We headed out this morning to fill Hunter's deer tag. We found lots of snow, up to 12 inches, but no deer. Stopped by the store and picked up some mini marshmallows and other makings for hot chocolate, then headed home for some cocoa, to get warm, dry our clothes, and take a nap.
After a good nap, and a bit of playstation we headed out again at about 2:00pm. The first two hunts were a big zero, and on our way to our third one I saw part of a deer out in a clear cut. We were in an any deer unit, so Hunter sets up his shooting sticks and I notice the deer has horns. All I could see of the head was the ear and one horn, but we clearly saw the rest of his body. I give Hunter the go ahead and he took a 25 yard shot. We see the deer crash into the brush, but I couldn't tell if it was hit.
We reloaded Hunter's .54 cal T/C and starting the tracking. We didn't see any blood where the deer was, and after a quick 10 minute look, we marked the site of the shot and went back to the truck to get our rain gear. Hunter was a little panicked that the deer didn't drop at the shot and there was no blood. We headed back in to where the deer had been standing at the shot and after about 5 minutes of searching I see a nose, on the ground, about 30 yards from where the deer was at the shot. A nice 2 point was down! To say I was relieved was an understatement.
He drilled it right through both shoulders taking out both lungs and the top of the heart. Took out a bit of meat, about 2 cups worth, but there was not doubt about the quality of the shot. The .54 cal bullet started out at .535" and 390 grains. We recovered the bullet under hide on the far side of the animal, and it had expanded to .960" and had shed a bit of weight down to 315 grains.
Next year we gotta get one for Ryan.
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