longdayjake
Member
For those of you that still think you need a ultra high speed shoulder pounding rifle to hunt deer, I will recount my mornings activities. Last night I was called up by a buddy and asked if I wanted to go with him in the morning to find a deer that his other buddy had shot but could not find before it got dark. So this morning I got up at early-thirty and hiked up in the hills to find this deer. So, the shooter says he shot the buck and it immediately fell down and began kicking and twitching so he shoots it again to make sure it won't get up and run away. The second shot kind of woke it up and it started running away. After it ran about 100 yards he shot it again. The third shot blew its back leg off yet he was still about 200 yards from where the third shot was taken. Here is shot placement.
The first shot hit the deer in the bottom of the ribs but just broke one or two ribs and continued on its path. I imagine this knocked it over and made it gasp for breath while twitching on the ground but it was definately not a kill wound. The second shot was into the belly while he was lying on the ground. This was the mortal wound that caused the bleeding but there was not and exit wound so it bled internally. There was very little blood to track and it took us a good 3 hours to walk the 300 yards of small drops to where it was. The third shot blew off its right back leg and was probably what saved us from doing another 300 to 500 yards of tracking. However, this deer obviously suffered before dying.
I just wanted to tell this story for a couple of reasons.
#1. Practice shooting often if you are going to try and kill something. The kid was one of those that shoot two shots to make sure its on and then hunts with it. Once the hunt is over it goes back in the closet for the year. This is not conducive to a humane kill.
#2. If you can't afford practice ammo for your gun then buy a different caliber that you can.
#3. No matter how fast or how big your cartridge, shot placement still matters.
#4. Don't ask your buddies to help you gut a deer that has been gut shot and then sat all night long. I actually had to go very far away to keep from gaging.
#5. Have fun but don't depend on your rifle to do the killing. That is your job, the rifle is just the tool. He seemed to think that hitting it anywhere with his 7mm mag would blow it up or something. (Gun shop owners saw him coming a mile away.)
The first shot hit the deer in the bottom of the ribs but just broke one or two ribs and continued on its path. I imagine this knocked it over and made it gasp for breath while twitching on the ground but it was definately not a kill wound. The second shot was into the belly while he was lying on the ground. This was the mortal wound that caused the bleeding but there was not and exit wound so it bled internally. There was very little blood to track and it took us a good 3 hours to walk the 300 yards of small drops to where it was. The third shot blew off its right back leg and was probably what saved us from doing another 300 to 500 yards of tracking. However, this deer obviously suffered before dying.
I just wanted to tell this story for a couple of reasons.
#1. Practice shooting often if you are going to try and kill something. The kid was one of those that shoot two shots to make sure its on and then hunts with it. Once the hunt is over it goes back in the closet for the year. This is not conducive to a humane kill.
#2. If you can't afford practice ammo for your gun then buy a different caliber that you can.
#3. No matter how fast or how big your cartridge, shot placement still matters.
#4. Don't ask your buddies to help you gut a deer that has been gut shot and then sat all night long. I actually had to go very far away to keep from gaging.
#5. Have fun but don't depend on your rifle to do the killing. That is your job, the rifle is just the tool. He seemed to think that hitting it anywhere with his 7mm mag would blow it up or something. (Gun shop owners saw him coming a mile away.)
