I'll be honest. In a lot of ways, my experiences deer hunting with 4MOA rifles were possibly better than as they are now with my current crop of rifles that are all shooting nice tight groups. They're certainly different.
For one thing, hunting with a deer sprayer forced me to stick to sure-bet venues where all my shots were at knife-fight ranges. There is a special zing that comes from not only the close range-- there's a special cold-bloodedness to it all. I'm now filling at least one of my tags at 150-175 yards. It just isn't the same.
I've all but sworn off my Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06 for at least this season. The reason is that I've got dozen or more deer rifle projects-- some going back to 2014, some longer, that I haven't been able to prove out simply because I've had such a consistent venison maker. A few years ago, I caught myself calling for the truck even before I'd check to see if the deer was down. I'd shot it in the last minute of legal hunting with the Hawkeye, and the blast had blinded me. I was so confident I'd dropped the deer in her tracks, I didn't get out and check.
30 years ago, I'd have sweated bullets until I'd gotten down from the stand and found the deer. In this case, I waited for the truck and then drove out to the approximate location, and there she was.
