Since we have such a wide geographic spread of posters and hunting situations, I�ll add more explanation regarding the hunting conditions for the rump shot buck whose end I posted above. Hope this doesn�t come over as defensive because it isn�t. When you live comfortably within your ethics, what others think on a place like the internet doesn�t count for much. This context to explain why somebody might be comfortable taking such a shot, when he knows the bullet is up to the job required. And since I learn from hearing how others hunt in their conditions, I thought this might be of interest to some.
Deer are scarce and the season fairly short where the hunter was hunting. On our worst hunt up there we went three days without seeing a single deer. On my best day, mid rut in a snow storm when snow had concentrated the deer lower down, I saw ten deer between first light and night, three of them small bucks. That many deer is a slow morning for some of you guys. It is over seven miles on foot and 4400 vertical feet to where we start hunting, another motivation to make use of limited opportunities.
All of this to say that if you want some venison rather than a mere nature hike, you�d best take any shot that you know will kill rather than hold out for a broadside. There is no place on that mountain to spot and stalk. The terrain, timber and contours don�t provide glassability. So it is mainly still hunt, in timber mixed with steep bits of meadow. Most of our bucks have been shot broadside at pretty close ranges. The hunter is patient and good at spot and stalk, superb at still hunting. This last one surprised him near camp as he walked along a trail to where he planned to begin still hunting. It was a buck in the rut in an unexpected place, spooked and diving into cover straight away, big rack� You may opt to wait till you find one standing for a broadside. I�d take him. I would wait if I were hunting in a place with lots of deer, especially if I was packing a .22 or .24.
