PDA

View Full Version : shortest shot on a deer


thirty06
05-19-2005, 07:33 AM
Have just voted on Grayghosts post for longest shot at a deer which goes to show that there are some fine riflemen/women out there.
I want to know how many good hunters are out there.

What is the closest range you have managed to stalk a deer to before you have popped the cap.

I have to gloat that the closest I have stalked to is approx 2 metres on a whitetail doe before she became camp meat but that was a bit of a fluke.

I usually try to keep them to under 100 with either the 260 or the 30-06, knowing that I can take them at a longer range if I need to.

Also do you guys have a season on big game. Here we can hunt big game all year round. The only season we have is on game birds and trout and salmon. Everything else is open as there is so much of everything we need to hunt them all year just to control numbers. Can't imagine having to wait to go get a deer to put on the BBQ

gd357
05-19-2005, 07:54 AM
The closest deer I ever killed was probably only 10 yards away. I've let deer walk that were closer though... Had a young 8 point walk within 2 or 3 feet of the tree I was in a few years ago. Also stalked within 7 or 8 yards of a 7 point and passed on him. It's always a rush to have such wary animals that close and not have a clue that you're there.

gd357

fabsroman
05-19-2005, 12:43 PM
Most bowhunters in my area will have had deer right underneath their tree. I once had 10 deer hanging around right underneath my tree. My heart was pounding and I wasn't sure I could move without them seeing me. I ended up killing the last doe in the bunch as they were moving out.

Big joe
05-19-2005, 02:34 PM
I had a apx 30 yard shot at a VERY nice 4 point Mule Deer buck... and get this... did'nt take it because the bugger had his whole head and neck parked right behind a couple of pine tree branches. He ran across a backroad we were driving on . He was with a smaller 2 point buck that, of course, was in plain sight the entire time it took to jump out of my truck. I was 95% sure it was him but we had seen lots of does that morning even though these two bucks were alone running across the road. GRRR! I just sat there with the cross hairs if my 270 resting on his chest, and my finger on the trigger, waiting for him to move a little so I could identify him. I'm pretty sure he was watching me because after about 20-30 seconds of agony, He just bounded off, never giving me another opportunity for a shot. I did get a couple of fleeting glimpses of him as I followed him hoping for a shot and WOW!!! He was by far the biggest Mule Buck I've ever seen while hunting!!! It happened 4 years ago and it haunts me to this day... like I said... GRRRRRR!!!

Classicvette63
05-19-2005, 03:52 PM
Killed my first buck at 10-15 FEET. Dummy walked out around a tree right to me. That also gave me proof that there is no such thing as "knockdown" power. A 180gr round nose Core-Lokt out of the '06 right into the neck just kinda tipped him over, but not all the way.

M.T. Pockets
05-19-2005, 04:28 PM
My home area is a slug zone. It is a 2 day free for all. Most hunting is done from well placed stands. I like to be in position for about a 30-40 yard shot. Over the years I've shot several deer within 10 yards. I've had to get out of the way of running deer and had a buddy get run into by a doe one year while hunting in a cornfield. Lots of strange stories over the years about close calls with running deer.

Like Classic mentioned about knockdown power, I've seen 100 lb. deer take a 12 ga slug in the ribs at 10 yards and after the hair flies all over, the deer runs away like nothing happened. This is a round a lot of folks in Alaska use for bear protection. Amazing.

Swift
05-19-2005, 08:04 PM
About 3 yds, 4 yrs ago.

