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Old November 16, 2012, 06:28 PM   #26
alex0535
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Just shot my first whitetail! Went out to the stand around 4. Sat there for 45 minutes and a buck chased the doe out into the clearing. Saw the doe first and a good broadside shot presented itself so I took it. Hit right behind the shoulder she ran about 60 yards.

The buck chasing her was a nice one.

Planning on taking at least a few more this season. The spot the stand is in is tore up with deer activity.


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Old November 16, 2012, 08:05 PM   #27
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Congrats on your first, alex!
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Old November 16, 2012, 09:47 PM   #28
alex0535
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Already in the freezer.

Shot with an old Marlin 336 .35 Remington at around 50 yards. Been in my family for 3 generations now.

Not pleased with the performance of the 200 grain .35 Remington ammo I used. It worked, but the bullet did not expand. The exit wound was relatively small for a 200 grain bullet (less than 1 inch). The deer ran about 60 yards into the woods, and there was no blood we could find to follow.

Gonna get some hornady 200 grain leverevolution rounds with better expansion. Probably have better results.

Pretty happy with getting one though.

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Old November 16, 2012, 09:55 PM   #29
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Congrats on your first! Fine tuning your set up is one of the most satisfying aspects of hunting. Everything feels better when you know you've got things just right. It took me forever to find the right combination of powder charge and projectile that my CVA Optima would consistently shoot accurately. Of course it likes the expensive bullets..... Can't complain, it served me well this year.
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Old November 17, 2012, 07:47 AM   #30
03Shadowbob
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A couple from our first hunt this year. Was a good week. Mostly does however a few bucks were taken

My first shotgun harvest..tender vittles

I'm trying to finish getting this one ready for the cooler

Couple coyotes a guy called in and shot

One of the 2 coolers we packed
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Old November 17, 2012, 09:53 AM   #31
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Fried deer tenderloin for breakfast. Good way to start the day.
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Old November 17, 2012, 11:40 AM   #32
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Alex0535,
Just a word of warning with the leverevolution rounds, i got my first deer in over 20 years last weekend, using a 336cs 30/30 and the 160gr leverloutions, be VERY careful with shot placement, staight on shot from a stand,bullet went thru her neck, went into her back, severed the spine and exited along the inside of the right rear leg, bullet did everything right, she was dead before she hit the ground,but it destroyed alot of meat and looked like her intestines were hit with a blender. dug the bullet out of the ground, its a pretty mushroom, dont have a scale to find out weight retention. but there was a rather large exit wound. she weighed roughly 90lbs and the shot was 60 yds
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Old November 17, 2012, 12:58 PM   #33
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^good shot placement is always in the front of my mind.

I trust my shooting ability, and i know that deer can run a distance on adrenalin without major organs. But a perfectly placed shot with a .35 caliber bullet weighing 200 grains should drop a deer in its tracks. The reviews of the leverevolution 200 grain bullets are generally "deer did not take another step". The woods here are so thick that I would rather not have to track it in the dark through the woods if i don't have to.


I might go out again this evening if the wind dies down. A relative went out hunting in the same place this morning, saw 2 does and buck but didn't get a clear shot. Running around the same place like nothing ever happened 12 hours earlier.
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Old November 17, 2012, 03:02 PM   #34
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I have seen deer hit with a devastating shot that you know will put them down right there only for them to run off and die a little ways away. deer are very tough just because you're .35 remington did not drop it right there does not mean it is a bad bullet, most dear that I've shot everyone at least a little bit and the majority have been with a 270 WSM black powder muzzleloader and a 12 gauge in that order and those are by no means weak guns.
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Old November 17, 2012, 07:25 PM   #35
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I got a nice 10 pointer 15 minutes into opening day. For some reason, I can't get the picture to post but I feel very blessed to have taken it.

Last year, I got a nice 8 pointer 30 minutes into opening day so I was dumbfounded after taking my 10 pointer this year. Been a hell of a good couple of years.
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:29 AM   #36
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My second best buck

I took it this morning with a slug my buddy found in my parents closet. My Mother died 8-30-12 of lung cancer and my Father died in 2008 of Parkinsons complications.

We had pretty much the whole house cleared and he found a single 12 gauge slug in my parents closet. He said "this is a sign".

