My friend Robert took this whitetail buck in northern new mexico. We ran right onto them and by the time Rob got set up, they spooked and took off. As I walked back to the truck to grab my GPS, I saw their tails go waving through the trees and I told Rob that we can circle around and cut them off in the next valley.
We got ready, put on a slow stalk and sure enough, we come around a slight bend and I see 3 whitetail does feeding, another doe looking directly at us ( they can see through trees, i swear!) and low and behold... A legal buck feeding by himself 30-40 yards away from the does!
I first tried to get Rob set up of the bipod, it was to short, I laid down, put the bipod on my back, still to short. We looked for another plan, and during that time, the buck feed a little closer and offered a better shot angle.
Nothing to shoot off of, just stunted cedar trees, so I told Rob, screw it, throw it up on my shoulder but don't shoot until i plug my ears!
That mosin has the 20" barrel, so when it was on my shoulder, I was maybe 10-11 inches away from the muzzle. Had we been shooting the russian ammo, I would have gone home with no eye brows and a singed beard lol.
I ranged him at 132 yards and he was slowly walking at a 1/4ing away angle. I told Rob to aim at the last rib, he did so and squeezed the trigger and the buck dropped. While gutting, only the heart was complete. The lungs and liver came out in thick red/black jello.