fuzzybiscuit
11-23-2021, 08:35 AM
I may be writing this for my own good but there are probably still a few peeps on here that hunt and like to just read a decent story once in a while.
So, I kind of wrecked myself in the gym lifting weights I shouldn’t at my age. Sore right side trap running into my shoulder blade and a lower back that was spasming off and on for a few days. Then I took a fall on some ice my first day off and come last Friday it was a trip in to see my Doc and get some meds. It’s great getting old and despite having 5 days off to hunt for a decent Whitetail buck I figured my season was done. Well, I gotta thank my Doc. By Saturday evening my lower back was feeling somewhat ok and I got the go ahead from the boss to head out for a hunt in Sunday morning if I was still doing ok.
I ended up heading to a nice chunk of timber a good buddy got me onto a few years back. I left the truck at daybreak and after still hunting for a couple hours I hadn’t seen hardly a fresh track. I ended up making my way to a ridge overlooking a creek bottom when I saw my first deer on the other side of the creek about 75 yards away. It was a young 4x4 and I quickly decided to let him walk. He got into some thick stuff out of site so I did a little rattling and a couple grunts on the tube to see if I could get him back in sight. He kept moving away and I’d only get brief glimpses of him. I waited a while then started to make my way along the creek ridge. I made it less than a hundred yards when I spotted a couple deer through my binoculars on my side of the creek. I use my binoculars a lot in the timber and they hadn’t spotted me yet. I watched for a while and the two deer turned into 5 with one being another small 4x3. I did a bit of calling and rattling and while I could see that they heard me they didn’t really show a lot of interest in me. I tape a long piece of thread on the end of my barrel and the wind was blowing at me. I was pretty focused on them when I heard a snort from the other side of the creek. The wind was still good so whatever it probably hadn’t smelled me. After a minute I caught movement and even at 80 yards or so I could see decent bone. Up came my rifle but the buck was walking and already in some thick stuff so I could only get glimpses of it. Then he turned and started going back the opposite direction he had been going. When he hit a bit of an opening where I had originally seen him a quick check through the scope confirmed he was a shooter. I couldn’t see his vitals from my somewhat lower position so I popped him in the base of the neck at about 80 yards. Bang…flop…and it was all over.
This day I was packing my Savage 110 Storm Lightweight in 308 shooting Hornady Outfitter 165gr GMX factory ammo. The shot hit right where I aimed, breaking the neck and ricocheting out the right shoulder. I found the bullet on the opposite side against the hide. I put it on the scale and it weighed slightly more than the original 165gr. Could be the scale or the meat folded up in the peddles. Either way, it held together really well. I was also surprised there was not a lot of meat wasted despite going through the shoulder. With my old 270WSM shooting 150gr Ballistic Silvertips it would have been a different story.
In the end I’m really happy with him. Bush bucks up my way that are much better are few and far between.
https://i.postimg.cc/KYYVdFPc/24105531-DCC4-4750-8148-882-D9-A03-DDF3.png (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/RZdysqnb/51-F57-D06-B20-A-450-C-BFED-92-DF380-BF1-AE.png (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/T1TP6pC5/81-A3-AB82-E7-D3-496-B-A30-C-6327027-C335-B.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
So, I kind of wrecked myself in the gym lifting weights I shouldn’t at my age. Sore right side trap running into my shoulder blade and a lower back that was spasming off and on for a few days. Then I took a fall on some ice my first day off and come last Friday it was a trip in to see my Doc and get some meds. It’s great getting old and despite having 5 days off to hunt for a decent Whitetail buck I figured my season was done. Well, I gotta thank my Doc. By Saturday evening my lower back was feeling somewhat ok and I got the go ahead from the boss to head out for a hunt in Sunday morning if I was still doing ok.
I ended up heading to a nice chunk of timber a good buddy got me onto a few years back. I left the truck at daybreak and after still hunting for a couple hours I hadn’t seen hardly a fresh track. I ended up making my way to a ridge overlooking a creek bottom when I saw my first deer on the other side of the creek about 75 yards away. It was a young 4x4 and I quickly decided to let him walk. He got into some thick stuff out of site so I did a little rattling and a couple grunts on the tube to see if I could get him back in sight. He kept moving away and I’d only get brief glimpses of him. I waited a while then started to make my way along the creek ridge. I made it less than a hundred yards when I spotted a couple deer through my binoculars on my side of the creek. I use my binoculars a lot in the timber and they hadn’t spotted me yet. I watched for a while and the two deer turned into 5 with one being another small 4x3. I did a bit of calling and rattling and while I could see that they heard me they didn’t really show a lot of interest in me. I tape a long piece of thread on the end of my barrel and the wind was blowing at me. I was pretty focused on them when I heard a snort from the other side of the creek. The wind was still good so whatever it probably hadn’t smelled me. After a minute I caught movement and even at 80 yards or so I could see decent bone. Up came my rifle but the buck was walking and already in some thick stuff so I could only get glimpses of it. Then he turned and started going back the opposite direction he had been going. When he hit a bit of an opening where I had originally seen him a quick check through the scope confirmed he was a shooter. I couldn’t see his vitals from my somewhat lower position so I popped him in the base of the neck at about 80 yards. Bang…flop…and it was all over.
This day I was packing my Savage 110 Storm Lightweight in 308 shooting Hornady Outfitter 165gr GMX factory ammo. The shot hit right where I aimed, breaking the neck and ricocheting out the right shoulder. I found the bullet on the opposite side against the hide. I put it on the scale and it weighed slightly more than the original 165gr. Could be the scale or the meat folded up in the peddles. Either way, it held together really well. I was also surprised there was not a lot of meat wasted despite going through the shoulder. With my old 270WSM shooting 150gr Ballistic Silvertips it would have been a different story.
In the end I’m really happy with him. Bush bucks up my way that are much better are few and far between.
https://i.postimg.cc/KYYVdFPc/24105531-DCC4-4750-8148-882-D9-A03-DDF3.png (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/RZdysqnb/51-F57-D06-B20-A-450-C-BFED-92-DF380-BF1-AE.png (https://postimages.org/)
https://i.postimg.cc/T1TP6pC5/81-A3-AB82-E7-D3-496-B-A30-C-6327027-C335-B.jpg (https://postimages.org/)