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Old November 12, 2011, 05:19 PM   #1
WWWJD
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Got my first deer today (Sweet Baby Jesus!!)

This fella is by no means a monster, but by God, he might as well been 20' tall, weighed 1000 lbs and aiming to kill me. (What a rush!!) I shot him at 7:30 this morning, have already gutted, skinned deboned and put on ice. Tomorrow I'll get to trimming and packaging.



I'm 34 years old; grew up on a farm (mom's family), but never shot anything bigger than an angry momma Raccoon. Dad was NOT a sportsman by any stretch of the imagination. This spring, the bug bit me to get a rifle, get decent with it, and maybe go back on the farm and pretend to be a hunter.

This dude popped over the hill in an adjacent field, and came my way down a fence & creek bed. I was about 100 yards back in a perpendicular fence row, and just about pooped myself when I saw him. I'd been going back real early in the morning before sun up and watching, as well as into dark in the evenings. I never saw this one!!



He was at about 200 yards when I pulled the rifle to my shoulder and walking towards me. He saw me move in the brush, and went to a fast trot. (I believe I said "aw fudge!" but the other one) I wasn't about to shoot at him moving that fast, so I did the only thing I knew to do; I made a loud combination tom turkey / cat meow / dog bark / ayooooga / crow noise. He amazingly stopped to look. 1 second later I drilled em' just inside of 120 yards when he was quartering towards me. I'm not sure where he was headed originally, but he's gonna be really late.



Remington 700 .308 shooting Federal's 150gr Nosler Ballistic tip; I cut through the breast bone to discover that both his lungs and upper part of the heart / aorta were mush (I poured out the lungs). He was dropped and dead in 2 seconds; didn't get another step off. This is a huge relief; my fear was that being the noob that I am, I'd make a terrible shot and have to go on safari to find my first. 10 minutes later, a little 4 pointer followed his same path, but turned and ran when he saw me wrestling this guy to the truck.

I don't know how to describe the feeling, other than to say that all of you remember how you felt when you got your first.. it's like that. 10 hours later and I'm still charged up.

After I got him gutted and draining, I was taking a break behind the Jeep. Around the corner of the Jeep, I see a good sized Doe stop halfway across the creek, staring right at me. I was in disbelief.. started getting twitchy again. Moved slowly to the Jeep to get my rifle and get a shot off, but she was spooked and ran back up the hill. I ALMOST.. filled my first permit limit within a two hour stretch! Crazy. I didn't expect to see anything today.

Dang.



Map centered on where he fell: Google Maps
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Last edited by WWWJD; November 12, 2011 at 07:32 PM.
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Old November 12, 2011, 05:33 PM   #2
Shotgun693
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That's a nice deer, first one or not. I hope you get many more.
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Old November 12, 2011, 06:42 PM   #3
mete
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Excellent start ! And you'll feel great with every meal !
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Old November 12, 2011, 06:44 PM   #4
Daryl
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Nice buck!

Congrat's.

Daryl
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:04 PM   #5
WWWJD
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Oh, I'm hooked now fo sho!! Gotta go back and get that Doe! Thanks guys!
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:09 PM   #6
Dr. Strangelove
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Nice deer!
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:20 PM   #7
acohoon
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Way to go!!!

I'm going home to Kentucky to hunt starting Friday. If one that size comes at me he will hopefully end up on the wall. You should be really proud that's a trophy anywhere you go!!!
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:27 PM   #8
huntinaz
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Alright! That first one is special. Congrats!
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:40 PM   #9
camper4lyfe
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That's an interesting deer. Big rack, but relatively small body.
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Old November 12, 2011, 07:59 PM   #10
Indi
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Nice Buck, good job
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Old November 12, 2011, 08:14 PM   #11
bswiv
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""my fear was that being the noob that I am, I'd make a terrible shot and have to go on safari to find""

What you said there............

If it's any consolation after 40 years of hunting that's still the big concern, wounding one.

Great deer by our standards here in FL............

