First buck - One lucky, but terrible, shot

[AgSilver]

Strap in, this is a long one...

I've been trying to get out as much as I can this season, which isn't very easy with my job and an 18 month old and a f/t working wife. Individually, all great things...but they don't combine to leave me with much free time.

I think I've only managed to get in about seven days this year, but have done my best, although most of the time, I was hunting with my dad. He's very experienced but likes to do things a bit differently than I'm willing to do now. Regardless, I've enjoyed spending as much time with him as we have been able to and it's great to have a common pastime. He got up to Ft St James for his annual trip with his friends and they ended up with two moose. I've continued chasing down any deer that I could but ended up empty handed after a very good but missed opportunity at WT spiker in mid-Sept because I wasn't sure it was a WT until he popped his tail up and took off (my bad for not knowing more about the differences other than the tail...).

I decided to take (most of) another day off work on Friday and headed up to Kelowna. Forecast had some rain in it so I decided to leave the BLR .308 at home and grabbed the Mtn Ti .300 WSM instead. I had some of the Winchester Deer Season XP’s (only 150gr) so figured that’d be good ammo not to blow the crap out of a deer, despite the big gun (and they were what we’d been using to sight in earlier). I was about two hours behind schedule so, when I got there at about 2pm, Dad was raring to go. Quad was loaded, truck was packed, he was just waiting for me to arrive. I wasn't sure how we were going to swing things because I had to bring my lab, Angus, with me this time around and he has never been around guns. He's great hunting stock from Someday Retrievers, but has been a city dog and he's 9, so I figured a deer hunt is not really the time to start training him. Luckily, my lovely step-mom offered to take care of him while Dad and I went out. By 2:30, we're heading up to our usual spot. One hillside in particular is an ungulate highway/hotel....tons of beds, tons of sign everywhere, lots of fresh tracks, etc. We have yet to actually SEE anything there, but we know they're around. So I drop Dad off there and then take the quad up for a rip to another spot that's only about a km or two away as the bird flies but takes 10 or 15 minutes to ride to. It's a tough walk in, but takes a few minutes on the quad. I find a good spot with the wind in my face and decide to just sit and wait and observe until close to dark. No movement (although, admittedly, I did forget my binos in the truck so only had my old Bushnell Tour V2 golf rangefinder, so could easily have missed something), so I decide to get up and walk the edges of the cut/clearing. Funnily enough, pretty fresh scat about 10 feet behind where I've been sitting...probably not the best spot to watch for deer I guess.

Make my way around and find indications that deer are in the area (which we knew as we'd seen them close by before...along with a moose that walked right through this area in front of us), but nothing that evening. Hop on the quad just as it's getting dark and head back to pick up my dad and head back to the truck. Not surprised we didn't see much as we only had about 1.5 hours of light, but had hoped for a little "last light" action.

That night, my dad calls one of his moose hunting buddies...this guy is a machine - I call him The Moose Murderer as he finds them and puts them down every year (but we'll call him AC for this story). Dad wants him to take me out to see if he can improve my chances as we've not been able to connect in our area, despite knowing that they're around. AC says he'll take us to an area that he likes in 8-12 and he'll bring along another younger guy (about my age) who has been trying to connect for about 3 solid years (and fiddling around for a few years before that as well). We'll call him YG (I have no idea if either of them are on this forum, so am just keeping it incognito).

So yesterday morning, we meet up with AC and YG at 5:30 at the 7-11 on Rutland Rd and Hwy 33 and head up out of town - they in AC's truck, and us in Dad's. We get to where we're headed by first legal shooting light and I say to my dad (not for the first time this season)..."who the hell would shoot now? you can't see shit!" (seriously, it's bloody dark in the woods an hour before sunrise...I don't care how good your binos are). AC comes and gives us a quick debriefing on the area - says he and YG are going up higher. We decide to stick down a bit lower and watch a hillside that goes into a cut that heads down towards farmland that apparently the deer travel in the morning. Hang around there for a good half hour or so and by then it's full daylight, so we decide to head up the road a bit further and see what's what. We roll into fairly heavy'ish fog but a nice looking cut and the road separates. The main road appears to go left and there’s a spur off to the right that goes through the cut and into some bush.

