Deer Season 2020 Thread
- Thread starter jonnyboy1014
- Start date
I went out just today for the last day of rifle season. Was stuck at work all week. I sat in a thinned out part of a managed forest on public land between some thick woods and a cornfield. Near sunset a pair of does leapt across the shooting lane I was set up at, 150 yards out, but too quick to shoot. I couldn't pick them up through the trees as they worked through the woods toward the cornfield at the other end of the forest. Lost them. 15 minutes go by, and I hear a dog absolutely freaking out over at that farm. Maybe it will spook them back this way? Ok, worth a try. Safety off, rifle up, staring down the scope, ready. One goes across the shooting lane in one leap, way too fast. Another one flies right by in front of me at spitting distance. It startles me, I startle it, and it's long gone. But at the same time I thought I noticed something else over there down the way, and thought I heard a deer hitting the brakes? Looking.... looking... and I spot the white of the tail of a doe hiding from me behind trees and brush about 120 yards away. I can see the back end, and what I think looks like a part of the front shoulder between the trees. I went for that and flattened her with one shot from my 270. I can't be too sure though, and it was facing toward the line to private property that I don't want it to end up in. So instead of waiting I walked that way immediately, ready to put it back down if it bolts. And then I hear something else. Back in the bush 150 yards behind me, a fourth one is sneaking by. I can repeatedly see where it's going to appear next, and watch it through my scope several times as it slips away. I should have bought that additional tag this year. Oh well. Then I found my doe where it fell. The shot went right through the center of the lungs, right above the heart. The partition bullet worked very well, and I am impressed by the lack of meat damage on a shot like that.
There was so much action, it made up for the past two years' frustration by far. What a great day.
There was so much action, it made up for the past two years' frustration by far. What a great day.
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jlovie
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
View attachment 432736
Found this poor fella this morning with a single shot, directly to the gut with no exit wound. Terrible shame.
Found this poor fella this morning with a single shot, directly to the gut with no exit wound. Terrible shame.
Beat my personal best by a significant margin yesterday
Beautiful buck. What’s the story?
I went out on Monday (rifle opener) despite 30kph winds gusting to 50kph, just because it was the opener and I couldn't resist. Sat in my favourite stand overlooking a brushy field and saw a group of four does in the morning. Afternoon came and we had an hour-long white-out snow storm added to the heavy winds. I sat through it thinking it would end (as forecast) and if the winds dropped (also as forecast) the deer would begin moving. Seemed reasonable, especially since the temps had dropped to roughly -6C after a previous week of much warmer days.
Miracle of miracles, the forecast was dead on. The snow stopped abruptly...the winds dropped to near zero...and deer were everywhere. Between 3:00 and 5:00 I saw 30-35 deer, in singles, doubles, triples and one group of five. Some were likely duplicate visitors but whatever the case, there were deer all over...and every dang one was a doe!
Just after 5:00, maybe 15 minutes of legal light remaining, I scanned across the field for the 10,000th time and spotted the unmistakable form of a buck who had just stepped out of the trees. The size, stance, build and posture were all there, and the binoculars showed an image that left no doubt or second-guessing. POW! Took him on the point of the shoulder on a quartering-on shot at maybe 75 yards; he ran in a large semi-circle and crashed spectacularly only 20 yards from where he had been standing. I never score or measure anything, but he is definitely one of my best.
Miracle of miracles, the forecast was dead on. The snow stopped abruptly...the winds dropped to near zero...and deer were everywhere. Between 3:00 and 5:00 I saw 30-35 deer, in singles, doubles, triples and one group of five. Some were likely duplicate visitors but whatever the case, there were deer all over...and every dang one was a doe!
Just after 5:00, maybe 15 minutes of legal light remaining, I scanned across the field for the 10,000th time and spotted the unmistakable form of a buck who had just stepped out of the trees. The size, stance, build and posture were all there, and the binoculars showed an image that left no doubt or second-guessing. POW! Took him on the point of the shoulder on a quartering-on shot at maybe 75 yards; he ran in a large semi-circle and crashed spectacularly only 20 yards from where he had been standing. I never score or measure anything, but he is definitely one of my best.
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Don't have time for deer hunting this season as I have too many projects on the go so I let my buddy hunt one of my places.
Hopefully he doesn't mind me posting a picture of what he got...
And while the shot looks bad it did hit spine and the deer dropped instantly. Congrats to him on a decent deer down and meat in the freezer.
Hopefully he doesn't mind me posting a picture of what he got...
And while the shot looks bad it did hit spine and the deer dropped instantly. Congrats to him on a decent deer down and meat in the freezer.
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I shot a spike whitetail in heavy hail standing broadside about 90 yards away with my 6.5x55 and 160 Hornady round nose, to my surprise it was a doe with about a 4” spike still in velvet. This apparently is about a one in ten thousand occurrence and happens when a doe has a high level of testosterone.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
Our season will be greatly reduced now after this last storm with the amount of snow and how it blew in, doubt many people can get to their spots.
