Prior to today, my son had gone hunting six different times and never seen a deer. Today was his last chance for this season and he went even though the temperature was in the thirties.
Persistence paid off, this buck came from behind us, walked close to the side of the tent, and drank out of a creek 5 -7 yards right in front of us.
At this point my son was not ready to shoot because he got tickled (nervous?) and was covering his mouth trying not to laugh, but still made a couple of noises that the deer heard; thank God the deer didn't spook & run off.
Finally my son got himself together and when the deer turned broadside at 5 - 7 yards and began to walk away he shot.
The buck ran about 100 yards, but wasn't really too hard to find; the bullet had taken out one lung and the liver.
Dad and son were both very excited.
Rifle is a Windham SRC .223 with Bushnell TRS Red Dot.
Bullet was my handload, a 60 gr. Nosler Partition at just over 2,800 fps.
Why a .223 AR? The semiauto action dampens recoil and the adjustable stock can properly fit small stature shooters.