I shot this buck on Sunday. I had seen a ton of deer before this, but I couldn't get my gun on them. I had a second deer tag for the Steptoe GMU, I bought the tag, but ended up passing on 2 does. One was on a dead run at 450 yards. I didn't feel comfortable with the shot. The next was a doe with a really young yearling. I would have felt too bad, like I killed its mom.
So, My father in law and I could hear a bunch of shots start popping off about 1500 yards away. I could tell they were hunting shots, not just shooting. We positioned ourselves to watch an area the deer frequently use to escape the area of the shots. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, 6 deer came flying towards us in a seeded wheat field. I had a doe tag, so I started lining up on the doe's. They were moving so fast and were pretty far out, I just couldn't get a good shot. I then saw that the deer in the back was a pretty big buck. I told my father in law to take the buck, I was going to try for the doe. I didn't feel good about my position, I tried to readjust at the last second and looked up only to find that my father in law's Muzzle Braked .300 win mag was a mere 15 inches from my right ear. I immediately pulled back and decided my hearing was important. My father in law shot at the buck and missed. He shot at 300 yards on a dead run, it was too good to pass up.
I thought he may have hit it because it slowed down, I looked for about 20 minutes, no blood, no nothing it just kept going. About 10 minutes after I got back to my spot, the same 6 deer came running over the hill I last saw them go over. They were jump by 3 hunters over there. I immediately saw the buck. They were about 700 yards away and closing. The deer went up on a hillside, they stopped and then began to file over the hill. The buck was last to go, but right before he went, he stopped quartered away, perfect backstop. My father in law ranged him, 680 yards. I got the right dope quickly, switched the safety, loaded my bipod, and squeezed off. My point of aim, was my point of impact. He fell in place and didn't get up. He was expired when I arrived.
I was shooting a Remington 700 Long Range .300 win mag. I hand load ammo. I shoot a 200 grain Accubond with 76.5 grains H1000. My bullet is moving 2840 fps. The bullet impacted the left shoulder blade and changed directions. It then hit the spine at the base of the neck and travelled up the spine where the bullet embedded in the skin of the neck approximately 9 inches from the base of the head on the same side as the shot was taken.
It was a good day.
