whatnickname
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I’ve been hunting deer for better than 50 years and have taken over 100 deer with a wide range of rifles from 30-30 to 338-‘06. I can count the number of deer that didn’t drop in their tracks on one hand. Yesterday was number 5.
Most of the deer I’ve taken has been with some version of either the Nosler Ballistic Tip or the Hornady SST. The majority of my shots are either high shoulder or neck shots. This year I switched to the Hornady 130 grain Interlock in an effort to conserve meat, as the Ballistic Tips and SST bullets are like throwing grenades. I also wanted a pass-through shot...something that often doesn’t occur when you hit a heavy bone with the Ballistic Tip or SST. Although I will have to admit that even though a number of these bullets didn’t pass through the inside of the chest cavity was pretty much turned into soup and my deer was immediately DRT(dead right there).
Yesterday was the opening day of rifle season and you couldn’t have asked for a better day. Cold front hit Oklahoma Thursday night. Nasty, cold and wet. Yesterday morning was 22 degrees, clear, sunny and no wind. With the rut in full swing, yesterday was as good as it gets. My partner and I had two nice bucks on the ground in an hour.
I was a little disappointed with my harvest. As usual, the deer came out in a spot I was not expecting. I was hunting the edge of several draws that converge on our lease. This 8 point came out at 80 yards and saw me. They run cattle on the property most of the year and the deer are accustomed to seeing people. The deer are not pressured out there and will stand there broad side at distances over 100 yards and just look at you as long as the wind is in your favor. This guy was not comfortable with me at 80 yards but, there was no wind, so he decided to study what he was seeing. He was partly obscured by brush but I had a clear look at his front left shoulder. Didn’t want to place the bullet much behind the shoulder as I was afraid of blowing up his stomach. Clearly he was not about to put up with me this close, so I put the cross hairs in the middle of his left shoulder and sent the round. Text book shot, turned his shoulder into mush with the bullet exiting in the middle of the rib cage on the right side. I did not expect his reaction. I figured he would go down in his tracks. Instead, he spun around and set a new land speed record disappearing in the draw about 75 yards from where he was hit. I waited the usual half hour and followed up on him. He was lying dead just out of sight. All the signs indicated that he was dead when he hit the ground. I guess I should regard my harvest as a success. However, I wonder if I should have placed the round through the brisket just inside the shoulder. Probably straining at gnats but thought I would ask for opinions on shot placement. I have absolutely no criticism of the bullet performance. That round clocks 3000 fps out of my rifle and shoots one hole groups at 100 yards. The bullet did it’s job. Did the shooter do his job?
Most of the deer I’ve taken has been with some version of either the Nosler Ballistic Tip or the Hornady SST. The majority of my shots are either high shoulder or neck shots. This year I switched to the Hornady 130 grain Interlock in an effort to conserve meat, as the Ballistic Tips and SST bullets are like throwing grenades. I also wanted a pass-through shot...something that often doesn’t occur when you hit a heavy bone with the Ballistic Tip or SST. Although I will have to admit that even though a number of these bullets didn’t pass through the inside of the chest cavity was pretty much turned into soup and my deer was immediately DRT(dead right there).
Yesterday was the opening day of rifle season and you couldn’t have asked for a better day. Cold front hit Oklahoma Thursday night. Nasty, cold and wet. Yesterday morning was 22 degrees, clear, sunny and no wind. With the rut in full swing, yesterday was as good as it gets. My partner and I had two nice bucks on the ground in an hour.
I was a little disappointed with my harvest. As usual, the deer came out in a spot I was not expecting. I was hunting the edge of several draws that converge on our lease. This 8 point came out at 80 yards and saw me. They run cattle on the property most of the year and the deer are accustomed to seeing people. The deer are not pressured out there and will stand there broad side at distances over 100 yards and just look at you as long as the wind is in your favor. This guy was not comfortable with me at 80 yards but, there was no wind, so he decided to study what he was seeing. He was partly obscured by brush but I had a clear look at his front left shoulder. Didn’t want to place the bullet much behind the shoulder as I was afraid of blowing up his stomach. Clearly he was not about to put up with me this close, so I put the cross hairs in the middle of his left shoulder and sent the round. Text book shot, turned his shoulder into mush with the bullet exiting in the middle of the rib cage on the right side. I did not expect his reaction. I figured he would go down in his tracks. Instead, he spun around and set a new land speed record disappearing in the draw about 75 yards from where he was hit. I waited the usual half hour and followed up on him. He was lying dead just out of sight. All the signs indicated that he was dead when he hit the ground. I guess I should regard my harvest as a success. However, I wonder if I should have placed the round through the brisket just inside the shoulder. Probably straining at gnats but thought I would ask for opinions on shot placement. I have absolutely no criticism of the bullet performance. That round clocks 3000 fps out of my rifle and shoots one hole groups at 100 yards. The bullet did it’s job. Did the shooter do his job?