roa@davinci.acc.virginia.edu ("Robert O. Anderson Jr") (05/08/91)
>Tim Rigg writes:(stuff deleted) >.back to the story... A nice buck came walking rather quickly down the >trail. When he reached the scent. He stopped dead in his tracks >(perfect broadside angle to me), put his head down, and checked out >the scent. Any hunter could have easily shot the buck. Without the >scent, the buck would have kept walking and only presented a moving >shot. >However, I was NOT any hunter. It was my first season and buck fever >made me drastically rush the shot, and miss. I plan on using the same >scent on the same trail during bow season this fall. Hopefully I will >get another chance at that buck that has been laughing at me all >winter. Missing a broadside buck from 23 yards with a rifle is a VERY >humbling experience. It's been a time when I shook so bad trying to hold on a deer I couldn't shoot. I remember one time I lowered the gun, turned my head and took several deep breaths, raised the gun and just shook like a leaf. It was just two years ago I had an arrow rattling around in the sight window at full draw......on a yearling doe! If it didn't happen I probably wouldn't hunt.....naaaahhhh. I read a good story in one of the huntin' mags about the "Ice Moment" It's a good story about what happens when you see a deer(or other game). Bobby
levesque@wahoo.enet.dec.com (Mark Levesque) (05/11/91)
I started hunting (semi-seriously) two years ago. I had gotten my hunter safety certificate when I was 14 and had done some bird chasing but no deer hunting until the 1989 season. At the time I had a 20 gauge single shot shotgun in which I placed a slug. At some point during the middle of the season the 12 gauge Remington 11-87 semi-auto came in. Without having ever fired the gun, I took it hunting. (Oops! :-) The second or third time I had the gun with me, I was walking with my cousin along a small beaver pond next to a deserted primitive farm road in Wilton, NH. We decided to split up and meet at a predetermined spot where we had seen plenty of sign the weekend before. I was walking excruciatingly slowly about 20 yards from the water when I came upon a tiny finger of water from the main pond that crossed my path. It was frozen over, and I was trying to decide if it was safe to cross. I surveyed the surrounding area and decided it would be a real pain to go around, so I tested the ice with one foot. It seemed pretty solid. Put the other foot on the ice and SPALSH! I was through. I began to litter the air with obscenities. Suddenly something got my attention- some sounds from the woods. Running directly at me were 5 deer. Then everything got surreal, like when you're in a car that's about to have an accident and you can't do anything to stop it. A six pointer (the only buck) stopped about 20 feet away, directly across the ice. I pushed as hard as I could on the safety, but it wasn't budging. I looked down to see what was the matter, and noticed I was pushing on a part of the trigger gaurd that did not house the safety! Shit! I finally snapped off the safety, but by this time the buck's curiosity had been fulfilled and he was trucking again. I brought the gun up to my shoulder and followed the buck's prancing movements. I squeezed off a shot which went right above his shoulder. The resulting KAPOW! merely ignited a fire under the deers' behinds, and they became very scarce. My cousin also squeezed off a shot from his .35 remington, but he missed as well. That was it for deer my first year. Last year, my cousin and I went out on opening day, which was a Wednesday in NH. We returned to the same spot that we had seen the deer the previous year, and saw nothing all day. We hunted during all legal hunting light from dawn to dusk. It was pretty depressing. The following Sunday, we met at my cousin's house well before first light. We looked over some soils maps, and I pointed out a farm where we had seen some immense tracks the year before. "Let's try behind the farmhouse." We had already obtained permission. Just before 6 am, we pulled up to the field by the farmhouse and got ready. We discussed the plans; where we'd be hunting, where we'd meet, etc. It had rained very hard the day before, and everything was soggy. The front had passed through during the night, and it was clear and windy. I figured I'd have to sneak up on a deer bedding, given the fact that the wind made it virtually impossible to hear anyone or anything approaching. The three of us split up when we entered the woods. I took the northeasterly route, Randy went east, and my cousin Reggie went southeast. I came upon some coyote scat, and bent over to examine it. I caught something out of the corner of my eye. DEER! It was a young buck, with antlers about a foot long. I decided immediately I'd take him. I immediately put the safety off ( learning from the previous year's mistake) and waited for the buck to move into a spot where I could get an open shot. When his head went behind a tree, I put the gun to my shoulder. He walked so frigging slowly I began to feel the adrenaline rush and started shaking. The gun was jumping around like mad, and I knew if I waited much longer I wouldn't be able to shoot. I put the sights right behind his shoulder and pulled the trigger. BOOM! He jumped up as if electrified, then keeled over in a shaking heap. I approached him, attempting to ascertain where the bullet struck him. I looked where I aimed and saw nothing. I walked completely around the deer, and couldn't find a scratch on him. I knew I didn't scare him down. :-) Finally I saw a little tuft of fur where I had been aiming. No mercy shot needed. He was a 5 pointer (the 6th point was only 3/4" long). Kind of a pretty little rack. My cousin and my buddy came strolling around the corner, looking for the deer. I just pointed down. And smiled the smile of a first time successful big game hunter. Of course, dressing him out was another story... :-) The Doctah Mark Levesque Digital Equipment Corporation Littleton, Massachusetts levesque@wahoo.enet.dec.com