OK, I kinda screwed up deer hunting ...

[86er]

I went to hang a climbing stand and on the way there I sighted in my muzzleloader. The rifle is a modern TC shooting a 250 gr Barnes T-EZ @ 2000 fps with 2 - 777M Pellets. I pull into my property at 4:18PM and hike the stand in to a predetermined location. I hook it to the tree and figure I got about 1 hour of light at most so I might as well stay until dark. I load the MLDR again and climb up to about 18 feet. About 15 minutes later I hear something large walking in the dry leaves. Another 5 minutes goes by and a see a deer standing in some high brush where a limb with vines happens to hang down too. The deer is partially obscured but I can see antlers and a big body. This rifle has a scope and I looked no less than 3 times to size up the deer. I counted at least 10 points and it looked like a non-typical rack or sorts. I'm experienced and somewhat aggressive when I hunt. I dont need a perfect presentation or posture nor do I need a perfectly clear shot in order to shoot. If I am confident that it is safe and legal and that my bullet will get where it needs to go and I will recover the animal I will shoot. No dilly-dally but no rush either. I put the crosshair where the deers chest is and "boom". As the smoke starts to clear I see a deer to the right about 25 yards out and it looks like it is in distress. As I am looking right I hear a crashing to my left and look just in time to see a deer tip over. I get down and go to the scene where there are two distinct blood trails. At the end of each is a buck. Neither on is the 10 pointer I thought he was, they each contributed to the count! The one that went right was a 9" spike on one side and 3 small points on the other. The bigger one that went left was a clean 6 pointer that had no brow tines at all. Coincidentall, both were good cull bucks - each exhibiting poor genetics that we would have taken out of the herd anyway. The downside is that I burned 2 buck tags on deer I did not intend to shoot as I have been targeting some very big deer that are known on the property. Experience from previous States where one buck tag and a short season make your year, combined with this property that historically has very few deer and even less visible bucks I got ahead of myself. Where my quick decision making and aggressive shots are an attribute at times elsewhere, on this property and under these circumstances I would have been better off waiting out the deer for a perfect view of the antlers and a clear shot opportunity. I may not have got a deer at all, but I would have been able to know these were the deer or the big one I thought them to be had my presumption been correct. I took both shoulders off both deer (as can be seen in the photo). They were literally standing side-by-side as the entry hole and exit hole in each is 4 O'Clock and 2" out from the center of the shoulder (where I aimed). I got plenty of good venison and luckily Texas is pretty generous and I can still shoot a few more deer on various tags.

[Hobie]

That's two more deer than I have SEEN this year.

[Blaine]

That's two more deer than I have SEEN this year.

Blacktail hunting sucks.....the only one I saw was a little spike, and that was during elk season

[Old Savage]

Not much works everywhere all the time. But you did get two bucks.

[rjohns94]

hate when that happens. had a hunting partner that took two with one shot from his M1A. same hunt I took my bear on years ago. sorry Joe!

[Rusty]

A few years back Brian Pearce wrote a 2 part article on hunting Africa with Hammerheads in his Marlin .45-70. When the PH put him on an older Buff he shot when he was told to and the rounds went right through. On closer examination they found he had killed a cow behind him as well.
I guess it happens more often than we think.


Congratulations just the same, even though it wasn't what you wanted at least you got meat.

[FWiedner]

Funny how a little bit of adrenaline makes a fella see what he wants to see, or not register something he probably ought to see.

Personally, I once shot a doe that I swore was a buck ( I blame that on a trick of light and a sapling tree, and yes I had a doe tag) and another I shot a pig that was no bigger than a kids piggy bank (He looked bigger through my scope. ).

I think you made good use of two tags, Joe, but I am sorry that you didn't see your bruiser.

Taking home meat is better than taking home horns, IMO.

[Dave]

That is a pretty good trick

[model55]

Things sure are fickle some times, I have a friend that used that same bullet with a 100 grain Pyrodex load but on a quartering shot.The bullet blew up one rib which in turn took out one lung.The meat under that front shoulder was all blood shot and shredded.The bullet was later found unharmed in the rear quarter,it could have been put in a new sabot and gone unnoticed.Then the chase was on,The buck (2x2 blacktail ) kept returning to the same area fortunately and we eventually got him dressed out and to the weigh in station.117 lbs before skinning.The bullet is now going to be a charm for it's owner.

[El Chivo]

take them to the county fair; they charge two bucks for admission.

[Gobblerforge]

The things folks will do for a couple bucks.
Good job and lesson learned.
Gobbler

[rafter-7]

My dad did the same thing. buck and a doe were running up hill and the bullet went through and through on the buck and took out both back legs on the doe. Moral of this story is do not leave your hunting knife at home! we thought it would be an uneventful morning so we cleaned both deer with a 3 inch pocket knife. lucky we had land owner tags!

Ill never forget that morning

^
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