Fiftydriver
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Well, we went out early this morning to try to fill my dads deer tag. The past week had really been terrible for hunting, temps in the 60 to even 70 degree range and winds averaging in the mid 20 mph range with afternoon gusting to over 40 mph. Got to love Montana at times!!!
Well, yesterday, the bottom fell out. Temps started at 45 degrees at 7:00 AM and by noon it was 28 degrees. By 5:00 we were in the first blizzard of the year. Still windy as heck, just 50 degrees cooler then before!!!
Last night the wind stopped and I called my dad and we set up a time to head out and see what the fresh show would produce.
Drove up to one of our hunting areas and just off the main road were two mule deer bucks. One a small forkie, the other was a 3 year old 4x3 with a cery large body. Dads mainly a meat hunter these days. He will certainly shoot an old buck if one shows itself but he has no problem shooting a 3 year old for fine eating, who can argue.
Anyway, we drove around the back side and made a short stalk back to the rim and Dad made a great shot with his 7mm Rem Mag and dropped the buck with a shot to the throat patch at a hair under 200 yards. Tagged him, cleaned him and had him packed up in the truck before the sun was even up.
We then decided to head to another area and try to fill a special draw mule deer doe tag Dad had. I also had one.
We drove to this place, its the area that I post pictures of when I test all my rifles at long range. We parked the truck on the high flat and snuck over to the rims to see if we could see the +30 head of mulies that had been calling the area home all summer.
After about 10 minutes of glassing the herd popped out of a draw coming up from their feeding grounds.
They were not where we expected them and they winded us almost as soon as we say them. The lead doe took off out over the lower flat and dad was setting up on one of the big does that was still standing where we had seen them at around 200 yards.
She also moved out before he could get a shot and we watched them as they ran out and gathered up in on the flat. A large doe had seperated herself on the right of the head and was standing perfectly broadside. I ranged her at 398 yards. The cheat sheet on dads 7mm Rem Mag listed 10.5" of drop at that range so he held a few inches over her back and the big doe buckled as his 7mm barked.
She appeared at first to have taken a solid shot to the ribs but the more she ran the more hunched up she got in the back and she was covering some ground still. She turned slightly and we could see good blood on her right side, this was the exit. Still she was moving out with the herd and was right in the middle of the herd preventing another clean shot.
Finally, the herd stopped after crossing a fence line. I ranged her at 608 yards. Dad said that was well out of his range and I asked him if he wanted to let her go lay up of for me to try to drop her with my 7mm AM I had along. He told me to dump her so I set up. The hold was -1.75 mils, there was no wind at all.
At the bark of the big 7mm she simply fell on her nose and rolled over flat.
THis is where things got interesting!!!
We drove the truck around to get closer to where she was. It took a bit of 4x4ing but we got to within 100 yards of her. I opened the truck door to get out and she lifted her head.
I was a bit suprised but often with a high shoulder shot they are still alive when you get up to them so I was not overly concerned. I was just going to walk over and take the top of her heart off with my knife as she laid there.
With her back broken she would not feel anything cutting her heart. Felt that would be more humane then cutting her throat or blowing her head off with my 7mm AM!!!
I walked calmy up to her from behind and only an ear twitched as I knelt down and drove my knife into her chest just where her heart laid.
As soon as my knife burried all the way, her back legs went into full functional mode and she **** near took off my head as she whirled and kicked at the knife stab.
She was up on her feet and funning full tilt dead away from us. The rifles were 100 yards back in the truck and my Dad and I could only look at each other in total amazement at what had just happened!!!
Thing had just gone from an easy retreival to possible a seriously high chance of loosing this doe. We ran back to the truck an I grabbed my rifle and we headed back to an over look where she had dove off into a deep creek bottom. She has a protected back both directions for well over a mile.
I had hoped the blade of my knife had hit something important and as we crossed her tracks going over the edge there was noticable blood. We glassed and luckily saw her laying in some low brush about 200 yards down the draw.
