I got this guy on Sunday Nov. 18. I actually passed on him on the morning of Friday the 16th due to only having a couple seconds to judge him as he worked his way through the brush towards a shooting lane. I knew he was a good buck but wasn’t 100% sure. After he stepped through my lane and the more I watched him through my binos at only 35-40 yards I realized I should have had the gun up and the binos down.
Well, he winded me and left the area, not completely spooked but was gone none the less. I was feeling bummed but still had high hopes for this stand location because I know there are some more quality bucks around. The rest of that day and Saturday were slow but enough deer were working their way past my stand to keep me entertained.
On Sunday morning I still hunted my way to my tree along a field edge and seen two smaller bucks sniffing out does and a handful of does. I was having a good feeling for what the day would bring. At 9am I seen this guy come out on a crest in the field and after having a quick look across came right on towards me and I took my shot when he was at ~70 yards. At the shot he leaped forward a couple bounds and stopped behind a spruce tree. I was thinking I missed. After a couple seconds he trotted out from behind the tree and I took another shot as he was moving through some brush, a couple more steps and he took a nosedive and there was hardly a flinch after that.
After looking at him for a few minutes I went and checked out his tracks and the blood trail to see what happened. It turns out I connected with the first shot and missed my follow-up shot. The bullet went in real tight to his shoulder and completely destroyed his heart and caused trauma to the lungs. I am surprised he reacted the way he did to the shot…He didn’t even seem hit, granted he was behind a spruce tree right after the shot so I couldn’t see what he was doing and when he came out I wasn’t paying attention to the way he was moving or if there was any red stuff leaking out, I just picked a hole in the brush and took another shot as soon as I seen shoulder. Either way, it all worked out well.
Lightly modified Rem. 721 in .270 with an M8 6x Leupold in Talley LWs. Bullet was a 130 grain Speer Hot-Cor and it did a lot of damage to the impact side shoulder. The hole underneath the hide is slightly larger than golf ball diameter. Lots of damage in between and a dime sized exit hole with the bullet being recovered underneath the hide. Didn’t weight it or anything but I’ll get it cleaned up and have a look at it just for fun. Enjoy the pics.
Well, he winded me and left the area, not completely spooked but was gone none the less. I was feeling bummed but still had high hopes for this stand location because I know there are some more quality bucks around. The rest of that day and Saturday were slow but enough deer were working their way past my stand to keep me entertained.
On Sunday morning I still hunted my way to my tree along a field edge and seen two smaller bucks sniffing out does and a handful of does. I was having a good feeling for what the day would bring. At 9am I seen this guy come out on a crest in the field and after having a quick look across came right on towards me and I took my shot when he was at ~70 yards. At the shot he leaped forward a couple bounds and stopped behind a spruce tree. I was thinking I missed. After a couple seconds he trotted out from behind the tree and I took another shot as he was moving through some brush, a couple more steps and he took a nosedive and there was hardly a flinch after that.
After looking at him for a few minutes I went and checked out his tracks and the blood trail to see what happened. It turns out I connected with the first shot and missed my follow-up shot. The bullet went in real tight to his shoulder and completely destroyed his heart and caused trauma to the lungs. I am surprised he reacted the way he did to the shot…He didn’t even seem hit, granted he was behind a spruce tree right after the shot so I couldn’t see what he was doing and when he came out I wasn’t paying attention to the way he was moving or if there was any red stuff leaking out, I just picked a hole in the brush and took another shot as soon as I seen shoulder. Either way, it all worked out well.
Lightly modified Rem. 721 in .270 with an M8 6x Leupold in Talley LWs. Bullet was a 130 grain Speer Hot-Cor and it did a lot of damage to the impact side shoulder. The hole underneath the hide is slightly larger than golf ball diameter. Lots of damage in between and a dime sized exit hole with the bullet being recovered underneath the hide. Didn’t weight it or anything but I’ll get it cleaned up and have a look at it just for fun. Enjoy the pics.
