bamaranger
New member
Sunday, 31Jan was Alabama's last day of deer season. I snatched my 14 year old from uptown after church and we beat it out to a shooting house overlooking a R.O.W. where I have been seeing deer lately. He had not killed a deer this year, and we had not got to hunt together as much as we have in years past.
We had two rifles, him carrying a Ruger 77-II in 7.62x39 w/Leu 2x7, and me w/ a Savage 110, .243, Leu w/3x9. My thought was that he could shoot the x39 to 150 yds , and the .243 on out. I had zeroed the .243 at 2" high at 100 w/ Rem 100 gr PSP's. A special note was the .243 had belonged to my Dad prior his death.
I had lasered some landmarks on the ROW and believed I had a good feel for range. Right at last shooting light, a spike buck, which I had seen and passed earlier in the season hoping the boy or the landowner would get a crack at him, came into view well down the ROW. I estimated the range at just over 250 yds, passed bamaboy grandad's .243, cranked up to 9x, and told him to hold 4 inches higher than normal.
There was a pause as he waited for the deer to get broadside, then the shot. I was spotting through binos. The deer showed unmistakable signs of being hit, and exited the powerline to the right, very unsteady.
"Lets get over there!" Of course, but, great woodsman that I am.....I had not brought a light ( or a knife I found out later) Kid reached into his fanny pack and produced a light. "I thought we might need it!"
It seemed a LONG way over to the spot.....and no blood when we got there!!
Day light was fading, fast. Within the 5-10 minutes that passed as we climbed down walked over we DID need the light. The first arc along the edge yielded nothing. Second arc, within the woodline, found some disturbed leaves, still no blood.
Then those teenage eyes showed their superiority to fifty plus eyes. "What's that white spot?" It was the buck, 20 yds away. Hit absolutely perfect, in the pocket behind the near foreleg, and through the opposite shoulder to break same. It had gone 50 yds or so,... in good light we would have seen it earlier. Incredible that it had gone that far.
Range 260 yds, no pacing or guessing, it'd been lasered earlier. Heck of a shot for a 14 yr old. Out ranges his Daddy's longest by a good 40 yds. He was ready, I'd seen him break too many clays at 100 yds w/ a .22, supported, and ring the gong at my buddy's 200 yd range w/ the .223. prone. But on his first antlered deer, that was tougher, and he did fine.
I'm one proud Daddy as you can tell, wish Grandad could have seen it.
We had two rifles, him carrying a Ruger 77-II in 7.62x39 w/Leu 2x7, and me w/ a Savage 110, .243, Leu w/3x9. My thought was that he could shoot the x39 to 150 yds , and the .243 on out. I had zeroed the .243 at 2" high at 100 w/ Rem 100 gr PSP's. A special note was the .243 had belonged to my Dad prior his death.
I had lasered some landmarks on the ROW and believed I had a good feel for range. Right at last shooting light, a spike buck, which I had seen and passed earlier in the season hoping the boy or the landowner would get a crack at him, came into view well down the ROW. I estimated the range at just over 250 yds, passed bamaboy grandad's .243, cranked up to 9x, and told him to hold 4 inches higher than normal.
There was a pause as he waited for the deer to get broadside, then the shot. I was spotting through binos. The deer showed unmistakable signs of being hit, and exited the powerline to the right, very unsteady.
"Lets get over there!" Of course, but, great woodsman that I am.....I had not brought a light ( or a knife I found out later) Kid reached into his fanny pack and produced a light. "I thought we might need it!"
It seemed a LONG way over to the spot.....and no blood when we got there!!
Day light was fading, fast. Within the 5-10 minutes that passed as we climbed down walked over we DID need the light. The first arc along the edge yielded nothing. Second arc, within the woodline, found some disturbed leaves, still no blood.
Then those teenage eyes showed their superiority to fifty plus eyes. "What's that white spot?" It was the buck, 20 yds away. Hit absolutely perfect, in the pocket behind the near foreleg, and through the opposite shoulder to break same. It had gone 50 yds or so,... in good light we would have seen it earlier. Incredible that it had gone that far.
Range 260 yds, no pacing or guessing, it'd been lasered earlier. Heck of a shot for a 14 yr old. Out ranges his Daddy's longest by a good 40 yds. He was ready, I'd seen him break too many clays at 100 yds w/ a .22, supported, and ring the gong at my buddy's 200 yd range w/ the .223. prone. But on his first antlered deer, that was tougher, and he did fine.
I'm one proud Daddy as you can tell, wish Grandad could have seen it.
) and as is the case any where in bama its hard to find a 260yrd shot arround here. any way, like the member befor me stated"grandad saw it" and i know he was just as proud