Trad Archer
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I would love to see pics and read stories of your mule deer hunts. I'm suffering from my annual mule deer fever again. Sept can't get here fast enough.
Mule Deer
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waffentomas
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I don't know why you torture yourself like this...but here you go. He scored 152 7/8 and has proven to be delicious. Technically, his brow tines are long enough to qualify him as a 5x5.
It was about 8:15 am and I was atop a very rocky and steep bowl. He was walking up it grazing along the way. First shot hit him broad-side, at 104 yards, behind the shoulder, broke two ribs and blew up his lungs, and knocked him to the ground. As I watched him struggling to get up, I fully expected him to tire, settle down and expire. He had other plans, got up, and started walking towards me. I was probably about 50 feet above him in elevation, and 85 yards on the next shot, which went a touch high, hit him in his lower jaw, went through it and slammed into his neck and traversed all the way down the side of his rib cage and lodged in the hide just above the thigh - game over. Penetration was around 4 feet! Man those mulies are tough sometimes.
Rifle is a .308 Weatherby Vanguard. Scope is a Nikon Monarch Gold 2.5x10 50mm. Range finder is a Leica 1200. Load is a handloaded 180gr WW Fail Safe over 44gr of WW 748.
It was about 8:15 am and I was atop a very rocky and steep bowl. He was walking up it grazing along the way. First shot hit him broad-side, at 104 yards, behind the shoulder, broke two ribs and blew up his lungs, and knocked him to the ground. As I watched him struggling to get up, I fully expected him to tire, settle down and expire. He had other plans, got up, and started walking towards me. I was probably about 50 feet above him in elevation, and 85 yards on the next shot, which went a touch high, hit him in his lower jaw, went through it and slammed into his neck and traversed all the way down the side of his rib cage and lodged in the hide just above the thigh - game over. Penetration was around 4 feet! Man those mulies are tough sometimes.
Rifle is a .308 Weatherby Vanguard. Scope is a Nikon Monarch Gold 2.5x10 50mm. Range finder is a Leica 1200. Load is a handloaded 180gr WW Fail Safe over 44gr of WW 748.
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Trad Archer
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LOL.....yeah, I can't help but torture myself. I can't help it, I just love mule deer. That is a beautiful buck. Congrats.
We spotted this one while eating lunch at 825 yards. He was lying down facing us. After rejecting all of the other possible approaches, I told the guide that I could make the shot if he could get me on top of a large rocky outcrop 500 yards away from us. When we climbed to the top, the deer was still bedded. I slung up in the prone position and took the shot from 322 yards. The deer flipped over backwards and stood up broadside. I fired again. The first shot entered the brisket, traveled through the heart and exited through a ham. The second was a high lung shot. I was using a McMillan Signature in .280 with a 140 gr Fail Safe over 58.0 gr RL22. I didn't score him, but he was 24" wide with 5 1/2" bases.
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I was, and I like it. I have had it since around 1988. The only issue that I have with it is the fact that it doesn't like Nosler Partition bullets. Ballistic Tips and Accubonds shoot great (1/2 MOA 3 shot groups). The original X bullet and Fail Safes shot well also. It has a polygonal rifled barrel of unknown manufacture (I suspect Schneider). When my brother started deer hunting a couple years ago, I found a McMillan Talon in .270 with a Hart barrel. Also a very nice rifle.
One of the funny parts about the story was the guide's reactions. When I suggested the plan of action, he said it was too far. I did the math and said it was only 325 yards and could make the shot so he worked me into position. When we got into position, he told me to wait until the deer stood up. I argued that there were too many other hunters around and the deer was only 2 steps from timber. After a few seconds (seemed like a while), he said to shoot. I did and when I did he started practically shouting "You rolled him over. You F...ing rolled him over." I asked him what made him change his mind about me taking the shot and he told me that he was used to having hunters miss elk broadside at 50 yards from a rest, but when he looked at my rifle barrel, it was steady as a rock. That was when I let him know that I am a highpower rifle competitor who shoots around 3,000 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo per year practicing and shooting matches. It really does help your shooting and your confidence in your ability.
One of the funny parts about the story was the guide's reactions. When I suggested the plan of action, he said it was too far. I did the math and said it was only 325 yards and could make the shot so he worked me into position. When we got into position, he told me to wait until the deer stood up. I argued that there were too many other hunters around and the deer was only 2 steps from timber. After a few seconds (seemed like a while), he said to shoot. I did and when I did he started practically shouting "You rolled him over. You F...ing rolled him over." I asked him what made him change his mind about me taking the shot and he told me that he was used to having hunters miss elk broadside at 50 yards from a rest, but when he looked at my rifle barrel, it was steady as a rock. That was when I let him know that I am a highpower rifle competitor who shoots around 3,000 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo per year practicing and shooting matches. It really does help your shooting and your confidence in your ability.
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Mule deer hunting is a passion of mine....Growing up in Western South Dakota...and hunting the area to this day....we have a decent mix of whitetail and mule deer. OUr ranch in p[articular though, typically holds more mulies than whitetails. I've taken a mule deer buck (in some cases more than one, depending on the licenses available) basically annually since I was 12, which would make it 21 years. In that time, I've shot exactly two whitetails (one this year....see post entitled "last minute buck" in this very forum). Its never been a plan to shoot only mulies, as I almost always have at least one "any deer" tag. However, for whatever reason, I became much more serious about mulies. I'm still looking for that magical 30 incher, but I've collected many 5x5's well over 20, with one of my more recent ones scoring 174 3/4 B&C with about a 26 in spread. I personally think SD is an overlooked mulie hotspot.....but then again, I don't mind one bit!
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