I have had a decent deer season this year. I ended up killing 8 deer this year. I ended up using my 7mm-08 just about all season. I killed one deer using my Remington 700 .30-06 and my reloads (first year to reload) and got tripped over some briars and dropped my rifle, breaking my scope. Here are the stories of the ones I got this year.
Deer #1
I got to my stand opening morning about the crack of daylight. I was sitting on a powerline right of way. On one side of the powerline is a huge cutover and on the other side is all white oak hollows. About 8:30 a.m. I looked up and saw movement at the edge of the cutover. I raised my binoculars and saw a doe walking into the power line. I ranged her with my Nikon rangefinder to be 351 yards. I laid my rangefinder down and raised my rifle and propped on a small tree. I was using my Remington 700 .30-06 and a handloaded 150 grain Speer BTSP bullet. I took my time and waited for a broadside shot and at the shot, she dropped right there. On my way down to retrieve her, I got tangled up in some briars and managed to fall and when I picked my gun up my was pretty damaged. I walked on up to my deer and was very pleased with the bullet performance. It left a .308 size entrance hole just behind the shoulder and left a quarter sized exit wound on the offside.
Deer #2
This was the second day of my hunt and I was 200 miles away from home so my backup rifle was my H&R .45/70. I decided to hunt a new place about 2 miles from the truck. I was overlooking a big creek bottom and found where the deer were crossing and backed off of the crossing about 100 yards. Big white oak acorns were falling heavily and there was deer sign everywhere. I got on stand about 3:30 p.m. and around 4:15 I saw movement at the creek. It seemed like forever before that movement materilized into a whole herd of deer. There were 11 does in that herd. I had to wait for some deer to clear out of my way so I could take just one. By that time my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I finally managed to get a shot where I would hit just one deer. I raised my rifle and placed my crosshairs just behind her shoulder and fired. At the shot, she went down and got back up and made it about 25 yards and dropped. The Winchester 300 grain Hollow Point left a quarter sized entrance and exit hole.
Deer #3
I went home after I shot that last doe. When I got home I got ol'faithful out, my Remington Model 7 7mm-08. I didn't have many shells so I went to the pawn shop and all I could find was Hornady Light Magnum 139 grain SST's so I went and sighted it in. That afternoon I left the house about 2:00 and drove the 70 miles to my other hunting spot. It is next to a river and its beautiful hunting. I am sitting facing a saddle. Several big hollows empty out onto one big ridge and there are several trails that come off the side of that ridge. Well about 5:00 I heard a noise behind me (never expected one to come from behind me) and I was on the ground so I took a chance and turned around to see what it was. There was a fat 4 pointer behind behind me (3 points on one side and an 18" spike on the other). He was about 20 yards from me. I placed the crosshair just behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger. At the shot he dropped right there and never moved. That bullet went in about the size of a pencil and came out with a quarter size hole. It turned everything in between into liquid.
Deer #4
I went back to the same spot about a week later(primitive weapons season) and noticed that all the bushes around me where peeled up and big scrapes where everywhere. I placed some scent wicks out with some Ticks 69. About 7:15 a.m. I grunted 3 times with my Primos Buck Roar. I heard a buck grunt back so I grunted back at him. About that time I saw movement on the ridge across from me and saw a nice buck. My heart instantly jumped into overdrive and I got a very high adrenaline rush. The buck started grunting and had his hair standing up on his back. He started attacking a small sweet gum tree and stomping his feet. He was in a rage. I quickly lined up my crosshairs on his shoulder and fired (75 yard shot). At the shot he ran towards me and fell about 10 steps in front of me. I don't know how that rascal ran because the 300 grain Hollow left one heck of hole. It went in the size of a quarter and tore a hole the size of a softball coming out. The offside shoulder was just about gone. He was a nice 8 point with 5" bases( I have pictures of him that I will post later).
Deer #5
I went back to the same spot yet again after primitive weapons season was over. I took my Remington Model 7 7mm-08 with Hornady 139 grain SSTs. About 8:00 I heard leaves crunching and look up to see a doe feeding down the same ridge that the 8 pointer came down. I watched her feed for over an hour and decided that apparently a buck was not coming behind her so I placed my crosshairs behind her shoulder and fired. At the shot she ran about 35 yards and stopped. I was in the process of getting my gun back up to fire again when she started wobbling sideways and fell. The SST left a softball size hole on the offside and left a pile of blood on the ground.
Deer #6
The next day I took a trip to one of my favorite spots but it is very brushy so I took my Remington 870 12 gauge and Federal #00 buckshot. It is s small white oak hollow that is surrounded by cutover on all sides. I got on stand at 3:30 p.m. and had just sat down when I looked up a doe just comes walking into the hollow. I raised my gun and she saw me. She was about 20 yards away and looking at me. I placed the bead behind her shoulder and fired. At the shot she just dropped.
Deer #7
A week later I drove back to where I shot the 8 pointer. I had been on stand about an hour when I heard deer running through the woods and two big does came running out on me. I whistled and they stopped about 75 yards out. I quickly raised my 7mm-08 and fired. I hit the biggest doe right through the shoulders and she dropped right there. I got a dime sized exit hole on this one.
Deer #8
I went back the next day to the same spot. I was about to freeze to death. About 7:30 I decided I'd give my Primos buck roar a try. I grunted 3 times and laid the call down when I heard a deer grunt back. I grunted back at him and about 5 minutes later I saw him standing in the thick spot on the ridge, rubbing his antlers on the bushes. I grunted and he came charging out with his hair raised on his back. I quickly placed the crosshairs just behind his shoulder and fired. He ran back the way he came so I thought I missed him. I walked on out to where he was standing when I fired. I found a pile of blood and a heavy blood trail. I followed it about 40 yards and found him piled up. It left a huge hole behind his shoulder. It was an 8 pointer also. (I'll post pictures of him later).
