PA 9 point stolen
 

Well as all you PA guys know monday's opening day was anything but a nice day. The rained started around 9 andnever let up. Anyway, my morning was still a good one.
Around 8:45 my dad radios me on the 2-ways and says a deer is on its way up the hill. Two guys were shooting at it and literally running behind it in an effort to hit it. It was so foggy I couldnt see much further than 50 yards, but shortly after my dad says that a deer is on its way there it is. When I first saw it, it was running but it quickly stopped and turned my way and walked without worry. He walked to within 30 yards quartering to, I had been after this very deer since bow season and he was a 9 point 18 inch spread 4 inch brow buck.. Would score around 120.. So when I saw him coming riight at me i knew he was mine. The path he was walking though was going to make him quarter to and he would have been broadside at a mere 10 feet, so I decided the broadside wasnt going to happen so I took the 22 yard quartering to the left shot. I figured at that angle my shot placement should have been JUST after the shoulder. I wanted to miss the shoulder boneas to notrisk having deep enough penetration. So I stopped him in a clear shooting lane settled the crosshairs just a hair past his left shoulder and pulled the trigger. The deer shook with pain and took off ona run towards me, I reloaded and just as I thought the deer ran a mere 10 feet by my stand, and his left side had a 3 inch diameter entrance wound, so I figured he would be down in no time.
i got out of my tree and went after the deer. The blood had bubbles and lung in it and the blood trail was decent. Although after following the trail for about 80 yards I knew something wasnt right. I continured to follow the trail but the rain washed away the blood nearly as fast as it hit the ground. So i kept looking even after I lost all blood trails from the rain. The blood trail goes right behind this old guy a mere 10 yards. i ask if he saw it and he says that he hadnt. I loose the blood trail but he says he might have seen a tail up the hill. So i go up and look and comb, and nothing. Around 3pm, a friend on a 4wheeler sees me and says a HUGE 9 point was being drug out of this valley as we spoke. I told him it was my deer and I went down to look. By the time i arrived the guy had it in his truck and loaded up. The funny thing, it was the old guy who "had not seen my deer." I asked if he found it or shot it and he says he shot it, although I heard no shots over that way. So there lie my deer and their is nothing i can do.

This leaves me with one lasting question. My shot placement. After I think it over, I'm not concerned whether my shot would have killed the deer. i know my shot would have or did kill that deer, but the amount of running it did was overboard. So after thinking about it, I think with my .30-06 I had enough power to just forget missing the bone and just take the shot right through the left shoulder bone. (keep in mind the deer was quartering toward the left when walking towards me.)

So i think what i may have done wrong was placement. What is the proper shot for that deer in my situation, and if some sort of a diagram is needed to understand my shot I am sure I can make something up.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

I LIKE TO SHOOT A BUCK IN THE FRONT SHOLDER SO IT WILL BREAK HIM DOWN ..HE MIGHT RUN A LITTLE WAYS BUT NOT FAR ...

DD

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

DITTO!!!!!!

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

I agree with the shoulders

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

DD is right. I shot an 8 point through the lungs and it ran off (I got it, but it ran 30 or 40 yards in some thick stuff). A while later, I shot a doe in the shoulder and it dropped like a rock. No longer will I shoot for the lungs!

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

fingerz around that old guys neck......shoulve called the police and they could tell if his gun was fired and if he had residue on him....shot placement yes....some deer are tough..just like you , they have a strong will to live.....that still doesnt let the old guy off the meat hook

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

That stinks. I know that it happens, but it is hard to believe that someone needs/wants a deer that badly.[&o]


I wouldn't announce this as it is illegal.


Mitch

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Fingerz--How can you say it was stolen,when you never had it?
I know how you feel though,but the PA law says that whoever
downs the deer is the true owner of the beast..

I shot one a few years ago and seen it go down..When I got there
there was a hunter gutting it out...Oh well..He even told me he
but the killing shot into it..So,I said,nice deer and walked of..I was not going to hang around and help him drag it out....John

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

He cant run to far without any shoulders and an 06 will get you though the shoulders

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Well johnny I didnt sit there and ask the guy for the deer or anything I simply went down to verify it was the deer i shot. The thing is this, no shots were fired over the hill. So technically, it was my deer, and if it werent for him already having the deer packedinto the bed of his truck I'd have taken that deerr away from him in a heartbeat. It would be one thing if he shot and killed it, but when no shots are fired and their is a dear he claims is his, that just aint right.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

As much as I'm an ethical sportsmen I think laws like this are ridiculous and just another stupid decision from the PA. Game commission, so if they feel like tracking me down, then come get me, afterall I know how hungry pa game commission is with tickets sales decreasing year after year...

