bamaboys first buck...way out there!!!!!!!!

bamaranger · February 3, 2010, 04:34 AM

Sunday, 31Jan was Alabama's last day of deer season. I snatched my 14 year old from uptown after church and we beat it out to a shooting house overlooking a R.O.W. where I have been seeing deer lately. He had not killed a deer this year, and we had not got to hunt together as much as we have in years past.

We had two rifles, him carrying a Ruger 77-II in 7.62x39 w/Leu 2x7, and me w/ a Savage 110, .243, Leu w/3x9. My thought was that he could shoot the x39 to 150 yds , and the .243 on out. I had zeroed the .243 at 2" high at 100 w/ Rem 100 gr PSP's. A special note was the .243 had belonged to my Dad prior his death.

I had lasered some landmarks on the ROW and believed I had a good feel for range. Right at last shooting light, a spike buck, which I had seen and passed earlier in the season hoping the boy or the landowner would get a crack at him, came into view well down the ROW. I estimated the range at just over 250 yds, passed bamaboy grandad's .243, cranked up to 9x, and told him to hold 4 inches higher than normal.

There was a pause as he waited for the deer to get broadside, then the shot. I was spotting through binos. The deer showed unmistakable signs of being hit, and exited the powerline to the right, very unsteady.

"Lets get over there!" Of course, but, great woodsman that I am.....I had not brought a light ( or a knife I found out later) Kid reached into his fanny pack and produced a light. "I thought we might need it!"

It seemed a LONG way over to the spot.....and no blood when we got there!!
Day light was fading, fast. Within the 5-10 minutes that passed as we climbed down walked over we DID need the light. The first arc along the edge yielded nothing. Second arc, within the woodline, found some disturbed leaves, still no blood.

Then those teenage eyes showed their superiority to fifty plus eyes. "What's that white spot?" It was the buck, 20 yds away. Hit absolutely perfect, in the pocket behind the near foreleg, and through the opposite shoulder to break same. It had gone 50 yds or so,... in good light we would have seen it earlier. Incredible that it had gone that far.

Range 260 yds, no pacing or guessing, it'd been lasered earlier. Heck of a shot for a 14 yr old. Out ranges his Daddy's longest by a good 40 yds. He was ready, I'd seen him break too many clays at 100 yds w/ a .22, supported, and ring the gong at my buddy's 200 yd range w/ the .223. prone. But on his first antlered deer, that was tougher, and he did fine.

I'm one proud Daddy as you can tell, wish Grandad could have seen it.

rshanneck2002 · February 3, 2010, 06:39 AM

There aint nothing like killing your first buck,makes you very proud at age 14. Great shot buy the way! He get one big atta boy.

Lee Lapin · February 3, 2010, 09:07 AM

wish Grandad could have seen it

Oh, he did. Never fear...

Congratulations to the young 'un- that's some good shootin'.

Wish I could have gotten home one more time in Jan to take advantage of that long season, but it didn't work out this year.

lpl

reloader28 · February 3, 2010, 10:33 AM

Tell him "good job".
I know what you're feeling. I have 3 daughters ,19, 17, 15. They all love to hunt. They all reload their own hunting shells and have all taken deer well past 200yds.
Makes you feel all warm inside .

To3T@g · February 3, 2010, 11:11 AM

WoW! great shot!!!! im sure ur proud as a peecock

id be for sure! cant wait til my lil man gets his first buck. Mine is only 7yrs old,but he is great with his pellet gun! were down here in Auburn(WarEagle

) and as is the case any where in bama its hard to find a 260yrd shot arround here. any way, like the member befor me stated"grandad saw it" and i know he was just as proud

GeauxTide · February 3, 2010, 01:38 PM

Outstanding. Gave a 280 to my youngest (27) and he blasted some LA hogs and will come up next year for a deer hunt.

rantingredneck · February 3, 2010, 01:52 PM

Excellent!

James R. Burke · February 3, 2010, 06:39 PM

Congradulations. You will never forget your first buck. Now you can start looking for the big ones. Way to go again. Nice long shot, Dad must be prouud!

SavageSniper · February 3, 2010, 07:13 PM

Great story Bama, thx for sharing. Brought a smile to my face.

shortwave · February 4, 2010, 08:07 AM

Congratulations Bama. Today your reaping the benefits of good quality time spent with your son in the past. Be proud and enjoy the moment.