Beat my personal best by a significant margin yesterday
Wow...I keep circling back to look at this thing. I love BIG racks, and I love lots of character and "junk", and I love racks that are beautiful and balanced rather than just awkward-looking messes. It's not very often that you find all three of these virtues in a single rack, but this one has them all in spades. Beautiful!
dgradinaru
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- British Columbia
Had the day off yesterday, slept in and got ready around 9:30 a.m.....by 10:30 i got on the trails and didn't have much happening for the first part of the day. By mid-day(1:30pm) I was walking some ridges bordering a cut-block and busted a couple does around 375 yards. Observed them for a few minutes and decided to close the distance. Got within 275 yards and continued observing them, then i saw a third doe, a couple minutes later a fourth doe showed up, must have been bedded. At this point one doe caught my presence and she got uneasy. The doe decided to move on.
Then out of nowhere a nice typical 4 point showed up. Caught me off guard, i had full visibility of the field and did not see him at all. He started chasing after the does and this point i thought i missed my opportunity. I was able to pull off a shot when he stopped broad side with my Zastava Mauser 98 in 8x57, using 196 gr Norma Plastic points @ 2550 fps. He then reacted to the shot and took his death run towards the tree-line, I lost sight of him but found his tracks and a blood trail which led me about 50 yards deep into the treeline. I was so happy to see him toppled over. Had to pack him out quite aways and boy did i get a work out. I feel so blessed and thankful to fill the freezer with this beautiful buck!
Then out of nowhere a nice typical 4 point showed up. Caught me off guard, i had full visibility of the field and did not see him at all. He started chasing after the does and this point i thought i missed my opportunity. I was able to pull off a shot when he stopped broad side with my Zastava Mauser 98 in 8x57, using 196 gr Norma Plastic points @ 2550 fps. He then reacted to the shot and took his death run towards the tree-line, I lost sight of him but found his tracks and a blood trail which led me about 50 yards deep into the treeline. I was so happy to see him toppled over. Had to pack him out quite aways and boy did i get a work out. I feel so blessed and thankful to fill the freezer with this beautiful buck!
Had the day off yesterday, slept in and got ready around 9:30 a.m.....by 10:30 i got on the trails and didn't have much happening for the first part of the day. By mid-day(1:30pm) I was walking some ridges bordering a cut-block and busted a couple does around 375 yards. Observed them for a few minutes and decided to close the distance. Got within 275 yards and continued observing them, then i saw a third doe, a couple minutes later a fourth doe showed up, must have been bedded. At this point one doe caught my presence and she got uneasy. The doe decided to move on.
Then out of nowhere a nice typical 4 point showed up. Caught me off guard, i had full visibility of the field and did not see him at all. He started chasing after the does and this point i thought i missed my opportunity. I was able to pull off a shot when he stopped broad side with my Zastava Mauser 98 in 8x57, using 196 gr Norma Plastic points @ 2550 fps. He then reacted to the shot and took his death run towards the tree-line, I lost sight of him but found his tracks and a blood trail which led me about 50 yards deep into the treeline. I was so happy to see him toppled over. Had to pack him out quite aways and boy did i get a work out. I feel so blessed and thankful to fill the freezer with this beautiful buck!
Beautiful buck in a beautiful location. Love the choice of rifle too.
Went out this evening to find the 2nd nikon warranted scope doesn't hold it's settings on my kids mossberg. Off for warranty again. Hope fully??. Off to the nearest hardware store for a vortex. Last season I had to loan h one.. we shot 3/4 groups at 100. His nikon at the moment is 6 inch.
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Had the day off yesterday, slept in and got ready around 9:30 a.m.....by 10:30 i got on the trails and didn't have much happening for the first part of the day. By mid-day(1:30pm) I was walking some ridges bordering a cut-block and busted a couple does around 375 yards. Observed them for a few minutes and decided to close the distance. Got within 275 yards and continued observing them, then i saw a third doe, a couple minutes later a fourth doe showed up, must have been bedded. At this point one doe caught my presence and she got uneasy. The doe decided to move on.
Then out of nowhere a nice typical 4 point showed up. Caught me off guard, i had full visibility of the field and did not see him at all. He started chasing after the does and this point i thought i missed my opportunity. I was able to pull off a shot when he stopped broad side with my Zastava Mauser 98 in 8x57, using 196 gr Norma Plastic points @ 2550 fps. He then reacted to the shot and took his death run towards the tree-line, I lost sight of him but found his tracks and a blood trail which led me about 50 yards deep into the treeline. I was so happy to see him toppled over. Had to pack him out quite aways and boy did i get a work out. I feel so blessed and thankful to fill the freezer with this beautiful buck!
Beautiful buck. Count yourself lucky to have that size around your hunting grounds. Around here, on the east coast, that would be a lifetime deer for most hunters ....
And we'd call it an 8 point. Funny how that all works.
