Home Forums Thread Like Summary - Shortest shot on a deer?

We have a thread titled, Longest shot on a Deer. How about shortest? I killed one years ago at about 15 feet.

I'd guess it was ~5 yards? Maybe a step closer, maybe a step farther. While still hunting going up the mountain just after daylight, I sat down on a rock to watch my backtrail down the mountain and eat a pack of crackers (blood sugar was dropping as I was easing up the mt). It was a cold, still morning...leaves were extremely loud. I'd sat down at the lower side of a patch of hill cane. To my right, left, and above I couldn't see but could see down the mountain well. As I started opening the crackers the plastic was really, really loud. I heard something to my right coming straight towards me and moving at a pretty good pace. I sat the crackers down, put a knee on the ground and turned so I could shoot to that side. He walked out of the cane with the hair on his neck standing up and he looked pissed. Probably 5 steps away, one shot and it was done.

Closest kill was maybe one yard from me, but only about 12 to 18 inches off the muzzle of my rifle, a Ruger 77RL in .250-3000 shooting a handloaded 100gr TSX at about 2790 fps. Wildlife biologist acquaintance of mine had told me that at the beginning of or during the rut, if you could find some fresh scrapes, still being used and freshened by a buck, you could urinate in them and the buck would think that another buck was doing it and would come looking for you. But, only do this when stand hunting off the ground, from a tree stand or shooting house.

Getting a late start on opening morning, just at daylight, I was easing along quietly, walking to my ladder stand along a deer trail that followed the top of a creek bank. About 90 yards along the trail, I found a very fresh scrape, so I stopped and urinated in it a little. I was very familiar with that area and knew if there was one scrape, there would be two to four more before I got to my stand. I traveled about 40 more yards and found another, so I urinated in that one some. About 35 more yards and there was another one, and my stand was only about another 35 yards further on, so I was in the process of urinating in that one when I heard a buck grunting loudly to my right. I looked and coming at me on the trail was a good sized buck and he was pi$$ed off at my pi$$ing in his scrapes. He dropped his head and full-on charged me, antlers aimed right at my lower abdomen. I barely had time to get my rifle off my shoulder, pivot and try to jump to the right, and fire from the hip as I spun.

At the shot, the buck reared up, grazing my coat with its left antler, fell backwards and sideways, falling about 8 feet over the edge of the creek bank, then ran about 40 yards headlong into thick brush and died. I was left shaking like a dog pooping peach pits and it took me a bit to regain my composure. The buck was a young ten-point and weighed about 280 lbs. The bullet entered the buck's chest but there was no exit wound. There was about a 5 inch diameter spot on his chest where all of the hair was gone, with the entrance wound right in the middle, from the muzzle blast. There was no exit wound and I looked for the bullet, but couldn't find it when dressing the deer.