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Beau Cassidy
12-25-2013, 09:17 PM
My wife has been on me about deer hunting this year but my schedule has been very difficult to fit in any hunting. In fact, I didn't even get to go and spend my personal requirement of time at the range before the season. I missed opening day and finally the day after thanksgiving I was able to sit over a power transmission line on the back of my FIL's property where I got a small buck with one side broken off at about 250 yards. That put the pressure on me to take my wife hunting even worse...

Fast forward to today... We are back in East Tennessee and the weather was finally good. After doing the usual Christmas stuff I had this afternoon free so I gathered up the wife and took her to the same place I went a few weeks ago, This time I set up on an old picnic table inside of the woods overlooking the power line instead of sitting on the ground behind the rock at the edge of the powerline. Upon walking in and very close to where were going to set up we spooked about 6 deer. 4 of them stopped and the wife got to look at them for about 5 minutes thru my scope before we finally had enough and went the last few feet to the table. That was her first time looking at deer thru a scope. After setting up on the table and telling my wife where I expected the deer to come from I gave her a pair of binocs.

About 30 minutes into things I spotted a deer in a field at about 750 yards I suspect I was a small buck. She got a thrill watching him. A little while later I had a few does walk into the field from my left at about 75 yards I suspect were probably the few we had seen earlier. We were watching them for about 15 minutes when I noticed they put their heads up- obviously concerned. I looked up from the binocs and saw a red fox going into the thicket real close to the does. Maybe 10 yards. I have no idea as to where it came from. The does were nervous for about 5 minutes then went about their way, making their way out to a hundred yards or so. A few minutes later the fox came out on the far end of the powerline 250 yards away and my wife watched him for a few minutes before he disappeared.

20 minutes later the 2 does had turned into 4 and it was beginning to get dusky when my wife said,"Look- there comes a fox!" I got a glimpse of him out of the corner of my right eye. He was trotting at us thru the field and at his current track was going to go right into an opening for me to shoot thru. I told the wife to get ready. Just as if on que, when the fox reached the opening at about 150 plus yards and stopped. I vividly remember the blast of the 30/06 as the Sierra 165 Gr. HPBT hit him. The fox rolled but the shot wasn't good. He regained his composure and was soon dragging his rear legs with his front. I quickly rechambered and let another round fly but it missed. Just like that the fox was out of sight but I knew he was hit hard. Since it would soon be dark we high tailed it to where she last saw him. It didn't take us but a second to find him in a small depression beside a thicket 25 yards from initial contact. Soon it was over and I had my first fox. Too bad it wasn't with one of my lead offerings but at least it was with a round I created. 45 years and other than rimfire I have never taken game with factory ammo not do I plan on it.

Here are a few pictures of the hunt. All in all it was one of my better ones and I am thoroughly happy my wife was there with me.

The setup.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/20131225_165727_zps2387aaad.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/20131225_165727_zps2387aaad.jpg.html)

Armament.
Cooper Western Classic 30/06. Swarovski Z6 2.5 to 15. Sierra 165 Gr. HPBT in front of 60 Grains of Ramshot Hunter.
Smith and Wesson 5 1/2 inch 629 for close contact.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/20131225_165724_zpsdff66bf6.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/20131225_165724_zpsdff66bf6.jpg.html)

The wife bundled up watching the deer at 750 yards waaaaay up at the top of the farthest hill.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/20131225_165720_zps443588b3.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/20131225_165720_zps443588b3.jpg.html)

A blurry picture of the 2 deer that came out on us.
The trailer in the back of the picture is used to store cattle feed in on the neighbors land. Don't worry- it isn't occupied!
This is the opening thru which I eventually burned some gunpowder.
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/20131225_171314_zpsf7817bc8.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/20131225_171314_zpsf7817bc8.jpg.html)

Success!
http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/OrthoNP/20131225_174553_zps4104fde6.jpg (http://s437.photobucket.com/user/OrthoNP/media/20131225_174553_zps4104fde6.jpg.html)

merlin101
12-25-2013, 09:36 PM
Great story!

Bzcraig
12-25-2013, 09:43 PM
Wife and hunting buddy, doesn't get any better than that.

nekshot
12-26-2013, 11:52 AM
Way to go! Looking at that rifle stock can make a bad hunting day seem better. I love having the misses along but it doesn't happen much anymore.

Crawdaddy
12-26-2013, 12:24 PM
Congrats- great write up.

John Allen
12-26-2013, 12:30 PM
Congrats, that is what it is all about. The fox has a nice coat

missionary5155
12-26-2013, 03:37 PM
Greetings and Congradulations !
Fox are not the easiest to get the draw on. You should be right proud of that one !
Mike in Peru

Crawdaddy
12-26-2013, 05:06 PM
Way to go! Looking at that rifle stock can make a bad hunting day seem better. I love having the misses along but it doesn't happen much anymore.

I used to want my wife to come with me until one time she did. A long story short- We went out plinking Jack Rabbits in the desert and I level my pistol at one and she screamed "Run bunny, run!"

Never again. No matter how much I love her.

Beau Cassidy
12-26-2013, 07:49 PM
My wife got a tremendous thrill out of going even if we weren't in a tree stand. She got to see several deer and how they respond when alarmed. Ironically, I had told her how deer will react when a coyote is too close not 15 minutes before we saw the fox. Where we were we could almost talk normally. It was one of the better hunts I have been on and I made sure to tell her they didn't all turn out like that.

Captain Capsize
12-27-2013, 11:04 AM
I used to want my wife to come with me until one time she did. A long story short- We went out plinking Jack Rabbits in the desert and I level my pistol at one and she screamed "Run bunny, run!"

Never again. No matter how much I love her.

My wife did the same thing when I took her along during the last day of deer season. She was making as much noise as she thought she could get away with. Then said do you know how to pith off a deer hunter? "RUN DEER RUNNN" That will be the last time also!

JDBrowning
12-27-2013, 01:06 PM
Well done Beau. It appears you have finally been able to settle down from all the moves.
Take care and Happy New Year.

quilbilly
12-27-2013, 02:15 PM
Love that stock. Nice stick of wood.