Dan Morris
05-19-2005, 09:29 PM
Roughly 15 feet...running...in another life, two of us were looking for other game.....in a dry creek bed, a small buck bust outta the brush....we both drew and fired several shots...lil bugger droped in about 50 yards. .357 Rem hollow points...a suprise to both of us!
Dan

:cool:

Lilred
05-20-2005, 06:36 AM
Mine was on a 4pter, who walked out from behind me right beside the tree I was sittin beside...well..in..it was a downed forked tree..I killed alot of deer from that stand. It was in an open oak woodlot w/ a creek and a mineral spring beside it..which them deer tore up. I had the 30/30 that day..he aint know what hit him. I've had deer live longer bein hit w/ the muzzleloader..lol
Killt a few deer right below my treestand..1 was a 6 pt right square below me..I paid fer that one dearly, the gun blew me right out the stand lol...what a show of excessive gooberism..:rolleyes:

gd357
05-20-2005, 06:49 AM
Lilred,

sounds like you need a seat belt and shoulder harness for your treestand. Hope you came thru all right.

gd357

bigbrother
05-20-2005, 08:08 AM
3 yards was the closest I've shot with a bow.
About 10 yds with a muzzle loader.
About 15 yds with rifle.
About 40 yds with handgun.

DocHunter
05-20-2005, 02:53 PM
Less than 6 feet from my muzzle with a TC Encore 209x50. Walked right under me.

earschplitinloudenboomer
05-20-2005, 04:51 PM
'bout 3 feet with a bow. He was on one side of a tree, I was on the other, when he put his head down I whacked him in the ribs.
About 30 yards later the little generator light came on, an' I invited him over to my place fer dinner.

8X56MS
05-20-2005, 09:51 PM
My very first deer was taken at almost point blank range with a single barrel Stevens 20 GA. I was about 7 then.

Rocky Raab
05-20-2005, 10:51 PM
Maybe five feet. Straight down. Had to "flare" my feet apart to miss'em! Was able to aim at A hair. Never knew what hit him.

jon lynn
05-21-2005, 10:30 AM
My first German Roe was real close. I was giving up hope, it was getting real dark (German dark) and when I was considering packing up and leaving deer stand, I glanced down and a young buck was nibbeling just below me.

I had to wait until he was walking away so he wouldn't be so danged close. On 3x he filled the scope so much I really had to stiffle a laugh, I felt so bad for him, I almost let him go..............but I didn't:eek:


I didn't even consider it in yards or meters, but feet, good thing I was only armed with a .222Remington.

gregarat
05-22-2005, 12:50 PM
Where I hunted in the Aderondacks, the average range is 25y, or less. There isnt many spots where you could a get 50y shot, even if you wanted to. Ive stalked deer as close as 15ft. Most of them were doe. Doe are quite aloof in my area. They must know we arnt permited to shoot them (shrug).

DaMadman
05-25-2005, 03:41 PM
The closest I have ever shot was straight down from the tree I was in. so maybe 15-20 feet. The closest I have ever stalked was maybe 10-15 yards. The deer was just over the crest of a knoll and I was able to get to the top of the hill and just broke the crest of the hill on my belly crawl when I took the shot.

ChesterGolf
05-29-2005, 03:16 PM
Had a buck about three or four years ago that started to eat my ground blind (made of fresh foliage). I had to scare it off so I could shoot it.

GoodOlBoy
05-31-2005, 09:34 AM
The closest I have taken one is about 10 yards myself. Such a shame that I was squirrel hunting and lost the whole right shoulder because of the damage the buckshot did. (I always keep a couple o buckshot in my watch pocket when squirrel hunting.)

GoodOlBoy

Rick Teal
06-07-2005, 01:55 AM
Two years ago I shot a small buck (225 lbs) at 6 feet while I was a watcher on a drive.

Once while still-hunting in a light rain with splotchy snow still on the ground, I was about to put my foot down on a patch of brown grass, when the grass turned into a doe, and got up and ran away. I didn't have a doe tag, so had to let it go.

I suppose my closest still-hunted animal kill was around 10-15 yds.

gumpokc
06-07-2005, 09:31 PM
Closest i have stalked one is about 30 yards or so during BP season.

