I suppose many of us here are pretty individualistic. Sometimes we want to do something a little different...just because we can.
With that in mind, I took a Remington 700 PSS in .308 hunting with me Friday morning. Yeah, it's an Evil Black Rifle, properly setup with a Harris bipod and a Springfield Armory 4-16x scope. The ammo I had with me was the Evil Armor Piercing Winchester SXT 180 grain (I don't believe this is still being made). A heavy controlled-expansion round is not what I would typically want for deer, but I knew it shot well, and was confident in my ability to place it correctly.
The stand I chose is in the middle of a large field, with shots possible to my sides and front. I lugged the heavy tactical rifle that I had determined to take a deer with up into the stand, along with my Camelback pack, managing to make an ungodly amount of noise along the way. After a few minutes, the sounds of early bird hunters blazing away filled the still and frosty air.
About 0800, I thought I heard a noise to my right. Carefully turning my head, I saw a deer standing a few feet from the woods. (Now, fellow hunter Byron says this is about 60 yards, but he's wrong.
I will shoot it with the laser range finder the next time I go out, but I put it right at 100 meters.) I kept watch, trying not to eye the deer too directly or long, as he bent down to eat, and began carefully shifting the heavy rifle from my 12 to my 3 o'clock. The deer kept alertly looking up, towards the field, then into the woods, every few seconds.
I was unsure of the sex of the deer, but since I had a buck tag and 8 doe tags left, it really didn't matter: he was big enough to be worth harvesting. I finally got the PSS oriented towards the deer, and lined up the crosshairs. My positioning, due to my stealthiness, was twisted, with the butt of the rifle in the middle of my chest, but I was confident I could hold it steadily enough. I drifted the crosshairs up, over, took a deep breath, let most of it out, held it...
BANG! The deer hunched forward, ran ahead, then swung towards his left, and into the woods. I heard a crash perhaps four seconds after my initial shot.
After suitable time, perhaps twenty minutes, I slid out of the stand, and headed off. I looked carefully around where the deer had stood, and was a little puzzled to see no blood. I finally found two drops, and just walked directly towards where the deer had entered the woods.
I saw him almost immediately, lying on his right side. I carefully approached, but he was still. The deer was a young buck, with tall, thin horns. He was between 90 and 100 pounds, and I hit him just behind the front shoulder. The entrance wound was hard to see, and the exit appeared to show "controlled" expansion, as well, being about an inch wide, and half an inch high.
We dither a lot about "ideal" weapons here, and it's true that some tools are inherently better for some tasks than others. Ultimately, though, it's the skill with which a tool is used that matters.
John
With that in mind, I took a Remington 700 PSS in .308 hunting with me Friday morning. Yeah, it's an Evil Black Rifle, properly setup with a Harris bipod and a Springfield Armory 4-16x scope. The ammo I had with me was the Evil Armor Piercing Winchester SXT 180 grain (I don't believe this is still being made). A heavy controlled-expansion round is not what I would typically want for deer, but I knew it shot well, and was confident in my ability to place it correctly.
The stand I chose is in the middle of a large field, with shots possible to my sides and front. I lugged the heavy tactical rifle that I had determined to take a deer with up into the stand, along with my Camelback pack, managing to make an ungodly amount of noise along the way. After a few minutes, the sounds of early bird hunters blazing away filled the still and frosty air.
About 0800, I thought I heard a noise to my right. Carefully turning my head, I saw a deer standing a few feet from the woods. (Now, fellow hunter Byron says this is about 60 yards, but he's wrong.
I will shoot it with the laser range finder the next time I go out, but I put it right at 100 meters.) I kept watch, trying not to eye the deer too directly or long, as he bent down to eat, and began carefully shifting the heavy rifle from my 12 to my 3 o'clock. The deer kept alertly looking up, towards the field, then into the woods, every few seconds.I was unsure of the sex of the deer, but since I had a buck tag and 8 doe tags left, it really didn't matter: he was big enough to be worth harvesting. I finally got the PSS oriented towards the deer, and lined up the crosshairs. My positioning, due to my stealthiness, was twisted, with the butt of the rifle in the middle of my chest, but I was confident I could hold it steadily enough. I drifted the crosshairs up, over, took a deep breath, let most of it out, held it...
BANG! The deer hunched forward, ran ahead, then swung towards his left, and into the woods. I heard a crash perhaps four seconds after my initial shot.
After suitable time, perhaps twenty minutes, I slid out of the stand, and headed off. I looked carefully around where the deer had stood, and was a little puzzled to see no blood. I finally found two drops, and just walked directly towards where the deer had entered the woods.
I saw him almost immediately, lying on his right side. I carefully approached, but he was still. The deer was a young buck, with tall, thin horns. He was between 90 and 100 pounds, and I hit him just behind the front shoulder. The entrance wound was hard to see, and the exit appeared to show "controlled" expansion, as well, being about an inch wide, and half an inch high.
We dither a lot about "ideal" weapons here, and it's true that some tools are inherently better for some tasks than others. Ultimately, though, it's the skill with which a tool is used that matters.
John
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