Silvercreek Farmer
11-19-2016, 11:40 PM
181030Got a nice buck (for me) this evening. I hunt a hayfield that is around 200 x 200 yards. He came trotting right down the middle of the field. When I scoped him I could tell he was a decent buck, but didn't really try to count points. I hunt for meat not trophies, so a deer is a deer. I held on him waiting for him to slow down, not wanting to take a shot on a moving deer, but instead of slowing down, he sped up, galloping a bit before finally stopping around 125 yards out. Not sure if he saw/winded me or not, but he looked in right my direction, 90 degrees from where he was headed. Without a moments hesitation, I squeezed off a round. He took off running but looked a little hunched. When he got to a fence at 200 yards off and coiled up to jump it, I got a little nervous and fired a second shot in an attempt to anchor him before he got into the thick stuff, but knew it was no good the instant I squeezed the trigger. I did hear a pretty good crash, though, right after he got out of sight.
After a little wait, I got down and when for a look. As I approached the fence, I didn't see any obvious blood, so I headed towards where I heard the crash. A quick search and I found him 15-20 yards beyond the fence, probably 75-100 yards from where I had hit him. After poking the deer in the eye, I called the landowner and let him know I had just shot a six point buck. After a quick recap and congratulations, we hung up. I grabbed the rack to drag him over to the fence and found 3 more (albeit small) points! Not a monster by any means, but a new personal best for sure. Load was 21 grains of 2400 under a Lee 170 in 30-06. I hit him a little higher than I would have liked but the boolit took out the top of the shoulder, top of both lungs, and the big vessels that run under the spine. Alloy was around 80/20 AC COWW/SOWW. Thanks to a nice turn in the weather, the buck is now hanging, cooling nicely, and will ready for further processing tomorrow. I'll get some pics uploaded soon.
After a little wait, I got down and when for a look. As I approached the fence, I didn't see any obvious blood, so I headed towards where I heard the crash. A quick search and I found him 15-20 yards beyond the fence, probably 75-100 yards from where I had hit him. After poking the deer in the eye, I called the landowner and let him know I had just shot a six point buck. After a quick recap and congratulations, we hung up. I grabbed the rack to drag him over to the fence and found 3 more (albeit small) points! Not a monster by any means, but a new personal best for sure. Load was 21 grains of 2400 under a Lee 170 in 30-06. I hit him a little higher than I would have liked but the boolit took out the top of the shoulder, top of both lungs, and the big vessels that run under the spine. Alloy was around 80/20 AC COWW/SOWW. Thanks to a nice turn in the weather, the buck is now hanging, cooling nicely, and will ready for further processing tomorrow. I'll get some pics uploaded soon.