Only reason we saw her was because she lifted her head again. We snug to within 50 yards and with her back to me I put another round in the back of her neck with my 7mm AM. Finally the tough old doe was down for good but the question remained, how did she get up in the first place.
We replayed the shots over and over in our minds and my first impression was that I had shot high on my 608 yard shot and perhaps it was just by chance that she fell at the same time.
Dad said not, it looked like she was definately hit so we started looking around for bullet holes and sure enough, about 3" below the top of her back directly above the shoulder was an entrance wound about 1/2" in diameter on her right shoulder and about a 3/4" exit wound on her left.
The hit was higher then I wanted but should have easily taken out the spine?????
We cleaned her out and packed her up and headed home, still in the dark as to what had really happened. Dads shot, by the way, landed a bit low but still five ribs in front of her last rib. The liver was totally split in half and her diaphram was ripped badly. THe shot was low enough not to damage the lungs but with that solid liver hit, she was dead on her feet, we just did not know how long it would take her to decide she was done so that is why I shot.
I just had to know what the heck had happened. I started wondering if the bullet holes in her shoulder were somehow a result of my last killing shot when she was on the ground???
To find out when we got home I decided I had to skin her out just to find out for sure what had happened. What we found was exactly what we had thought. Solid hit high in the shoulder. We were shooting down at them so at the angle and shooting hit, the shot may have JUST hit over the spine, shocked it enough to drop her but it did totally destroy the top of the offside shoulder before exiting.
I was still not convinced this was not somehow a result of the killing shot at 50 yards so I continued skinning until I can to a bullet hole at the base of her skull, exactly where it should have been.
So, Appearently, this doe took a high shoulder hit which basically destroyed the top of the offside shoulder and how it did not totally destroy the spine is behond me.
All I can figure is that the spinal cord was shocked enough at the shot to put her on the ground and then my knife going into her chest brought the pain sensation back and she decided to get the hell out of there.
Strangest thing I have ever seen in my life seeing a high shoulder hit animal respond like that.
Have any of you witnessed anything like this with a high shoulder hit???
Anyway, good news is we got her and I tagged her since I was the one that finished her off. Besides, that way dad can still hunt with us with his doe tag!!!
Good Shooting, Strange day!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Well, yesterday, the bottom fell out. Temps started at 45 degrees at 7:00 AM and by noon it was 28 degrees. By 5:00 we were in the first blizzard of the year. Still windy as heck, just 50 degrees cooler then before!!!
Last night the wind stopped and I called my dad and we set up a time to head out and see what the fresh show would produce.
Drove up to one of our hunting areas and just off the main road were two mule deer bucks. One a small forkie, the other was a 3 year old 4x3 with a cery large body. Dads mainly a meat hunter these days. He will certainly shoot an old buck if one shows itself but he has no problem shooting a 3 year old for fine eating, who can argue.
Anyway, we drove around the back side and made a short stalk back to the rim and Dad made a great shot with his 7mm Rem Mag and dropped the buck with a shot to the throat patch at a hair under 200 yards. Tagged him, cleaned him and had him packed up in the truck before the sun was even up.
We then decided to head to another area and try to fill a special draw mule deer doe tag Dad had. I also had one.
We drove to this place, its the area that I post pictures of when I test all my rifles at long range. We parked the truck on the high flat and snuck over to the rims to see if we could see the +30 head of mulies that had been calling the area home all summer.
After about 10 minutes of glassing the herd popped out of a draw coming up from their feeding grounds.
They were not where we expected them and they winded us almost as soon as we say them. The lead doe took off out over the lower flat and dad was setting up on one of the big does that was still standing where we had seen them at around 200 yards.
She also moved out before he could get a shot and we watched them as they ran out and gathered up in on the flat. A large doe had seperated herself on the right of the head and was standing perfectly broadside. I ranged her at 398 yards. The cheat sheet on dads 7mm Rem Mag listed 10.5" of drop at that range so he held a few inches over her back and the big doe buckled as his 7mm barked.
