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My big 9

ApexerER

By ApexerER,
in Deer Hunting

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ApexerER Mentor

ApexerER

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Can anyone give me an estimate on age, weight, score?   Butcher thought 185lbs. I am guessing 3 1/2. No idea on score.

Story for anyone that wants to read it and pictures below. I believe I missed him on the .fifth and sixth shot. I am surprised I hit him at all with the buck fever I was experiencing. 

Well...what a day...I am still on cloud 9..Got in my stand early. About 5:45. Heard the first shot at roughly 6:15..I can't imagine how they were shooting because I can't see squat. One of my Hunting buddies is across the ravine from me about 300 yds away. It doesn't take him long to text me that he saw 2 doe. Not long after sunrise two guys on the lease had deer down. A beautiful 6 with nubs for browtines and a nice 8 Pt. I see movement to the right behind me and get excited...then quickly realized they were turkey and watched 8 Longbeards slowly work through. At 8:34 am I text my buddy telling him I swore I heard a deer grunt. I can't hear or see anything.  Just as I decide it must have been my imagination a doe rips in at full speed and stops 10 feet in front of me panting. I am scanning where she came from and catch movement.  I shoulder my rifle...see a nice rack..settle the cross hair and tell myself to squeeze the trigger and fire. The deer disappears and I don't see it. I am shaking like a leaf...see the deer again look...wait..it's another doe..another deer another doe..Bring the gun down and scan..see another deer at least 30 yds from where I first shot..shoulder the rifle..it's him...shaking like a leaf I try to settle myself down and breath..settle my crosshair..tell myself to squeeze the trigger..bang...shot two..the deer doesn't even flinch..again..shot 3..just behind the shoulder..the deer doesn't move...this is crazy...again shot 4...the deer drops right where he is standing..but he is getting back up...shot 5...my gun is empty...I attach my rifle to my pull up rope and practically throw it out of the stand..down the ladder like a fireman pole..grab the rifle..throw 5 more rounds in the rifle...I can't see the deer from the ground. I head slowly toward the deer when blow blow blow...all the doe..I believe there were 6 book out of there. I close the distance and can see the deer trying to get up..I shoulder the rifle again..shot 6..I know I missed on this shot. I get up to the deer and I decide I am going to put him down when he expires...then I see just how big he is I start shaking so bad I have to get down on one knee. I quickly thank God  (even though I am not very religious) Then tears just stream down my face. I am overcome with emotion..I gather myself enough to see i hit him behind the shoulder 3 times and once was a spine shot. I look at my phone and my buddy sent like 10 texts along with other guys on the lease. My buddies texts from across the ravine were funny....what did you kill? Wtf? What are you doing? How can you miss that many times? What is it? Was it big? So I text him and a few other guys that I have a giant 9 down and just sit and take it all in while I wait for the two guys that already have their deer down and my buddy on the opposite ridge...lots of high fives and hugs...I still can't believe it...a deer of a lifetime...I am extremely disappointed with the Hornady ballistic tips I picked up..three shots through the lungs...three tiny entry holes and three just as tiny exits. Definitely going back to the fusion I was shooting...

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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

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Approximately 140", 3-1/2 year old would be my guess from the pics.  Conrats on the great buck.  I am saving my own buck tag for something of that order of magnitude now.  I like Federal classic 30 cal ammo.  A couple years ago,  I hit a buck that was a bit heavier than that one (smaller rack though), that was quartering away at about 325 yards.  The bullet entered, centered on the 2nd last rib, traveled diagonally thru his chest, and lodged inside the opposite side upper front leg.  That dropped the heavy buck dead in his tracks.

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grampy Veteran

grampy

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What an awesome buck and great story! I absolutely love seeing and hearing stuff like this. I know your Dad was there with you, with that huge smile that you know so well! Sending you a heartfelt congratulations and a BIG high five! Nice job my friend.

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ApexerER Mentor

ApexerER

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1 hour ago, eagle rider said:

great story, great buck!  congrats.  I'm a big BAR fan so great choice in rifles as well.  What caliber and ammo was that you used?  How did the wounds look when you dressed him out?

Hornady ballistic tip 165 gr .308 WIN. Very little internal damage. I believe the only round that expanded was the spine shot. The three behind the shoulder look like I shot him with FMJ.  Next time out I will be shooting the Federal Fusion 165 gr. Never had an issue with those.

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PREDATE Newbie

PREDATE

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Hornady ballistic tip 165 gr .308 WIN. Very little internal damage. I believe the only round that expanded was the spine shot. The three behind the shoulder look like I shot him with FMJ.  Next time out I will be shooting the Federal Fusion 165 gr. Never had an issue with those.
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I shot a buck this morning with the Hornady Superformance .95gr. SST out of my .243 and noticed the same thing. Zero blood trail. Luckily I made a good hit and he only went 60yds.
Nice buck btw.
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eagle rider Newbie

eagle rider

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8 hours ago, ApexerER said:

Hornady ballistic tip 165 gr .308 WIN. Very little internal damage. I believe the only round that expanded was the spine shot. The three behind the shoulder look like I shot him with FMJ.  Next time out I will be shooting the Federal Fusion 165 gr. Never had an issue with those.

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great story, great buck!  congrats.  I'm a big BAR fan so great choice in rifles as well.  What caliber and ammo was that you used?  How did the wounds look when you dressed him out?

 

I lost a nice 8 pointer five years ago to the Superformance garbage in 270 Win.  Hit him square in the shoulder and tracked drips of blood for about 300 yards until it stopped bleeding.  Crap in a ice cream cone wrapper.  Stick to Federal  or Winchester ammo and you'll drop deer every time.  

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eagle rider Newbie

eagle rider

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I lost a nice 8 pointer five years ago to the Superformance garbage in 270 Win.  Hit him square in the shoulder and tracked drips of blood for about 300 yards until it stopped bleeding.  Crap in a ice cream cone wrapper.  Stick to Federal  or Winchester ammo and you'll drop deer every time.  

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chrisw Mentor

chrisw

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The bullet performance is odd. I've killed a lot of deer with the superformance in 06 150gr. And always had great results. The smaller exit holes could be a result of the front of the bullet disintegrating and the core is what exited. Either way I'm sure he'd had tipped over shortly with the lung hits. Great buck! I'd guess 125ish range for score

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

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