Ah, the smell of gunpowder in the morning...

[AndyHass]

Today was opening day in MI.  I couldn't bring myself to take the shotgun so both Omegas went instead.  I sat in the 20-tree section we own of a woods bordering 40 acres of corn stubble that hadn't been harvested long enough for all the deer to know the cover was gone.  Half an hour after first light a couple does stepped out at 150 yards, but I wasn't going to take a doe first in such a prime spot on opening morning.  Shortly thereafter they started looking nervously down the field in a familiar way, then bolted.  Sure enough, I scanned over and picked out the backs of 4 deer walkiing just the other side of a hill top.  As I expected from the does' reaction, the last one in line sported headgear.  I ranged the closest one at 152 yards.  They jogged forward a bit, coming over the top of the hill.  The bipod was too low to get over the hill/stocks so I braced on a tree.  Knowing the buck was 150-180 yards (my old Omega is zeroed at 200), I held for the near shoulder on a quartering-to shot and squeezed.  The does shot out the right side of the smoke cloud, and after following through I stood to try and find the buck.  He was running away from the does and the cover of the woods (good sign).  Sure enough, after about 50 yards he stopped and lay down.

Half an hour later, a lone 4-pt came in the same way, and my new X7 was itching to be warmed up.  However MI has a 4-pt-on-1-side rule if you take 2 bucks, and I didn't know if the first was big enough.  He got within 50 yds but I had to let him walk as he scooted off trailing some hot doe.  Shortly thereafter my uncle shot 250 yds away (a different 4-pt).  This spooked a couple does out in front of me, and I figured the woods was already stirred up so why not.  They were skittish and looked to cross into my shooting window beyond 100, so I used the old Omega.  They came in much closer than I expected and it was an easy shot, bang-flop.  The yearling hung out long enough for me to reload but was way too small.

Another hour later a group of 6 deer including 2 mature does ran in, crossing at what I figured was just a little further than the doe I'd just shot.  I didn't figure I had time to range them so I estimated 100 yards and broke in the X7.  Unlike the other gun it was loaded with 300gr Keith Nose, not 200gr Shockwave.  To my surprise the deer all fled unhurt.     Later when I paced the distance to the dropped doe and found it further than I'd thought when I shot (70 yds) I realized I had significantly underestimated the range to the final doe and shot underneath her.  The Shockwave's trajectory might have covered up for my mistake, but not the hollowpoint.  Too bad operator error had to ruin my first field shot with the new gun, but it was still the best opening morning I've had.  The buck turned out to be a nice symmetrical 6-pt (2.5 yr old)....not huge, but in that area any buck with a symmetrical rack and not a couple twisted knots on his head is a good buck.  The Shockwave entered in the corner of the near shoulder within an inch or so of where I wanted it, taking out both lung and exiting midway on the far side.

Seems my shotgun rarely gets to ride along for deer season anymore.....

[Wolfhound]

Way to go!

Seems my shotgun rarely gets to ride along for deer season anymore.....

I know what you mean. Ours start's Friday. My shotgun hasn't been out since 2000. I clean it once a year and that's all the attention it gets.

[SURVEYOR]

You are a Bad Boy Andy!

[simonkenton]

Good shooting!
I would pay some serious money to have access to some deer hunting as good as that.

[AndyHass]

Good shooting!
I would pay some serious money to have access to some deer hunting as good as that.

Funny thing is, most years I couldn't buy a buck.  Then when out with my bow in the same spot 2 weeks ago (corn standing) I saw either 5 or 8 bucks within 2 hours one morning, depending on whether I saw each once or a couple left and came back.  I attribute it to the fact that there seems to be far fewer hunters around than when I was younger....used to sound like WW3 and now it's maybe 20-50% that much shooting.  I think the younger generation is cutting their teeth on video games rather than .22s and recurves.

My wife got sick and I had to go home after cleaning the deer, otherwise I bet I would have tagged out in the evening except for maybe my "big buck" tag (2 more doe permits).  I'm angry they limited me to 3 doe permits this year, last year I bought 6 or 7 and filled them all.  Most of the hunters around me are leasers who won't shoot does...the crop damage is substantial and culling deer is the one contribution I can make while living far away.

[AndyHass]

Well I might have finished out the season, don't know if I'll get away again for ML season.  Saturday morning a doe stepped out in the corn stubble at 170 yds, dropped her right there. 

I decided to go out early for the evening hunt, 2:30pm, as the does seemed to be coming out pretty early to eat the corn.  I came around the corner of the woods en route to my stand and a group of deer were already out there.  I dropped to my belly and crawled back to the woods edge to keep from getting busted, get the gun ready, and inched back out.  I scoped the group, picking the biggest doe, and hit here with the rangefinder.  237yds...she moved, so I zapped her again....241,242.  Good enough.  For the first time, I got to dial the range into my Leatherwood scope and would actually get the shot off (the scope has a cam that actually raises the back of the scope to compensate for drop).  She was quartering to, so I aimed for the base of the neck on the near side to quarter back through the chest.  I shot, and smoke covered the scene.  I stood up, saw the group bolting for the woods, but couldn't tell what happened.  As I was reloading, I caught a flash of white on the ground so I knew she was down on the spot.  I sat the rest of the evening, saw a 3-pt at 5 yds.  Lots more does but my uncle was out there and I didn't want to ruin his hunt so I didn't shoot again.  I was hoping I'd get to recover the bullet from the doe, but it was in about 2 inches higher than intended, caught the very front of the lungs, and out just in front of the offside shoulder.  I should have aimed a bit further back but it worked fine.

[Critter]

Two inches off or not that is some good shooting Andy.  Congrats on all your deer.  We're still after em, saturday there were 7 of us out in the woods and everyone was carrying an inline ML of one brand or another.  Kind of neat, used to be a rarity but in southern MI it's getting to be real common.

[AndyHass]

Yes, for some reason I just don't get the same out of the experience if it's with a shotgun....don't really know why it just is.

[slave]

Congrats Andy,

Sounds more like one of my dreams than a hunt, but I do love the ML.

I started started my 10 year old son out this year on a ML. Its a bit heavy for him but in a blind with a bipod it can not be beat. I think it is a great tool to get a youngster off to a good solid start. Today I enjoy all forms of hunting but my Grandfather started me on an old ML. I still remember the hang fires and getting smacked in the back of the head if I did not keep the muzzle on target for what then seemed like a day or more. I can also remember all of the new 870's & 1100's my buddies were getting and how much I thought I needed one as well. Turned out my Grandfather knew that one day in the future my Son WOULD BE BORN and as he grows up he will be able to pick up a bow or any other weapon and be sucessfull because of what he taught me all of those years ago. I sometimes wonder how many generations this wisdom has been handed down and why in some cases it stoped along the way. Sure seems to me like this tradition is worth the effort to maintain. I hope some day my Grandson or Granddaughter kills there first deer with a ML.