Buck down (story + pics added)
- James
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Buck down (story + pics added)
The "Back Field" Buck
It was a fitting end to my 2010 Wisconsin gun season, but it started back in the spring on my reloading bench and at the range. My father had recently gotten me into handloading for my Sako .30-06 and like most hobbies I take up, I went off the deep end. I spent a great deal of time working through combinations before I found what my heavy barreled finnish gun desired. My whitetail load is a Hornady 165 grain InterBond backed by 56 grains of Hodgdons 4350 and topped off with a CCI Benchrest primer. Throughout the year I practiced at the range out to distances of 200 yards. (the maximum distance at my local range) Confidence was high.
Opening day was spent in my usual stand location on our family farm. Sitting on the edge of thick marsh bedding with shooting opportunities into our picked corn field. Deer sightings were plenty with many opportunities at small bucks, doe and fawns the first two days. Sunday morning at 11am I opted for a mature doe at 40 yards. The shot was perfect through the lungs and she tipped over stiff legged, my handload worked flawlessly. By Monday things had really slowed down and many of the hunters had left the woods. I saw no deer that morning despite perfect conditions but I knew with the pressure lifting, the bigger bucks would finally get on their feet. I hunted hard the entire day and finally at 3pm a lone fawn stepped into the corn... the deer were moving. Around 4:00 I scanned our "back field" and noticed a big bodied deer had stepped out of the finger of woods into the corn. I immediately knew the body as a mature deer but needed to glass him to size him up. I spent the next few minutes squinting between my 10x binoculars trying to distinguish his rack. It blended in with the corn and I could see antler outside his ears, but that was about all.
I had spent the lull of my Sunday afternoon ranging the back field and calculating ballistics on my iPhone (-17.4" at 350 yards), the point where the buck came out was ranged at 349 yards with my laser rangefinder. The "back field" is a spot that my father and I have discussed shooting deer for more than 20 years however the opportunity had never presented itself. We had always casually talked about a good rest and holding "about on their back" but never put a lot of thought into really taking a shot. Furthermore, the Browning BAR .30-06 that I carried years ago with was barely capable of vital sized groups at 150 yards; taking the "back field" shot was something fun to consider but never realistic.
With the sun starting to set I made up my mind that I would take the shot. I cranked up my scope to 9x, shouldered the gun, took rest on the sturdy poplar branch and watched my crosshairs dance from the front to the back of the buck. I came out of the scope and told myself that I could not take the shot until I relaxed. After some deep breathing I settled in. The 2.5lb trigger touched off and to my disbelief I saw a crumpled deer coming out of the recoil. I turned into a puddle. I hustled out of my stand and began the long walk across the corn field to the buck. I had already texted a friend on the way there that I thought I shot a smaller buck, but he grew nicely as I approached. Once I reached him the celebration began, I did a couple fist pumps while looking at the shear distance back to my stand. Turning around I saw that our neighbors were in their tower stand and had seen the entire event unfold. I wonder what they thought. The celebrating turned to the deer, but where was my shot? He's dead but I couldn't find a hole anywhere. Upon lifting his head I noticed a great deal of blood coming out of his ear. I had dropped the buck with a shot through the ear. Recounting the shot I had not doped the wind for any drift even though the buck was stationary. The local weather station recorded a 8mph straight west wind about the time I took my shot. This would drift my bullet a full 8 inches, and combined with a little hunter anxiety and I can chalk this one up to a bit of shooter luck. Nevertheless, "the shot" was made and the buck was down.
It was a fitting end to my 2010 Wisconsin gun season, but it started back in the spring on my reloading bench and at the range. My father had recently gotten me into handloading for my Sako .30-06 and like most hobbies I take up, I went off the deep end. I spent a great deal of time working through combinations before I found what my heavy barreled finnish gun desired. My whitetail load is a Hornady 165 grain InterBond backed by 56 grains of Hodgdons 4350 and topped off with a CCI Benchrest primer. Throughout the year I practiced at the range out to distances of 200 yards. (the maximum distance at my local range) Confidence was high.
