I don't take many pictures, so as far as anybody know I'll just be telling some fishing tale...
This year I got 9 tags (4 buck, 5 doe) and in my state, there are two main rifle seasons, Nov 10-25 (any deer) and Dec 29 - Jan 6 (antlerless only)
I use a .380 and do all stalking type hunting. -- Few trees where I hunt make for some long shots.
I filled my 4 buck tags this year:
8 Point Mule Deer - Dressed @ 160 lbs -- 180 yd shot
8 Point Basket Whitetail Deer - Dressed @ 110 lbs -- 270 yd shot
4 Point Mule Deer - Dressed @ 95 lbs -- 340 yd shot
Button Mule Deer - Dressed @ 75 lbs -- 360 yd shot
I'll be going back out this Saturday to fill my antlerless tags.
Best proof I have to offer - other than the basket - all deer :
Now for the story's, lol...
Where I hunt:
The area's I hunt are just on the western side of the South Dakota badlands, there are little to no trees and just as much water. I hike anywhere from 10 - 20 miles a day - here's a picture I took a couple years ago while hunting - this is one of my favorite spots, it's public and roughly 100 square miles:
8 Point Mule Deer
Easy kill, saw a group sleeping on the side of a steep hill, I climbed up another hill adjacent to the deer, low crawled the top, using my bipod took aim and shot. Range finder (post use) read 180 yards -- heart shot. Best part about this, an atv trail ran right next to the hill, after the the slide down hill I only had to drag ~100 yard!!! lol -- best drag ever, lol
4 Pointer and Button Mule Deer
This day I brought out two of my friends (they had no tags/first time hunting) so they could share in the experience. I carried the rifle, one had the binoculars and the other the range finder. We were walking a dry creek bed when one friend spots a deer in the distance, the other used the range finder "70 yards" , lol -- more like 1,070 yards, lol.. idiot.. --
The deer was on the eastern slope near the top facing north (toward us) -- I went around the next most eastern hill and climbed over directly parallel to the deer and low crawled the top. To my delight there were 5 deer, a buck and 4 doe looks like ~125yds. I open the bipod and take aim on the buck, fire... miss..... wtf... The deer just stood up and looked around, lol -- perfect, he didn't know where the sound came from because of the hills.... the friend with the bino's told me I hit low, I lift up and fire - I hit and he drops right where he stood...
Above him on the hill stood the largest doe (later found out it was a button buck) -- I had tags and the deer still didn't know where I was -- how sweet!!!!
So I chambered another and fired --- Miss... seriously WTF... I'm no marksman but I am using a bipod and the scope was sighted in and did fine on range... again WTF...
I chamber another and fire, leg shot ... Dammit! now I feel like a real dick.... I dropped the mag, loaded 4 more while it scraped around the hillside not getting anywhere...
I chamber the first round... click... da fuq? chamber another.... click .... da fuq??? .... another ... click... #$^@%&#$^@# -- oh... I never reinserted the mag... DOH!! I'm an idiot, lol...
This time I chambered an actual round and fired... missed.... look back at useless friend who's been holding the range finder at his hip .. "how far is it?"
"70 yards" --- It had one button, how is he screwing this up... .
my other friend grabs it from his hand, looks through, "360 yards"
OOOOHHHH that's why I've been missing -- apparently I suck a judging distances.. it all made sense now.. -- chambered another, hit, heart shot.
So we walk over to the buck and he's rocking his head back and fourth in the dirt - shit, he's still alive... all this time I spent screwing around and he's been here suffering... not only am I an idiot, I'm also an asshole too.....
poked at him, no response - ... ... no blood... couldn't find a bullet wound... ??? weird.... I grabbed his antlers while my buddy held his legs and I cut his throat. -- remember when I said he dropped where he stood -- I hit him in the neck and paralyzed him.. '
-- after I field dressed them we had a 1.5 mile drag ahead of us - some good stories there, but I'll save that for another post.
8 Point Basket Whitetail Deer
Last and final deer, wife insisted I took a picture -
-don't judge --
No amazing story with this one, one shot kill, lung shot, dropped ~50 yds from where I stood when I shot it.
I think I rambled on long enough...