Dad decides to wait there and watch the hillside going down into the cut and so I figure I’ll take a walk. I head up the road to the right, glassing the cut as I’m walking through it…too bad I can’t see much as we’re in the middle of a fog rolling through. I head up the road and after a fairly short gain in elevation, I’m out of the fog but into the bush. I walk a km or so and, other than finding a semi-promising game trail, don’t find much. I didn’t bring my pack or my radio, so figure I shouldn’t go tromping down a game trail without my dad at least having an idea of where I may have gone, so decide to head back to the truck to grab both as well as some flagging tape. I figure I’ll head back up and go down the trail to see if I can’t bump a bedded WT doe or something…anything to get some meat in the freezer that I didn’t have to buy at Costco.

I head back towards the truck and decide to glass the cut again as the fog has cleared up. My foot scuffs the ground and I hear something and see movement out of the corner of my eye. I’ve bumped two whitetails that are about 60’ish yards away in a draw in the cut! One takes off towards the treeline and is more or less out of sight due to terrain and the other heads up the slope out of the draw more or less straight away from me. I try to whistle to grab its attention and only get out a half hearted sputtering sound as I think I’ve gone dry due to the excitement of maybe having a chance. Nonetheless, for some reason, it stops right at the top of the draw about 75 yards away and turns and looks right at me…full broadside. For some reason, the universe is on my side. I’m standing in the open and not the most experienced shooter. I don’t have a monopod, a stump, a tree, or anything to lean on, but know that I probably won’t have another chance anywhere near as good as this, so I shoulder the Mtn Ti for an offhand shot…line up its vitals and pull the trigger.

To be continued...

[AgSilver]

Part 2...

It drops on the spot!

I’m bursting with excitement at this stage but keep an eye on it, just in case. I see it stand up and then go right back down…it’s done. I look down at the truck (about 175 yards away) to see if Dad’s coming out and I’m literally just standing in the middle of the road like an idiot with my arms up in the air thinking “I finally got one!” (truth be told, my arms were up in the air so that my dad would notice me and realize that I was happy and it wasn’t an accidental discharge or something…that’s another story for another time).

I see him walking up towards me and call out to him and ask him to bring my pack. Then, I see another strange guy walk out of the cut behind me (on the far side of the road from the deer) and say “hey Mike, I think that was YG” and realize that it’s AC (he was wearing a different jacket and hat from when I saw him an hour before and my brain isn’t putting stuff together, so it took me a minute). I say “nope, that was me” and he says “oh, YG’s just on the other side of that cut…watching what’s going on.” I must have had the dumbest look on my face…thinking “what? He’s in there? Where? I’m so confused – you guys went way up the road…what the hell is happening?”

Turns out the road to the left stops about 100 yards up and around the corner so they parked there and got out to observe the cut and hillside. We literally had NO idea they were anywhere remotely close.

YG comes rolling across from up the hill and to the right of where I shot the deer.

Now, I want to interject something – I was 100% sure of my backstop – the deer had a hill behind him and there was no way I could/would have taken a shot that put anyone in danger – the point is more that I had no idea that we weren't alone in the cut and it surprised me. It also reminded me of exactly WHY you need to be absolutely certain of your backstop.

So YG has been observing the cut for the last 30 or do minutes (while I was exploring the other road) and had seen these two drop into the draw and was basically just waiting for one of them to pop out into a shooting position from his angle to take one. Next thing he sees is a doe booking it out of there and then hears a boom and the rest is as above.

When I heard all of this, I felt awful but, at the same time, there wasn't really anything to be done about it.

We all proceed to make out way over to the deer and the first thing we notice are a couple of points on each side…great – young buck. I hadn't even bothered to check because it hadn't mattered at the time of the shot. Then I look over and I say to AC who was beside me “why is his ass bloody? That can't be where I hit him!” AC looks him over and points at the vitals area and says “yes, but you should be aiming here.” I said that I was but clearly I missed. Turns out that I severed an artery. My heart dropped because I realized that the only reason that this deer was down was pure luck. First I scooped him from YG and then hit him in the ass. Great combo.

The rest is pretty standard fare – obligatory photo, handshakes and high fives (although I was feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing), gut the buck, YG and I dragged him out to road. He and AC went back out to see if they couldn't find something else (they didn't) while Dad and I skinned and quartered the deer. I also ran back in to grab the heart and lungs because, at the very least, my dog will enjoy them. I might make heart tacos, though, a la Rinella.

YG was super cool about everything and just said “save me some pepperoni” but I said “you're getting as much meat as you want!”

