Well after a few issues I got my Striker in 444 Marlin sighted back in and took her out for her 1st hunt today. About 20 minutes before shoot hours closed this young guy was grazing in a corn field on the other side of the fence directly behind my blind. He walked out further to where I could possibly get a shot and he started acting spooked. After about another minute a doe busted out of the timber and ran right up to him, and trailing her were a couple more (I assume does as I never got to see them clearly due to a clump of bushes in the fence line) and he followed them right out back into the timber to the right of my blind about 250yds. Feeling that I had lost the chance at any of them I relaxed and settled back into my chair. After about 5 minutes I leaned back forward to get a better look to the SE and here comes this buck out of the timber headed right for me on the downwind side at a slow trot. He started to stop and then a move a few steps and then stop again. I ranged him off at 175 and decided to let him come closer. He made it another 15 yards and stopped cold just looking around. I ranged him again at 160 and then settled in behind the scope. He raised his nose high in the air, I think he was starting to pick up some fumes from my propane heater, and looked directly at me. I waited for what seemed liked 10 minutes (was probably only a minute at best) for him to turn and give me a broad side shot but he just stared. I decided to squeeze the trigger and had a good lock on chest. He was just slightly angled giving me a bit of his left side so I shifted just a bit towards the shoulder. Fired. He fell over, got up, trotted about 15 yards straight away with his tail down and fell over.
I gathered up my things and closed up the blind and got out. Walked around the back to my ATV just in time to see a doe standing right next to him. She turned, saw me and just wandered away like nothing was wrong. Upon dressing him out, I could see that the bullet entered just inside the left front shoulder passed through the vitals taking out the top of the heart and the back half of the lung, and exited about 1/2 way between the back of the ribs and the right rear hip with almost no damage to any of the meat. I am impressed with the power that this round displayed, especially from a 15" barreled handgun.
Funniest part was, after field dressing and loading him on the ATV I tagged him and road the 1/2 mile back to my truck to find 3 does grazing in the corn field not 10 yards off the front bumper of my truck. LOL.
Even though he is no trophy buck, he will taste good, and is a trophy to me as he is my first Striker Killed deer, and at 160yds, I am happy.
FWIW, The barrel was made by www.apachegunworks.com and the brake, bolt handle, and modified bolt head were built be me. The load was a 300gr Hornady XTP over 44.0gr of RL7 and crimped with a Lee Factory Crimp Die.
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