Shot a big doe in the front shoulder with a 7 x 57 with a 175 grain power point at about 40 yards back when I was 13 or 14. Seen hair explode, watched her stumble, almost go down, then stagger up onto the bench above me. I waited 5 minutes, went to where she stood, found hair, blood, chunks of shoulder blade. I picked up a big piece of shoulder bone and put it in my pocket. I snuck up to that bench…no deer. Trailed her the length of the ridge, jumped her 3 times but no shot. At the far point of the ridge, about 100 yards from me there was a shot. Trailed on out, there’s a goofy dude from neighbor’s group(who had permission to hunt out there) standing over MY doe. He had shot her straight across the hind quarters to put her down. I told him I hit her about 30 minutes ago and trailed her out to him. He said, “ya musta shot her in the ass, because I just shot her in the shoulder. I said I’m glad you got her. I wasn’t, but I said it. I’m thinking that was a mess to skin and butcher. I was young and stupid and did a lot of things wrong that morning, but that was one thing I did right. Should have shot her again when she was stumbling, should have left her lay and not pushed her. In our family/hunting group it’s who puts it down that counts…unless you’re anchoring or finishing off a wounded one for a junior or senior hunter. May not work for some and might be wrong, but that’s the way we do it.
