Post by ozark on Nov 15, 2007 1:54:16 GMT -5
I missed opening morning because I wasn't feeling well. Perked up in the afternoon and started the process of glass bedding and adding a third pillar to my Savage MLII. Day two, three and four of the season I was interested in the gunsmithing job and didn't hunt.
This morning my wife informed me that the prime feeding time for deer would be 3:45 PM. 11-14-07. I decided to try hunting awhile since tomorrow we will be tied up with doctor appointment. The Savage muzzle loader was not sighted in after the work so I took the Savage .243 out of the closet to use. It was on the money last year so I figured it would still be the same. since it was turning cold I dressed warm and drove the Chuckwagon ATV the three miles to my hunting area. Jim who helps me for the privilege of having a cabin on the place met me at his cabin with bad news. He had been there all day and dogs were chasing the deer in our area. So much for prime feeding time. Leaving Jim I drove the ATV a quarter mile south to my favorite hunting shack. I would lite the wall heater and pass some time. May as well be here as at home. With the wall mounted propane heater glowing I slid two windows open in case a shot presented itself. East of the shack there is a wide shooting land and one left of that which is just sparsely spaced trees with the underbrush removed acting as a shooting lane also. North and south is a power line right of way. Looking west one can see across a hollow and view a hill side that has a network of roads which also serves as wildlife plots.
Hearing dogs in the distance isn't a good sign for success. If deer come along they are usually in high gear. I ate a almond joy and sit for a while in my swivel chair facing the east lane.
At 4:30 I left my rifle on the padded window sill and got up to see if any action was west or south of me. I immediately seen a deer going lickity split up the opposite hillside. He was going full out at about 120 yards. I seen antlers and grabbed my rifle and started following him through the scope. I was just waiting for an opportunity and doubted it would come. At 170 yard distance he turned left and jumped onto the road bank, made one more jump and stopped. It was the chance I was willing to take and in two heartbeats the crosshairs were on the kill zone and i mashed the accu-trigger. The sights looked good when recoil destroyed my view temporally. The deer might have stood there a long time but I had to act as if it was just a pause. Whatever he planed to do the shot changed them. Instantly he was back in the combo road foodplot and running at full throttle straight back toward me. At the bottom of the hill there was a branch and when he crossed that he was out of my sight.
Many thoughts crossed my mind as I stood there. Being handicapped I cant walk so I had to draw on previous experiences regarding how seriously hit deer react, how missed deer react and how miss hit deer react.I concluded that this deer was making what I call a final panic death run. I was reluctant to call Jim on the cell phone because doing so would ruin any chance he might have during the next 30-40 minutes of hunting time. The last sight picture I seen before recoil was dead on the kill zone and I knew the .243 was a tack driver. OK, Old man, what do you do? It sure looked like a panic dying run to me and since the scope crosshairs were on the kill zone and since it was only a distance of 175 yards. I grabbed the cell phone and got Jim on the line. That was me that shot Jim and although not positive I believe I have a buck down. I described where the deer was located when I shot and how he ran straight toward me until he crossed the Branch and became lost to my vision. Shortly I seen Jim show up near where the deer had been when I shot. He slowly came down the road/foodplot looking for sigh of a hit. Twenty yards from the Branch he begin walking fast and shortly he drug the deer back into the road. He yelled that it was a 7 pointer and ask me to bring the ATV. I wobbled out to the ATV and was soon with Jim and the deer. The rack was just a reasonable size but the deers body was large for this area. Jim had trouble wrestling it into the ATV Bed and we drove to Jims cabin where he has facilities to wench them up for easy field dressing.The scales showed 165 pounds which is a nice deer for this area. It was unusually fat and I think it was all that corn I fed up there. For the gun nuts: .243 Savage with accu-trigger. Core-lokt Remington 100 grain bullets. Not hand loads. It entered just below the spine and angled downward into the lungs but did not exit. I was pleased with my actions and shot. I rarely have ever shot a running deer unless the crosshairs are there to insure a good hit. Here I waited for a good opportunity and it brunt success. I will post a picture of the deer when I get some time. Ozark is tired now and tomorrow it is to the processing plant and then to Batesville to let the doctor look at my wife foot. I think I am finished for this gun season. But you never know when that urge my raise its ugly head again.
