to feeding. I then brought my rifle around the bale and aimed using a kneeling position, waiting for her to raise her head. I let the trigger break on the kill zone when she was standing still, looking in my direction, taking the typical, classic heart-lung shot. She was quartering towards me from her right side and she was slightly higher than me at about 70 yards or so. I took the shot it and hit her mid point of the second rib. The bullet broke the rib, deflected upwards, struck squarely on the spine and blew out about four inches of spine and an additional six inches plus of backstrap meat! Woe is me!!
Total hunt time to kill: About 7 minutes.
Rifle: Tikka T3 Hunter. .30-06 Spfld.
Scope: Leupold VXII 3-9x40 in Warne rings.
Ammo: Federal 150 grain Sierra Game King.
Performance: 3 round groups right at 1 inch, center-to-center.
Sighted: 2" high at 100 yards.
For next year, I am going to practice my head/neck shots and concentrate. I feel like I am being lazy taking the heart/lung shot that close in. At least a head/neck shot doesn't destroy meat.