Shot the wrong end!

[Twanger]

Well, Bowman's caboose shot worked for me this morning but it was not intentional.

Went out with the muzzleloader to the top of the ridge today and two does walked by my stand at 15 yards. I dropped the first one in it's tracks and the second ran off, so I took my sweet time reloading, which was a mistake. As I was finishing reloading the second deer came all the way back to the first, with my back turned of course, and she heard me snap the action shut on the Encore 209X50 and she ran off quite a good ways. Easily 100 yards, and maybe 120.

I pulled the gun up and found her in the scope, and in those brief seconds that I couldn't see here she must have swapped ends. I found "the shoulder" and let her rip even though it appeared that her head and neck were behind some bushes. The deer ran off looking well hit.

After gutting the first deer I went looking for the second and was totally shocked to find that I'd shot it through the ham! Fortunately only the one ham. Busted the leg near in half.
She had run about 100 yards and left quite the blood trail.

A hunting buddy had called me and I told him the good news, and about the long drag to the truck. He said he'd go get his sled and Chessie. I towed the deer down the ridge to the main trail and he met me there. We loaded up the sled and his dog hauled those deer back to the truck almost faster than I could walk!

I owe him big for that favor!

[Twanger]

Here's a picture of the sled, Chessie, two does, and me.
It was pretty hot and humid yesterday... had to stay cool by not wearing too much, ya know!

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/sled_2deer_dog_walt_102409_smaller.jpg

[Bushman]

Yes Twanger, I would say that is economy of deer hunting attire. Same sled that I used to use. The thing bends all over the place, but doesn't break and even if it did, it was cheap.

Your tail end shot reminds me of a buck that I got in MI. one year. He came up behind me real close and when he was broadside in the brush I shot. Brush deflection, another shot and I didn't know if I'd hit him at all. He turned and headed into a green swamp so I took another crack at him going away. One chunk of meat the size of the end of your finger was all I found. Hands and knees and nothing in the fading light. That night I said to myself, if I had lost a chunk of meat that size I would have bled, why didn't he? Next morning at first light I'd found that I was on the wrong trail. 200 yards farther on he was dead in his bed just with a grazing wound to his left ham. There must be a lot of blood being pumped through those big jumper muscles.

[Twanger]

Bushman, you know, I guess it's possibly that I shot at the right end of the deer and got a deflection to the ham. It was a long shot and I was probably 80 feet above the deer shooting down through limbs and leaves. I was 25 feet up a tree that was at the top of a pretty decent slope above a bench that the deer was on. What I was shooting at appeared to be in the clear but all it takes is one out of focus 1/4-inch limb to deflect your shot.

The thing that makes me think she swapped ends on me was that I didn't see her neck and head after I pulled the gun up... I just saw what I thought was the shoulder.

[DaveHawk]

Walt in his usual attire for fall hunting. 1st time I meet Walt he was in shorts and it was 30 Deg's out.

Congrats Walt.

[Rattus58]

Geeeeze Walt..... you know that you an me scare them younguns.... without proper camouflage.... :grin:

Aloha...

And walt... after all that braggin bout a a pound of powder and such... you mean you still aint shot them banana patch bullets yet... or are you just tryin to spare my feelings.... :grin:

Aloha..
again... :) :cool:

[Twanger]

Hi Tom!
Good to see ya posting, it made me smile!
Are you burning any powder?

[GF.]

Shoot, Walt - with deer that size, it's no wonder you have to turn around for squirrels!:D

Glad the shot worked out!

Yeah, Bush, there is a lot of blood that can go to those muscles when they need it to. Still, that's a hit I hope I never have to follow up on...

[Twanger]

Yes GF, I learned a lesson on that one.

Actually, I've learned a number of lessons this year about shooting, and my limitations, though I have shot 8 deer and recovered 8 deer so it's hard to beat myself up too much. :D

It's just that I feel like I've gotten lucky a couple of times. The grace of God smiled down on me, and fortune went my way. There is some truth to the quote that "Fortune favors the bold." You can't kill a deer if your arrow stays on the string, or your bullet stays in the gun.

I've got a buddy who has made a couple of poor shots and lost a couple of deer this season, and it has shattered his confidence. He has strong ethics and is really beating himself up. In truth his shots have not landed farther from the kill zone than a couple of mine from what I can tell. Fortune was not kind to him.

[Rattus58]

Hi Tom!
Good to see ya posting, it made me smile!
Are you burning any powder?

Hi Walt.... haven't shot but about .... geeeeze.... have I shot anything this year??? dang...

I've done some work with kids mostly this year but that's about it. I was hoping to go hunting even last month and have been at work it seems from morning till night.... and for some reason that just don't feel right.

Have a great hunting season... :)

Aloha... Tom