I made a point of having it in my chamber each morning, and at 9:35 am this morning a nice 8 pointer walked broad side at 50 yards from me. First deer I saw in 2 days. One shot double lung shot. Good buck for me in my area.
Better than my Fathers lifetime good buck.

It was VERY hard to go into their garage and load up my Grizzly. Still getting misty eyed typing this.
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Old November 23, 2012, 11:16 PM   #37
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My season so far:
I murdered Bambi's twin (thought he was a smallish doe that I walked up on):



Then I murdered his mama


Now I am officially 'horn-hunting' the rest of the season, but probably throw a meat doe another 165gr Fusion if they get on my nerves by being too nosey
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Old November 23, 2012, 11:44 PM   #38
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11/17/2012. Opening day of gun season in NY's southern tier. Took a nice-bodied 6-point buck at 7:45 a.m. in 7J (Onondaga County). Shot from a ground blind with a scoped Mossberg 500 12 gauge shooting Federal Barnes Expanders. 40 yards.

11/20/2012. Filled one of my doe tags just before noon in 7M (Cortland County). Shot from a tower stand with a scoped Remington 700 in .243 shooting 100 grain Remington Core-Lokts. 50 yards.

Gun opens here in PA on Monday.
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Old November 25, 2012, 09:40 AM   #39
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I call him the Lord's buck. God taught me a lot about patience and what really matters in life through this deer. Hunting in Mitchell Co, Texas. He was shot late evening and crossed the neighbor's fence 15 yards away. We waited until dawn to look for him, I couldn't sleep. After tracking 100 yards the blood trail ended. No buck in sight. I decided to check a dry creek bed for any blood sign, and down one of the fingers saw a coyote's butt moving back and forth on a carcass. In less than 12hrs coyotes had devoured everything except the head, hide, and skeletal system. God reminded me the hunt's not about the buck, it's about friends & family we hunt with and appreciating His wondrous creation.

Rifle used: Browning BAR MkII w/ BOSS in 270Win
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Old November 25, 2012, 04:54 PM   #40
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cat9x,

I appreciate your comments above.
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Old November 25, 2012, 08:54 PM   #41
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cat9x, I lost a doe to coyotes last year. Shot her at dusk and found her at daybreak; hind quarters gone. Agree with your sentiments about hunting completely.

EDIT/UPDATE. Took a very nice doe at 10:00 a.m. this morning on PA gun opener. Less than 50 yards with a Remington 700 BDL in .243. Took the top third of the heart off. She went down in less than 20 yards.
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Old November 27, 2012, 05:59 PM   #42
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Got home from work with about an hour of legal light left. I've been bowhunting for a couple weeks and nothing has been getting in range. Its gun season this week, so I grabbed my orange vest, mossberg 500, and knife and started out the door.
Looked across the field and saw this fella wandering slowly down the fence row. I cut straight across and then slowly worked my way along my side of the fence until I came to an opening. Stepped through and was about 75 yrds from him, he was nearly broadside quartering slightly away. I dropped to a knee and shot him before he could bolt. Shot was a little high and too far back but it anchored him. Shot him again and got both lungs and that was it. Less than 10 minutes from parking my truck to tagging him.

I was shooting 12 gauge hornady SST slugs from a mossberg 500 slug gun. Not sure what to think of them. The 1st shot was devastating, I posted a picture of the exit wound. Field dressing was not any fun. The 2nd shot broke a rib on each side, and punched through the lungs but didnt seem to expand any. Neither slug was recovered.
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Old November 27, 2012, 08:02 PM   #43
Doug S
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My son got his first deer, a nine point Whitetail buck yesterday. He got the full experience with a long drag, and his first field dress.
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Old December 1, 2012, 05:42 PM   #44
12GaugeShuggoth
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Well wish me luck. Shot a buck around 4:30pm at about 40 yards with my Mossy 500. Watched him hunch that near side shoulder up and stumble-run about 15 yards before falling down. He stayed down for about 30 seconds or so and then stood up on his 3 other legs and slowly walked on in to some real thick stuff. Lots of holly trees and swamp reeds, couldn't see where he went other than "that-a-way". Before he stood up he did that whole body wiggle and kick.....I thought he was done but apparently I be wrong.

