Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Thunderhawk comes through again

Saturday's Virginia opener started quietly for me.
By 8:30 I had only seen one doe but had heard multiple shots on neighboring properties.

A little after 9 I notice movement on the opposite edge of the little field I'm sitting.
Ranged at 65 yards.
To the right of the cedar and almost directly behind the small hardwood.
Old pic-[prior rifle season]


I check him in the bino and see that he is fairly wide and heavy[although I have no prior pics of him].
He is refreshing a scrape and keeping his antlers up in the limbs above making it hard to get a real good feel on his antlers, but he looks like a fat donkey in the body.
Sunrise is just coming over the mountain creating a haze across the field as the frost is melting and the air is rising which isn't helping me see with detail.
Once he takes one step forward I could see that he was 'wide enough'.
I switch from bino to TC Thunderhawk and take the shot which creates a smoke/mist screen where I can see nothing beyond 10' for a second or two.

Once everything clears I see nothing but the empty field.
I take my time reloading then head over.
No blood, no deer but I see the direction he ran due to kicked up leaves. After 50-60' of that, nothing-no blood no kicked up leaves, nothing!
I make a few widening loops and find zero sign.
Luckily I left my pack at the last spot in the woods where the leaves were disturbed and when I reach down for it I see one small speck of blood.

I back out, and head to the house to change out from sitting clothes/boots to hiking attire.
Half hour later I drive back and start again with wider loops, still nothing.
I decide to go down to the bottom where it's still cool along the creek.
As I'm walking down the path[that I had driven up a half hour prior] he comes tumbling over the hill straight down at me and dies within 5' of me after a couple of kicks!
15-1/2" inside 8