We all headed back to town midday. Dad and I broke it down a bit further at home, threw half of it into a game bag, took a nap, and then ran the half buck over to YG for his freezer.

On one hand, I’m feeling good that I got a deer. It was literally my first shot ever taken at a big game animal and it dropped him on the spot…so the result is good. On the other hand, I feel pretty bad about it being a terrible shot and acknowledge that the result was largely luck. I also feel bad about snagging it from under YG’s nose (although completely unintentionally). Also, the meat loss wasn’t as bad as I assumed it would be based on where the bullet went in. Don’t get me wrong, there shouldn’t have been any, but at least it wasn’t completely destroyed. There was some definite whitetail jelly in there, but it wasn’t probably more than a few pounds of meat ruined (probably around 5…which isn’t great, but could have been much worse).

The bad shot/good result thing kinda reminds me of the time my friend was golfing and just skulled an approach shot…super thin, but it hit the pin dead on and dropped in the hole. Terrible shot, good result. You end up being happy about where you ended up, but not how you got there.

Some lessons learned (or reinforced):

1. Always do your best to know where your hunting partners are

2. Always be 100% certain of your backstop. Even though I didn’t know where YG was, safe shooting practices ensured that there was no risk to him (i.e. if the deer had been a further up the hill, I wouldn’t have shot because he would not have had a backstop at all) or it would have been into an area where I had no idea what it could hit.

3. Practice shooting more. Every shot won’t allow you to take time to set up, be on a tripod or shooting stick or even get prone. Sometimes, you’re going to have to stand out in the open and fire quickly. Practice, practice, practice…and then practice some more. (note to self, join PoCo F&G)

4. I have to learn more about skinning and gutting and breaking down a deer. I’m sure glad my dad was there because, as they mentioned on a recent Rookie Hunter podcast…even if you’ve watched the videos a hundred times and read everything about it…once you’re looking at that buck on the ground, it sort of all vanishes.

5. Get better at keeping hair off the meat (hard when you have to keep the tail/proof of sex naturally attached!

6. Remember the bigger game bags…the Kuiu bone-out bags weren’t quite big enough as we didn’t de-bone in the field.

And that’s the story…and a pic of the buck (it's a 2x2 but because of how I have my hands and the angle, you can't see the smaller branch) and a pic of the bullet almost popping out the other side. Some definite damage…but that’s reality.

http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/s550/AgDeputy/161029%20WT%20Deer%20resized%20-%20no%20location%20info_zpsjus0rwbo.jpg

http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/s550/AgDeputy/161029%20Bullet%20penetration%20resized_zpsrlnkt8u k.jpg

[monasheemountainman]

congrats dude

[boxhitch]

Good story and a good outcome, tfs
Did that bullet go through both hams? Not much waste there at all.

#7- always grab the day pack and binos, even for short walks Murphy will get you

[Leaseman]

Well done! The first is either the hardest or easiest!! Time for you to figure out!!

[AgSilver]

Good story and a good outcome, tfs
Did that bullet go through both hams? Not much waste there at all.

#7- always grab the day pack and binos, even for short walks Murphy will get you

Yes! Always grab: pack, binos, and monopod (that's stupidly sitting in the gun safe at home...totally forgot to grab it...put it in there WITH the guns so I wouldn't forget it...brilliant).

As to waste, I figure we tossed what would have been two'ish pounds of meat in the field and I'll figure out how much more is lost when I get into the ham that I brought home tomorrow night. But yep, went straight through both hams and almost popped out the other side.

[jingles]

Thanks for the read! PS legal shooting light is 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset, not 1 hour.

[AgSilver]

#30 from the "it is unlawful" section:

30. To hunt game, except migratory game birds (see #31 - which is 1/2 hour), from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. To find out the time of sunrise and sunset, consult a local newspaper or the following website: www.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/sunrise_e.html (http://www.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/sunrise_e.html) The responsibility remains with the hunter to make the determination of sunrise and sunset in the field based on existing terrain and circumstances.


I had thought the same thing, as well, but then re-read it. Can't find it in the Act (not even sure which Act it would be in), but am trusting the Regs on this.

[jingles]

I stand corrected, thanks AgSliver! And in that case, I agree with you 100%.... it is damn near pitch black an hour before sunrise!

[carnivore]

Congratulations on your first buck, and thanks for the interesting story re the hunt.