This morning my wife informed me that the prime feeding time for deer would be 3:45 PM. 11-14-07. I decided to try hunting awhile since tomorrow we will be tied up with doctor appointment. The Savage muzzle loader was not sighted in after the work so I took the Savage .243 out of the closet to use. It was on the money last year so I figured it would still be the same. since it was turning cold I dressed warm and drove the Chuckwagon ATV the three miles to my hunting area. Jim who helps me for the privilege of having a cabin on the place met me at his cabin with bad news. He had been there all day and dogs were chasing the deer in our area. So much for prime feeding time. Leaving Jim I drove the ATV a quarter mile south to my favorite hunting shack. I would lite the wall heater and pass some time. May as well be here as at home. With the wall mounted propane heater glowing I slid two windows open in case a shot presented itself. East of the shack there is a wide shooting land and one left of that which is just sparsely spaced trees with the underbrush removed acting as a shooting lane also. North and south is a power line right of way. Looking west one can see across a hollow and view a hill side that has a network of roads which also serves as wildlife plots.
Hearing dogs in the distance isn't a good sign for success. If deer come along they are usually in high gear. I ate a almond joy and sit for a while in my swivel chair facing the east lane.
At 4:30 I left my rifle on the padded window sill and got up to see if any action was west or south of me. I immediately seen a deer going lickity split up the opposite hillside. He was going full out at about 120 yards. I seen antlers and grabbed my rifle and started following him through the scope. I was just waiting for an opportunity and doubted it would come. At 170 yard distance he turned left and jumped onto the road bank, made one more jump and stopped. It was the chance I was willing to take and in two heartbeats the crosshairs were on the kill zone and i mashed the accu-trigger. The sights looked good when recoil destroyed my view temporally. The deer might have stood there a long time but I had to act as if it was just a pause. Whatever he planed to do the shot changed them. Instantly he was back in the combo road foodplot and running at full throttle straight back toward me. At the bottom of the hill there was a branch and when he crossed that he was out of my sight.
Many thoughts crossed my mind as I stood there. Being handicapped I cant walk so I had to draw on previous experiences regarding how seriously hit deer react, how missed deer react and how miss hit deer react.I concluded that this deer was making what I call a final panic death run. I was reluctant to call Jim on the cell phone because doing so would ruin any chance he might have during the next 30-40 minutes of hunting time. The last sight picture I seen before recoil was dead on the kill zone and I knew the .243 was a tack driver. OK, Old man, what do you do? It sure looked like a panic dying run to me and since the scope crosshairs were on the kill zone and since it was only a distance of 175 yards. I grabbed the cell phone and got Jim on the line. That was me that shot Jim and although not positive I believe I have a buck down. I described where the deer was located when I shot and how he ran straight toward me until he crossed the Branch and became lost to my vision. Shortly I seen Jim show up near where the deer had been when I shot. He slowly came down the road/foodplot looking for sigh of a hit. Twenty yards from the Branch he begin walking fast and shortly he drug the deer back into the road. He yelled that it was a 7 pointer and ask me to bring the ATV. I wobbled out to the ATV and was soon with Jim and the deer. The rack was just a reasonable size but the deers body was large for this area. Jim had trouble wrestling it into the ATV Bed and we drove to Jims cabin where he has facilities to wench them up for easy field dressing.The scales showed 165 pounds which is a nice deer for this area. It was unusually fat and I think it was all that corn I fed up there. For the gun nuts: .243 Savage with accu-trigger. Core-lokt Remington 100 grain bullets. Not hand loads. It entered just below the spine and angled downward into the lungs but did not exit. I was pleased with my actions and shot. I rarely have ever shot a running deer unless the crosshairs are there to insure a good hit. Here I waited for a good opportunity and it brunt success. I will post a picture of the deer when I get some time. Ozark is tired now and tomorrow it is to the processing plant and then to Batesville to let the doctor look at my wife foot. I think I am finished for this gun season. But you never know when that urge my raise its ugly head again.
