Have to tell a little backstory here before we get to the nuts and bolts of this mornings adventure.....
3 years ago I got remarried to a wonderful woman with three kids, aged 10, 8 and 2. Normally this is a hard transition for everyone but I got extremely lucky when I inherited 3 of the most well behaved kids I've ever seen. Their exposure to the outdoor arts had been minimal at the time, after we got together they jumped in with both feet. Now both boys are accomplished hunters with several kills under their belts. The oldest boy tends to be the luckier of the two, is a sports star, has looks that will rival Brad Pitt, etc. Lets just say the younger one has a harder roe to hoe, if something breaks, its usually his, if we go to eat and an order is wrong its his, his bike is the one that breaks, his dog is the one that runs away, etc. He is a good shot, and is very patient, which has made him successful in hunting as well as fishing, but like I said he is a child of Murphy when it comes to things going the wrong way.
For Christmas last year I got him a Howa Mini-action in 6.5 Grendel. I have to say its a pretty neat little rig. has a 5 round detachable clip (yes I said clip), is light and handy. He didn't get to use it last year and we were both excited to see how it would perform on game.
We missed Youth weekend, last Sunday we sat in the evening and a decent mature 8 pointer walked under the stand. He declined to shoot it, even though it was mature, wanting to wait for a bigger buck. A short time later a nice 9 point walked up and before we could get a shot, it and the 8 ran off and started fighting just out of sight. We saw a good number of deer but neither the 8 or the 9 showed back up. On Wednesday the whole family went out, it was hot and after getting in the stand and starting to sweat, a nice deer walked out. Assuming it was the big 9, we got the gun out the window and accidentally hit the magazine release, which dropped a full clip onto the blind floor. This did not deter the deer and upon another inspection it was not the big deer we had seen before, but a nice younger deer that we decided to pass on.
His mother shot a deer not long after so we went and helped her with that, I pulled the camera card before we loaded up and went home. I had a few pictures of the 9 point on it from Sunday night, around 9 pm. This is the only time I had the deer on camera at this or any of the other stands. He was excited about the weekend and was ready to go this morning, hoping this deer would come out.
5 am came quick and we loaded up and headed out. We saw a really nice buck cross the road as we pulled into the gate and went into the neighbors place. We dropped off big brother at a stand and headed back to our blind which overlooked a small field filled with KR Bluestem that I shredded down. It starts to get light, and a few deer start to trickle in. The 9 pointer that we false alarmed on earlier in the week showed up, followed by a fork horn and several doe. Before we know it, we have 8 deer feeding in front of us. The feeder goes off at 7 and a few more deer start to arrive. about 5 min after the feeder, the younger deer jerks his head up and looks to the west. I was casually paying attention, between news updates and updates from the oldest son, when he says "hey there is a deer". I look up and see a big bodied deer walk out and start sniffing the air. A quick check to confirm he is the bigger 9 is made and then the gun goes out the window. I have been having conversations about the differences between behind the shoulder lung shots and in the shoulder shots and he was determined to make this deer crumple, even though I told him to take the heart/lung shot. After a min or two of getting him situated and cleared and I told him to go for it. he takes the shot and the deers back legs fall out from under him. I told him to rack another round in and keep and eye on him. After a min I see the deer lift his head and drop it, then lift his head again. I was in fear of a spine shot and asked him if he could shoot it again. Because of the angle of the deer he did not feel comfortable taking a behind the neck shot so I asked him if he minded if I put a finisher in the deer. He handed me the rifle and the deer starts to get up then go down. He changes his angle slightly and I slip one in behind his last rib raking forward into the vitals.
After a quick second, we exit the blind and walk down towards the buck, now lying motionless under a small oak with his head down. I approach the deer from behind, gun up and when I am about 10 yards away he bolts up and runs off. My heart sinks, I have trailed enough deer to know that this is never a good sign and the likelihood of him running for a great distance is probable. I'm starting to get down as I'm afraid if we lose this deer it will devastate this kid and he will want to give it up for good. I tell him lets just wait a min and I go look for the blood around the feeder that I knew was not going to be there. After confirming the no blood situation, we start walking, him behind me and me with the gun ready. About 20 yards into our walk a doe breaks the the right about 50 yards in front of us and I see the buck, on his feet, making his getaway. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder, squeeze the trigger and hear the report and the impact, but he still runs off. I'm in disbelief and I turn around and see my son smiling from ear to ear and he says "wow, this is getting exciting"
We walk over to where the buck was standing and see him laying in the grass about 30 yards up the trail. A huge sigh of relief comes over me because no one ever wants to lose a deer, but especially not a 11 year old kids first trophy buck. We inspect the deer and find the first shot went a tad high, but still should have been a dead deer, with the bullet going high in his shoulder and ending up mushroomed against his hide in the lower neck. The second shot was behind the last rib and raked forward into the top of his lung, and the 3rd shot was right in the boiler room.
