Here is a sika deer I shot a few weeks ago with my 270. These little guys are the reason I got a muzzleloader. Maryland muzzleoader season runs through their rut. Next year I'm going after them archery then muzzleloader and then rifle.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc35/brad-hendrickson/sikadown.jpg
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...sikadeer-1.jpg

Nice deer congrats. Where did you kill it at?

Nice deer Bowfisherman. Didn't know they had skiasrunning around Maryland. I found a good article on them from the Maryland DNR http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/sikadeer.asp .

thanks. It was some public land in dorchester county.

I wasn't aware that a rifle ( other than a M/L ) could be used on the Eastern Shore. Is it in just certain counties?

yeah

They appear smaller then a whitetail. What does a deer like that weigh, and are they good to eat? I figure who better to ask then the source...

yeah their real small. I carried it out of the marsh on my shoulders. That one was maybe 40-50 lbs. It was a button buck. A hind (female) averages about the same weight. A big stag can be 80 lbs or more. They are great eating. Better than whitetail in my opinion.

thanks for the information.. that's pretty cool. Congratulations on that.