Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
- Trout
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Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
I'm in a 'if its brown its down' state of mind at this point in the season. I got my nice buck and cool story to.go.with it, now its time to aquire meat. No tag soup allowed.
Michigan firearm season opens 11/15 every year. I didn't get out until yesterday because I had a scope malfunction and didn't get a replacement until last weekend. Got it mounted Friday after work, sighted it in at 100yds yesterday at lunch, then hunted last night. It was my first time out since I shot my buck in Ohio. I still hunted through an area I had great activity in during bow season,, but just could never seal.the deal. Shortly after I got there,, i missed a doe at 98yds. I dont know how I missed, but I took that as the hunting gods way of saying you cant just go kill a deer everything you go hunting.
Was up bright and early today and back out there. I stood in the same spot, saw a half dozen deer move through the area about 9am the same way the doe did yesterday night. Couldn't get a shot off at any of them. Had the crosshairs on one and held off cause brush in the way, never got a better look.
About 930 I hear a squirrel behind me and its getting closer and closer and I turn around and its two deer, busted, the take off for the next ridge and i couldn't get a clear shot when they slowed down.
I'm not in a blind or anything, just standing in the shade of a dead ash tree trying to stay out of the sun.
An hour goes by and I lose patience, and decide to backtrack the group.of deer and see why they came through the way they did. I go down to where I saw them, follow their tracks backwards, make sense of.it all, mark everything I needed to in onx so I can put it to use next bow season and I head back where I came from, tracking their runway on the onx tracker. I get to where it kind of fizzles out and climb back to the top.of the ridge
A few minutes go by and I hear another squirrel and look up to see two more does coming down the runway I just mapped. I put the crosshairs on the bigger of the two, and take a quartering to shot.
They are basically 50 or 60 feet below me at 80yds and take off running when the rifle goes off. I'm thinking I missed. I go down to where she was standing and nothing but white hair. No blood, no fat. I'm kicking myself in the but and trying to figure out what went wrong- other than a complete lack of gun shooting practice. I wait an hour and start following the upturned leaves from the does running for 30yds and finally get some small drops of blood. I keep following and about 75yds into the track she opens up, its like someone poured a bucket of blood through the woods. First bed, 2nd bed 15yds later, 3rd and final bed 15yds after that.
The bullet went in right where it was supposed to, hit and severed the front shoulder, and deflected towards the guts and out her belly, taking out the lungs, liver and guts along the way. Quartered her and packed her up and just as Im ready to pack her out, another deer is coming right at me. Grab my rifle and put it in the scope and its a spike, which I couldn't shoot due to APR's in that area, so I guess 'if its brown its down' isn't 100% truthful.
Weighed my pack when I got home, it maxed out my 100lb bow scale. House scale had it at 91lbs. I'd guess there is half as much meat than the buck I got in ohio but she had 10 times the fat, will weigh the meat after I debone.
One more Michigan tag to fill and one more ohio tag to fill still but my freezer is looking good. Got a good supply of toilet paper, too. Just need more bullets.
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- muddy
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Good eats!
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Leading the way for habitat and management information
"It's a good thing you don't need commas and colons to kill deer" -seaz
- hunting_dad
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Cool hunt and good idea putting info in OnX for next year. Congrats!
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Worked hard for that one. Good honest hunt right there. Congrats. I packed a doe out on Friday night. Not sure what my pack weighed but I felt maxed out. Feels like you did something after a good heavy pack out
- BJ99Robinson
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Congrats!
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Congrats
- Edcyclopedia
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- Uncle Lou
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Congrats Trout. What rifle you got there, and what scope did you put on?
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- Trout
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Uncle Lou wrote:Congrats Trout. What rifle you got there, and what scope did you put on?
Thanks, Lou. First of all, I couldn't have got this doe without my stealth outdoors hooded sweatshirt. seriously, its my good luck charm, I didn't even wear it today, I just strapped it to the back of my pack Works every time I wear.it for good luck on purpose. I should take it to Vegas one of these days!
The gun is a savage 30-06. My dad gave it to me about 10 years ago, he won it at a banquet. It came with a Simmons 3-9x40 I've been wanting to upgrade forever hut couldn't justify till one of the crosshairs broke. I went with a Vortex Crossfire II, 4-12x50 AO with BDC reticle. Wanted something with a little more zoom as I will be using it for antelope next fall out west. I'm really liking it so far.
- Dewey
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- Drenalin
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Congrats trout, and good story!
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Heck yeah! I’ve always wanted to pack a doe out! What pack is that?
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Re: Still hunt Doe w/ Rifle
Great hunt! thanks for sharing!
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