She appeared at first to have taken a solid shot to the ribs but the more she ran the more hunched up she got in the back and she was covering some ground still. She turned slightly and we could see good blood on her right side, this was the exit. Still she was moving out with the herd and was right in the middle of the herd preventing another clean shot.
Finally, the herd stopped after crossing a fence line. I ranged her at 608 yards. Dad said that was well out of his range and I asked him if he wanted to let her go lay up of for me to try to drop her with my 7mm AM I had along. He told me to dump her so I set up. The hold was -1.75 mils, there was no wind at all.
At the bark of the big 7mm she simply fell on her nose and rolled over flat.
THis is where things got interesting!!!
We drove the truck around to get closer to where she was. It took a bit of 4x4ing but we got to within 100 yards of her. I opened the truck door to get out and she lifted her head.
I was a bit suprised but often with a high shoulder shot they are still alive when you get up to them so I was not overly concerned. I was just going to walk over and take the top of her heart off with my knife as she laid there.
With her back broken she would not feel anything cutting her heart. Felt that would be more humane then cutting her throat or blowing her head off with my 7mm AM!!!
I walked calmy up to her from behind and only an ear twitched as I knelt down and drove my knife into her chest just where her heart laid.
As soon as my knife burried all the way, her back legs went into full functional mode and she **** near took off my head as she whirled and kicked at the knife stab.
She was up on her feet and funning full tilt dead away from us. The rifles were 100 yards back in the truck and my Dad and I could only look at each other in total amazement at what had just happened!!!
Thing had just gone from an easy retreival to possible a seriously high chance of loosing this doe. We ran back to the truck an I grabbed my rifle and we headed back to an over look where she had dove off into a deep creek bottom. She has a protected back both directions for well over a mile.
I had hoped the blade of my knife had hit something important and as we crossed her tracks going over the edge there was noticable blood. We glassed and luckily saw her laying in some low brush about 200 yards down the draw.
Only reason we saw her was because she lifted her head again. We snug to within 50 yards and with her back to me I put another round in the back of her neck with my 7mm AM. Finally the tough old doe was down for good but the question remained, how did she get up in the first place.
We replayed the shots over and over in our minds and my first impression was that I had shot high on my 608 yard shot and perhaps it was just by chance that she fell at the same time.
Dad said not, it looked like she was definately hit so we started looking around for bullet holes and sure enough, about 3" below the top of her back directly above the shoulder was an entrance wound about 1/2" in diameter on her right shoulder and about a 3/4" exit wound on her left.
The hit was higher then I wanted but should have easily taken out the spine?????
We cleaned her out and packed her up and headed home, still in the dark as to what had really happened. Dads shot, by the way, landed a bit low but still five ribs in front of her last rib. The liver was totally split in half and her diaphram was ripped badly. THe shot was low enough not to damage the lungs but with that solid liver hit, she was dead on her feet, we just did not know how long it would take her to decide she was done so that is why I shot.
I just had to know what the heck had happened. I started wondering if the bullet holes in her shoulder were somehow a result of my last killing shot when she was on the ground???
To find out when we got home I decided I had to skin her out just to find out for sure what had happened. What we found was exactly what we had thought. Solid hit high in the shoulder. We were shooting down at them so at the angle and shooting hit, the shot may have JUST hit over the spine, shocked it enough to drop her but it did totally destroy the top of the offside shoulder before exiting.
I was still not convinced this was not somehow a result of the killing shot at 50 yards so I continued skinning until I can to a bullet hole at the base of her skull, exactly where it should have been.
So, Appearently, this doe took a high shoulder hit which basically destroyed the top of the offside shoulder and how it did not totally destroy the spine is behond me.
All I can figure is that the spinal cord was shocked enough at the shot to put her on the ground and then my knife going into her chest brought the pain sensation back and she decided to get the hell out of there.
Strangest thing I have ever seen in my life seeing a high shoulder hit animal respond like that.
Have any of you witnessed anything like this with a high shoulder hit???
Anyway, good news is we got her and I tagged her since I was the one that finished her off. Besides, that way dad can still hunt with us with his doe tag!!!
Good Shooting, Strange day!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