The funniest/most irratating, and closest one was about 8 years ago in SW oklahoma, south of reed crossing, near magnum/altus oklahoma.

very heavy mesquite, and ravines. was a long day kinda wet, and cold. bad bad day over all, everything that could go wrong went wrong.

was walking back out close to dusk, follwing a ravine. Cussing up a storm, smoking a cig, making all kinds of racket, i just didnt care at the time.

I still have no idea how this doe didnt hear or smell me, but as i came around a corner in the ravine, she was barreling down it going the other way. actually ran into me, and with being offbalance from being so surprised, knocked me down, and she kept right on pounding ground as fast as she could.

the bad part is that a friends dad saw the whole thing from up on top of the hill not far away.

he teases me that i had one jump into my lap, and i still couldn't catch it :P

after that, and an incident i had with a cougar, and another where i stepped into the middle of a covey of quail before it went up around me, in that same ravine, he calls it "frank's place"

Ol` Joe
06-08-2005, 11:13 AM
I hunt the cedar and balsam swamps here in Michigan where long shots are measured in feet. I`ve shot 3-4 deer close enought I could count the whiskers on their muzzles while useing a old brush blind I built 30 yrs ago - under 10-12 ft. I had one doe around 10 years ago come up stomping her foot with a fawn in tow so close I could have rapped her with the rifle. She knew I was there but until she got a good whiff of me just kept comeing one step closer. She finally decided she didn`t like what she saw and as far as I know is still running. I couldn`t have took her if I wanted, no doe tag, and she was watching me from the instant she stepped from the brush.
For a moment I was thinking of moveing over and offering her a seat next to me in the blind, she was almost in there with me.

kt
06-27-2005, 01:38 PM
not even five steps. the first deer i got with the bow was a spooked doe who came running at me looking over her shoulder as she came, we were both on the same trail in some real nasty stuff. when i realized she wasnt seeing me i drew back. at about 3X the length of my arrow she stopped and when she looked forward through my peep sight all i could see was her white through patch. off with the arrow a big exit between the shoulder blades she turned around and fell inside ten yards
exciting
kt

Lone Star
06-29-2005, 09:12 AM
I hunted Kodiak for most of the 27 falls I lived in Alaska, usually with a handgun. On a trip ten years ago I was sitting under a large spruce tree with my hunting partner eating lunch when he asked if I thought I could call in a deer. I gave a few blasts on the varmint call and went back to eating my sandwich. Five minutes later a buck walked around the tree and stared at us from about ten feet away. He couldn't decide what we were, and I pulled out the .300 Savage Contender and drew down on him. About this time he figured things weren't right and started to walk off quickly. I found the front of his neck in the 4x scope and dropped him at under 20 feet with a broken neck. Finished my lunch then got busy with the knife....

Jack
06-29-2005, 10:46 AM
Quite a few years back, I was woodchuck hunting with a .22 rimfire rifle. Sitting with my back to a tree along a hedgerow, alfalfa field in front of me, woods behind me. Heard something behind me, but didn't move.
A young deer walked up beside me- he was looking out into the field. I gently reached over and poked him in the ribs with the muzzle of the rifle.:D
He went straight up into the air, came down, and tried to run in 5 directions at once.
I suppose it doesn't count as a shot, but it kept me laughing too hard to shoot for the rest of the evening.

badgerrr
07-17-2005, 02:15 AM
Was 10 to 15 yards. The spectacular thing about the encounter was that the wife was carrying my deer rifle, elsewhere.

I had to make due with my Elk rifle. It's a 375 Holland & Holland.

That doe threw off a cloud of steam that was hard to believe. At close range, the wrath of that caliber can be a frightening thing to behold.

deadonat100yards
07-31-2005, 07:19 PM
round here we got a 5 month deer season with a limit from september thru january.( bow then muzzleloader then rifle:) )
couldnt imagine huntin all year long. addamn! thatd be awesome:cool: !

