Whaahooo! I got one!
It’s December 8, 2007, the last day of the season and it’s either sex on Green River Gamelands.
I got up early and was in my spot at about 6:50am. I sat and sat and resisted the urge to walk around and look for the game. I suspected this valley would be good since there were lots of tracks and a food plot to my right behind me and some “cover” and water ahead and to my left.
About 9:30am after sitting for a long time I started to get squirmy, but resisted the urge to stand up and stretch as this has been my downfall for getting deer a few times in the past. I was admiring the day, started out at about 34° and was slowly warming. High today was suppose to be 51°. Slight chance of sprinkles later tonight, but right now the sun was poking through the partly cloudy skys and the sunrise was just beautiful.
No wind, no squirrels, no movement, and the woodpeckers started at about 8 and stopped about 30 min later. I was thinking to myself that someone said deer hunting was hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by brief moments of pure excitement. No sooner had that thought passed and I heard the leaves rustle with that familiar sound of foot steps from my current quest. Learning from my mistake a few weeks earlier, I looked AND brought my gun to bear at low ready while I scanned to my left.
I was at 2ndwinds house and deer hunting and heard the footsteps of a deer and when I turned to look I was starting right at a buck 15 yds from me, and of course my gun was pointed the other way, and when I got it all together it was too late.
I spied a tail and legs, the rest was behind several large popular trees which gave me cover and hindered the shot. I was already in my sitting position with gun at the ready, and then I thumbed the hammer back oh so quietly! Checked to make sure the safety was off of my Win 94, the one with the WART safety on the side. All was good! Now to wait for the deer to step forward. I noticed my breath was really short and heavy, so I tried to control my breathing, making medium breaths at medium speed. I looked through the scope to see if it would be good to wait for the deer to move while looking through the scope. THAT was no good, after a brief look, I decided not too as I could not see anything, too narrow a field of view. Three hours later the deer moves, well not really, probably 30 seconds. Steps forward about 10 yds and stops. I see the deer, put the cross hairs on the deer just behind the shoulder, notice that the deer looks a bit pale green and I shoot. Yes pale green, due to a bush in front of the deer. I though hey, this 180 gr FP bullet will plow right through it and whamo! Venison!
The deer (don’t know if it’s a buck or doe right now, either sex is game and it’s a deer I’m shooting it!) Takes off down the hill, it slows, it’s hit. I’m not waiting to see what happens, I rack another one in and when deer stops. Boom! I have no idea where I was shooting. He was about 25 yds away at this time. After the second shot he bolts another 25 yds down the valley and up the other side and then does a circle like he’s gonna bed down. I’m not waiting, BOOM! Drops like a rock! I’ve got my first Gameland deer ever! I start to shake so bad, if I’d have grabbed a hold of a small tree I’d have shaken all the leaves off of it! I check again, at about 50 yds I see white belly up! He’s down!
I didn’t know what to do next! I sat there and enjoyed the moment for a minute gathered my thoughts, marveled at why I’m still shaking so bad and how exciting it was and THIS is why I’ve been coming out here for 4 years to try to get a deer! FINALLY!
I collect my three empty cases, shove em in my pocket and then untie the rope I have between my legs. I tied a rope so I could sit with my knees up and it would hold them together and I had a perfect rifle rest for if and when I needed to shoot.
I went down with my rucksack of stuff, got out my drag rope and started draggin the deer UP the mountain to where I was sitting. Half way up I decided I’ll gut the deer as it will make easier dragging. Out came the handy dandy Gerber, and in 20 min, with probably as many mistakes as I made on the doe a few weeks earlier, the job was done. It was at this point that I realized I had a buck! Anatomy was different….
I thought I could fold him up and put him in my pack and it’d be easier to haul out the three quarters of a mile hike. I opted to tie all feet and head together and use a stick as a handle and carry him up the hill.
After I got all my stuff together, I proceeded to drag, singing and quickly walking all the way back to my truck!
I then took some pics, and spoke with two other hunters there for about 30 min. Then went home to process him. Got to use my new grinder for the first time! It works like a champ!
I am very proud of this buck, because I hiked way back to hunt for him, tried to get one, anyone for a long time on the public gamelands, shot him with my own cast bullets, and got to show both my kids what a deer looks like and why dad hunts em!
They loved stuffing the meat in the grinder, and then it occurs to my youngest! Hey! This is where hamburger comes from!
Gun info:
Winchester 94 in 357 Magnum, reamed out to 360 Dan Wesson.
180gr Gas check flat point cast bullet, WW alloy, speed green lube
Lilgun powder 15.1gr
Velocity at 1800 fps
He maybe small but I’m pleased as punch!
Exit
Entrance
Inside bullet path
upon autopsy….
I think I missed on the first shot, bush must have deflected. The nearby group of poplar trees must have shielded him from the sound of the gunshot. As that is why he ran a bit then slowed, and I thought I hit him.
I found I had shot his left rear leg. I couldn’t have hit him there on the first shot as he was broad side and facing to my right. I must have hit him there on the second shot as he was going down the hill away from me. That is the shot I really didn’t aim and could not have told you exactly where it went. This would explain why he ran a bit then did a circle, and then I shot again. The third shot is in the pics above that put him down NOW.
Unfortunately when I shot the rear ham, it struck bone completely breaking it in half. The bullet had made a 40 cal hole all the way to the bone, then shattering the bone dead center, and made a quarter sized hole all the way through after that. On that small of a deer pretty much the whole leg was lost, I trimmed what I could but the flat point bullet took a HUGE amount of hair with it and evenly distributed it inside the wound channel. My top sirloins were gone…. Boo hoo!
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