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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
Of general gun here in the NW zone of fla. Me and junior went out this afternoon. On the walk in junior flushed up a little bugger and he took a running shot with 00 buck and missed clean. i looked across the pasture I was hunting over and seen 2 little yearlings playing and they scooted back into the woods as the rain got going good. I made a loop in a block of woods hoping to find a deer under cover. Went back to where the little ones were and seen a grown deer but with the haze I couldn't tell if it were a buck, mounted the rifle to look thru the scope... All I seen was gray and water spots:mad: Oh well Junior got to take his first shot at a deer.
Brent
 
Well better luck to ya in the later of your hunt... ours closed today... I got another two doe this morn so Im good for the yr.:eek:
 
I grab my peeped 94 if'n rain might be approachin'. Better luck next time Brent. I 'magine time spent in the field with junior is well spent even if there's no meat from that perticular hunt.
 
You guys can use 00 buck for deer? That seems strange as I live in IL, and we can only use one solid projectile for deer. How does buck shot do on a deer?
 
Well, They don't call it "buckshot" cuz it ain't no good...:D At close in range, it usually will get the job done well if you do your part putting it where it matters... Junior is 19 but this is his first year hunting with firearms... He has several (5+) years runnin' hog dogs though.

Junior wanted that scope on the rifle and I didn't want to waste ammo getting the sights ready for me. I guess I am gonna pull it off though. I never liked a scope on a lever gun anyway...


And yes... being the guy to head junior down the right path as a hunting man is priceless... After he took his shot... (I hollered a "NO" before he touched off the round but not fast enuff) I explained that the shot was a "slob" shot. Rule number one is "kill the target" and rule number 2 is "leave a blood trail" anything less is irresponsible behavior...
NEXT TIME!!!! Meat in the freezer!
Brent
 
Rained on us over here all day too. We gave up at about noon......soaked.

Did not do as well as you..........saw nothing.

You're lucky to have a son to pass it all along to. My girls love eating what we shoot, and the older one did venture fourth with me for a couple of seasons but never got a good shot.

All's not lost though. Working on the nephew........ and so long as the Army doesn't send the new son in law off to do his duty someplace to far away I'll start breaking him in next season.

And the "scope" thing. Actually left the cover on the Red Dot sights all moring....hoped we'd have time to uncover them if we slipped up on a hog.

Going back in the morning..............
 
I have never left the covers on my scopes when in the woods as I would surely forget them once I seen my deer... But I will now remember to keep them in my pocket if rain is a possibility...

I am extremely glad mrs.hogdogs kept my sorry butt around long enough to see my kids grow up in my presence.
Brent
 
Brent, switch to Butler Creek flip-up covers and you'll never go back to regular covers again. You can leave them on up until the second you shoulder the rifle.

Hunting in the rain can be good. My hunting partner nailed a nice 6 pt last week in a downpour. It was almost 300 yds away and he dropped it where it stood.
 
I am leaning towards removing the scope and going to the irons. Junior bought that dern honkin' huge monstrosity. It is a 4-12X40 on a 336 Marlin .30-30:eek:

It is a Bushnell Sportsman so not a high quality unit any way. Adds unwanted weight too:rolleyes:
Who needs optics on a brush gun anyway? I just didn't want to waste ammo getting me, the sights and rifle coordinated.
Brent
 
I am glad you gave the kid a lecture.

How do you know if he missed clean, or if he put a couple buckshot in the guts and the deer is suffering and dying in the woods tonight?
 
Simon, He went for the "texas heart shot" which I also talked to him about as a good way to ruin meat or poorly wound with buckshot. He tried to lead right thinking it was going to take an opening to the right but it did the lean right and fake left turn. He barked an oak tree but we still spent 20 minutes making sure we didn't miss blood. We tracked to a 5 foot fence into a hunt lease where the deer turned and went to a lower spot and jumped.

We had 3 spaces of 25 to 40 feet wide on clay to track it and had no blood (I know that isn't a 100% guarantee) nor did we have and unusual hoof prints like a limp or bum hip.

I am quite confident he missed clean.

He has spent the summer weekend nights with a bunch of deer doggers who run their dogs in preparation for season. They talked of running shots and the need for buckshot.

He just jumped the trigger in haste. Thus the lecture about slob shots and ethical hunting.

When he asked why I didn't try on the deer I seen, I told him "Son, I don't take any shot that I am not sure will drop the deer or give me the best chance of a blood trail. I also do not take shots at deer at a far distance if that deer is on a woods edge as it may be too far into a swamp to trail it up."

Plus I am not 100% healthy so I am suffering pain no matter the distance to drag/carry so the closer to the truck, the better...:o
Brent
 
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