[Whonnock Boy]

There's not many hunters out there who have not made a bad shot, including myself. Learn from it, get to the range, and be a better hunter for it. Congrats on your first harvest, with hopefully plenty more to follow. Thanks for sharing with us even though it's a tough pill to swallow. Cheers.

[AgSilver]

I stand corrected, thanks AgSliver! And in that case, I agree with you 100%.... it is damn near pitch black an hour before sunrise!

I think the key in there is "The responsibility remains with the hunter..." etc. It might not be so bad to rely on the posted time in an open field, but in the timber on a south or west facing slope? Probably a bit later.

[AgSilver]

There's not many hunters out there who have made a bad shot, including myself. Learn from it, get to the range, and be a better hunter for it. Congrats on your first harvest, with hopefully plenty more to follow. Thanks for sharing with us even though it's a tough pill to swallow. Cheers.

Lol...please tell me that's a typo and a negative is missing or I'll feel even worse!

[Whonnock Boy]

You were correct. lol


Lol...please tell me that's a typo and a negative is missing or I'll feel even worse!

[HarryToolips]

Congrats on your first buck. Perseverance pays off!

[kennyj]

Congratulations on your first buck! Thanks for sharing your adventure.
kenny

[DarekG]

Nice buck! Great work!
No reason to feel bad, I think everyone experiences a bad shot once in a while. As long as it doesn't happen too often or every time that's pretty standard.

My first WT buck took a step forward as I was squeezing the trigger. That wasn't much fun.

[TreeStandMan]

Thanks for sharing your story! I appreciate the lessons learned part.

It sounds like you may not have had time for this, and you didn't have your pack anyway, but if you have your pack you always have a rest... just toss it on the ground, get prone, and there's your rest. I've shot three deer this way and it's my preferred method, time permitting.

[AgSilver]

Thanks all! Appreciate the kind words.


Thanks for sharing your story! I appreciate the lessons learned part.

It sounds like you may not have had time for this, and you didn't have your pack anyway, but if you have your pack you always have a rest... just toss it on the ground, get prone, and there's your rest. I've shot three deer this way and it's my preferred method, time permitting.

Yep...I've practiced most of my shooting like this as I figured it would probably end up being how I would take a shot when I got one. And, of course, left it in the truck because I was "just going up the road a bit." Idiot move...

Like you said though, time was at a premium so I may not have had time to do that anyhow. Replaying it in my head, I probably still would have taken the offhand shot even if I had my pack...it was a miracle that a WT stopped running moments after being spooked (or so I thought). At least if I'd had my little trekking pole/monopod thing...that would have been better.

[Gateholio]

Congrats!

Hunters don't spend enough time shooting offhand at the range. It can be one of the most important skills to have.

Now you know why! :)

[rocksteady]

Every hunter has had bad shots. Be grateful it died there and you did not have to track it wounded for hours and then never recovered it. That is the hardest one on the psyche

[rocksteady]

Congrats!

Hunters don't spend enough time shooting offhand at the range. It can be one of the most important skills to have.

Now you know why! :)

unless it's within 40 yards I try my hardest to never shoot offhand.. rather lose time to find a rest and have the critter bolt instead of tracking a poorly shot critter

[Surrey Boy]

You forgot to blank out your bald spot.

Nice buck!

[.264winmag]

Nice one! Definitely Texas heart shot one in my time HA, not as bad as gutshot though phew!
I pay close attention to how every animal reacts to the shot, a good heart/lung generally produces a jump/lunge forward and a mule kick. That's a really good reaction, he ain't going far especially if it's running full tilt mowing over trees HA. Unless you're purposely head/neck or high shoulder aim beware the animal that drops instantly, could be stunned or spined and gonna need another round. Broadside and they just tense up perhaps stumble backwards and start to mosey off, likely paunch get another one in there ASAP. Pay attention to the shot and be ready for a follow up always, as you did perfectly. Well done.

[dougan]

Nice buck ! Something you can also try is dropping to one knee and rest your elbow the holds the rifle on your other knee . It works great for me !. Anyway congrats on your buck

[Boner]

Nice buck! You've shown yourself to be a good hunter by learning how to do things better next time. I hope to read more success stories from you in the near future. :)

[notyalc]

Thanks for the read! PS legal shooting light is 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset, not 1 hour.

1/2 is for migratory game birds. Page 15 in the regs.

