Blackpowdersmoke

My wife is taking a few days off next week for the early ML (antlerless only) season which starts this Saturday. She told me Sunday afternoon that she wanted to shoot her .54 Perc. Hawken a few times prior to the season but we both had irons in the fire so we waited until I came home from work today. I got home a little after six and hustled around to gather up the necessary accoutrements and put up a target. After wiping out the bore with a few alcohol patches I walked out onto the back deck to snap a couple caps off prior to loading. There was a big doe feeding on the back yard about 50 yds. from the deck and I figured "oh well" I don't have time to wait her out so I snapped off a cap. She raised her head and looked but didn't seem too concerned. I placed a second cap on while she watched and held it over the deck rail so I could see if the muzzle blast moved the grass when I squeezed the trigger to make sure all was clear and ready to load. She then turned and slowly trotted off the yard into the neighbor's cornfield. I wiped the bore out, loaded the gun and my wife proceeded to settle down onto the sandbags for a 40 yd. shot at the target. Just as she got settled in for a shot, out comes 4 more deer, Mama with two young ones and another about 1-1/2 yr. old (probably Mama's from last year still tagging along). We gave them about 5 minutes to feed and wander around on the yard and then finally I shooed them off because the younger two kept wanting to wander back behind our line of fire. With patched .530 RB's and 70 gr. of Pyro RS, my wife placed two shots about 1" apart at 1:00 & 2:00 just outside the bullseye so we called it good enough. Makes you wonder how some deer manage to live as long as they do.

BPS

Semisane

Neat story BPS. Good luck to the lady on her hunt Saturday. Nothing better than a nice fat doe.

cayugad

I remember once we were on a public range (25 years ago) and all of a sudden the range master was blowing his whistle like crazy, and so we all stopped doing what we were about to do and paid attention. And then we watched a doe and two older fawns cross the backside of the firing line out about 150 yards. Of course the comments and jokes started, but it goes to show you what deer can get used to.

I have shot on my range, but the gun away and looked out the window and saw deer in the back yard already. So you'd think that the gun fire would have scared them out of the area, but I think I have trained mine and they know that I am not shooting at them.

It sounds like your wife is all set to shoot her buck.

gregrn43

Good story, My wife is taking vacation with me in two weeks for the opener of our early ml season. I cant wait

Blackpowdersmoke

Dave,

I hope she doesn't...our early ML season is anterless only.

BPS

OLDBOB

Great story. Hope they come out when she's hunting.

bronko22000

Hey BPS - Good luck to you and your wife. Show pics. I may be taking my grandson out if I can get him out shooting the Knight on Thursday.

Blackpowdersmoke

Sorry Bronko...no pics yet. The Mrs. has had deer in front of her two of the three times she's been out now but it's been "family" groups of Mamas and younguns and she can't bring herself to squeeze the trigger. I told her before season opened to take a deer if she wanted to because I probably won't get much time to hunt. She keeps hoping a lone doe will come out that doesn't have young ones tagging along. She doesn't have a problem with killing a deer, she's just waiting for a lone doe to present itself. I think she will probably end up empty handed.

BPS

Semisane

You might suggest she read the two articles linked below.

Here is the pertinent part from the second article.

http://www.buckmanager.com/2008/12/1...in-the-season/

http://www.buckmanager.com/2008/12/1...es-with-fawns/

There's another consideration. It there a button buck in that family? Do you want that buck to stay in your area?

Typically, before a button buck is a year old his mother will chase him out of the area. There's a lot of research that suggests a young buck chased out by his mother will travel several miles before settling into a new home range. But if the doe is harvested her buck fawn usually does not disperse when he’s a yearling.

Blackpowdersmoke

Semi,

She must have read it while I wasn't looking. Here's the results from her hunt last evening (last day of early ML season)....




She made a perfect double lung shot at approx. 60 yards. I was in the house doing homework while she was hunting and I kept checking to see if any deer were coming out every ten min. or so from about 6:00 on. Around 6:30 I looked out and saw a lone doe standing on our back field. Just as I thought to myself "here's your chance", I heard her .54 bark and the deer turned and ran back into the brush lot. I could tell it was hit because it's legs were giving out as it ran. We found her deer piled up about 40 yards back in from where it came out.

BPS