Nice buck got a haircut

[joncgee]

First time posting on the site. Ive enjoyed watching all the success and stories other guys have shared on this site the last couple of years. So thanks to all of you for keeping the hunter in me entertained on my days in while watching the kids. So this is my fifth year hunting deer with little success. Last year shot a doe in laguna right at dusk was worried about the shot location so i had her sleep on it.....returned the next day and guess what.....snow... looked all over couldn't find anything.. Later found what seemed to be her chewed up by coyotes 200 yrds away from where i shot her. This year i decided to give rifle hunting a try and quickly becoming obsessed with it. Hunting has sure gotten a lot easier so far. Still freakin tough but easier...So anyways.....This morning got to my spot before dark, settled in and watched some does feeding in a meadow about 700yrds away glassing constantly to see if a buck would emerge. After about 30 min they eventually disappeared. And right after they left guess what? The big boy emerged at about 400yrds and he was headed my way.. Looked to be a tall forky that I have been catching on my cams and spotted once a couple weeks ago. He disappeared before I could get a closer look at him but i knew where he was headed, right up a main draw that i was adjacent to. He blended in so perfectly i almost didn't see him approaching right under me. He came in right where I wanted him and it was all coming together. Ranged him at an even 200yrds on a steep downhill angle. Looked through the scope put crosshairs on his vitals and Bang saw the dirt fly just over his back. Quickly reloaded and found him in my scope he was still as a statue so i fired again and yet another miss right over his back. OK idiot!!! Now i was getting really anxious, one more try and adjusted for the shot aimed right under his belly this time..FIRED and in the recoil of my shot I totally lost him in my scope, (now out of ammo)I was searching for him through my glass to see if he was running away. NOTHING... MY thought instantly went to I GOT HIM. probably shot him in the spine and it dropped him out of my sight.. FINALLY after all my hard work I finally got him. (but that wasn't the case), after waiting some time i hiked down and looked for my buck but there was nothing. It was if i was shooting at a mirage. I sighted my gun in 1in high at 100yrds....shooting a 180grain 308. This has really got me bugged. Im going to be a mess the next couple of days till I can get on the range to get some practice in and see if theres something wrong with my gun or if its just me.. Man i should of had him.

 

[Muledeerhunter]

It happens.

 

[joncgee]

heres the buck

 

[longbowhunter2]

Hi Jon, are you sure you missed. Bucks can be tough.did you do search in a circle. He could of went 100 yards and the dropped. Look for tracks in which direction it could have gone. I have tracked deer for over 100 yards with no sign of blood. And found them dead.

 

[Kellendv]

Yeah without a spotter next to you calling the shot it can be really hard to say. I bet you got him. I would go back with some buddies and grid it out. Although I knew right where my buck expired because my partner was spotting, there was no blood trail.

 

[joncgee]

Hi Jon, are you sure you missed. Bucks can be tough.did you do search in a circle. He could of went 100 yards and the dropped. Look for tracks in which direction it could have gone. I have tracked deer for over 100 yards with no sign of blood. And found them dead.

Where i shot him i searched and searched got on hands and knees searching for anything. Looked for blood on the trails he could of taken. The area i shot at him in is steep and so thick it gets intense walking through. But man, your making me second guess myself. I would of thought with a 180g round there would be something to show for it.

 

[Cgruwell05]

You'll get him! Hopefully this rain washes out the scents.

 

[joncgee]

Ok im convinced im headed out again.

 

[longbowhunter2]

I have shot deer in the lungs and still went 100 or more yards. It make it tough when they head for the thick brush. Maybe some one here with a trained dog will help and PM you. Deer will try to go into where they feel safe, laydown and die. Any time you shoot one take thirty minute break or more. Then go and look. So you don't push it. Try not to disturb the fresh track. I like to mark the place with orange tape where I shoot from so I don't get confused where I was at. So if there is problem, I can re track the location. This is my advice because we all have gone through this.

 

[joncgee]

The dog is on his way. Thanks to chad. Thanks for the advice longbow

 

[longbowhunter2]

Good luck.

