and it really was not a fair fight!!! My 'Controlled Hunt' Elk season opened yesterday and due to poor planning on my part, I had scheduled a pitcher/catcher workout for the morning before school started, so yes I missed the opener! Today I was able to take the opportunity to get and look for that 'antlerless' elk I have been waiting for. This is a rifle hunt but I prefer using a Modern Muzzleloader
We decided to look at what we call the 'State' property about 40 mile out of town. The area is normally a crossing area for elk heading down in elevation. The weather was close to perfect, 11* and a crusty layer of snow covered most of the ground.
My partner and I split up and we headed out different directions. I headed east following a property line across two ridges and up on an open logged ridge that has become a feeding area for elk. The ridge top supports a really good growth of 'Red Stem' a brushy bush that the love to browse on. I crossed through a portion of the red stem to my ground stand which overlooks two open ridge tops. I have to admit I was bit frustrated on the trip in the elk sign was scarce and not close to what I was expecting. My partner checked in and indicated the same thing. So with a bit of frustration I sat down on stump and started scanning the area. I spent about 15 minutes looking over the area when for some reason I looked down the ridge on my right and big as life here is a nice whitetail standing behind some brush. At first, just looked at it not thinking about shooting, I had passed on two nice does earlier, we are hunting bucks only right now. Then for some reason I lifted the rifle and looked through the scope, figuring I would pretend shoot it... thinking that would make me feel better to know I could shoot you - you son-of-a-gun... The deer was only about 60 yards out below me quartering at me. When I got the scope on her - and could see through the brush - her was a he! It had a nice little basketball sized rack... I found a hole in the brush and was waiting for a better shot, but then for some reason my trigger finger decided to shoot. He jumped straight up and turned almost 180* in the air busted away from me. I watched him make it about 20 yards and fall.
Again it was not a fair fight - I was shooting my elk load - a 300 grain Bloodline and 120 grains of T7. If I hit him with that he really did not stand a chance. In fact I even worried that the bullet might be in and out of him so fast that it might not do the damage it was suppose to. After 20 yards it was apparent the bullet worked.
When I got down to the deer I saw the exit wound on the hide, nice neat hole exit hole and thought I might have been right and the zipped though with out doing a thing except harvesting a fairly nice Palouse Whitetail. It did not take long for me to find out - something happened. When I cut through and opened the wind-pipe, thinking I was going to get nice pool of blood out - I got a long tube clotted blood - not very liquid at all. The animal could not breath at all. When I go it open it was apparent the bullet had worked as designed - nothing really could be identified as lungs, the heart had petal holes in it, but was not blown up. And of course the chest cavity was full of blood. Which seems weird as there was a tremendous 20 yard blood trail across the snow also.
Here are some pictures that show the Harvest...
These group shows some of the damage inflicted..