Just before dark (woods-dark at least) I went down to look for some blood with my little pocket L.E.D. light and couldn't find anything. Gonna get something to eat and grab the big lights and head back out. Fingers crossed, if he went too far he might very well have gone off our property. Looked and felt like a good shot, but the way things go sometimes I dunno......
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Old December 1, 2012, 05:55 PM   #45
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Why didn't you shoot him again?When a deer has a enough strength to get back up that can mean a long and often futile tracking job.
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Old December 1, 2012, 07:50 PM   #46
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Always anchor your animal when you have the chance but good luck finding him 12ga.
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Old December 1, 2012, 08:45 PM   #47
12GaugeShuggoth
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I would've loved to have taken a second shot, I normally do regardless of how good the first shot seems...... but all I had a view of at that point was rear-end. Shot was broadside, when he started running he did so angled away from me. He crossed behind several trees that blocked my view and fell as he was going across an old logging ditch. When he got back up and started walking, from where I was all I got to see was little flashes of his rear as he went through the holly trees. Since I didn't have a clear shot I didn't take one, after watching him crash down so hard after the first one I guess I thought he'd just go right back down after a short walk.

Ran all the lights down to dead, no luck. Gonna go back out in the daylight and look again. With the total lack of blood I'm beginning to question if my shot really found the mark, but I really felt good about that shot when I took it. Supposed to be in the low to mid 30's overnight I think, hopefully nothing else gets to him first. It gets in to some really thick reeds and swampy parts down there so there are lots of places that can be easily overlooked. I've never lost a deer before, or had to leave one overnight like this. Sucks.
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Old December 1, 2012, 09:33 PM   #48
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Do you have a dog or know someone with a dog? Would be better if it was a trained tracking or deer dog, but sometimes all it takes is a dog to get curious about a wounded animal scent to find one. Sounds like you broke his leg for sure. If it was high enough, you also got into some lung. We're you way up a tree or on or near the ground. The downward angle could cost you this buck if you were way up a tree. Sadly I know from experience. If you get out there and find blood and all it is is a lot of small droplets, looks like a leg hit. They will also bleed puddles every time they stop on one of those leg hits. A leg hit deer will usually stop bleeding if given the chance to lay down or even stand still for a short time period. Usually your only hope with one of those is to keep pushing it til it bleeds out which is very hard to do without a dog
On the other hand, if you find no blood at all, I would actually be more optimistic. I'm assuming you were using slugs? I have very little experience with slug shot deer, but have a lot of experience with bow shot and muzzleloader shot deer. When you hit a deer broadside in the shoulder with an arrow and it doesn't penetrate the other side, my experience has been that there is usually virtually no blood at all for the first 15 to 100 yards until the deers lungs fill up with blood and they start spewing it out their nose. I've seen the same thing with muzzleloader shot deer. Keep in mind all of these had no exit wound. Sounds like this may be your case and It will be a lot easier to find this deer with a dog in the thicket you describe

At any rate, I wish you the best of luck in recovering your deer. Wish I could help look in the morning.
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Old December 2, 2012, 02:06 AM   #49
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NO PICS. But tagged out Thanksgiving weekend. Im no bone hunter but took a six pointer & a 7pointer & 10 does,Ruger MKII in 25-06 did a fine job on the powerline this year,Freezer is full. NO complaints at my house.
Hope ya'll have good luck.
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Old December 2, 2012, 09:05 AM   #50
12GaugeShuggoth
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Update time. Found the deer at around 8:15 this morning.

Went back out this morning around 7 or so and started a wider area search. After about 45 minutes I found a spot where he had stumbled through, followed the tracks for about 30 or 40 yards and finally found my first blood. Not much, but anything was better than what I had found yesterday. Followed the tracks and found where he died about 50 yards further. From there something found him and dragged him about another 50 yards. Ripped in to his formerly sensitive parts and had a dinner of deer guts. So at least I know he's not limping around with a busted shoulder, and something in the woods was fat and happy when it went to sleep last night.

Upon inspection, everything looks like it was a good shot. Maybe a little lower than I would've wanted under ideal conditions, but by no means a bad shot. Several of the buckshot went through the first shoulder, through the body cavity, and exited the opposite shoulder. I was shooting 20 gauge Federal 3" #2 buck. Patterned beautifully and completely tore that near shoulder up. I guess he was just one tough S.O.B. or something. Total distance from shot to where I found him was probably 250 or 275 yards.

Picture attached, don't click if you don't like deer gut pictures.
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