I had been passing lots of deer just a short time back, trying to get my daughter on her first buck. She finally decided that she was done, so I started pursuing punching my last doe tag. I went the past 4 outings without seeing a single deer, then yesterday...
The morning started cold, with mixed wintry precipitation (weatherman said that was coming later in the day), but little to no wind. Neither my dad nor I saw anything that morning.
We went out that afternoon with the weather showing a light and variable wind, but by the time that we got halfway into our boat ride to our public land hunting spot we were jumping 3' waves in my little Jon boat, with 20mph gusts. I had on high rubber boots, so I jumped out to guide the boat through the shallows to beach the boat, but I found a silty bottom to sink into, and water and mud got in my boots. I got my dad set and went to my spot, realizing that I had left the hood of my waterproof rain jacket at home. Of course that means that the wintry mix would have to increase, and it was plumb miserable. 30 minutes before dark the rain got to its hardest, but I wasn't going to give up after waiting it out that long, and just a few minutes later a small doe stepped into the field. I was about to shoot her (no way was I going to be picky after all of the crap that I had been through) when I saw a bigger doe step out broadside, so I aimed the .338 with 225gr SSTs right behind the shoulder and squeezed. To my surprise she ran!
I went immediately to look for blood because I knew that it would wash away quickly. I tracked for a little while, then I saw her white belly in the ground. Shot was perfect with a baseball size exit wound, but she still went about 60 yards. Still had to field dress and drag her to the boat , but thankfully my dad was there to help with the drag. I told him that I won't say that I will never do this for a doe again, but I promise I won't do it on purpose. I can't imagine being much more miserable, but I'm tagged out and made memories.
The morning started cold, with mixed wintry precipitation (weatherman said that was coming later in the day), but little to no wind. Neither my dad nor I saw anything that morning.
We went out that afternoon with the weather showing a light and variable wind, but by the time that we got halfway into our boat ride to our public land hunting spot we were jumping 3' waves in my little Jon boat, with 20mph gusts. I had on high rubber boots, so I jumped out to guide the boat through the shallows to beach the boat, but I found a silty bottom to sink into, and water and mud got in my boots. I got my dad set and went to my spot, realizing that I had left the hood of my waterproof rain jacket at home. Of course that means that the wintry mix would have to increase, and it was plumb miserable. 30 minutes before dark the rain got to its hardest, but I wasn't going to give up after waiting it out that long, and just a few minutes later a small doe stepped into the field. I was about to shoot her (no way was I going to be picky after all of the crap that I had been through) when I saw a bigger doe step out broadside, so I aimed the .338 with 225gr SSTs right behind the shoulder and squeezed. To my surprise she ran!
I went immediately to look for blood because I knew that it would wash away quickly. I tracked for a little while, then I saw her white belly in the ground. Shot was perfect with a baseball size exit wound, but she still went about 60 yards. Still had to field dress and drag her to the boat , but thankfully my dad was there to help with the drag. I told him that I won't say that I will never do this for a doe again, but I promise I won't do it on purpose. I can't imagine being much more miserable, but I'm tagged out and made memories.