[Gateholio]

unless it's within 40 yards I try my hardest to never shoot offhand.. rather lose time to find a rest and have the critter bolt instead of tracking a poorly shot critter

40 yards offhand is probably a reasonable maximum distance for most hunters. Hunters don't spend much time at the rifle range at all.

[nature girl]

Nice first deer. Maybe you just had buck fever. You shot the deer it went down its in the freezer. So all is good. Don't worry about it.

[DeepJeep]

Cngrats man... great story.

[Downwind]

Good job! Like it has been said before. Stuff happen and every once and a while you might make a bad shot. Practice as often as you can as that will help but honestly, until you've put a few animals on the ground buck fever can be pretty rough. An offhand shot at 75 yards can be tough. Throw in the fact that this was the first live animal you've ever pulled the trigger on and it can amplify the challenge of hitting where you intend to.
And it might be worth taking it back to the range to reconfirm you haven't bumped your scope and it's still hitting on target. Just helps build that confidence for the next time you get out there. Congrats again on a great buck!

[RiverOtter]

That's awesome AG, glad it finally came together for you .

[albravo2]

AG, great story, great outcome. Don't beat yourself up over the shot. Despite what you might read on here, not every shot is a perfect one and yours was better than many. Off hand is freakin' hard.

Excellent reinforcement of the need to be sure of the backstop. People can show up where you least expect them and they can be awfully hard to see.

Good on you for sharing the meat, and smart to drop it off right away rather than having to pay to make it into pepperoni, then dropping it off;-)

[dustybeat]

40 yards is my max bow distance. I though a rifle would all least double or triple that. I guess people are to cheap to spend money on target rounds. No offense to you Ag. I'm sure I would be shaking with excitement snd would miss at 20 yards.

[Xenomorph]

Well done AG, no reason to feel bad, it's meat in the freezer, you got your buck.

Here's my experience with shooting off hand, it might help. Never try to hold aim, move "into" the animal. I missed a beauty of a buck controlling breathing and trying to steady, never again. I don't rush pulling the trigger, but what I do - if it makes sense - I move crosshairs into the animal. Say you're moving back to front as soon as you're in the kill zone bang, ever so slowly moving. It's fluid, and as much as I try explaining it, it won't make sense until you practice. Clarke's right on the money, we don't spend as much time practicing as we should.

[Salty]

Well done bud :) A fine specimen for a first thanks for sharing the hunt very cool.

I made an, ahem... interesting shot when I got my first deer too. It worked out OK the deer didn't suffer but what's that ol saying there's nothing that teaches better than mistakes! I was all flustered tried an off hand shot but didn't wait for the sight picture to steady wasted a rear quarter on a spike. Getting your first one is a huge leg up you learn from what worked and what needs improvement and you think about that, and it just seems to go smooth after that did for me anyway.

Off hand shooting its a tough one to get good at. One of the best things I did back in the day is buy a Chinese sks and a crate of ammo. I'm serious. I shot most of it at a safe bank at the little club I belonged to that was clay with the odd small rock imbedded in it. I'd blast away at rocks off hand, slow steady shots not all army, lol. Yes the sks trigger blows, no its not like a hunting rifle but the offhand practice definitely transferred over to my other rifles. However its goes it takes a lot of practice most don't get it and that's fine too. Just know the limitations. I still avoid all off hand shots if possible btw usually a tree or even kneeling and resting your elbow on a knee is a lot better. I would have taken your shot though fo sho by the sounds of it :) Well done.

[wideopenthrottle]

a lot of the meat can be saved if you remove the quarter and break it down a bit while still fresh, especially on front quarters..scrape out the blood from between the layers...separate some muscle groups... wash it well and hang it to dry...this will minimize losses

[AgSilver]

My first WT buck took a step forward as I was squeezing the trigger. That wasn't much fun.

Worst nightmare!


Congrats!

Hunters don't spend enough time shooting offhand at the range. It can be one of the most important skills to have.

Now you know why! :)

Definitely going to spending some time on that (even if I want to generally avoid it...very important skill to have, I think)


Every hunter has had bad shots. Be grateful it died there and you did not have to track it wounded for hours and then never recovered it. That is the hardest one on the psyche

Yep, I realize how lucky I am - that's run through my head several times..."what if I had to chase him??"


unless it's within 40 yards I try my hardest to never shoot offhand.. rather lose time to find a rest and have the critter bolt instead of tracking a poorly shot critter

Good advice - I think that's probably about right, distance wise...for the future!