Opening day was spent in my usual stand location on our family farm. Sitting on the edge of thick marsh bedding with shooting opportunities into our picked corn field. Deer sightings were plenty with many opportunities at small bucks, doe and fawns the first two days. Sunday morning at 11am I opted for a mature doe at 40 yards. The shot was perfect through the lungs and she tipped over stiff legged, my handload worked flawlessly. By Monday things had really slowed down and many of the hunters had left the woods. I saw no deer that morning despite perfect conditions but I knew with the pressure lifting, the bigger bucks would finally get on their feet. I hunted hard the entire day and finally at 3pm a lone fawn stepped into the corn... the deer were moving. Around 4:00 I scanned our "back field" and noticed a big bodied deer had stepped out of the finger of woods into the corn. I immediately knew the body as a mature deer but needed to glass him to size him up. I spent the next few minutes squinting between my 10x binoculars trying to distinguish his rack. It blended in with the corn and I could see antler outside his ears, but that was about all.
I had spent the lull of my Sunday afternoon ranging the back field and calculating ballistics on my iPhone (-17.4" at 350 yards), the point where the buck came out was ranged at 349 yards with my laser rangefinder. The "back field" is a spot that my father and I have discussed shooting deer for more than 20 years however the opportunity had never presented itself. We had always casually talked about a good rest and holding "about on their back" but never put a lot of thought into really taking a shot. Furthermore, the Browning BAR .30-06 that I carried years ago with was barely capable of vital sized groups at 150 yards; taking the "back field" shot was something fun to consider but never realistic.
With the sun starting to set I made up my mind that I would take the shot. I cranked up my scope to 9x, shouldered the gun, took rest on the sturdy poplar branch and watched my crosshairs dance from the front to the back of the buck. I came out of the scope and told myself that I could not take the shot until I relaxed. After some deep breathing I settled in. The 2.5lb trigger touched off and to my disbelief I saw a crumpled deer coming out of the recoil. I turned into a puddle. I hustled out of my stand and began the long walk across the corn field to the buck. I had already texted a friend on the way there that I thought I shot a smaller buck, but he grew nicely as I approached. Once I reached him the celebration began, I did a couple fist pumps while looking at the shear distance back to my stand. Turning around I saw that our neighbors were in their tower stand and had seen the entire event unfold. I wonder what they thought. The celebrating turned to the deer, but where was my shot? He's dead but I couldn't find a hole anywhere. Upon lifting his head I noticed a great deal of blood coming out of his ear. I had dropped the buck with a shot through the ear. Recounting the shot I had not doped the wind for any drift even though the buck was stationary. The local weather station recorded a 8mph straight west wind about the time I took my shot. This would drift my bullet a full 8 inches, and combined with a little hunter anxiety and I can chalk this one up to a bit of shooter luck. Nevertheless, "the shot" was made and the buck was down.
YouTube Channel - https://youtube.com/@JimmyHunts
- Dor
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Re: Buck down
Congrats james!
Call The Footed Shaft to order Kwik-Straps 507-288-7581 or order at the kwik-strap.com
- virginiashadow
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Re: Buck down
Alright James! Fantastic buck.
- Gardner Swamp
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Re: Buck down
Sweet!! Way to go
- wibowhntr
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Re: Buck down
Congrats
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Re: Buck down
congrats!
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Re: Buck down
Congrats!
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Re: Buck down
CONGRATS!!! Looks like a nice buck
- Black Squirrel
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Re: Buck down
Way to go, James! Congrats.
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Re: Buck down
Congrats James!!!! Glad to hear it's working for ya!!!!!!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 KJV
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Re: Buck down
Way to go James!
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Re: Buck down
Congrats
"When a hunter is in a tree stand with high moral values, with the proper hunting ethics and richer for the experience, that hunter is 20 feet closer to God." Fred Bear
- Casper
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- huntinfool14
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Re: Buck down
Congrats! nice buck!
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Re: Buck down
congrats , cant wait to hear the full story
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