First deer and lost a buck

Mumptia

Mumptia

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Location
LaCrete, Alberta
What a day.

My son bagged his first deer with my .308 (his .30.30 is on blocks right now).

An anterless mule he took and it turned out to be a little button so he was tickled pink. (I'll post pics when I get a chance).

Now, over to Capatin Deadly. A young buck was coming my way so I waited until he was broad side and shot. I hit him he went down and my son and I were high fiving ini the canola.

Now the buck gets up and takes off witha bit of a limp. When I went back and looked at the shot, I realized I shot through a thin stand of standing Canola and got a richochet.

My son and I tracked that deer for about two miles in standing Canola until the blood trail dried up.

What a ####ty feeling. Practise all spring and summer, read, watch, teach my son amd on and on and this happens.....................

One good thing did come out of it I guess. Just before we started tracking, a great big buck was looking at me from about 60 yds. A definite shooter and one that gets your heart beating. All my boys were yelling "shoot dad, shoot dad!" but I stopped the truck and we had a talk that lasted a couple of minutes about why I couldn't shoot that buck and why we have to go look for the one I injured. They didn't like it but understood.

I told the land owner what had happened and he was ok with it because of the effort I put iinto looking for it.

I'd go back today and keep looking if the field wasn't two hours away..........................

Lesson hard learned.

Mumps
 
Losing an animal is never a good experience....however not dropping the other "bigger" buck showed HUGE respect and that you know what's right in choosing to follow up on the wounded one.

Good for You and Congrats to your Son:)
 
I know the feeling, so I'm at the ready until I know it is really down. Have had to snap shoot at least two that didn't know they were dead yet.
 
Bad situation that you handled perfectly. Your boys will understand what their responsibilities are when they see you following the rules.
 
I hit a 6 pointer in the front leg with the ML last year, sights got banged:confused:, anyway I tracked it until dark, then went home and laid in bed thinking about it all night.

Got up early and went back to where I'd last seen blood and started tracking at dawn. Finally jump him up from under a juniper and dispatched him, with much relief, probably to him too.

#### happens. My sights were dead on, and after opening day they were 12" low.
 
thank goodness your kids a better shot than you are ! :D:D:D:D

but as stated sh!t does happen while your out hunting its how you deal with it after the fact that defines you as a hunter and a man, good job bud hopfully you will see the lil bugger again and get him :)
 
bone-collector said:
thank goodness your kids a better shot than you are ! :D:D:D:D

but as stated sh!t does happen while your out hunting its how you deal with it after the fact that defines you as a hunter and a man, good job bud hopfully you will see the lil bugger again and get him :)
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I'm going back in a couple of weeks and then the crop will be gone.

I won't hunt mule in neck high canola anymore.

I pulled the thickest plant I could see out and tried to crack the plant and it broke harder than a dried out Poplar branch. Ricochet central.

Its still on my mind. Like you said Bones, maybe I'll see him again and I 'll be better prepared (but I'll bet something different will happen that I won't be ready for..... jessh:rolleyes:)
 
senior said:
Sh--t does happen :(

That's a very good reason to carry any form of repeater.
Why didn't you shoot again as soon as it got up :confused:
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Senior.

I had three rounds with me. One went into my sons deer one into mine and the third shot was standing at a head bouncing away from me which I didn't take.

With a beating heart it was such a low percentage shot that I opted to let him go and lay down for a while and see if I could jump him later.

Three bullets doesn't make much sense now but we were spot and stalk hunting in feilds using the truck and binos. Mule does are a great animal for a youngsters first kill because you can just about do a dance in front of them and they won't spook. My logic was three bullets is enough. My son had 75 rounds under his belt at the range, the rifle was grouping super, he was breifed about what to do and the plan was set. I figured two shots max and well.....the wheels fell off.

After 20+ years of hunting I'm still learning. My boys asked me last night after hockey practise if I was still thinking about that buck I told them yes and it looks like they are too. Funny thing about kids, they process things at a way different pace than we do.
 
Mumptia said:
Senior.

I had three rounds with me. One went into my sons deer one into mine and the third shot was standing at a head bouncing away from me which I didn't take.

With a beating heart it was such a low percentage shot that I opted to let him go and lay down for a while and see if I could jump him later.

Three bullets doesn't make much sense now but we were spot and stalk hunting in feilds using the truck and binos. Mule does are a great animal for a youngsters first kill because you can just about do a dance in front of them and they won't spook. My logic was three bullets is enough. My son had 75 rounds under his belt at the range, the rifle was grouping super, he was breifed about what to do and the plan was set. I figured two shots max and well.....the wheels fell off.

After 20+ years of hunting I'm still learning. My boys asked me last night after hockey practise if I was still thinking about that buck I told them yes and it looks like they are too. Funny thing about kids, they process things at a way different pace than we do.
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The kids are saying, "Yup, dad will get one next time, I thought old people had more than three shells"!!!
 
I always carry 12-15 rounds, never know when you'll run into bears or wolves. Especially with blood in the air.
 
I always carry extra amo. it happen once, and never again. two extra clips, and on the stock, plus back up in a zip locked bag as back up in the fanny pack with the rest of stuff I might need if stranded. Sometimes along ago, I used to throw a bag in the truck with extra's that I had of different cals, because we young and lots of guys forgot the shells on the table or in the girlfriends car yadda yadda.
 
Nice to see you did the right thing. It wouldn't be hunting if everything went as planned, heck, it's what makes it interesting! Plus, your kids learned a heck of a lesson. It reminds me of my wife and I getting engaged. I took her deer hunting, she shot her first deer, it ran off and we were not sure she hit it... For just a moment, I thought about telling her to shoot one of the other deer that were standing around stunned... But I didn't, I told her to unload her gun and we were going to go look for the deer. Turned out that she hit it perfectly and it went about 100 yards. I cleaned the deer and with bloody hands and my wife holding the deer's head... I asked her to marry me! Been together 15 years!!! And we have the whole thing on video!

Cheers
Jay
 
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