Mike Islander
WKR
Sat in a stand last night for our small Eastern white-tail. 6.5 CM Hornady ELDM (yep, "M" is all I had). Little doe appeared right at sunset, 165 yards out. Mostly broadside with a slight quartering toward shot. Dropped where she stood. Destroyed the heart; it literally exploded. Lungs of course too. Doe dropped flat and the only movement was a couple wags of her tail. Tiny entry wound and 1.5" exit wound.
My bro-in-law was with me. He took vacation from his insane paramedic job to spend the night at the club to hunt. Doe was small and we need meat, so this morning I was looking for more. Five minutes into the sit, just after dawn (checking my text, it was exactly sunrise), a nice doe walked across the power line I was hunting on. "Meh, meh!" Nope, she kept going. Thought about sending a note to my BOL that I saw deer, but thought I better keep my mind in the game. Looked up and another doe was crossing. "MEH!!!" She stopped broadside at 177 yards. Destroyed the lungs and just barely nicked her heart. Tracked her nice blood trail about 30 yards into our monstrously thick swampy woods, then did two short semi-circles. This was first light, so I had to use my headlamp to see the blood. Looked to the right and there she was, about 10 yards perpendicular to the straight trail of blood I had followed.
So, I have to say I'm happy with the rifle and the round. As you probably know, most of our Fieldcrafts shoot 0.5 MOA or better.
Easy Peasy Shot in This Field The First Night
This Morning's View. Doe was about 90 yards past the power pole. Not much time to get off a shot as they cross the cleared lane.
This morning's result. 47 pounds of butchered meat! About average for my little island. After paying $150 for processing my last deer I swore "Never again". Skinned and quartered her this morning at the club, then cleaned everything up a bit at noon when I got her to my office. Freezers are full.
I heart-U. Mostly intact, so this will make a good lunch later this week.
All this work and still no breakfast. We have to fix that.
Lunch on the hot plate.
FINALLY some food at 2 PM. Mmmm. Last deer was 2019 (COVID, travel, etc.), so you can imagine how good this tasted.
Overall a really fantastic two days.
My bro-in-law was with me. He took vacation from his insane paramedic job to spend the night at the club to hunt. Doe was small and we need meat, so this morning I was looking for more. Five minutes into the sit, just after dawn (checking my text, it was exactly sunrise), a nice doe walked across the power line I was hunting on. "Meh, meh!" Nope, she kept going. Thought about sending a note to my BOL that I saw deer, but thought I better keep my mind in the game. Looked up and another doe was crossing. "MEH!!!" She stopped broadside at 177 yards. Destroyed the lungs and just barely nicked her heart. Tracked her nice blood trail about 30 yards into our monstrously thick swampy woods, then did two short semi-circles. This was first light, so I had to use my headlamp to see the blood. Looked to the right and there she was, about 10 yards perpendicular to the straight trail of blood I had followed.
So, I have to say I'm happy with the rifle and the round. As you probably know, most of our Fieldcrafts shoot 0.5 MOA or better.
Easy Peasy Shot in This Field The First Night
This Morning's View. Doe was about 90 yards past the power pole. Not much time to get off a shot as they cross the cleared lane.
This morning's result. 47 pounds of butchered meat! About average for my little island. After paying $150 for processing my last deer I swore "Never again". Skinned and quartered her this morning at the club, then cleaned everything up a bit at noon when I got her to my office. Freezers are full.
I heart-U. Mostly intact, so this will make a good lunch later this week.
All this work and still no breakfast. We have to fix that.
Lunch on the hot plate.
FINALLY some food at 2 PM. Mmmm. Last deer was 2019 (COVID, travel, etc.), so you can imagine how good this tasted.
Overall a really fantastic two days.
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