Well earned first deer

[Old Longhair]

Love stalking my prey.
I hunt with a .58 inline.
Shooting 45/300 grain xtps homemade sabot's.
I prefer a clean near instant kill.
Never had one get over 50 ft.
Handgun hunting I prefer headshots. Instant Off.
I despise bad bow hunters
We've harvested two with arrows stuck in them
Neighbors said the one had been walking around for weeks with the arrowhead sticking out of its chest.
So infected we just buried it.
Thankfully put the big buck out of it's misery.

This was the Last deer I harvested with a slug gun. He ran maybe a 100 yards.
I had fallen asleep in the snow up against a tree.
Less than 35 ft away. He snapped a twig waking me up. Scope was worthless.
Had to sight looking down the side of the barrel.
Sad I took him in his prime.
Thought he was older.
Could have breed a few more like him.

This is the last one I took. Spined him with a .44, and his feet came up quicker than he fell down. Never even twitched after he hit the ground.

 

[Odanscoils]

This is the last one I took. Spined him with a .44, and his feet came up quicker than he fell down. Never even twitched after he hit the ground.

View attachment 22923

Nice one. Love how beautiful they are.
Majestic animals.
I hunt to fill the freezer.
Never did a mount. Though I've never had the good fortune to harvest a beautiful deer like that.
Everyone said I Must mount him.
Darn taxidermist kept him in his freezer for almost a year. Trying to get me to sell him. VERY frustrating. He actually shrunk a bit from that.
240lbs dressed. Filled an 8' bed in my truck with his head hanging over the tailgate. Gotta a pic somewhere.
Biggest deer I've ever seen.
Maybe my last.
Until my grandson is big enough to drag them out.
My injuries prevent me hunting big game anymore.

 

[Old Longhair]

After losing my hunting partner a little over 4 years ago to a heart attack, I'm not as motivated to hunt anymore. I've pretty much decided that if it isn't big enough to grace my wall, I'm not going to shoot it. I've killed a lifetime's number of them, and the work really starts when the hammer falls, so it's going to have to be worth the effort.