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

How far was the old guy from where you shot? if it was 100yds or less - I would have REALLY pressed him on it in front of everyone else. At least have made him feel true guilt everytime he looked at the rack.

You know:

When I saw you on the hill - and was tracking my deer - didn't you send me the oher way?

Are you denying that my deer trail was less than 20 yds past you?

Are you sure you shot? was it quartering away?


Just plain stinks if its true - sorry for all of us hunters.

FH

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Bust that shoulder!! Theres not enough meat on the front shoulder to cry over and it will surely shorten your tracking job. I usually shoot through both of them with the 7-08 every chance I get....so I know the 30-06 will handle it no sweat unless u are right on top of it using light bullets and you should still get thru one of them.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

not to change the subject but about two years ago i shot a doe about 80yards away and it droped and jumped back up and run 40 yards and jumped the fence.it run maybe 40 yards on the other side of the fence.i walk to the fence to to get my deer and there was a young and older guy about 100 yards in the feild walking straight to me.well the old guy cursed me and tryed to acuse me of killing it on his property and told me that i was not getting my deer and told me that if i steped on his property that he was going to get me for trespassing.well i walked back to the house(where we camp)and was telling my cousin about it.well he went and told his grampa and his grampa called the game warden.well the game warden showed up about 15 minutes later.so we walked down to the fence line and the two guy's were still there.well the old man told him that i shot it on his property.well the game warden looked at me and said where did you shoot him and told me to be honest.well i took him to where i shot it and he followed the blood from where i shot it to the fence and climbed over the fence and walked up to the deer.the game warden looked at me and said(come get your deer)hahaha boy i looked at the old guy the whole time and smiled 8-).it was eating the old guy up.hahaha now i hunt by his fence.game warden told me in the state of kentucky if you shoot an animal and it runs on someone else's propertyand they wont let you claim it give them a call.old mean man ;-(

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

9/10ths of the law is possesion, if he tagged it you arepretty much out regardless of who shoots it.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Hunt public land long enough will cure you of those lung shots with a rifle... Shoulder baby shoulder!!!!;)

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Break the shoulders, use a faster expanding round on deer inside 100 yds. I know guys who use fail safes at close range and deer roll right up!

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Too bad... S$#%%y situation...

I would have lost it... could have gotten ugly!

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

And this is why I quit gun hunting in PA... Now I live in IL,:D... ML season opens today... I get off work at noon:)

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Very strange story. Too bad there was not more you could do.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Sorry you lost your deer. But, I have to ask you about this:

I've never even seen a 3 inch diameter EXIT wound with an '06, let alone an entrance wound. My '06 typically has an entrance wound of about .308 inches.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

fingerz,

It sounds like you might not have found the deer anyway. I don't know that he can be faulted for not leaving it to rot in the field. There's always two sides to every story. Better luck next time.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

I shot Sierra Game kings out of my 7 Mag. They punch right through the shoulders from 20-250 yards. (I haven't shot a deer farther then that.) I did shot one right through the shoulders with a .308 at 320 yds and she dropped in her tracks. I always prefer the shoulder shot to the lungs. Or another good shot is wait for the shoulder to clear the heart and punch a bullet through there. They don’t go far with a shot through the heart.

As for that your situation, that really sucks. I had a guy shoot a turkey out from me one year, that stuff will piss you off every time. Break the shoulders and let the deer drop where it stands.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

I will agree with the others that breaking the shoulder will put the deer down quicker, but our aim may not always be dead on and if you shoot a bit in front of the shoulder the deer will surely run a good ways and maybe escape wounded altogether. Aiming right behind the shoulder gives one more room for error in my opinion and a fairly good hold will surely result in a dead deer although the deer may not drop instantly. I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to both aiming points and where one hunts may very well be the determining factor to help avoid scenarios like in the original post.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Your right about that..I have seen it happen in my area as well..That guy is what you would call a slob hunter...I suppose you could have fault it,but whats the since..Maybe the old guy needed it bad.Who knows..I am sorry if I up set you about it..

It does tend to piss you off when you might have only a day or two to hunt....I know of a guy that used to walk the woods looking for down deer and this guy never carried a rifle,shotgun, or spear..So what would you call this guy?

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

you are right and let me elaborate on what i meant.. alot of the story i left out due to just wondering about the correct shot in the situation was.. Their was alot of talk between me and the old guy and their was also a ton of shadiness, but i left that out of the story to get what i wanted from the post.. shot placement.. I like all of you guys opinions on the topic though dont get me wrong..