I estimate this buck @ 6 1/2 years old ( opinions on age welcome ) and when I took him to the processor he dressed only 105 lbs, which I thought was incredible. How a little deer took such punishment is beyond me. Either this deer had an iron will to live, or a 6.5 grendal is a sucky deer round.
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734450411/10/1808:24 PM
The deer is outstanding but what rocks me is your attitude for these young men. If you treat them as you are describing you will be one hell of a DAD and a really decent guy!!!!Great story and a I wish you and your new family all the best!!!!!!!!
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734456211/10/1810:09 PM
Good job on getting the deer, congrats to both of you. Sounds like that deer just had a strong will to live. I have killed enough with the Grendel to know it will work well or at least in my experience it doe. High shoulder or boiler room shots it has worked very well.
lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true Mainstream news might be fun to watch
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734461211/10/1811:35 PM
Congratulations to the young man on his first trophy! May it be the first of many.
I'd be curious to see how any recovered slugs look but, heck, some of these deer don't read all the marketing hype and don't know that they're supposed to fall down dead on command. Tomorrow an identical hit might drop an identical deer without a twitch. You stayed ready after things went pear-shaped, that's the lesson for the lad! Sounds like you two make a good team!
Mark
"I always take care to fire into the nearest hillside and, lacking that, into darkness". - the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: dogcatcher]
#734470111/11/1801:18 AM
Congratulations to the young man on his first trophy! May it be the first of many.
I'd be curious to see how any recovered slugs look but, heck, some of these deer don't read all the marketing hype and don't know that they're supposed to fall down dead on command. Tomorrow an identical hit might drop an identical deer without a twitch. You stayed ready after things went pear-shaped, that's the lesson for the lad! Sounds like you two make a good team!
Mark
They are hornady SST rounds.
I recovered two of the three. They look good but the 1st one shed a bunch of weight. I would say visually they look textbook perfect
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734480611/11/1803:43 AM
Very well done Dad. He got to see everything, what can happen, how much Dad knows, and Dad saving the day. It pretty much doesn't get much better than that. What a great day!
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734494511/11/1802:02 PM
I’m confused - which kid is this? It sounded like it was the middle one, with bad luck, which would be the eight year old. You said the kids are 10, 8 and 2. But at the end you said “an 11 year old’s trophy buck.”
Originally Posted by bill oxner
I just turned it on . I was looking bird dogs in the butt this morning.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: Duck_Hunter]
#734519811/11/1807:51 PM
I’m confused - which kid is this? It sounded like it was the middle one, with bad luck, which would be the eight year old. You said the kids are 10, 8 and 2. But at the end you said “an 11 year old’s trophy buck.”
it is the middle one, and the kids were 10, 8 and 2.....3 years ago
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: jeffbird]
#734520011/11/1807:56 PM
Above all else, glad the new family is coming together. You are a good man.
Congratulations to the young hunter, beautiful deer. The photo sure looks like more than a 105# live weight deer. Was 105 the dressed weight perhaps?
6.5 Grendel is weak sauce. Move him up to a 6.5 CM or a .308 with light loads with a good bullet to avoid a repeat of the weak terminal performance.
Congratulations to both of you!
I got his brother a 7mm-08 and loaded it up with Hornady Custom lites' and he has had some luck with it. I got him this gun so he could be different from brother and mom, he is a slight 11 year old (think he weighs 70 lbs) and didn't want him to get beat up when he pulled the trigger. He shot my .22-250 before this and the 6.5 Grendel has ballistics similar to a .243 so I figured it would be adequate for hill country deer and hogs. This is not meant to be his forever gun.
I'm gonna try the Grendel out on a few more animals before I make the trade to a bigger gun, but like I said it was meant to shoot Hill country deer under a feeder at and around 100 yards. That said I wasn't super impressed with the performance on this deer
BTW 105 lbs was the dressed weight
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734520111/11/1807:57 PM
I’m confused - which kid is this? It sounded like it was the middle one, with bad luck, which would be the eight year old. You said the kids are 10, 8 and 2. But at the end you said “an 11 year old’s trophy buck.”
it is the middle one, and the kids were 10, 8 and 2.....3 years ago
Got it.
Originally Posted by bill oxner
I just turned it on . I was looking bird dogs in the butt this morning.
Re: Things got Western this morning (and another personal best)
[Re: txtrophy85]
#734547811/12/1802:23 AM