Betcha grandad is proud of both of you.

Thanks for sharing.

blackhawk45 · February 4, 2010, 08:43 AM

WHAT, no pixs of the boy and his first buck ? I just need to see his smile. my congrats to Father

and Son.

ChiefMuzz · February 4, 2010, 06:03 PM

That reminds me of the first deer I shot. 275 yards with my .243 savage model 10. My grandfather pushed out a big stand of pines for me while my dad and I waited 400 yards away. Nothing came out by the time grandpap circled back around. He was standing behind me at my tree with my dad and I when a herd doe stepped out of the pines and started making their way in. I held off till the herd stopped 275 yards out. With my dad beside me and my grandpap behind me I dropped a nice doe right where she stood. It was a hunt neither of us would forget. 11 years and a dozen or so deer later I'm lucky to still be able to get out in the woods with both of them each fall.

Uncle Ben · February 4, 2010, 06:31 PM

Congrats. Great story, thanks for sharing.

boltaction · February 4, 2010, 08:22 PM

Awesome, congrats.

bamaranger · February 5, 2010, 02:22 AM

I've got some pics of course, but I'm such a dinosaur that I don't know how to post or attach them. Working on it.

youp · February 5, 2010, 09:37 AM

pwillie · February 5, 2010, 08:52 PM

Great story! My sontook his first buck when he was in his thirties......I still put the blood on his face,and he grinned like a "Chessar Cat"

BIGR · February 5, 2010, 10:07 PM

Good for him. So nice to hear about those youngsters having success on a hunt and at that yardage.

February 3, 2010, 04:34 AM	#1
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	bamaboys first buck...way out there!!!!!!!! Sunday, 31Jan was Alabama's last day of deer season. I snatched my 14 year old from uptown after church and we beat it out to a shooting house overlooking a R.O.W. where I have been seeing deer lately. He had not killed a deer this year, and we had not got to hunt together as much as we have in years past. We had two rifles, him carrying a Ruger 77-II in 7.62x39 w/Leu 2x7, and me w/ a Savage 110, .243, Leu w/3x9. My thought was that he could shoot the x39 to 150 yds , and the .243 on out. I had zeroed the .243 at 2" high at 100 w/ Rem 100 gr PSP's. A special note was the .243 had belonged to my Dad prior his death. I had lasered some landmarks on the ROW and believed I had a good feel for range. Right at last shooting light, a spike buck, which I had seen and passed earlier in the season hoping the boy or the landowner would get a crack at him, came into view well down the ROW. I estimated the range at just over 250 yds, passed bamaboy grandad's .243, cranked up to 9x, and told him to hold 4 inches higher than normal. There was a pause as he waited for the deer to get broadside, then the shot. I was spotting through binos. The deer showed unmistakable signs of being hit, and exited the powerline to the right, very unsteady. "Lets get over there!" Of course, but, great woodsman that I am.....I had not brought a light ( or a knife I found out later) Kid reached into his fanny pack and produced a light. "I thought we might need it!" It seemed a LONG way over to the spot.....and no blood when we got there!! Day light was fading, fast. Within the 5-10 minutes that passed as we climbed down walked over we DID need the light. The first arc along the edge yielded nothing. Second arc, within the woodline, found some disturbed leaves, still no blood. Then those teenage eyes showed their superiority to fifty plus eyes. "What's that white spot?" It was the buck, 20 yds away. Hit absolutely perfect, in the pocket behind the near foreleg, and through the opposite shoulder to break same. It had gone 50 yds or so,... in good light we would have seen it earlier. Incredible that it had gone that far. Range 260 yds, no pacing or guessing, it'd been lasered earlier. Heck of a shot for a 14 yr old. Out ranges his Daddy's longest by a good 40 yds. He was ready, I'd seen him break too many clays at 100 yds w/ a .22, supported, and ring the gong at my buddy's 200 yd range w/ the .223. prone. But on his first antlered deer, that was tougher, and he did fine. I'm one proud Daddy as you can tell, wish Grandad could have seen it.

