My First Deer

[IdahoHunter455]

HEY GUYS!!!!

Got my first deer on Saturday!!! It is a nice big 4 by 1 deer (I will explain why here pretty soon). Yes! I shot my first deer with my uncle's 7mm mag (I would have shot it with my .35 remington but it was too far for that round). The first time we saw it, I tried taking it down with my .35 but I missed (no no, it wasnt buck fever. It was my scope:D , jk), then I saw the same buck and I shot and missed again (buck fever again:D ) and that is when I shot off his left antler, so now there is only one little 2 inch eyeguard on him now on that side. Well then he took off and we found him again out of range for my .35 and so my unlce gave me his 7mm mag and I shot and missed (I was high, no not on drugs, like I missed him high) and he just kinda stood there (now I am thinking to myself, ok this isnt funny) and that last one I shot, nailed him at the bottom of his lung and his liver and took him down. I have pictures and I will post them up here pretty soon. I gave him to the butcher today and we weighed him at 138 pounds with just meat and a little bit of bone. Big monster for my first deer.

[rubicon]

Congratulations!!! That is definitely one hunt you will never forget. lets see those pics.

[fabsroman]

I am dying to see the pics. I take it that you won't be getting him mounted.

I heard a story once about a guy that shot a deer in the antlers. It knocked the deer out cold. The guy then went to take a picture with the deer, thinking that he had killed it, and he put his rifle on the deer's rack to take the pic. Well, the deer woke up and the stunned hunter watched as the deer took off with the rifle still in its rack. Imagine if that deer got shot later on. That lucky hunter would get venison and a rifle for a single shot.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Good for you....I think that deer has your name on the side of the hide somewhere....I love those first deer stories....been a long time but I still see mine too...memories..I even have the bullet from it..not to mention the 6 hr drag dad and I had to make with it...way back in the woods..hope many more frequent your freezor.

[fabsroman]

I too would remember a 6 hour drag. My Lord. I think the longest I have ever had was about 15 minutes and that was bad enough. Assuming I had the money, I would immediately go out and buy an ATV if I had to drag a deer for 6 hours.

Then again, I remember some of my poorer days when I didn't even have waterproof clothing but hunted out in the rain regardless. Ah, the good old days.

Like the rest of you, I too remember my first deer and my second deer. After that, things get a little fuzzy except for the 8 pointer that I missed and the two deer that I have mounted. The first deer, the missed 8 pointer, and the two mounted deer all have stories that go with them that are pretty decent. The missed 8 pointer is probably the best of them, but the others are pretty good.

IdahoHunter,

Congratulations on the buck. I think I forgot to tell you that in the post above. By the way, did you learn anything from the 3 misses? You can always come up with a reason for another gun. I am trying to figure one out right now. Maybe I'll let the scope bash me in the head this winter while shooting the .300 Win and reason that a soft recoiling .25-06 is just the ticket.

[gd357]

Congrats on your first deer. The first one's always the hardest to get. Sounds like an experience you'll always remember. Another thing: you may want to start a hunting journal. It will help you remember all of those hunts, and notice patterns in movement and the habits of animals. Can't wait to see the pics

gd

[icequeen]

Congrats IdahoHunter!!!

[Swift]

Congratulations!:D

[Jabba]

Originally posted by gd357
you may want to start a hunting journal.
gd

I also keep a log of all my deer I have ever killed. It's fun to go back and read and remember them. I would not remember them all otherwise. I like it a lot.

Jabba

[Jabba]

Oh yeah... congrats on the 1st one.

Don't take this the wrong way... but there were way too many misses before you scored a hit. You owe it to the buck to make a clean kill. You should do some practicing at those extended ranges.

Jabba

[Steverino]

Savor this occassion of your first deer with hopefully many more to come!:p

[Jack]

Congratulations!

[IdahoHunter455]

lol...no I am a good shot but that was to keep steady aiming at the deer. I still made a clean kill I just knocked him a little woozy when I tore off his antler. Here are the pictures.

[gregarat]

Congratulations man!!!

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Hey Idaho...still would like to see the pictures.....and fabs..the 6hr drag was because we followed the jeep trails out. The wardens were there alllll the time but this one day..lol...should have gone the way the crow flew.. was also about 50* when started and a foot of snow by the time we got back to truck....oh those great memories...of dad...The Pa Game school is located on one end of the jeep trail too..

