Well heres my rundown of opening day festivities. This day I prefer to be on the most crowded public ground. Not really a deer hunt but a freaky pinball game. Went shooting earlier to try and scare any deer to a choice area. Later went there. Saw 5 blazing orange guys staring not far apart. Amazing took a shot on a small rack buck with almost no dayight, around 50 yds through brush with good old Mauser. By all appearance It went home the thing buckled and did a flip and turned. Steep brush terrain and dark kept me from chase. No other shots heard, just silence. What a botch of opening day but still fun.
Now any skills/advantages to crowded areas with neurotic spooked game? Please share the opening day mayhem tales!
No mayhem here, I was expecting to see some really good Bucks on opening day due to the excellent signs and I didn't even see a Doe !!! That was Saturday.
I don't hunt on Sunday.
Monday came and I didn't get to the woods until a we bit after day light.
I parked my 4 wheeler about 200yards from where I was going to hunt and quietly walked to where I was going to hunt and spotted a deer.
As it drew nearer I look through my scope and see he's an 8 point, he's headed straight to me.
At about 25 yards away I shot him where his neck is attached to his breast.
All He!! then broke loose so I aim for his neck and the Buck is still trying to get up.
I fire again and he gets up !!! Once up on his feet I fire my last round as the poor Buck runs off crippled.
I hurry back to my 4 wheeler and jump on it and head back thinking the Buck would be down some where
I park and I walk over to where he went down and see about 1/4 cup of thick dark blood.
I hear my step Father shoot off in the distance so I know he'll be a while comeing so off I go looking for the Deer as I zigzag I can't find anyblood and my heart is sinking as I'm feeling sorry for this Deer.
My Step Father pulls up around 9:AM with a nice 6 pt. in tow and asks what you shoot and I told him what happened.
We both stopped looking for the Deer at 1:40 PM something that afternoon.
We then processed his Deer.
I've only seen a host of Doe's since.
Thats the 2nd Deer I've ever lost in my life time of hunting and I'm still hurting over it...A.H
Last edited by ArkansasHunter; 11-18-2007 at 02:25 PM.
I got invited to a ranch in Abilene, TX opening weekend for rifle. No stands, no feeders, just find d place to sit and wait. I thought I found the perfect spot and created a ground blind area. The season did not start until Saturday morning so Friday night I just sat and looked to see if there were any deer. I saw a single buck that night and felt good about my choice.
Saw nothing all day Saturday once the season opened... smart deer coming out Friday night to eat. I moved locations for Sunday morning and got a 6pt right after sunrise. It felt good to get a deer that weekend by hiding, waiting and just praying something came by. TX is the land of blinds and feeders so this was a pretty fun shot.
Just finished an even crazier weekend - will start a thread later when the video is ready... yes, video.
two-70 are you hunting on public land ? I guess I'm lucky my Mother and her sisters have there parents land.
I inherited my mothers land and there was land I leased around it.
It's all legaly posted so you don't see anyone on it...A.H
rtch77, i'll ask the same as trap freak did, you shot a deer, saw it react to the hit and did not go after it? if i read that right, you are a slob hunter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you pull the trigger, it is 100% your responsibility to do everything in your power to recover that animal! please quit hunting!
My opening day was last Saturday, no success to report. However, a friend I went hunting with killed a 6 point earlier today. Had a real nasty growth on it's face.
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Well heres my rundown of opening day festivities. This day I prefer to be on the most crowded public ground. Not really a deer hunt but a freaky pinball game. Went shooting earlier to try and scare any deer to a choice area. Later went there. Saw 5 blazing orange guys staring not far apart. Amazing took a shot on a small rack buck with almost no dayight, around 50 yds through brush with good old Mauser. By all appearance It went home the thing buckled and did a flip and turned. Steep brush terrain and dark kept me from chase. No other shots heard, just silence. What a botch of opening day but still fun.
Now any skills/advantages to crowded areas with neurotic spooked game? Please share the opening day mayhem tales!
This is what a great sport has turned into.How sad for most and sickening for me.
That is wanton/willful waste of game...In Alaska ,that is worse than Murder. People that don't harvest the Game they shoot for whatever reason should learn NOT to shoot, or to carry a **** Flashlight and some flagging tape. You should have your hunting license Revoked...Forever.
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harsh , harsh I already got chewed out by some. Now it was almost dark and steep brush and rocks/thorns downhill. I waited for someone else to shoot or sounds to hear but decided not to inch my way through thickets thick as a wall with no light, then bust my ass. I know this blows. Last year I ran into 2 similar cases and aimed but did not shoot to be a sport.. Somehow bucks here like wondering near dark, on the ridge then fly down bad terrain at danger.
with your ethics, you dont belong in the woods hunting with good sportsman. you pulled the trigger, saw the hit, and didnt do everything you could to try and recover the animal. you sir are a slob (and i am being as nice as possible)! lots of people track deer in the dark, and since you are unwilling to do so, you should HAVE NEVER PULLED THE TRIGGER!
A couple years back, I had to wade into a pond with a skim of ice on it, in my pants, to recover a deer. It wasn't fun, but it was my duty. To me, it is not even comprehendable to leave a game animal without a full search.
I hope someone else found that deer and made use of it.
I have gone through some extra ordinary lenghts to recover. Including this year helping my nephew drag a deer up a steep hill an hour, well into the dark. I, as most of us probably, have passed on many shots because of unlikleyhood of being able to get to where the game was or the lateness of the hour. Part of being a sportsman is knowing your limitations and predicting the game. where I live you broke a law, what is worse is you broke the hunter code of ethics. I'm glad I didnt have to witness that. Sadly, due to game laws no one else would probably dare salvage your waste. NOw you will probably go kill another and next year you will be wandering around camplaining about there not being any deer. How many others like you do you think are out there?
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Last edited by Idaho Dave; 11-20-2007 at 12:12 PM.