February 3, 2010, 09:07 AM	#3
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	wish Grandad could have seen it Oh, he did. Never fear... Congratulations to the young 'un- that's some good shootin'. Wish I could have gotten home one more time in Jan to take advantage of that long season, but it didn't work out this year. lpl __________________ Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order! Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

February 3, 2010, 11:11 AM	#5
To3T@g Member Join Date: January 10, 2010 Location: Auburn Alabama Posts: 65	WoW! great shot!!!! im sure ur proud as a peecock id be for sure! cant wait til my lil man gets his first buck. Mine is only 7yrs old,but he is great with his pellet gun! were down here in Auburn(WarEagle) and as is the case any where in bama its hard to find a 260yrd shot arround here. any way, like the member befor me stated"grandad saw it" and i know he was just as proud

February 3, 2010, 01:52 PM	#7
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	Excellent! __________________ NRA Member NC Hunter's Education Instructor PCCA Member (What's PCCA you ask? <- Check the link)

February 3, 2010, 07:13 PM	#9
SavageSniper Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2005 Location: Crawfordville, FL Posts: 494	Great story Bama, thx for sharing. Brought a smile to my face. __________________ This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights!

February 3, 2010, 06:39 AM	#2
rshanneck2002 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2008 Posts: 194	There aint nothing like killing your first buck,makes you very proud at age 14. Great shot buy the way! He get one big atta boy.

February 3, 2010, 10:33 AM	#4
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	Tell him "good job". I know what you're feeling. I have 3 daughters ,19, 17, 15. They all love to hunt. They all reload their own hunting shells and have all taken deer well past 200yds. Makes you feel all warm inside .

February 3, 2010, 01:38 PM	#6
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,424	Outstanding. Gave a 280 to my youngest (27) and he blasted some LA hogs and will come up next year for a deer hunt.

February 3, 2010, 06:39 PM	#8
James R. Burke Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: U.P. of Mich/Quinnesec Posts: 1,897	Congradulations. You will never forget your first buck. Now you can start looking for the big ones. Way to go again. Nice long shot, Dad must be prouud!

February 4, 2010, 08:07 AM	#10
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Congratulations Bama. Today your reaping the benefits of good quality time spent with your son in the past. Be proud and enjoy the moment. Betcha grandad is proud of both of you. Thanks for sharing.

February 4, 2010, 08:43 AM	#11
blackhawk45 Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2007 Location: Millersville Pa. Posts: 114	WHAT, no pixs of the boy and his first buck ? I just need to see his smile. my congrats to Father and Son.

February 4, 2010, 06:03 PM	#12
ChiefMuzz Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2009 Posts: 109	memories That reminds me of the first deer I shot. 275 yards with my .243 savage model 10. My grandfather pushed out a big stand of pines for me while my dad and I waited 400 yards away. Nothing came out by the time grandpap circled back around. He was standing behind me at my tree with my dad and I when a herd doe stepped out of the pines and started making their way in. I held off till the herd stopped 275 yards out. With my dad beside me and my grandpap behind me I dropped a nice doe right where she stood. It was a hunt neither of us would forget. 11 years and a dozen or so deer later I'm lucky to still be able to get out in the woods with both of them each fall. Last edited by ChiefMuzz; February 4, 2010 at 06:10 PM.

February 4, 2010, 06:31 PM	#13
Uncle Ben Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 400	Congrats. Great story, thanks for sharing. __________________ Lazy + Complacent = DISARMED *FIGHT to keep your guns & join the NRA. Contact your representatives about 2A issues at www.capwiz.com/nra/dbq/officials and to be kept up to date on the current issues visit www.nraila.org

February 4, 2010, 08:22 PM	#14
boltaction Member Join Date: December 26, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 18	Awesome, congrats.

February 5, 2010, 02:22 AM	#15
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	pics, working on it I've got some pics of course, but I'm such a dinosaur that I don't know how to post or attach them. Working on it.

February 5, 2010, 09:37 AM	#16
youp Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2005 Location: south of Canada, eh? Posts: 438	__________________ Use enough gun.

February 5, 2010, 08:52 PM	#17
pwillie Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 115	Great story! My sontook his first buck when he was in his thirties......I still put the blood on his face,and he grinned like a "Chessar Cat" __________________ "Happy to be here"

February 5, 2010, 10:07 PM	#18
BIGR Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2000 Location: Mountains Posts: 1,385	Good for him. So nice to hear about those youngsters having success on a hunt and at that yardage.