Jeanie's deer of opportunity.

With the quiet start to my deer season and no new rifles pictures there hasn't been much to report so I will tell the story of my latest deer.  

One of the fellows in my RC flying club mentioned that his wife loved venison but he didn't hunt.  So I said:" I will get her a deer."  With our long season it shouldn't be a problem to get both of us a deer for the freezer.  Well, after three weeks of seeing nothing except on my trail camera at night, I was beginning to wonder about that.

Because I have been getting over a cold, I haven't been out much for the last week.  Hard to sit quietly when coughing and sneezing.  This night I told my wife that I felt better and it is warm, but I am not hunting yet.  Said I would just "pretend hunt" the field from the double French door on the back deck with my binoculars. 

So, every few minutes when a commercial came on I would pass by the doors and take a look at my food plot down in the corner of my field about 200yds away.  Well on one trip to either the bathroom or refrigerator I look down there and what do you know?  A lone deer is out there eating at 4pm in broad daylight.  

After calling the wife over, she says "That's a dog(It was now facing us head-on with its head down.)", but I say: "No I saw it standing sideways and it is a deer."  The binos confirm it is a spike buck.  I tell her that I'm going to kill that deer for my buddy's wife, Jeanie.  That will let me hunt the rest of the season til 2-10-20 using my normal arm, the flintlock.

After running in and loading my 7mm-08 centerfire rifle(I call it my long shooter.) with 2 rounds, I got out the front door and walk over behind the outbuildings.  Reaching the last building, I peep around the corner, and the buck is still there.  There is a forked tree in front of me that would make a nice prop but the fork is just a bit too high for a good rest.  I sneak to the next tree down,  It is about 150yds. from the deer.  If I keep my arms in, it is large enough to screen me from the deer.  Well I get there and peep around the tree.  He is still eating.  Hot damn!! I'll get a shot.

I do the old target shooters sling wrap and lean against the tree.  When the shot breaks the deer jumps straight up and straight down in sort of a ballet looking movement and spins toward the woods.

I mark where he went in and walk down to look for blood.  The way he jumped up and ran told me it wasn't a real solid hit or maybe a low shot under him.  No blood at the point of impact!!  Bummer!!

After a quick sweep through the woods behind the food plot, it was getting dark, so I go back for the light, and a machete.  Using the light to make the blood show better, I finally found one drop on a leaf.  Now to go to work tracking an almost nonexistent trail.  I crossed the fence and after some side sweeps in the leaves, I found a faint drop on a leaf.  Almost like someone smeared it lightly with a finger, but it gave me a direction to sweep some more.  These are fairly open woods. The pines shade out the undergrowth.  I looked around and found some really fresh deer pellets.  He was hit good.  Don't always need blood to trail! A little farther on I found another good drop of blood and then a lone pel1et.  The deer was just about 15ft. from the last pellet.  Success!!  There wasn't much blood because I hit him a little high, and the bullet didn't come out the other side.  The blood pools in the rib cage.  I tried to drag the deer but had my hands full with the deer, light, and machete.  Couldn't keep the light pointed where I was going.  Back to the truck to put the brights into the woods and for a drag rope.  A short drag later I was on the way to the processor.  Job done.  

Jeanie gets her deer!!