I just got home from my first deer hunt. I can't thank Dale and his crew at Bearpaw Outfitters enough for their hard work and dedication to my goal of getting my first deer. I highly recommend them to anyone considering a hunt like this.
After a hearty lunch Brian and I headed back out to one of the ranches. In the morning we had scouted many locations but decided to sit over the "orchard" and wait for some hot does to make their appearance. I sat there for 3 hours with my bony ass hurting to no end. No amount of padding was going to keep my butt from hurting so I leaned back into the hill to try and keep still. I shot a lot of yardages and had the other side of the canyon lazered till I was confident in my ranges. I glassed off and on all afternoon. Nothing appeared after the four does got chased off when we first showed up. All through the week as all of us went our separate ways it became clear that there was not going to be a lot of time to make the decision to shoot so with that thought in mind I mentally prepared myself to have to make a quick shot. At 1500 two does walked up the canyon toward the orchard. I glassed them for just a few seconds and then moved up the canyon to where I was expecting the does, seen previously, to come back from. As I swept the area to my left I saw a buck and three tines sticking up above his head. I dropped my binos and located him in my scope with the firedot finding his shoulder and shooting. He disappeared in the thicket and reappeared in a small clearing in the direction he was heading. He stood there for a brief moment and wobbled on his legs and I drew another bead on him and shot to anchor him. He rolled down the slope into the brush and out of my sight.
At this point I decided just to sit tight and recount the event that just happened in mere seconds so I would be able to accurately track and find him. After about fifteen minutes I called Brian on the radio that I thought I had a buck down. When he showed up it had been about twenty minutes and so began the search. It is a lot different to go to the location you think you shot him to then begin to find him than from where you shot him. I kept looking up at the other side of the canyon to see where I was in relation to the buck. We searched for 5-10 minutes before I found the well used deer trail and their multiple tracks going in each direction. I shouted to Brian that I found some hair in the snow. Thank God for the snow as it certainly made it easier to find the track. I followed it till I found a little blood then Brian joined me and off we crept finding more and more blood. The blood trail led to a very dense grove of pines with dense undergrowth with the game trail weaving through it. I had to contort myself and almost walk like a duck to make my way through it. More blood splatter, then gushes of it till finally Brian found him piled up.
Both shots were at 250 yards. Winchester M70 FWT, 264 WM, Leupold VX-6 2-12 with Firedot reticle, 129gr Hornady InterBond bullet, h1000 powder in Remington cases and Remington 9 1/2M primers for 3084fps. This load printed a .679" group at 100 yards off the bench.
Between the first shot and where we found him was about 50yds. The right side antler is a 4pt and the left is a three with a little nub that would have made him a nice 4x4 next year.
Once we got back to skin him out I was really interested in seeing just how that bullet performed. The first shot was all that was needed. It took out the top of the heart and just chunked up his lungs. The second shot actually entered the top of his chest and angled through his leg and out. The weird angle must have happened when I broke the shot as he was starting to fall. Lots of blood shot meat in the front quarters but still plenty to make into hamburger.
I stopped on my way home at Life Signs Taxidermy of Spokane to drop off the cape. Dave is a real nice guy and his work is outstanding.
Well here is the picture.
