We had a fantastic weekend hunting and spending time with friends. We got to the property (3300 acres) on Friday evening at about 8:30 p.m., and there ended up being 13 of us total. I brought along my 15 yr. old cousin, my wife, and my best friend. My wife and cousin were to hunt with me all weekend. Thankfully Jacob has been hunting since he was out of diapers and isn't a newbie. It could have been challenging. Saturday a.m. we were posted at a stand that had about an 80 yd. shot to the feeder, and is where I shot a doe from about 2 weeks ago. Right after sunup 3 deer appeared in the clearing where the feeder is positioned. I told my wife to get ready for the shot. I had a shooting stick for her to rest her gun on, but she was having trouble seeing over the grass. I told her to stand up, and adjusted the stick to where it was the right height for a standing shot. Well, I don't know if it was nerves, or if she didn't really want to shoot, or if it was a combination of both, but she was fiddling around trying to get comfortable for about 15 min or so. In that time even more deer were drifting into the clearing. There ended up being about 12-15 deer at the feeder at the same time that morning. She got frustrated and wasn't able to settle in, so she requested that my cousin shoot one, and she would try again later. Jacob took the biggest of the bunch with his .308. We spent nearly 30-40 minutes looking for it, but there was no blood trail anywhere. We finally found it about 30 yds from where he shot it. It was a through and through shot with the heart just mush inside, but no blood trail whatsoever.
Saturday evening we were back in the same spot, only I put my wife up in the tripod by herself to get her above the grass, and the tripod has a gun rest on it. I told her that if any deer came out to make sure they were does, and to watch me and if I gave her the nod she was to shoot the biggest one. We sat for several hours with no movement, and then, just as it was getting dark, almost running out of shooting light, 3 deer stepped out into the clearing. I glassed to make sure they were all does, and when I looked up to give her the go ahead I was pleasantly surprised to see she already had the gun up and was positioning for the shot. She let the round go and the deer folded like a lawn chair. I was ecstatic, probably more excited than she was, but she had a smile on her face. She said that her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid the deer would hear it
After she got down from the stand she asked, "Did I hit it in the right spot?" I replied, "Well, since it didn't take a step I would guess you made a pretty good one!"
Forgot to add: Those .223 rounds make so small an entry hole I couldn't even find it until I skinned the animal. I was amazed. She used Remington Express ammunition with a 55 gr. soft point. She hit it right over the front leg, and totally blew out the shoulder. The bullet continued all the way through, clipping the heart and stopping in the hide on the opposite side without exiting.
Here is a pic of her with her deer. The gun was borrowed from a friend, and it's a Rossi handi rifle in .223. I may have to get her one for her birthday in a couple of weeks.
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen" - Samuel Adams