 

[stikbrandon]

Good luck

 

[Sigalert2012]

Keep us posted

 

[joncgee]

Well we couldnt find anything tonight. Special thanks to cgruwell05 for helping me out and bringing Winston and also everyone for encouraging me to give it another try. I can sleep tonight knowing i didnt waste a deer.

 

[ilovesprig]

Jon,

1st off, nothing goes to waste in the wild....Just a coyote, lion, bobcat, or something gets a free dinner.....Secondly, nobody that hunts a lot hasn't had something like this happen.....Our habitat is the worst.....A deer can go 25 yds into thick brush and you may not find him when there's no blood....Which is pretty common with rifles.

Hang in there.....And get back out there......2 cents

 

[xjon]

Sorry to hear the story.
You said you were shooting at a very steep downward angle. Approximate width of deer from shoulder to chest is around 18" broadside. Was the buck showing you the full view or was that slimmed down? Bullet drop gets less when you are shooting down but that should not need to be considered for a 200 yard shot with an 8" kill zone.

Where you shooting on sticks, on pack, on log? That usually comes into play with a long range shot but who knows. Im just bouncing scenarios in my head and thought of these potential errors.

To do real world verification of your shot, you could go back to the spot and place a target and see how you and your rifle shoots. If it shoots with in the kill zone, then you might conclude adrenaline.

Curious, do you have a variable power scope? What power was it on for the shot? I ask because, maybe you could have dialed it down to where you can still keep the target in view after recoil.

Keep at it and I wish you luck with the next.

 

[joncgee]

Very good points xjon. My scope i had left full power since shooting at range and had forgotten to dial it down. I was shooting off my pack that was leaning on a rock. Im thinking the misses where likely due to two major things adrenaline and inexperience shooting at steep angles in this case close to 45 degrees. I thought maybe it was due to shooting off my pack and the barrel could of had a little more jump than shooting prone. But ive shot that way at the range before with no problems. Im pretty sure i punched the trigger :/ which is most likely the cause of the misses. I think your idea of going later and doing some practice shots are a great idea for after the season. I think my plan is to hit the range,make sure everything is good. And for the rest of the season come down the hill a little more to try to close the distance for now. They use that draw everyday and i know there are plenty of deer down there. Hopefully the rain we got was enough to flush out our scent from yesterday. And thanks Steve for the encouraging words.

 

[Cgruwell05]

No problem Jon. He lives for another day. If he was there he would have been found. Dial in that rifle this week!

 

[longbowhunter2]

Very good points xjon. My scope i had left full power since shooting at range and had forgotten to dial it down. I was shooting off my pack that was leaning on a rock. Im thinking the misses where likely due to two major things adrenaline and inexperience shooting at steep angles in this case close to 45 degrees. I thought maybe it was due to shooting off my pack and the barrel could of had a little more jump than shooting prone. But ive shot that way at the range before with no problems. Im pretty sure i punched the trigger :/ which is most likely the cause of the misses. I think your idea of going later and doing some practice shots are a great idea for after the season. I think my plan is to hit the range,make sure everything is good. And for the rest of the season come down the hill a little more to try to close the distance for now. They use that draw everyday and i know there are plenty of deer down there. Hopefully the rain we got was enough to flush out our scent from yesterday. And thanks Steve for the encouraging words.

well now you know for sure about the deer, apologies if I caused you concern, but I wanted you to know for sure.

45 deg shot is tough. do you have range finder with a built in adjustment for shots like this. this way actual bullet drop can be calculated. horizontal vs direct line of sight. part of ballistics.
http://www.bestrangefinderreviewsguide.com/angle-compensating-rangefinders/
this will be my next purchase to, a dam good range finder. , 180 grain 308 has a rapid drop after 100 yards. check out the ballistics on the web. print it out and make an index card with the drops. than practice for actual results. go to BLM land and practice shooting down and up at targets with a know distance...... you will get a drift really quick of your rifle after that.

On my 243 it's good between 25-300 yards with out to much compensation, the hard part is getting actual correct distance. to the target.

 

[Bonejour]

That's tough but very ethical of you to stick it out, go back with a dog and try to locate the animal. Better luck next time. Sounds like you have a promising spot.


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