First Deer Hunt

[lpsharp88]

Tomorrow marks the opening of Kentucky's modern gun deer season, and I'll be out there hoping to take my first deer. My fiance's family has some land that I'll be hunting, and I found what appears to be a good place to set up at. There's a path that the deer like to take down to a pond to get a drink, and I found a nice place uphill from it that offers a nice clear shooting lane. Hopefully they're thirsty this weekend haha.

Good luck to everyone else who is going to be out there!

 

[brainwake]

Good luck..bring home some venison!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I well remember my first dear hunt in Pa even though it was 43 yrs ago. I was 12 and as green as green gets. I was freezing cold, I shot a scrubby little 7 point on the run through the woods and took it down with the one shot, DRT. I could have been 20 below when I shot that buck and I wouldn't have felt it after that.

Luck shot of course but it was like magic. My Uncles didn't cut my shirt tail off and they hung out the rest of the day for all my cousins to see at camp.

Really good times.

Good luck to you and most of all, be safe.

 

[lpsharp88]

Got my first deer today! I went out around 0530 and got to my spot at maybe 0600, was in no rush and was trying to be quiet. Here's my vantage point


I thought I wasn't gonna see anything because a faithful companion decided to join me and couldn't drive him off. He finally got bored around 9 and left haha


Around 1030 I was about to pack it in. I had heard gunfire all around me, but hadn't seen so much as a bird. I had literally stood up and was just kind of standing there letting the sun hit me, when I heard some leaves crunching at my 1200, I looked and there was a big buck maybe 30 meters ahead of me. I got him in the sights of my Mossberg 590A1 and let loose a 3" slug. Hit him right behind the shoulder. Bang, flop.




Counted 10 points on him. I'll take it for my first deer!

Hope you all have good luck out there!

 

[WayBeau]

Very nice! I'd think you'd be hard pressed to find ANYONE who wouldn't be happy with that for their first deer.

 

[Centurian22]

Congrats! It's the year for firsts! I got mine in Maine on Saturday. Very well done and enjoy. Plan to get it mounted? Have the hide tanned? Getting it processed by a butcher or doing it yourself?

 

[lpsharp88]

I'm gonna just keep the rack, don't really want a head and neck mounted on my wall haha. It's at a processor now, I had a rough enough time gutting it, didn't want to tackle butchering it.

 

[Centurian22]

I thought the same thing. Mine was just a 4pt so I didn't want to pay to have it mounted (though one like yours I would have thought about it). Field dressing gave me hell but butchering was WAY easier and a great learning experience. Glad I did it but it tied up the better part of two days. Again congrats.

 

[lpsharp88]

I think I may try it out as I get more experience. Congrats to you too! My heart was racing leading up to the shot, it was unreal

 

[Centurian22]

Mine too! I'm quite jealous of your 'bang-flop' mine took a 120 yard dash through the thickest crap he could find.

 

[lpsharp88]

I'll take luck like that while I can. I don't expect it to last. With that said, I'll keep using those 3" slugs as long as my shooting distances are short like that

 

[cowtownup]

Congrats on the big buck.. I would probably put that one on the wall..

 

[preachnhunt]

Nice buck. Good job!

 

[Patocazador]

Congratulations on a great deer .. first or not.

I could tell you were military by reading your story: "0600", "at my 12:00", and "30 meters."

 

[336A]

nice job, and congratulations.

 

[travisd]

That's a great deer congrats.
As said before butchering it is a lot easier than gutting it, and I really enjoy doing it. I can't see paying $75 plus and another $100 to get it mounted when it doesn't take much time at all to do it myself.

 

[Centurian22]

Where can you pay $100 to have a deer mounted?!?!? I'm looking at $400-$600! I'd pay $100 for a mount in a heart beat. But agree way better to process myself than pay the 75-100 for that.

 

[travisd]

Sorry that's european mount, which is crazy to me. I can boil it myself for free and it isn't real bad to do either. Shoulder is $450 which i would have to have a crazy big deer to think about doing it.

 

[Centurian22]

Ah ok! That makes a lot more sense now lol. Same here I would need at least a big 6pt to think about it, preferably 8, 10pt there's not much doubt I would. We can only take one buck per year in Maine.