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If you can't shoot... don't hunt

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mike650 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/14/2019 at 16:21
Not sure I could do that, it’d have to have antlers. 😉
“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/14/2019 at 17:53
Originally posted by Rancid Coolaid Rancid Coolaid wrote:

 The good news with those hunters is often 2-fold:

1.  They clean miss animals more than they hit them.
2.  They sell slightly used guns at significant markdowns, for those interested.

I seldom go to public ranges any more, and never hunt on public land.  I shoot fairly well, and never shoot at an animal at a range or in a circumstance where I do not believe I can cleanly kill and recover the animal. 

That said, I have lost a few animals, which I hated.

This is also why I tend to over-gun for the target of choice.  "Too dead" is far better than "not dead enough."

While hunting this past season, twice in our group we had deer thought to be dead stand up and walk away.  Both were put down shortly after they got up, but neither was hit well enough to end life the first time.

Shoot well, rack another round, keep the animal in the scope, if it moves more than a little, shoot it again: words to live by!

Absolutely...
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2019 at 00:14
Confession time: I went hunting in Aug 2018.
Took two impala...one shot clean kills at about 150 yds.
Then went for a blue wildebeest. Probably 50 yds away. Went for the famous head shot. Well, after two hours of tracking on a few spots of blood every here and there we had to give it up.
I am still very unhappy about that. So these things happen, but it is about a hunters frame of mind that matters. Do you care or do you not care....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2019 at 00:24
 I have only ever lost two deer in my many years of hunting. Both times I put them down with the first shot, got out of the stand, and they got up. They were big deer in both cases. One was a Boone and Crocket contender for sure. It was a very easy 70 yard shot with my 300 wm. The deer got up and made it to a river and was gone. Only a 25 yard distance to that river. The other I have no explanation for except that these animals possess a remarkable will to live. Even dead they can and have traveled some incredible distances before being recovered. I had one that the heart was gone and half of both lungs, and that animal we tracked for two hours through brambles and bratches over a two hundred and fifty yard distance. Still though, 95% of them go down right where I shot them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2019 at 00:28
 WOOTER.... Hey Buddy. Good to see ya again. I told my Girlfriend about your zapper experience, she wet her pants too. LOL 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/16/2019 at 00:52
Originally posted by cyborg cyborg wrote:

 WOOTER.... Hey Buddy. Good to see ya again. I told my Girlfriend about your zapper experience, she wet her pants too. LOL 

Hug Good to see you back were you belong....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/16/2019 at 00:59
Originally posted by 8shots 8shots wrote:

Originally posted by cyborg cyborg wrote:

 WOOTER.... Hey Buddy. Good to see ya again. I told my Girlfriend about your zapper experience, she wet her pants too. LOL 

Hug Good to see you back were you belong....
Thanks my brother.... Lile and I have talked a few times during my absence. I'm sure he passed along my well wishes to all of you. I'm happy to be back. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/16/2019 at 10:27
Originally posted by Sparky Sparky wrote:

A buddy of mine is a RO at a range that goes to 600yds. But they make you qualify at 200yds before you can shoot any farther. To qualify you have to shoot 3 rounds in a 4inch dot. He tells me about these guys with their custom rifles laugh and say that's easy. Most can't even hit the paper let alone the dot.
 

The one public range I visit is similar: 600 yard max distance, qualify at 300 to be allowed to shoot there.  I think the target is a 6" bull, has to be 3 rounds in the bull to shoot at 600 - no fliers.  And I too have watched many an idiot (require many cease fires) shoot up many targets to get a qualifying target.  It saddens me.

I still have my first qualifying target from there, I posted it several years ago: 2 rounds touching, one about 1/2 inch away.  Done with a 5r 308, which I should not have sold.  




Originally posted by cyborg cyborg wrote:

 I have only ever lost two deer in my many years of hunting. Both times I put them down with the first shot, got out of the stand, and they got up. They were big deer in both cases. One was a Boone and Crocket contender for sure. It was a very easy 70 yard shot with my 300 wm. The deer got up and made it to a river and was gone. Only a 25 yard distance to that river. The other I have no explanation for except that these animals possess a remarkable will to live. Even dead they can and have traveled some incredible distances before being recovered. I had one that the heart was gone and half of both lungs, and that animal we tracked for two hours through brambles and bratches over a two hundred and fifty yard distance. Still though, 95% of them go down right where I shot them.
 