I was able to get out for a couple days. Big deal with a 4month old, 2 year old, hobby farm, and business!! Supposed to be 4 guys total. Never hunted with these 3 guys, two guys, including guy with antlerless tag showed up 3 days late after sunset, one day before I had to leave. Had deer chili first evening, guy didn't tell me it was old, had runs for 2.5 days. Ever hold diarrhea ####s? Nearly in tears by the time we were driving back to motel each night, cramps were nearly unbearable!!
Was hot as hell, 16c in day, think 8ish at night! Saw 2 does on day one north of a hydroline. 200lber, 225lber, could have shot both on day one. No tag!
Day 2 going in bush road, ding, tire pressure warning, watching it drop, get parked, go hunting. Had a grunt wheeze, some crashing in bush, and a couple grunts in same area doe sightings. Head back to truck for lunch. On rim, ####. Get out crappy tools, go to lower spare, broke off the insert the tire jack goes into. Had to reach up inside and turn by hand, just barely able to fit arm, and just barely able to turn by hand. Get spare out, go to loosen lug nuts. Cnd tire installed new tires, way over spec on torque. Bending tire iron in half.. double ####. Hitting lug nuts with rock. Try working it back and fourth. Iron bending in half, curse about cnd tire. Finally got it, put spare on, looks to be 2 ply! Absolutely junk, well its not flat at least! Finish evening hunt, nothing. Heading to motel/town on junk tire. 80km/h max, takes nearly a hour. Go to repair tire at a gas station (air compressor) tire plug kit doesn't have a t handle, just screwdriver handle, took a lot of fighting, cursing and nearly a hour to install plug.
No deer action day 3, saw 5 partridge, a rabbit. Put regular tire back on at lunch. Day 4, last day for me, I gave up my spot to guy with tag who showed up evening before. Tried to cross bush to south hydro line that hadn't been explored, in the rain and pitch darkness. Solid walls of cedar trees. Absolutely horrible! Not a thing! Walked out hydro line, instead of crossing bush at 10am, No trails, tracks, or fecies to be seen!
Left at 10 to clear out motel room before checkout. Came back to hunting area. Did 4 pushes in unexplored bush to hydro line on north side. Lots of track, and fecies, but zero deer. Had a late lunch with boys before taking off, 90min before sunset.
Not thrilled with area, or the other "team members" but it was first time out in 3 years. Was good to be in bush. Everyone is safe and in one piece. Hopefully they'll be better organized and prepared next year though, if there's a next year. Just got a text from them, sounds like they're packing it up now, 3 days after I left. They haven't seen a thing by the sounds of it.
Was hot as hell, 16c in day, think 8ish at night! Saw 2 does on day one north of a hydroline. 200lber, 225lber, could have shot both on day one. No tag!
Day 2 going in bush road, ding, tire pressure warning, watching it drop, get parked, go hunting. Had a grunt wheeze, some crashing in bush, and a couple grunts in same area doe sightings. Head back to truck for lunch. On rim, ####. Get out crappy tools, go to lower spare, broke off the insert the tire jack goes into. Had to reach up inside and turn by hand, just barely able to fit arm, and just barely able to turn by hand. Get spare out, go to loosen lug nuts. Cnd tire installed new tires, way over spec on torque. Bending tire iron in half.. double ####. Hitting lug nuts with rock. Try working it back and fourth. Iron bending in half, curse about cnd tire. Finally got it, put spare on, looks to be 2 ply! Absolutely junk, well its not flat at least! Finish evening hunt, nothing. Heading to motel/town on junk tire. 80km/h max, takes nearly a hour. Go to repair tire at a gas station (air compressor) tire plug kit doesn't have a t handle, just screwdriver handle, took a lot of fighting, cursing and nearly a hour to install plug.
No deer action day 3, saw 5 partridge, a rabbit. Put regular tire back on at lunch. Day 4, last day for me, I gave up my spot to guy with tag who showed up evening before. Tried to cross bush to south hydro line that hadn't been explored, in the rain and pitch darkness. Solid walls of cedar trees. Absolutely horrible! Not a thing! Walked out hydro line, instead of crossing bush at 10am, No trails, tracks, or fecies to be seen!
Left at 10 to clear out motel room before checkout. Came back to hunting area. Did 4 pushes in unexplored bush to hydro line on north side. Lots of track, and fecies, but zero deer. Had a late lunch with boys before taking off, 90min before sunset.
Not thrilled with area, or the other "team members" but it was first time out in 3 years. Was good to be in bush. Everyone is safe and in one piece. Hopefully they'll be better organized and prepared next year though, if there's a next year. Just got a text from them, sounds like they're packing it up now, 3 days after I left. They haven't seen a thing by the sounds of it.
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A mulie on the east coast would indeed be a lifetime deer...
Even at my location in the middle of the country, that would be something unique; but here we'd call it "poaching".
was referring to the spread, moreso.