[Jabba]

Originally posted by IdahoHunter455
lol...no I am a good shot but that was to keep steady aiming at the deer. I still made a clean kill I just knocked him a little woozy when I tore off his antler. Here are the pictures.

Ask youself this though... all the misses 2 with the 35 then the antler shot then a miss with the 7mm. ANY of those could have been a non clean killing wound. I am sure that the shot to the antler wasn't FUN. Any of those 4 shots could have just as easily been a gut shot as a miss.

Congradulations on your first deer, but you're lucky you didn't maim a magnificent animal. All I am saying is practice. I gut shot one once. WIth a bow. The shot was too far and I hadn't practiced out to that range. I have spine shot a few with the muzzleloader too, and I hate that as well. My point being I am not perfect, I don't KNOW anyone who is. AFter the 1st time you cripple one and have to close the gap to finish it off, you'll never want to do it that way again.

Jabba

[fabsroman]

I agree completely with Jabba, but crap happens.

The first deer that I got to see wounded was a little 4 point buck several years ago. I took a buddy hunting, who I don't talk to any more for other reasons, and he was using a smoothbore slug gun with foster slugs. This little buck came running through and he unleashed all 5 rounds on it, breaking its two front legs so that it couldn't walk anymore. When I got there, he was watching it trying to push itself away with its two hind legs and he asked me what we should do. I took my gun and put on through its ribs. I was sick.

Two years ago, I was hunting in a park where there is a ton of deer. One of the guys I was hunting with killed 2 does and wounded another in a barage of gun fire. I had to shoot the wounded doe in the head.

Then there was my story from two years ago. While hunting this very same park, I killed groups of deer the first two days I hunted there. At the end of the second day's hunt, my buddy and I left our guns at the house because we had to drag out 8 deer that I had killed that morning. My buddy called his son-in-law to come and help us because he wanted some venison. Anyway, the next day we went out hunting and I missed three shots. On the last shot of the day, I shot at a deer that only had its front two legs and chest in front of a tree (i.e., the hindquarters were hidden by the tree). I put the vertical cross hair right on those front legs and the horizontal one right in the middle of the chest and pulled the trigger. The deer jumped and took off. We tracked it down to find out that I had broken both front legs on it but it was still able to run a little ways on them. It was after shooting time so I couldn't shoot it again. I was sick that entire night. The next morning, before going after it, my buddy and I sighted our guns in and they were both shooting 2 feet low. The only thing we could think of was that somebody had screwed with them while we were dragging all the deer out. It probably was his son-in-law, but I cannot go around accusing people without knowing for sure. Anyway, we found that deer that morning and put it out of its misery.

It just sucks to see them suffering.

[Jabba]

No Doubt, crap happens.

To all of us.

Jabba

[IdahoHunter455]

hey sorry I can't get the photos to load over on this computer. When I go over to my mom's I will load them there because she has the good computer so check back on this thread on friday or so and I will have the pictures or I will make a new thread for the pictures. But I will have them for you lol.

[IdahoHunter455]

wow guys, you really made me feel like I can even shoot straight. Well I felt like a complete idiot that I missed that deer 3 times. I feel like I can't shoot to save my life, but I know I can. But think of this also, any chest shot could easily be a gut shot, just a little bit to the left(or right) could easily be a gut shot or a non clean shot.


I appreciate it....jk.....:rolleyes:

[roo]

congrats mate,its always good to get the monkey off your back by shooting your first one...it took me quite a while to do the same but i havent looked back now.I also use a mighty 7 mm mag.

[fabsroman]

IdahoHunter,

It probably isn't that you cannot shoot. Something tells me that you can shoot at paper pretty well. Now, I am willing to bet that you either misjudged the range of the deer or you had buck fever. The buck fever leading you to shake on the shot or take shots at the deer farther away than you normally would.

After getting this one, hopefully you won't experience buck fever any more.

I didn't have a problem with my first big buck. Then again, I usually perform better under pressure anyway. For some reason, the more pressure I am under, the better I do.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

When I first started out with archery anyhow, I use to shoot at the deer.....then realized I had to pick a spot on the deer and shoot that....lots of cheesburgers after that....a little food for thought