I've been intending for several weeks to get up to my son, Sam's place to thin the herd a little but with one thing and another we ran the clock down to the final weekend of the extended anterless-only season. We've had several days, including one earlier this week that were picture perfect Texas hunting weather - clear blue skies, upper 60s during the day dropping fast at dusk to 30 degrees overnight - but we had to settle on a clear, not too windy, 40 degree day. Aside from being a little chilly in the stand, it really couldn't have been better and that cold is much better for getting one on the ground and not having to worry about any deterioration while waiting for another to show up. :)
Since we planned on an evening-only hunt, I showed up about 2 in the afternoon, ready to hit the stand. I had decided to "break in" my 6.8 SPC Contender rig. I've only shot it at the range and was eager to see how the 110 grain V-Max Hornady factory ammo stacked up IRL, so to speak. I've got handloads with that bullet that shoot marginally more accurately but the factory stuff has been under an inch consistently and has better velocity for a no-brainer, no hold-over 200+ yard range. We got a few things sorted and finally headed toward the stand on foot a little after 3:00. The walk isn't far down a gravel road that winds through a wooded low-water crossing before skirting the open field where the feeder is. I knew that we'd have a look at the feeder from the end of the pasture before we got to the stand and as a matter of habit, I had a round chambered and ready to go. I've always appreciated and taken advantage of the Contender's ability to carry a loaded chamber safely and cock the hammer with no wasted motion while coming up for a shot. As soon as we cleared the crossing and approached the edge of the clearing, I saw that several deer were near the feeder milling about. Fortunately for us it seemed to be a group of all does so we didn't have to worry about being choosy as to which we could take a shot at.
We stopped short and eased back out of the sight line so I could get in position to get a clear shot. After conferring to make sure Sam wanted me to try to get one of these deer, I stepped up to a tree, got a solid rest and settled my crosshairs on the best-positioned doe. I haven't hunted with this rig and the Simmons Pro-Hunter 3-9X40 isn't as familiar to me as the scope on the rig I usually carry. I couldn't help but register that the simple plex reticle seemed to have a really heavy, fat crosshair and it crossed my mind that it might be a good project to look for a nicer scope. I didn't dwell on that thought for long, though as I found the spot just behind the shoulder that I wanted to hit. I touched off the round - plenty of range time with that gun has made the trigger pull very familiar - and saw the herd scatter and my target animal skitter and jump, making a short, ragged run before she dropped in a matter of 3 or 4 seconds. I didn't pace off the distance from the impact point to where she dropped but she just didn't go far at all.
In all the commotion, I saw that the several deer were still milling and confused and we could get another shot. I told Sam to take a shot. I wanted to be sure he got a chance to get a deer. Since we hadn't discussed it, he wasn't quite ready to shoot and had to fumble around a little to get his pack out of the way and chamber a round. By the time he got in position, the heard had disappeared into the trees. Since we still had hours before sunset, we could be pretty confident that we'd see something else before the day was out. We walked up to the road to the stand and got our stuff in place and went to check on the downed doe before we settled in the stand. It was clear from a glance at the wound that that the bullet did a good job. My shot was placed about as well as it could be, just missing the near shoulder but exiting just through the back edge of the off shoulder. Just from the placement and the clean exit, I knew what we'd find when we went to dress her out. That was a textbook heart-and-lung shot and she was dead as soon as she hit the ground.
Back in the stand, we did a little range-finding and determined that the shot was over 200 yards, probably as much as 225, something I hadn't even bothered to consider when I shot. As for the fat reticle, I decided to check the power setting on my scope and discovered it was all the way down to 3x. :D :D As I say, I hadn't hunted with this rig and just didn't go through my normal routine. Based on my time with it the range, I was able to trust the gun and the round and it all turned out just fine. It's probably the case that not thinking about any of it - scope setting, range, trajectory, trigger feel, etc - allowed me to just go on experience and instinct and get the job done. :)
We saw a few more deer that afternoon but in a position that made taking a shot a little more risky based on where the livestock were likely ranging so Sam didn't get a chance to get the second deer we wanted. When we hung my doe to gut it out, we found exactly what I expected...no lungs and half a heart. The bullet hit a rib on entrance and continued, apparently intact, to an exit between ribs and out through the off shoulder, leaving 1" hole. I suppose if that V-Max had hit solid bone in the shoulder, it might have broken up but I think it would still have scrambled enough of the vital mechanisms stop any animal in short order.
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