On our walkers at this particular ranch, I was present for one a few years ago where the shooter went a bit high, the round missed the spine but hit hard enough to knock the animal out for a few minutes.  The other was a shot on vitals that went too far forward, it zipped above the front legs, took some meat off the front quarters, but missed everything really important.  The deer could walk and run (kinda) but was not mortally wounded.  That said, there is a healthy coyote population, and he would not have survived long.

One friend shot a deer, left it on the ground for a bit, loaded it onto a trailer, took it back to camp, went into the lodge to get a drink, came back out and his son said, "Dad, your dear is leaving."  That deer had been on the ground for almost an hour, on the trailer for about 20 minutes, and finally decided to shamble off.  I missed the events, but did hear the 6 year old tell the tale, all while his dad giggled and shook his head.  For the record, the hunter was one of the best hunters I know.

When I took my trophy this year (knowing that when I squeeze the trigger, whether I recovered the animal or not, that was my trophy), I put the round exactly where I wanted it, immediately racked another, and stayed on the deer for a good 10 minutes before I came off scope and put the weapon on safe.  He did twitch his tail once and almost got a second round for that.

Always be ready for a second shot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2019 at 14:42
Hunt long enough and you can see all sort of things that make you wonder. I remember as young lad hearing tales and thinking, "yeah right" as I grew older I have come to realize many of those tales may well have been true.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2019 at 17:48
The wounded deer showed up again tonight.  He has lost some weight, but is eating well.  I suspect he has not been traveling far... big limp and still carrying the right leg whenever he is standing still.  No outward signs of infection, but I just can't tell.  However, his eyes seem clear and he moves well except for the limp.  Nice 8 point.  Shame.  

Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2019 at 23:05
Hopefully he recovers fully. He may have a stunted rack on the left side next year, depending on how much healing takes place between now and the beginning of antler development for next season. As long as he's eating good, and staying active, those are good signs. My guess is he's young and strong, and he should recover fully. 
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An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects.

OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote vinn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 08:03
    the military rifle men and snipers have made some amaising long shot kills,  even with a 50 cai..  i like long range target shooting, gave up hunting years ago, but the ranges are disapearing and gun laws increasing.  if you have a 100 yard range on your property -- the noise bothers people a mile away, but silencers are legal now -- $200 fed. tax.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 08:49


We were pretty forgiving, H range has now been closed! The 3 gunners have taken over the last 400 yards for action bays. there were only 50 of us that were qualified to shoot on H range out of 1K members.




Edited by Steelbenz - January/20/2019 at 08:57
"Don't argue with a fool! From a distance you can't really tell who's who!"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 19:32
The buck was back tonight.  Still limping, but not holding his leg up in the air when standing.  He also had two does with him.  Another buck was with him as well, quite a bit smaller.  He seems well on the way to recovery.  I'm pretty sure he is going to be OK.  He hasn't "been off his feed" at all.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 19:45
Good to hear. Their resilience is amazing.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 21:25
Duck season... poacher season... rabbit season... poacher season... poacher season...
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyborg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2019 at 23:45
Happy to hear it. Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3_tens Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/21/2019 at 01:05
IF you had a good Game Warden, they could tranquilize the buck and get some medical attention for him. Then returning him back to where he came from. Hope and prayers for his recovery.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/21/2019 at 08:26
Originally posted by 3_tens 3_tens wrote:

IF you had a good Game Warden, they could tranquilize the buck and get some medical attention for him. Then returning him back to where he came from. Hope and prayers for his recovery.
Great to hear from you.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2019 at 08:41
Down here, if you don't find it pretty quick, you can hang up finding it, the coyotes will. 

I shot one years ago in a different club, double lung, saw blood coming out the other side when it ran off. I let it sit for 2 hours, then climbed down and tracked it. When I got within 20 yards of it, it jumped up and took off. 

Backed out, got help, and 3 of us tracked it. It ran another 200 yards, piled up in a creek, and had been nawed on by yotes when we found it 45 minutes later. 


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