T Bone
Well-known member
So there's a friend from church that wants to give hunting a try. Earlier this summer he applied for a Black Hills buck tag and was successful. This area we can literally hunt minutes away from my house.
I give him a list of stuff to put together in a pack and before season we go out and get familiar with my Grandfather's old Remington 721 30-06. The rifle is old, well used by 3 generations, the bore is getting dark around the throat but it still shoots well and it is charmed for luck. He's not familiar with firearms but he learns quick and is able to shoot some decent groups with it.
He has his sights set on a 2 point or better buck. I think no problem, we'll have that order filled in an hour or two. This area is lousy thick with deer.
I take him out on the first outing and we see deer, but no shot.
2nd outing, we see one buck but he's running full tilt at 200 yards and I tell him to pass.
3rd outing was yesterday, the rut is in full swing and there's snow on the ground. I glass up a distant group of 5 deer with a very nice looking buck chasing does around. We plan the stalk and it works perfectly. We come over the rise and there he is at 125 yards. Rosses chambers a round, sits to get steady and I'm looking through my binos waiting for the shot.......silence......tick tock..... The buck remains frozen looking at us.
"Ross, you need to shoot", I whisper.
"I can't get steady" he replies.
I notice he still has his thick ski gloves on...."Take off your gloves."
He shucks them quickly, meanwhile the buck politely waits.
OK, Ross steadies the rifle again and again I tell him urgently. "shoot!"
tick.....tock......
The rifle cracks followed by the thwack of the bullet.
The deer kicks and runs over the hill. Looked like a solid hit through my binos.
Ross is shaking like a leaf with a huge smile on his face. "Did I miss?" I reassure him that the deer is dead and the shot was good. He was thinking animals fall dead on the spot or burst into flames when shot with a rifle.
We go pick up the tracks and find lots of blood. 100 yards later the buck is piled up dead.
Super buck for the Black Hills area. Nice wide 4x5 with a great main beam. Excellent 1st buck. He's going to have a euro-mount done. Hopefully hunting will stick.
I give him a list of stuff to put together in a pack and before season we go out and get familiar with my Grandfather's old Remington 721 30-06. The rifle is old, well used by 3 generations, the bore is getting dark around the throat but it still shoots well and it is charmed for luck. He's not familiar with firearms but he learns quick and is able to shoot some decent groups with it.
He has his sights set on a 2 point or better buck. I think no problem, we'll have that order filled in an hour or two. This area is lousy thick with deer.
I take him out on the first outing and we see deer, but no shot.
2nd outing, we see one buck but he's running full tilt at 200 yards and I tell him to pass.
3rd outing was yesterday, the rut is in full swing and there's snow on the ground. I glass up a distant group of 5 deer with a very nice looking buck chasing does around. We plan the stalk and it works perfectly. We come over the rise and there he is at 125 yards. Rosses chambers a round, sits to get steady and I'm looking through my binos waiting for the shot.......silence......tick tock..... The buck remains frozen looking at us.
"Ross, you need to shoot", I whisper.
"I can't get steady" he replies.
I notice he still has his thick ski gloves on...."Take off your gloves."
He shucks them quickly, meanwhile the buck politely waits.
OK, Ross steadies the rifle again and again I tell him urgently. "shoot!"
tick.....tock......
The rifle cracks followed by the thwack of the bullet.
The deer kicks and runs over the hill. Looked like a solid hit through my binos.
Ross is shaking like a leaf with a huge smile on his face. "Did I miss?" I reassure him that the deer is dead and the shot was good. He was thinking animals fall dead on the spot or burst into flames when shot with a rifle.
We go pick up the tracks and find lots of blood. 100 yards later the buck is piled up dead.
Super buck for the Black Hills area. Nice wide 4x5 with a great main beam. Excellent 1st buck. He's going to have a euro-mount done. Hopefully hunting will stick.
