YOT 3,743 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 It wasn't much of a "hunting" season, exactly 9 minutes after legal shooting time on opening day, to be precise. I woke up early, had coffee, ate, medicated, did the morning constitutional, got dressed, turned out the lights, and in the twilight I could see 5 doe about 40 yards in front of the house. Not wanting to spook them I snuck out the back door hoping to get to my tree stand in the back field. By the time I got to the back corner of the woodshed, the does had also moved toward the back of the lot. I stopped and sat on a stack of wood, not wanting to frighten them. I looked away and three more were in the back field, about 110 yards out. I was pinned at the back of my house. I backed into the woodshed and waited. About 5 minutes later two more doe come out into the back field for the hedge row and start walking directly at me. They stopped on my back lawn about 30 yards from me, just feeding on the unmowed grass. Between the two on my lawn and the three that were out farther, a little, very young doe runs into vision with a buck right on her tail. I snapped of the safety which caused the buck to stop broadside at about 60 yards. He jumped to a heart shot, ran about 30 yards and collapsed. Deer were running in every direction so much that it was kind of comical. The odd thing is if I had made it to my stand, the buck would have come out way behind me and I would have missed a great opportunity. He is not a trophy by any means. 4X4, about 160 lbs. A good legal buck none the less, and the first deer with the 30-06 Savage Axis I restocked did a trigger job to. 9 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spikester 93 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) Cool. I have does in my yard every day about 4:00. My 4 year old grandson and our fiest dog walked across the yard last week when the dog took off and jumped a buck and a doe. Edited November 20, 2017 by Spikester 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 That's almost disappointing how easy it was! Nice buck. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 Is there anything other than grass growing in that unmowed spot? With that many deer coming around, it seems like a good idea to figure out exactly what they were feeding on and leave the ideal target position with that same vegetation unmowed if that wasn't it. This makes me think about manna and quail. It also makes me think about all of the guys who spend so much money and effort to hunt and don't harvest anything, for whatever reason. It is practically raining deer right there at home, so there is a lot to be thankful for. I have wanted a Savage bolt action for a while now, just for the ease of working on it (you get tired of everything taking hundreds of dollars worth of tooling and so much effort, lol), but I know I won't really use it until things settle down in my business life. No time to really enjoy any kind of shooting or hunting. I hope to get there. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
liberty -r- death 1,445 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 Nice. I wish my hunts went that easy. As close as I have ever been to an easy hunt was the year when I was bow hunting fall turkey and I had three Toms come at me in formation all fanned out ready to impress my decoy. I shot the Tom in the middle. He jumped up and went about ten yards. I had a perfect shot on him. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
patriot 7,197 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) Screw trophies. Horn hunters......ppppppbbbbbbt. Ya can't eat horns. MEAT! "Trophy" hunters make me wanna puke. You kill it, you eat it. Nice deer. Eat hearty! I would. Edited November 20, 2017 by patriot 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiskeyMinion 300 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 1st day I'm looking for that big rack. After that "if it's brown, it's down" is in effect Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YOT 3,743 Posted November 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 Is there anything other than grass growing in that unmowed spot? With that many deer coming around, it seems like a good idea to figure out exactly what they were feeding on and leave the ideal target position with that same vegetation unmowed if that wasn't it. This makes me think about manna and quail. It also makes me think about all of the guys who spend so much money and effort to hunt and don't harvest anything, for whatever reason. It is practically raining deer right there at home, so there is a lot to be thankful for. I have wanted a Savage bolt action for a while now, just for the ease of working on it (you get tired of everything taking hundreds of dollars worth of tooling and so much effort, lol), but I know I won't really use it until things settle down in my business life. No time to really enjoy any kind of shooting or hunting. I hope to get there. Nothing special grows there. Typical hay field with a mix of purple clover. In 1978 I counted a herd of 64 whitetail deer there, yarded up in mid Winter. Haven't seen it like that since. Of course there are two houses in that field now, mine and my brother's. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChileRelleno 7,071 Posted November 20, 2017 Report Share Posted November 20, 2017 (edited) Nice easy hunt and a tasty tender young buck for the freezer, now that's a good morning. I bet the tenderloins were great breakfast, mmmm fresh venison tenderloin and eggs with hashbrowns. I really like the Savage Weather Warrior in .308 I bought the year before last. It has put some nice meat in the freezer. Gun season opened on Saturday for us, nothing on my part yet. Thanks for taking us along for the hunt and for the pics. Edited November 21, 2017 by ChileRelleno 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YOT 3,743 Posted November 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 I haven't touched the loins yet, bit I did have a wonderful dinner of fresh liver and onions with a side of buttered orzo and asparagus spears tonight. The shot ruined the heart, which is usually my favorite. