This is one I’ll never forget!
Got to the lease just before the evening hunt Friday after thanksgiving with intentions of getting Maisyn her first deer. Didn’t really have any expectations. Wasn’t sure if we would shoot a doe, spike, pig or what just wanted to feel it out and see how things went. I just knew we would have plenty of shot opportunities. Not to mention up to this point she had not pulled the trigger on a high powered rifle yet. Our practice shots thus far had been with a .22, .17, & Gamo air rifle. I was confident with her target acquisition abilities utilizing a scope and the BOG death grip but was unsure of how she would handle a larger rifle. I took a risk and didn’t even warn her that this was a larger rifle as I didn’t want her scared of the recoil prior to the shot. Risky move I’ll admit, but it paid off. We borrowed my dads 6.5 for this hunt as I wanted a rifle with some knockdown power since we are in THICK STX brush but also something with lesser recoil. (I guess I’ll be jumping on the 6.5 bandwagon now)
After we corn the senderos and make all kinds of noise getting all 4 of us in the stand it wasn’t long before 20-30 deer started to funnel out. With the rifle setup in the BOG death grip due South towards the main feed station we decided to pass on a spike at 40 yards. Meanwhile a 3-4 year old tall tight 9 point I had seen several times appeared at another feeder due West at 100 yards. I had no intentions of letting her shoot that far yet so never even thought about setting up on this deer until he started to B-Line straight towards us. Now if he walks out due South broadside we are already setup and I decide I’m gonna let her take the shot. If he walks out due North, Chinese fire drill it is. As luck would have it due North it is so Chinese fire drill it is. In my mind I’m thinking if it’s meant to be it will happen. So after we all get situated the deer has now made his way to 40 yards and is broadside 2 steps from walking in the brush. I confirm she’s on his front shoulder, give him the ol MEHHHHHH to stop him and she drops the hammer.
My initial thoughts were she missed. I’ve watched lots of deer take a bullet to the shoulder and most all react with an immediate sign of being hit. I suspected a clean miss or a gut shot at best. Watched the video back and my thoughts remain the same. Oh the highs and lows of hunting that we’re all familiar with. Immediately, I begin second guessing my decision to not let her practice with this rifle. After about 30 mins just before dark I decide I should look for blood before I lose daylight not really having any expectations of finding any. Low and behold I find great blood immediately and knew we had a dead deer. A short 50 yard track following the perfect blood trail and the deer was recovered with the help of my lease buddy Andy. She had made nearly the perfect shot if you take into account the deer was quartering towards us more than I thought. By luck or accident the perfect shot it was, just in front of the front shoulder and exiting just behind the rear shoulder destroying all the vitals in between without destroying either shoulder from being consumable.
That smile says it all!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Got to the lease just before the evening hunt Friday after thanksgiving with intentions of getting Maisyn her first deer. Didn’t really have any expectations. Wasn’t sure if we would shoot a doe, spike, pig or what just wanted to feel it out and see how things went. I just knew we would have plenty of shot opportunities. Not to mention up to this point she had not pulled the trigger on a high powered rifle yet. Our practice shots thus far had been with a .22, .17, & Gamo air rifle. I was confident with her target acquisition abilities utilizing a scope and the BOG death grip but was unsure of how she would handle a larger rifle. I took a risk and didn’t even warn her that this was a larger rifle as I didn’t want her scared of the recoil prior to the shot. Risky move I’ll admit, but it paid off. We borrowed my dads 6.5 for this hunt as I wanted a rifle with some knockdown power since we are in THICK STX brush but also something with lesser recoil. (I guess I’ll be jumping on the 6.5 bandwagon now)
After we corn the senderos and make all kinds of noise getting all 4 of us in the stand it wasn’t long before 20-30 deer started to funnel out. With the rifle setup in the BOG death grip due South towards the main feed station we decided to pass on a spike at 40 yards. Meanwhile a 3-4 year old tall tight 9 point I had seen several times appeared at another feeder due West at 100 yards. I had no intentions of letting her shoot that far yet so never even thought about setting up on this deer until he started to B-Line straight towards us. Now if he walks out due South broadside we are already setup and I decide I’m gonna let her take the shot. If he walks out due North, Chinese fire drill it is. As luck would have it due North it is so Chinese fire drill it is. In my mind I’m thinking if it’s meant to be it will happen. So after we all get situated the deer has now made his way to 40 yards and is broadside 2 steps from walking in the brush. I confirm she’s on his front shoulder, give him the ol MEHHHHHH to stop him and she drops the hammer.
My initial thoughts were she missed. I’ve watched lots of deer take a bullet to the shoulder and most all react with an immediate sign of being hit. I suspected a clean miss or a gut shot at best. Watched the video back and my thoughts remain the same. Oh the highs and lows of hunting that we’re all familiar with. Immediately, I begin second guessing my decision to not let her practice with this rifle. After about 30 mins just before dark I decide I should look for blood before I lose daylight not really having any expectations of finding any. Low and behold I find great blood immediately and knew we had a dead deer. A short 50 yard track following the perfect blood trail and the deer was recovered with the help of my lease buddy Andy. She had made nearly the perfect shot if you take into account the deer was quartering towards us more than I thought. By luck or accident the perfect shot it was, just in front of the front shoulder and exiting just behind the rear shoulder destroying all the vitals in between without destroying either shoulder from being consumable.
That smile says it all!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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