Doe, that is. I carried my mossberg 835 out today and "resighted" it in with some different slugs. Rural King in Clarksville had the Winchester Sabot slugs marked down. All I have to say about them is Very Accurate!! My shotgun grouped better with those slugs than some "deer" rifles I've owned. There was some daylight left and with an antlerless deer tag in my pocket that would be expiring soon, I decided to go and sit on a stand over looking a 1 1/2 acre food plot of winter wheat. The same place I missed a doe with my contender pistol two evenings ago. About 4:30 I heard a shot come from a couple of ridges away, so I figured the deer were starting their afternoon move to feed. At 4:50 with darkness approaching quickly I spotted movement near the woods edge. A single doe slipped out of the woodline and up to the edge of the pond for a drink. When she dropped her head, I shouldered the shotgun and in the same motion thumbed the safety into the "off" position. The deer scanned the field for danger. Satisfied that all was safe and with water dripping from her muzzle she lowered her head and continued to drink. I placed the crosshairs on the base of her neck aiming for the far shoulder and squeeeezed the trigger. Although I was anticipating it, I had been putting gradual pressure on the trigger until the sear broke releasing the firing pin and sending the one ounce slug on it's way. The recoil and muzzle report surprised me as I watched the slug strike it's target and the doe fold where she had been standing.
Thirty minutes later with the deer field dressed and the ATV loaded my friend Red pulled up. He had his 9 year old daughter with him. He carried her along on her first trip to the woods. The shot I heard at 4:30 had been them. They had filled his antlerless tag with a 75 lb doe over another wheat plot. His daughter, excited with her first deer hunt, dressed in her youth orange vest and hat with a pair of binoc's around her neck and a grunt call in her hand was extremely excited with the whole ordeal. She has seen deer up close on numerous occasions and had eaten many meals furnished by them and today got to see for herself the harvesting of a deer. She was beside herself wanting to know "When can I come back hunting again?" Red told her, "Next year you'll be ten and you'll be old enough to go through the hunter's safety course. If you pass it and still want to we'll get you your own hunting license and I'll carry you on the juvenile hunt" He promised her he would carry her on the juvenile hunt next year where she could take a deer of her own if she still wanted to hunt, but until then she would have to tag along and help, carry the binoc's and blow on the grunt call when told to. As they posed for their picture together with the deer and with a smile stretched across her face that told me she should have no problem watching, waiting and helping out for another year.
Frog
