A Sad Day.

[JAWZ]

Exactly

JAWZ:confused:

 

[gedsar]

Holy ****, how did this turn to the army??. DUH is probally one of Oz's most knowageable guys on Hoggies and has shot more quality Sambar than most guys that are twice his age!!. If anyone coulda found it I'm sure DUH and his mate that helped would of.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Just thought I'd tell you all about the worst day in 15 years of hunting I recently had.

Deer season down under got going on April 1.


I had been watching a particular deer all summer long and had filmed over 2 hours of footage. I'm sure you all know the feeling of counting the sleeps until opening day when you can harvest your dream deer. This was the case for me as well.

On the second morning just on daylight I saw the deer in question making his way off his night feeding grounds. I snuck down the hill in my ghillie suite and got set up with my 300 weatherby mag. the distance was 313 yards, with the rifle zeroed at 290. Rifle was on a Harris bipod and rear bag. The deer was heading toward the private property boundary and paused momentarily facing away at 2 oclock. I felt the deer was not going to present a side on shot so decided to aim behind the last rib on my side to exit out the off side leg.

Booomm Whoooosh, Whop !!! ( Very Batmanish don't you think ? ). Deer gets blasted off his feet and down he goes flumbling around. Just enough time to reload and see him up on his feet looking really sick. Next thing he gets through the stock fence in the private property.

Convinced of a killing shot I lay there for 15 minutes whilst my spotter comes down to shake my hand. Once the adrenalin subsides I start down the hill quietly looking for sign of the strike. There on the ground in front of me is a 10 ft round circle of bones and bits from what looks to be the exit side upper and mid leg/ Actually I found bone some 10 yards behind the initial hit from just below the ball joint under the shoulder blade.

With the weather worstening by the minute we could only afford to leave him 2 hours before it started spitting rain and with fear of having all sign washed out we tracked him into the tree line. As I knew the owner I could persue him. Good blood trail on both sides of the body leads us to a bed full of blood indicating the entry and exit wound. Follow some more to another smaller bed where he may have stood for quite some time. Blood is Ferrari red without bubbles with no sign of a gut shot.

To cut a long story short we deligently followed the walking mark for over 3 hours on a good blood trail that was mainly bleeding from the exit wound. Keeping in mind that this deer weighs less that 100 pounds and is about the same size as a Labrador retriever. The blood trail travels in a more or les straight line for 1100 yards, with the blood being visable in spots from 15 ft away. Then I notice that the blood is starting to clot. Shortly after the deer does almost a 180 degree turn in some nasty counrty and we loose the trail and are unable to relocate it. So I mark the spot and come back 5 days later. Nothing.

I have been back with up to 10 other helpers looking in a piece of country around 1500 by 1500 yards and we have failed to locate the body. I am simply broken over loosing this deer. It is the first in 15 years of hunting that I have not recovered.

I truely believe the shot will have been fatal. I belive it has gone in low or low and forward of the lungs and heart and exited through the armpit on the off side leg. The deer would definetley been travelling on 3 legs. The deer had to have lost 1-2 litres of blood and they only have around 3 lts in their system. I have a palm size mound of leg bone as a reminder of the day and I am still trying to come to terms with it. What is this type of wound likely to do ?

For a deer this size what do you all think based on the story so far ? Should I be confident of a fatal shot and still hope to recover the body via smell or birds ? As you can imagine it's hard to stay positive. One of my friends suggested that we may infact be looking in the right area, but the deer may just be laying in the one spot until it dies of shock, blood loss or infection. Apparently they will do this ? Can you give me any positives or suggest any options I have not maybe thought of

First I must say I am so sorry you hear this story ! yes that deer is Dead ! If not from the explosive shot then surely the massive blood loss !! i'm amazed it travelled more than 20 yards !! i hope you will find it !

 

[Lenny Foffa]

I shot a hog this year with a 300 win mag at 353 yards and forgot aim a little low due to the downhill angle. I hit him real high and he ran off. We tracked him to the neighbors fence and couldn't follow him.
Late that same day we saw a hog feeding in a canyon and worked down to him within about 125 yards. I was determined not to have the same thing happen so I put a 180 grain accubond right behind the right ear. He didn't even twitch, just rolled down the hill into a gully. Turned out it was the same hog.
The first shot blew a fist size hunk of meat and bone out of the top of his spine. When skinning him he had a previous hole from an archery wound.
Animals are tougher than we think.
Your deer may have survived.

that is an amazing story !!

 

[Greatgrandad]

First I must say I am so sorry you hear this story ! yes that deer is Dead ! If not from the explosive shot then surely the massive blood loss !! i'm amazed it travelled more than 20 yards !! i hope you will find it !

This thread is from 2008, and he hasn't signed on since 2017.

 

[Bob Wright]

Yep, an oldie.

 

[Mike Matteson]

J E Custom has pass a few years back now. We lost a great man here. I felt lucky he had responded to me on a rifle build. Sad to know he had passed.
I often think of him. So in some ways he still with us.

 

[Sealesniper]

One thing is for sure, that deer is dead by now, 18 years ago it was mature and shot.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

This thread is from 2008, and he hasn't signed on since 2017.

oh. sorry !! How does it posted if he is not around ???

 

[Axl]

oh. sorry !! How does it posted if he is not around ???

Better question: How and why did you find it??

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Better question: How and why did you find it?? i just opened up the blog and read all the things , and i just thought i would respond to that thread !!??!! it wasn't terr a day or two before , so ehh would it just appear?? then if i respond to it , some one like you tells me its from years ago ! ok. I'm stupid ! but that still doesn't explain how snd why it popped up ! i will be more careful!

 

[Axl]

No idea what you are talking about. But you typed your incoherent response in my post, so it looks like I said all that.