Evan03
08-30-2005, 06:43 AM
5 months


weve got 3 months if you work it right and spend 300 plus on tags, one a resident tag and the other a noneresident take. thats the only way for us to get 2 deer tags within the state.

skeet
10-14-2005, 02:17 PM
I have taken two deer at inches range. One the gun was almost touching if it wasn't. The other I walked into a bunch(12-15) of deer laying in some ground cover. Was hunting on crop damage permits at the time and shot 3..one was so close I burned the hair on it's side. One heck of a big buck in the bunch but I couldn't shoot him at the time.:eek:

VirginiaHunter
11-03-2005, 03:52 PM
My shortest was about 5 feet.

I was black powder hunting up in this thicket around 9:00 am, when i heard crunch crunch crunch coming down this little ridge behind me.

I was tucked up against an old downed oak tree with lots of the branches still attacted. The sun was in my eyes as I watched what appeared to be a doe come'n of this ridge. With the Sun in my eyes and the branches lighting up like fiber optics I couldn't see the 6 points this fella had.

So I stand still and watch as "it" comes by my spot and I see horns. I freeze, he looks at me and then looks the other way....BOOM. I never knew a deer would piss himself, but I swear I smelled it I was so close. He walked a few steps behind me and layed down and expired.

I all so could have sworn his eye got as big as like you see a cartoon character that got suprised by something when i shot, but I'm sure that was my imigination, wasn't it? lol

RUMLUVER
12-16-2005, 12:39 PM
My closest shot was at about 30 yards with a 30-06 dropped right on her feet. It was a big whitetail doe and she never saw it coming.

Skyline
12-19-2005, 07:30 PM
My shortest shot was on a blacktail deer in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. I was out pheasant hunting (deer tag in the pocket) and we were walking through a field of brambles and heavy thatched grass, pushing the birds ahead of us. All of a sudden a nice 3 x 3 buck got up out of a ditch infront of me at about 5 yards.

I pointed the old 12 gauge and hit him in the ribs with a 2 3/4 inch load of #6 shot. It knocked him right over and he thrashed around for a minute or two and was still. best damned pheasant hunt I ever went on!;)

dnapicker
12-31-2005, 07:48 PM
Tickled a does ear with my sight, she wiggled her ear like it was a fly. Might have busted her eardrumb.........jerky.....yummy.

dna

drummer
01-04-2006, 03:15 PM
Good night Rocky!:eek: You mustv'e wanted him bad.:D

I took a buck at about 10M this year.During our fall turkey season I had a nice 10 pt. run up to within 10 ft of me.Had I been deer hunting, a big gobbler would've run up to me instead.

Cobra
03-27-2006, 08:06 PM
Less than 5 feet. Have actually touched small deer with the muzzle a few times. Kick back and laugh as they try and figure out what just goosed them.

shooterjon
07-14-2006, 10:38 PM
About 15 yards,I was in the woods sitting at the base of a tree . He walked in front of me and stopped.One shot and he didn't move for a minute -- my first thought was, I missed from 15 yds? how could this be? Watching in amazement for a minute or so he went straight down to the ground and for the count.:o

MacD37
07-21-2006, 07:51 PM
The closest I have taken a whitetail is about 15 yds, but on Muledeer, I have taken many good bucks at less than 10-15 feet!

In West Texas, and New Mexico,we do what is called PONY TRAILING! The drill is to climb a mountain early in the morning, to the top, to get above the Muleys! The mountains of the Sanoran Deasert, have what is called "PONY TRAILS" which are 10-30 foot layers of rock out cropings that run more or less paralell along the sides of the mountain face, at verious elevations. There is a narrow, flat surface, along the top of these PONY TRAILS, where you can walk quietly. To hunt these you simply walk along them and look over the side, for bedded deer against the bluff base. No matter how cold it is, the Muleys will bed on the shady side of a canyon, or west side of a mountian, in the late morning. These shots are in the 10 foot range most times! A 41 mag handgun is the top choice! However, I still carry a little Mannlicher Shoenauer 243Win with 100 gr Hornady soft points, loaded to about 3000fps, for the cross canyon shots!:)