WI 2014 gun deer hunt success
It would appear a new tradition has started on my farm, of which I am not opposed to by any means. The last couple years has greeted us with some nasty conditions on opening weekend, and this year was no different. The star filled sky the night before gave way to a warming drizzle that blanketed the hills and valleys with dense fog. This left visibility at a minimal and had maybe 30 to 100 yrds for the entire day.
Nestled into our over-the-top “Wieland’s Tower” was Olivia, Lindsey, and myself. Day 1, the girls are designated shooters and I just get to kick back and take in what deer hunting is to me. Nearly everyone goes to their stand on opening morning anticipating that this could be the day they take that buck of a lifetime, their kid gets their first deer, or even having a simpler goal of harvesting a doe. For me, it’s the reunion of my oldest daughter back from college, my youngest having a break from high school sports, and me – just kicked back and enjoying the time I get with them. Reality is settling in for me and I know these precious days are numbered. So with no serious thought of myself taking a buck, I work 6am to almost 5pm as the designated spotter.
The entire opening day in the fog was nearly indescribable of the partial sentences, “hey’s”, and “Oh,…..crap, I can’t see it”. Countless times the fog lifted back just enough that Mother Nature would give us a glimpse of deer passing by. A glimpse, might even be an over-statement. Too often, as quickly as you could identify the blurry/black images as a deer, it faded back into a wall of fog. Day one would end with a very small buck walking out of the fog directly at us. Possibly a 2.5 yr old and not what we have seen on our trail cams as deer we wanted.
Day 2 greeted us with rain, more rain, and a stiff south wind. For many, this amounted to absolute horrid conditions and we didn’t see any of the neighbors hunting their land across the valleys. Perfect in my eyes, as I had the stand to enable us to sit all day in comfort. But most importantly, the lack of pressure allowed the deer to continue with their natural movements – something I very seldom get to experience after 6:45am on opening day.
The action for us started fast. We had deer moving before shooting time into an area we call the sanctuary. In the dark, flickers of white of tails twitching is always a rush and letting us know they are close by. As legal shooting time passes, we have a few does and a couple small bucks pass through our field. The like clock-work, the heavy beam 8pt I had patterned on the trail cams came down his standard trail across my field and along a line of saplings. Instead of his usually walk, and clearing of scrapes, he trots and wonders on/off of his trail. Clearly he is in hot pursuit of a doe that is 50+ yrds ahead of him. First sight of him was at a conservative 275 yrds. It didn’t take long for him to clear the distance to the far end of my field, and stand butt-end to me. At nearly 430 yrds away, I knelt down with Sparky (my 270WSM) and bumped up my new Burris Veracity 5x25x50 scope to about 16X and evaluated the possible shot.
Range finder put him at 422 and 428. Another check of the wind and I was confident we had a steady 12 to 16mph wind quartered to my face. Another quick run through of calculations and I knew I would hit at 425yrds 1” above my first mil-dot and would have 7” of drift to the right. If there was ever a moment to have extreme confidence in optics, this was it. Wind, rain, and a brown on brown target. I settled in and continued to watch this buck standing rear end to me. After what seemed like eternity, the doe finally stood up and began walking towards the woods. He turned his head towards her and took 1 lethal step and stood still again – now presenting a perfect quartered away shot. 1 deep breath, slight hold, steady release of air and a gentle touch of the trigger and my vision was GONE. The muzzle flash was so bright I lost sight of my target for about a ½ second. As I regained my vision, I watched him do a half circle in some tall dark brush and vanish.
Immediately I made the walk out and locate the exact spot where I anticipated the impact. Exactly as expected brown hair in the grass and a few drops of blood leading to the red river. About 35 yrds away laid the buck – DOA. A quick glance at the carcass revealed a perfectly placed entry hole about 6 inched behind the shoulder. – Tag #1 filled
Because of registering a doe last year, I had a carry-over bonus buck tag in addition to our ability to legally group hunt here in WI. With a tagged deer on the ground, I returned to our stand to continue to hunt. Well, in reality it was to brag a little with getting to make a very well disciplined shot with both my daughters standing next to me.
By 11:30am things came to halt. So we opted to get the buck out of the field and go have lunch – knowing a much larger buck was making a daily trip between 1:30pm and 3:10pm along a different trail through dense brush. Unfortunately, Olivia had obligations and would have to leave for the day.
Lindsey and I returned to our stand by 1pm. Sandwiches in hand, we attempted to enjoy our lunches and still catch up on the daily activities she has with college life. That was quickly interrupted at about 1:15pm. First few looks of the landscape had painted a picture of dark brown brush, trees, and shrubs. But with just a glance of the trail I anticipated this buck to be on, I spotted very bright white limbs amongst the shrubs. Knowing that wasn’t there a moment ago, I took a closer look with the binos.
About as easy as one could possibly ask for. Standing at 235yrds along side a doe, was buck #2 on the list. I was in the best position (of Lindsey and I) to take the shot and this buck was giving us little to no time before stepping into a wall of trees. I immediately drew up and placed the crosshairs on the darkest hair above his brisket. A final check that I was perfectly centered and a gentle lift to the void of bone above the brisket and below the neck. A touch of the trigger produced a result I wasn’t anticipating. The impact of the Barnes TSX 140gr bullet flipped this buck over like a prairie dog. I’ve seen deer knocked sideways, pushed back, knocked on their butts….but never do this.
We took care of this buck, and fell victims to the rain. Both soaked to the core, we elected to call it a day. For Lindsey, it was the season as she had to return to school for classes on Monday morning.
With no intent of taking another deer, I continued to sit out throughout the week armed with a camera. I saw a number of does/fawns come and go from my sanctuary area along with a few small bucks. It wasn’t until Saturday of the last weekend that I found out a neighbor had taken a really nice 10pt that we had identified as buck #3 of the 3 bucks that we were hunting for.
In a final note, I need to shout out a thanks to a few. First and foremost are my daughters. They make my life everything that it has become. Burris – The constant improvements and allowing me to use some of the finest of optics out there. Barnes Bullets – They consistently deliver the ultimate punch at longer distances with perfect expansion and weight retention. The damages to the vitals are always devastating, yet minimal meat loss. These tools have greatly increased my effective range and I appreciate the quality control they bring to market.
Equipment:
Tikka 270WSM
Burris XTR 6×24
Barnes TSX 140gr over Magpro (hand loads)
Attachments:
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