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted November 21, 2017 Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 Good shot... not so good for dinner. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evlblkwpnz 3,418 Posted November 21, 2017 Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 This conversation has me yearning for a time when I can make one simple decision, pull the trigger or sit there and have no other decisions to make 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhodes1968 1,638 Posted November 21, 2017 Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 Got so many white tail deer and elk up here the front of the cabin is starting stink from the droppings since the snow melted. Cannot kill enough of them to make a difference without Johnny law making an appearance even out this far. Thought about pissing around the area to keep them away but then that guy up the hill a ways would begin to wonder what kind of crazy... you know 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChileRelleno 7,071 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 Heart and liver are favorites here too, and yeah, they demand to be eaten fresh. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HB of CJ 1,263 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 Don't you just love it when you can sucker them in close? Nothing fair about hunting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Nemo 882 Posted November 23, 2017 Report Share Posted November 23, 2017 I've hunted successfully with chemical weapons. Found a live CS grenade in the field, so we drove to the far side of the artillery impact area (where the deer were hiding), and popped it off. Then we drove back to the other side and waited. Within 20 minutes we both had deer! It's like deer drive in a can! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YOT 3,743 Posted November 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2017 I've hunted successfully with chemical weapons. Found a live CS grenade in the field, so we drove to the far side of the artillery impact area (where the deer were hiding), and popped it off. Then we drove back to the other side and waited. Within 20 minutes we both had deer! It's like deer drive in a can! That happens a lot on chemies day. That's always during the summer, so no open season then. It's not unusual to have a cease fire during weapons re-qualification because of deer on the range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G O B 3,516 Posted November 26, 2017 Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 We have a regular deer rush hour here! There are about a dozen regulars, and some who appear occasionally. The other day I was grilling and there were 9 of them 30 feet away watching. The deer just stand there and watch my bulldogs run and play. Sometimes I think I might just try a hand full of corn to get one close enough for "club season"! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted November 26, 2017 Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 I've hunted successfully with chemical weapons. Found a live CS grenade in the field, so we drove to the far side of the artillery impact area (where the deer were hiding), and popped it off. Then we drove back to the other side and waited. Within 20 minutes we both had deer! It's like deer drive in a can! Ohio Regs only specify loads and bait... They say nothing about the use of chemical irritants. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhodes1968 1,638 Posted November 26, 2017 Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 We have a regular deer rush hour here! There are about a dozen regulars, and some who appear occasionally. The other day I was grilling and there were 9 of them 30 feet away watching. The deer just stand there and watch my bulldogs run and play. Sometimes I think I might just try a hand full of corn to get one close enough for "club season"! I don't think people are hunting them nearly enough. These seasons have got to be extended and the regs eased or there is going to be a serious problem with the deer populations. Never used to see this many deer in so many places including some four and more pointers right outside the window... yeah I mean like this morning. Bow hunters are having a field day as folks that wont allow firearms will allow bows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
patriot 7,197 Posted November 26, 2017 Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 A year or two of no restrictions, no limit would fix it for the short term. I see several every day by the roads here, or standing in the road. We need a few years of population control. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyArms 10,186 Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Nice eater buck!! Tell me more about the stock you put on that axis. I've got a few and wouldn't mind seeing them In better wood... Got a 111 in 7km mag, I'd restock as well... Lol... 7km mag... That's a BIG ROUND. 7MM MAG that should read... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YOT 3,743 Posted November 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 (edited) It's a Boyd's stock and it did take very minor fitting. No problem some slow work with a Dremel couldn't handle. I have no glass bedded it yet, but the Barrell passes the dollar bill test. The bedding is a future project. There are videos about restocking the Axis on YouTube. IMHO it feels like a much nicer rifle, and I'd do add some weight that helps with the recoil. I'm not much for the flimsy plastic it came in. https://www.boydsgunstocks.com there are a couple different styles for the Axis. Typing on my phone if this didn't come out right. Edited November 27, 2017 by YOT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyArms 10,186 Posted November 28, 2017 Report Share Posted November 28, 2017 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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