Tough season for me but finally got some meat.

This has been an incredibly tough season for me. I've been sick a lot and haven't been able to hunt near as much as usual and on top of that we had the worst drought in 35 years. A lot of deer around here died from EHD and there was no mass at all for them to eat on. So after a lot of frustrating sits with the bow and a bunch with the rifle through buck season I finally decided to take a big doe today. It felt good just to let something fly after all the time in stands. I used my Savage FCP-SR 308 loaded with 168 grain Amax in Lapua brass at 2735 fps with Varget. SWFA SS 5-20x50ffp scope and SilencerCo Omega 300 suppressor. Shot was only about 180 yards. The bullet left a baseball sized exit and a 50 yard blood trail that belonged in a horror movie. I still have muzzleloader to try to get in a buck but my expectations are low.

Also I used the knife I made for dad years ago. The handles are from a walnut tree that fell by our family cemetery where his parents and brother were buried. In March of 2022 we laid dad there beside his parents and his brother that was killed in Vietnam. I sure do miss hunting with him but I am thankful that I had 32 years of sharing the woods with him.

Congrats! Hope you get your buck. It's nice to have meat in the freezer either way, feels like the pressure is off at that point and I can relax more

Heck yeah, nothing wrong with that. Congrats and good eating.

Congratulations, now the pressure is off,and you can enjoy the time afield. Gets discouraging hunting hard and seeing nothing. I know all about it. Got mine this year with 10 minutes of the season left.

Meat in the freezer is always good congrats on the harvest!

Congratulations! Now you can relax and enjoy all your memories and it sounds like you have some good ones!
Be ready when that buck-of-a-lifetime appears in muzzleloading season!
Enjoy that venison!

Deer season is about a lot more than killing a deer. It's about all the time and memories with family. Congrats on making more memories.

Great!!!

Up in my neck of the woods I couldn't imagine hunting whitetail with a rifle that big. The largest I have used is a SPR with a secondary red dot optic, which my fellow locals view an AR rifle with disdain most often. If it's not a lever gun, or an old woodsman type semi auto folks look at you funny. Most folks don't use bolt actions anymore up here. Last buck I fell was with a bolt .30-06 180g and it destroyed the entire heart and right front leg meat and everything in between. I started questioning my caliber choices.

But I say use what you choose, and folks should stop judging, we got . I may end up getting a .22 mag semi to prevent meat damage. I would guess I could use .44 special. It's uncommon to see a deer beyond 100 yards. I remember reading comments made by a famous safari hunter, and they used .22 LR to take Waterbuck when he was a young boy living in Africa.

Thanks for sharing your hunt: your legacy and loss. I was lucky to get many hunts with my father before he died. God bless you and yours for the Holiday Season!

Sometimes that is just hunting, apart from the sickness. But your next set could be the one that turns it around.
Wishing you (great) fortune and success.
Merry Christmas

Thank you for sharing your hunting season. Congrats on meet in the freezer.

What a Blessing though to have the memories of time spent with your dad. It's the little things in life that we do that we have no idea what a huge meaning it has later on in life. Like the knife you built and the wood that you used to build the handle. So cool and enjoy the well earned venison and the memories.

Congratulations. it is good to know that you have meat in the freezer. Thank you for sharing your hunting experience with us.

I hope you're fortunate enough to be passing that heritage on to your kids. I'm lucky to have a daughter and son-in-law and nephew and neice to hunt with. All of my hunting buddies my age have cancer, so their time is limited. I'm fortunate to have younger buddies to hunt with as well. Congratulations on your doe. I don't ever turn down a chance for meat.

You take what you can get when the pickings are slim. Meat in the freezer is what counts. Maybe more importantly, you're carrying on with the tradition you had with your father. Using that knife will keep his memory alive. Both my parents are gone now but I have a few items of theirs that I use on a regular basis that remind me of the good times. I hope you continue the tradition.