You forgot to blank out your bald spot.

Nice buck!

Hah, no, I just dragged it down over my face! (I was saying to my wife that pictures show me with less hair than I see in the mirror, the cameras don't pick up the fine stuff that's left...time to just get rid of all of it, I think!)


Nice one! Definitely Texas heart shot one in my time HA, not as bad as gutshot though phew!
I pay close attention to how every animal reacts to the shot, a good heart/lung generally produces a jump/lunge forward and a mule kick. That's a really good reaction, he ain't going far especially if it's running full tilt mowing over trees HA. Unless you're purposely head/neck or high shoulder aim beware the animal that drops instantly, could be stunned or spined and gonna need another round. Broadside and they just tense up perhaps stumble backwards and start to mosey off, likely paunch get another one in there ASAP. Pay attention to the shot and be ready for a follow up always, as you did perfectly. Well done.

Yep, had another one in the chamber instantly and rifle raised as soon as I saw it get back up, but when it went right back down, I relaxed a bit. Good call on paying attention.


Nice buck ! Something you can also try is dropping to one knee and rest your elbow the holds the rifle on your other knee . It works great for me !. Anyway congrats on your buck

Yep, still trying to figure out why I didn't do that...it's how I've tagged grouse in the past. Excitement, I guess?


Nice buck! You've shown yourself to be a good hunter by learning how to do things better next time. I hope to read more success stories from you in the near future. :)

Thanks - hope to have more soon!


40 yards offhand is probably a reasonable maximum distance for most hunters. Hunters don't spend much time at the rifle range at all.

I'm going to have to start reloading if I want to spend a bunch of time at the range...but will definitely be spending more, regardless. Need to get that muscle memory ingrained.


Good job! Like it has been said before. Stuff happen and every once and a while you might make a bad shot. Practice as often as you can as that will help but honestly, until you've put a few animals on the ground buck fever can be pretty rough. An offhand shot at 75 yards can be tough. Throw in the fact that this was the first live animal you've ever pulled the trigger on and it can amplify the challenge of hitting where you intend to.
And it might be worth taking it back to the range to reconfirm you haven't bumped your scope and it's still hitting on target. Just helps build that confidence for the next time you get out there. Congrats again on a great buck!

Absolutely need to reconfirm the sighting. I'm not 100% confident now. I thought Swaros sighted themselves?!?:?


That's awesome AG, glad it finally came together for you .

Thanks RO - with enough time spent out there, it had to happen eventually!


AG, great story, great outcome. Don't beat yourself up over the shot. Despite what you might read on here, not every shot is a perfect one and yours was better than many. Off hand is freakin' hard.

Excellent reinforcement of the need to be sure of the backstop. People can show up where you least expect them and they can be awfully hard to see.

Good on you for sharing the meat, and smart to drop it off right away rather than having to pay to make it into pepperoni, then dropping it off;-)

Yes! Although apparently the butchers in Kelowna won't do anything without seeing proof of tag and license, so I have to send him that. Makes sense, I guess.


40 yards is my max bow distance. I though a rifle would all least double or triple that. I guess people are to cheap to spend money on target rounds. No offense to you Ag. I'm sure I would be shaking with excitement snd would miss at 20 yards.

None taken...I thought I was pretty ready for the shot but a slight movement (or various other factors) threw it off, I guess. Time to practice more!


Well done AG, no reason to feel bad, it's meat in the freezer, you got your buck.

Here's my experience with shooting off hand, it might help. Never try to hold aim, move "into" the animal. I missed a beauty of a buck controlling breathing and trying to steady, never again. I don't rush pulling the trigger, but what I do - if it makes sense - I move crosshairs into the animal. Say you're moving back to front as soon as you're in the kill zone bang, ever so slowly moving. It's fluid, and as much as I try explaining it, it won't make sense until you practice. Clarke's right on the money, we don't spend as much time practicing as we should.

It's a great tip - I had actually done that a bit with grouse last year because that's what I do when I'm golfing with my rangefinder...way easier to scan across to get the flag than to just try to line it up. I know exactly what you mean and am going to try that a bit at the range. Very good call.


Well done bud :) A fine specimen for a first thanks for sharing the hunt very cool.

