A Late Season Deer

[Patocazador]

The deer season is winding down here and I had an antlerless tag to fill so I sat in a blind with my dog on Tuesday. The cold wind was blowing from my left so I closed that window except for a small flap.

After a couple of hours without seeing anything I took a peek through the small flap and there was a deer walking straight towards me at ~ 80 yds. I opened the flap all the way and aimed at the base of the deer's neck and bleated. It stopped and froze. I bleated again hoping it would turn to give me a better angle to shoot. No Luck, it just looked to the side and started to step towards thick cover, so I shot. The deer dropped then staggered to its feet and bounded into the thick stuff.

I waited about 15 minutes and went to the spot where it had dropped. When I got to the deer, I saw a huge exit hole in the left rib area but when I gutted it, there was stomach and gut contents everywhere. It was a mess. The .25-06 Nosler partition had fragmented and blew out the guts, lung and left tiny bits of lead in a ham. The range was rather short and the velocity of the bullet was probably close to 3000 fps. This plus the straight-on shot resulted in a mess.

The pics don't show it but I got only half of one ham and had to throw away both inside tenderloins. It's a shame to waste that meat.

 

[troy fairweather]

hey it happens sometimes, at least you did not lose the deer that would have been a waste.

 

[Milt1]

Patocazador, your dog is smiling like he shot it!

 

[Armored farmer]

Nah, a waste would have been losing a wounded deer.
Well done, enjoy that venison!
Fajitas sound good!

 

[Choctaw]

Good job finding your critter and happy eating.

 

[22250Rem]

Congrats; at least you got it. Sometimes you might lose some meat if a bullet deflects or lands where you didn't intend it to.

 

[Patocazador]

Patocazador, your dog is smiling like he shot it!

She has always liked tracking deer and hogs as well as retrieving. I let her bite the hide a bit and it makes her happy. Believe it or not, she once killed a deer that I had wounded. I shot it through the trachea and she trapped it in a logged-out swamp, jumped on its back when it tripped, and happened to pin down the open hole in the windpipe below the water. It drowned.



She was younger and more agile then ... as was I.

 

[Milt1]

I see you are in central Florida so I'm sure you protect her from the snakes, both foreign and domestic!

 

[Patocazador]

It's easy to snake-proof a dog with a non-poisonous snake and an e-collar. It has to be done periodically though after the first bout .. like continuing education.

 

[Hookeye]

Half a deer in the freezer is better than no deer in the freezer
Gotta kill em to grill em.

 

[FL-NC]

The rut is just kicking in here. I have about 3 weeks left and a 8 point on the list.

 

[alsaqr]

Congrats on the deer. That's a great dog.

 

[Patocazador]

Congrats on the deer. That's a great dog.

She's the best I've ever had. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[Bull Nutria]

I once shot a big doe at the base of the neck with my 7mm08 at about 80 yds. She was looking strait at me.No blood no nothing. Luckily my son and a friend happened by and we combed the area and found it stone dead not very far from where I shot it in a thicket.
I swore off head . Shots from that day on. Shoulder shots only for me-- usually fall right there!!
Glad you found her and very nice dog!
Bull