Really enjoyed my hunt yesterday morning. Was slowly stalking and glassing from a hillside here in Western New York. Deer known to bed this area and I was trying to spot them first. Had my binos down for a few minutes just looking around and noticed a spot with ears way off in the distance with my naked eye. Raised my binos and sure enough a doe bedded down in the bowl facing me from nearly 130 yards. If I had a rifle I could have taken her then, but had my Freedom Arms.
SO cool. I laid down in the 10" of snow and starting on a belly crawl straight towards her. The closer I got the more deer I saw bedded there. Couldn't believe they did not see me so I kept crawling for quite a while...cleaning the snow out of my binos...and taking a look to see if I had been spotted. When I got to something like 80 yards I was convinced I could not get any closer without getting burned. I stopped and thought for a while and decided to spin around to where I could take a sitting position instead of prone. Figured I would mouth bleat at them to get them to stand so I could try and get a clear shot at one.
When I tried to bring my legs around the closest doe facing right at me spotted me. She stood up and I panicked slowly! Get the gun up...looks like about 75-80 yards. Managing to keep on her chest so I should be able to shoot...BANG! Deer get up from all over the bottom. All took off running to my right...her included. All 8 of them bunched up and ran the length of the bottom and then turned up the hill and ran over the top and gone. I kept waiting for one to break off and drop, but no such luck. I honestly laughed at myself for missing. Went back along my trail gathering discarded gear and then headed down to the bedding area for a look see to trail them out and confirm my miss.
Got down to the first bed and looked off in the direction they ran. HEY! What is that brown spot? WooHoo! There she is!! Perfect shot right into the chest cavity over the front leg exiting just behind the off leg as she was turned slightly facing me. She went about 40 or 50 feet.
Some might be bored about all this for a doe, but on the last day, with that stalk, with one of my hadguns I thought it was way cool.
For those that like to know...24grains H110/296 behind a 240 XTP in my Freedom Arms M83 44Magnum, 2x Leupold, 7.5" barrel. 5 shots in under 3" at 100 yards with my wrists braced. Nice gun.
Thanks for reading this far. Hope your season went well.
Oh, and If I didn't say before...WooHoo!
SO cool. I laid down in the 10" of snow and starting on a belly crawl straight towards her. The closer I got the more deer I saw bedded there. Couldn't believe they did not see me so I kept crawling for quite a while...cleaning the snow out of my binos...and taking a look to see if I had been spotted. When I got to something like 80 yards I was convinced I could not get any closer without getting burned. I stopped and thought for a while and decided to spin around to where I could take a sitting position instead of prone. Figured I would mouth bleat at them to get them to stand so I could try and get a clear shot at one.
When I tried to bring my legs around the closest doe facing right at me spotted me. She stood up and I panicked slowly! Get the gun up...looks like about 75-80 yards. Managing to keep on her chest so I should be able to shoot...BANG! Deer get up from all over the bottom. All took off running to my right...her included. All 8 of them bunched up and ran the length of the bottom and then turned up the hill and ran over the top and gone. I kept waiting for one to break off and drop, but no such luck. I honestly laughed at myself for missing. Went back along my trail gathering discarded gear and then headed down to the bedding area for a look see to trail them out and confirm my miss.
Got down to the first bed and looked off in the direction they ran. HEY! What is that brown spot? WooHoo! There she is!! Perfect shot right into the chest cavity over the front leg exiting just behind the off leg as she was turned slightly facing me. She went about 40 or 50 feet.
Some might be bored about all this for a doe, but on the last day, with that stalk, with one of my hadguns I thought it was way cool.
For those that like to know...24grains H110/296 behind a 240 XTP in my Freedom Arms M83 44Magnum, 2x Leupold, 7.5" barrel. 5 shots in under 3" at 100 yards with my wrists braced. Nice gun.
Thanks for reading this far. Hope your season went well.
Oh, and If I didn't say before...WooHoo!