I made an, ahem... interesting shot when I got my first deer too. It worked out OK the deer didn't suffer but what's that ol saying there's nothing that teaches better than mistakes! I was all flustered tried an off hand shot but didn't wait for the sight picture to steady wasted a rear quarter on a spike. Getting your first one is a huge leg up you learn from what worked and what needs improvement and you think about that, and it just seems to go smooth after that did for me anyway.

Off hand shooting its a tough one to get good at. One of the best things I did back in the day is buy a Chinese sks and a crate of ammo. I'm serious. I shot most of it at a safe bank at the little club I belonged to that was clay with the odd small rock imbedded in it. I'd blast away at rocks off hand, slow steady shots not all army, lol. Yes the sks trigger blows, no its not like a hunting rifle but the offhand practice definitely transferred over to my other rifles. However its goes it takes a lot of practice most don't get it and that's fine too. Just know the limitations. I still avoid all off hand shots if possible btw usually a tree or even kneeling and resting your elbow on a knee is a lot better. I would have taken your shot though fo sho by the sounds of it Well done.

Was thinking I'd go crazy with a .22...recoil's different, etc, but the overall idea is the same, but the SKS may be an even better option.


a lot of the meat can be saved if you remove the quarter and break it down a bit while still fresh, especially on front quarters..scrape out the blood from between the layers...separate some muscle groups... wash it well and hang it to dry...this will minimize losses

Doing that tonight! Hopefully it's not too late. Good tip - thanks!

[BigBanger]

Thats awesome, don't sweat it (the shot), it happens. Congrats on the buck!

[BStrachan]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story. It was very entertaining and had me laughing at a couple parts. I can totally see this sort of thing happening to myself.

[Salty]

Was thinking I'd go crazy with a .22...recoil's different, etc, but the overall idea is the same, but the SKS may be an even better option.


.22lr is a way good idea for practicing off hand. Especially if you have one that's similar to the same size and weight as your deer rifle, that part isn't needed, but its nice..

[todbartell]

Another good option is dry fire practice. Pick a spot on the wall and fire away. Does not damage the rifle in any way contrary to what most will say

[Dash]

Another good option is dry fire practice. Pick a spot on the wall and fire away. Does not damage the rifle in any way contrary to what most will say

Interesting! My fiance always harps on me for it.. I'm totally going to tell him otherwise now lol. Thanks for the info.

Nice deer btw OP. Congratulations! It also sounds like you learned a lot from this trip. I've also taken mental notes from this since I'm a new hunter myself :)

[Salty]

Unless its a rimfire ^ Which actually some of them are fine for dry fire too but most not. Agreed dry firing with your hunting rifle is another great way to practice. Teaches you not to jerk the trigger in anticipation of recoil.

[AgSilver]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story. It was very entertaining and had me laughing at a couple parts. I can totally see this sort of thing happening to myself.

Glad you enjoyed - I sure did! And I laugh about it when I'm not crying (on the inside...I'm a real man now...a killer and all).


.22lr is a way good idea for practicing off hand. Especially if you have one that's similar to the same size and weight as your deer rifle, that part isn't needed, but its nice..

I noticed before that my BLR and 10/22 feel pretty similar. The BLR is what I'd usually carry, so that should work out well.


Another good option is dry fire practice. Pick a spot on the wall and fire away. Does not damage the rifle in any way contrary to what most will say

Good idea...will aim at an ugly painting or something!


Interesting! My fiance always harps on me for it.. I'm totally going to tell him otherwise now lol. Thanks for the info.

Nice deer btw OP. Congratulations! It also sounds like you learned a lot from this trip. I've also taken mental notes from this since I'm a new hunter myself :)

As Salty says below, be careful if it's rimfire. My Double Badger came with a dent in the chamber from some moron dry firing it in the store before I bought it.


Unless its a rimfire ^ Which actually some of them are fine for dry fire too but most not. Agreed dry firing with your hunting rifle is another great way to practice. Teaches you not to jerk the trigger in anticipation of recoil.

That's a big thing, I think...especially if you shoot a gun that kicks hard. That recoil anticipation is noticeable (although, I didn't even think about it on this shot...but when I was sighting in, it was a big factor).

[Dash]

Oh ok, thanks. So much I don't know.. and I've already learnt a lot from this community :)

[dino]

A stiff trigger will cause jerking also.

