This is my first deer. I almost shot an Axis doe, but opted for the much larger Red hind instead. She's about 200lbs before field dressing (my guess). I took her with a Mossberg 100 ATR, .30-06 fitted with a Nikon ProStaff scope using a 165 grain Federal Vital Shok Nosler tip round. I made a beautiful neck shot at about 90 yards. The picture hides the exit wound (it's pretty nasty).

I can't wait to get the meat from the processor. I've never had red deer. I'm told it's second only to elk. yum yum.

Congratulations. Your first deer is always a trophy and your most memorable. One shot?

That's right. One shot. Neck shot and she dropped like a rock.

Congratulations! The taste of the meat will depend on the diet of the animal, the job of the field dressing, how the meat was cooled after the kill and the job of the processor. If you are ever interested in processing your own meat, the Kentucky Fish & Wildlife has a very good DVD that covers everything from field dressing, skinning, de-boning, cooling, cutting and wrapping.

Thanks for the info for the DVD. I'll go get one. We dressed it on the spot and got it to the processor in about an hour where we skinned it and hung it up in the after hours cooler. They will be dry aging it for 7 days (per my request) and it will be vacuum packed and shipped to me. They are supposed to be the best processor in the area.