.35 Whelen's First Kill

[Mike103]

Well the New York Southern Zone season opened up on this past Saturday for the first time. In the past it always opened up on Monday. The area I hunt in , delaware County, has no doe tags this year because of the low deer kill last year.  
 
At about 0830 on Saturday a lone deer approached. I did not see horns but it was acting spooky. I cranked up the Nikon 3X9 Pro Staff to 6 power and could see two spikes between the ears. Now this is not the deer I am looking for but thing have been lean for the past several years so I aimed for the neck and he dropped like a rock. A friend later used his range finder and it was 78 yards. A good distance thru the trees and brush. He was a good size deer despite his lack of horns. I'm getting the entire deer smoked. My wife loves smoked deer meat.  
 
The gun used was my Remington 7600 rifle in 35 Welen. It has a Nikon 3X9 Pro Staff mounted with Warn return to zero scope mounts. I was shooting Remington 200 grain factory ammo. I only have two boxes of the 200 grain that I picked up for ten dollars a box, well after sighting in and shooting the deer about 30 rounds left. When they are gone I will use the Remington 250 grain loads that the rifle shoots better.  
 
My 16 year old son missed a four pointer at 0700 the same day with my 7400 30-06. He had a bad case of buck fever. Lot's of bear sign around so I am leaving early Friday morning to go back up. Plus both of my son's  
will be hunting.  
 
MIKE.

[targshooter]

Mike103,
I lived and hunted in upsate NY for 20 years, 1978-1998. Hunted in the shotgun hunting area near the Finger Lakes and then up in the foothills of the Adirondacks with rifle. I would suppose you are in the Catskill area where rifle is allowed? Have driven through the area headed to southern New England, but never walked the brush there.
I used to hunt with a fellow in upstate NY who bought a Remington 7600 in .35 Whelen the minute they hit the shelves (late 80s I think it was). He traded in his 760 in 06 and never looked back. He was just a hunter, not being into target shooting and reloading. For the better sectional density he stayed with the 250 grain factory loads on my advice. Well, he has quite a nice tract of private land, and that rifle has never failed him. Having hunted the land with him when I lived in NY, I can almost guarantee he has probably never shot over 75 or so yards. His kills when I was with him probably averaged around 30-40 yards. All his kills have been one shot, most dropping at the hit, a traditional he has kept going over the last 8 seasons since I hunted with him. I think you can't go wrong with the .35 Whelen and am always confounded at why the cartridge was a commercial failure.

[Mike103]

Targ, This is my second longest shot in the Catskills. The longest was 90 yards with irons on a 742 over 20 years ago when my eyes were better. My shots are also 30 yards or less most often. I will switch to the 250 grain load as soon as the 200's are gone. Delaware County where I hunt has always been rifle but just this year New York changed many shotgun areas to rifle. MIKE.