[wideopenthrottle]

i know the "don't point your gun until you are ready to shoot" crew will roast me but I am frequently shouldering and aiming my rifle at safe targets like stumps on a hillside to ensure my scope is clear and my hand is steady...don't underestimate the importance of being able to shoulder you rifle quickly and get dialed in on a target..

[barry1974w]

Thanks for the read! PS legal shooting light is 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset, not 1 hour.

Nope, it's an hour

[elch jager]

Well done AG, no reason to feel bad, it's meat in the freezer, you got your buck.

Here's my experience with shooting off hand, it might help. Never try to hold aim, move "into" the animal. I missed a beauty of a buck controlling breathing and trying to steady, never again. I don't rush pulling the trigger, but what I do - if it makes sense - I move crosshairs into the animal. Say you're moving back to front as soon as you're in the kill zone bang, ever so slowly moving. It's fluid, and as much as I try explaining it, it won't make sense until you practice. Clarke's right on the money, we don't spend as much time practicing as we should.


+1 Good advice here...

Pay attention to your movement next time you practice offhand. Take note of how much your sights waver while trying to hold still. Now try sweeping slowly through your target. The waver is pretty much gone while your muscles are in motion. Learn your trigger well and time the release to happen as you sweep slowly into the vitals.

As you get older and more experienced, you will become less affected by the adrenaline. I miss that sensory overload, but then I don't miss many shots any more either... it's still exhilarating but old timers keep their cool. Until the bull/buck of a lifetime shows up...

[Salty]

i know the "don't point your gun until you are ready to shoot" crew will roast me but I am frequently shouldering and aiming my rifle at safe targets like stumps on a hillside to ensure my scope is clear and my hand is steady...don't underestimate the importance of being able to shoulder you rifle quickly and get dialed in on a target..

I for one won't roast you I do this all the time too. Of course every time treat the rifle as if its loaded even if its not, must be a good back stop, yada yada yada. Keeps a check on the scope etc as you say and keeps the muscle memory of 'drawing' and aiming fresh in the mind for when you jump one.

[Xenomorph]

I for one won't roast you I do this all the time too. Of course every time treat the rifle as if its loaded even if its not, must be a good back stop, yada yada yada. Keeps a check on the scope etc as you say and keeps the muscle memory of 'drawing' and aiming fresh in the mind for when you jump one.

+1 ...same here, all the time, empty barrel, safety on, checking "odd" looking features and what not.

[AgSilver]

Good tips...I'm definitely going to practice with the sweeping motion some more...gotta get that dialed in!

Funny thing is...now that I've got one, I want to go out again so very badly!


Also, my dad went to the same hillside that we often go to for the moose opener yesterday and, as he's pulling into the spot, in the first clearing...WT doe. She must have been laughing at him.

[elch jager]

I .... Keeps a check on the scope etc as you say and keeps the muscle memory of 'drawing' and aiming fresh in the mind for when you jump one.

+1

Especially if it is a very wet day... Get lens covers if you haven't already. Check for fog and moisture regularly and control your breathing direction (not into your scope...:lol:) when you do shoulder your gun. Many an animal has been missed or badly shot because the glass was obscured or distorted with rain or fog.

[wideopenthrottle]

I should mention that as a courtesy to your hunting partner you may want to warn him/her you will be doing this occasionally or just skip doing it when you are with someone....it is also good for days when you are wearing lots of clothes and may have to adjust how you shoulder the rifle to clear the extra clothing...I mainly started doing it to judge my ability to see in early or late light as well as checking for a fogged scope...I sure noticed how smooth my favourite rifle is to shoulder compared to my backup due to that muscle memory that was mentioned

[REMINGTON JIM]

A stiff trigger will cause jerking also.

Then with ONLY one shot in your rifle dino - BECAUSE ? now your in trouble ! Oh Well ! :lol: lol RJ

[AgSilver]

So I finished butchering up that one rear quarter tonight. I'd been subconsciously avoiding it to avoid finding out how bad the damage was. I'm sad as I figure that, on top of what we'd dumped out of there already, there was probably another 5 lbs (estimate...maybe too high) lost of the good roast pieces. That and I found another piece of bullet in there.

Regardless, still a good hunk of meat left back there...some for grind and some for some roasts.

Marinated the heart for two days and then sous vided it for 24 hours at 131*F and then seared it in butter and olive oil. Ate very nicely over rice. I was almost surprised at how good it was.

Tomorrow, I'll do some grinding and vacuum sealing. May try to make my own sausage.