And we will be needing a report on how good the backstrap turns out. With a picture!
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Old November 12, 2011, 08:16 PM   #12
brmfan
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Great job!!
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Old November 12, 2011, 08:42 PM   #13
tahunua001
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what do you mean that's not a monster? we're lucky if we get a whitetail with a rack like that. ours have more meat on 'em though

congrats on your first dear. my first buck was a 5x6 that was just a little smaller than that.
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Old November 12, 2011, 08:48 PM   #14
egor20
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Congratulations on joining the club.

Nice Buck and Nice Rifle.
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Old November 12, 2011, 09:23 PM   #15
dahermit
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The beams do not look very heavy, but that is one respectable 10 pointer!
Congrats on your first deer...a lot bigger than the first one I got.
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Old November 12, 2011, 10:49 PM   #16
shortwave
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Very happy for ya, WWWJD.

Since its your first, you ought to think about a mount or at least cut/skin the skull plate for hanging on the wall.
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Old November 13, 2011, 12:06 AM   #17
warbirdlover
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Good deer. Congrats. Wish you many more now that you're "hooked"...
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Old November 13, 2011, 02:21 AM   #18
Buzzcook
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Yummy
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Old November 13, 2011, 10:11 AM   #19
sc outdoorsman
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Nice buck.
Glad to have another hunter join us. I hope that excitement, the thrill, doesn't leave you.
Now all you need is some bacon and a hot grill, some back straps over the coals sure does sound good about now. I am getting hungry thinking about it.
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Old November 13, 2011, 12:09 PM   #20
lawnboy
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Congratulations!

Thanks for the thread too. I used it to point out to my wife that I wasn't alone or absolutely crazy to basically start hunting at 40 something yrs old.

I'm jealous. I didn't get one this year. Now I really can't wait till next year.
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Old November 13, 2011, 01:54 PM   #21
upstate81
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Your very lucky to have killed such a nice deer for your first one. Been hunting for years and haven't killed one with that big a rack anyways. Good luck and by the way your addicted now
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Old November 13, 2011, 08:55 PM   #22
WWWJD
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Thank you guys! We found the bullet this morning, embedded in the hyde on the exit side; almost went all the way through. From the looks of it, it smashed into a rib or at least grazed one (though I didn't notice any cracked ribs.. oh well, it worked.) Guess I was expecting more mushroom, and less shredding.



We spent a good deal of today processing this buck. So far, we've got two really nice 3 lb rump roasts, a ton of little butterfly steaks from the back straps, plus some thick cut ones, 6 more good size roasts for pot roast or steaks, about 10 lbs of burger, about 10 lbs of stew meat, the top rounds were huge, so I'm not sure if I'm gonna leave those alone or go for steaks. We haven't touched the shoulders or rib meat yet!! That'll all be done tomorrow. Right now, the freezer's looking pretty happy.


One of my roasts, just shy of 3 lbs.


First 5 lbs of burger.

We took a break, and made some burgers!! A little Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb mixed in, and it was a good evening.

This deer hunting thing is ridiculous.
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Last edited by WWWJD; November 13, 2011 at 09:05 PM.
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Old November 13, 2011, 08:59 PM   #23
eviltravis
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Congratulations! Your having more luck than I have this year. I hope you bag many more.
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Old November 13, 2011, 09:16 PM   #24
Discern
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If you are uncertain of the cuts you want, why not package and freeze them as roasts now? You can always thaw a roast and before cooking cut it into steaks - or cut a few steaks and do the rest as a roast. It is easier and less work to turn a roast into steaks vs. turning steaks into a roast. Personally, I like leaving them as roasts now as you have more options with the cuts of meat later. I also prefer fewest cuts into meat that is going to be frozen. Never had a problem with freezer burn, but the more cuts you have the greater the potential for meat damage if it does occur.

FWIW, I leave frozen meat packaged and put in a pan (to contain any blood) in the fridge to thaw. This works well for me.

Again, congratulations on your nice buck!
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Old November 13, 2011, 09:19 PM   #25
52 Monster Stack
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Congrats on your trophy.I to am going to try deer hunting next year.There was a nice doe in my back yard yesterday.
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