Now on the 3" diameter entrance wound let me clarify. When it came running by it had hair missing from its left side in about a 3 inch diameter.. I knew then as I do now that the actual entrance wound wasnt 3" but with all the hair missin and such a gaping wound i figured the deer would fall REAL quick, and at about 40 yards I was about to take another shot at him and he staggered so I figured he'd fall real soon so I held back from shooting again..

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

That is sad that people will do that. I had the same thing happen to me quitea few years ago, only it was with a really nice doe. I saw the blood trail go right past him and his family and there was blood and hair all over a barbed wire fence from her. I looked around this area and never saw her. Pretty soon, I walked back by the hunter and his family and all of a sudden the tailgate on his truck and camper door were both shut with some fresh blood on the ground. I knew that he had taken it, but what do you really do?? I commend you for not confronting him more. You never know what people will do when they have a gun in their hand.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

I would have shot the deer in the shoulder. Especially if it was a 30-06 I was using. That type of gun would have took out the shoulder and then the heart and lungs and that deer would not have gone far at all. Plus a deer can't run when you hit him the shoulder. I would have taken that deer back from the old guy anyway.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

A '06 will break a deer down shot through the shoulder at that far. I have dropped plenty of buck in their tracks with shoulder shots(itswhat i shoot for) out to 200 yds with a 308. My dad always taught me and my brother to shoot for the shoulders.

thats stupid the old man just took your deer. i would try to find some private land to hunt.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

It sounds like you came upon the old man shortly after shooting the deer. If he in fact took it, it should have been down somewhere in the vicinity. Did you look around? I would have. You followed blood up to within 10 yards of his stand, you have every right to look around.

I shot a deer quartering to much like you describe, and in fact I did have a 3" diameter entrance wound. I was using a .308, and the bullet hit the "tip" of the shoulder where the humerus meets the scapula. Anyway, the bullet tumbled and opened up a big hole in the lower rear rib cage. I recovered the deer but it wasn't pretty.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Just a few comments

Make a better shot next time, bust that shoulder.

Don't cheat and use radios. Boy it must have been nice to know when a deer was coming since you couldn't hear at all in that rain. Kind of fitting that you had it "stolen" since techincally it was an illegally harvest deer anyways.

But oh yes I forget, its that darn blasted PGC's fault for making rules in the first place.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Hey rybo if you dont like the post dont read it.. I didnt need to be alerted that a deer was on its way i'm always at full alert and I saw the thing as soon as it popped into sight.. just so happened my dad felt like being a nice guy and tellin me one was coming, but I did not need him to do so.. As I said before, dont like it, dont read it..

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

So I am supposed to be psychic and know what the thread says BEFORE I read it?

So breaking the law is being a nice guy?

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

If saying over the radio that a deer ran past my dad and went uphill is illegal then oh well. If thats the type of laws the game commission feels they need to make, they need to rethink their jobs. why not pay attention to the poaching fools and the other losers in the woods, rather than wasting time over some talk on radios.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

Rybo, so you don't load your weapon until exactly the minute the game department considers it legal shooting time? You unload exactly at the moment they want you to quit hunting? You wouldn't take a shot a few minutes before or after if that huge buck came by? If you tell me that you wouldn't I will not believe you for a minute. I have hunted long enough to know better here. I knew a guy once who bragged about doing everything by the book. Everyone was a poacher in his mind except himself. I saw him walking out of the woods one day a good 15 minutes to a half hour after legal shooting hours. A deer popped out of the woods and the guy practically pee'd on himself trying to get the gun up and began blasting away like there was no tomorrow!!

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

amen to that no one's perfect except me lol j/k

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

High in the front shoulder will usually drop them quick IME.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

i go for the heart but i hit the spine usealy but on accident.they drop and i finish em off real quick.

RE: PA 9 point stolen
 

[quote][and if it werent for him already having the deer packedinto the bed of his truck I'd have taken that deerr away from him in a heartbeat/quote]

Then you would have been the one with the stolen 9 point.


Why is everything always the Game Commissions fault? Ethical was maybe not a good choice of words. Ethics is having 'principals of conduct'. Meaning breaking game laws or any laws because you think they are stupid throws out the ethical statement.

And some here on this board would consider people who use radios to help in harvesting game losers so now who is the Game Commission to go after?

Sorry you lost the deer, but try to realize your looking and acting just like some of the stereotypes we're labled with.

RE: PA 9 point stolen