Yearling Whitetail Buck taken with Saiga-410

[turbo1889 1]

Well, It's presently 6:50 p.m. local (Mountain) time here and one of my female friends has just sucessfully taken a yearling whitetail buck with little button horns on her antlerless "B" tag in the shotgun, muzzle-loader, handgun only hunting section down below my folks place. She used my Saiga-410 which is stock except for the red-dot airgun sight I have mounted on it. Load was one Brenneke 3" 410 slug in the chamber followed by two Brenneke's in the clip on top of two Silver Bear sabot slugs. I only had three Brenneke slugs left so that's how we loaded the gun. Set out hunting about 1:15 p.m. after church both on mountain bikes via. the old logging roads that snake through that area and popped what appeared to be two does out of their beds about 2:30 and stalked them for about fifteen minutes trying to get a shot that was both clear of brush and within range.

 

Finally got a clean shot on one of them. Sixty yards measured via. my optical rangefinder full-front facing straight at us with his head turned sideways so he could look directly at us with his left eye. The shot wasn't anywhere near perfect, it was about the furthest shot that could be ethically taken with a 410-slug and I would have greatly prefered a broadside shot. But, the deer were pretty spooked by now and it was as good as it was going to get. The gun had been sighted in for 40 yards and I knew it shot clover leafs at that range with Brenneke slugs if the shooter did their part. So I directed my friend to put the red-dot at the junction of the neck and head and the slug would drop into the neck. She would either hit or have a clean miss to either side. She fired once and the deer twitched and shook its head and then kind of just stood their dazed kind of slightly rocking from one side to the other. My friend fired two more shots which I clearly saw hit the deers right ear and then the deer sort of stumbled off behind a clump of bushes. We followed and found the deer lying on its side with it's legs sort of spasming and twitching it's head back and forth. At my direction she finished it off with a single shot to the head at point blank range.

 

Upon gutting the deer it was discovered that the first shot didn't drop neer as much as I had estimated and had hit the deer right where I had told her to aim. It missed both the major blood vessel(s) and the spinal cord but had cracked the bottom of the skull pretty severley before exiting on the far side without connecting with the brains. This explained the deers behavior after the initial hit. Now as far as the two holes in the ear are concerned, at the range when she gets excited while shooting this gun and forgets to pull the trigger properly and just jurkes it I know she hits high and slightly to the left --- that's what obviously happened.

 

Fairly clean kill considering. Mental note to self, factory 410 slugs don't drop near as fast as 12ga. slugs do.

 

The first shot, which was leathal but not immediatly so was sort of like slamming someone up side the head with a baseball bat. Lots of brain damage and internal bleading but no penetration inside the skull, probably didn't know what hit him but probably had one hell of a head-ache. The resulting mental issues are obvious from the fact that he just stood their teatering while two holes got punched through his ear. Final shot which was a Silver Bear sabot slug (initial three shots were all Brenneke slugs) was most definently leathal and completely destroyed the top half of his brain.

 

Well, that's the story --- mabey some imformation in there for someone else who wants to hunt deer with a Saiga-410.

 

[Aethelbert 1]

Thanks for showing that the Saiga .410 is, indeed, capable of taking a deer at a decent range. That was some good shooting on the part of your female friend. You also showed the accuracy of the S-410.

 

Congrats on a successful hunt.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Thanks for showing that the Saiga .410 is, indeed, capable of taking a deer at a decent range. That was some good shooting on the part of your female friend. You also showed the accuracy of the S-410.

 

Congrats on a successful hunt.

+1!

It's always nice to hear about another female who has accepted the hunt. Kudos to her and to you for showing her how to feed herself, as well as operate a firearm on a level not every paper shooter learns how to do.

 

NOW OUT WITH THE PICS!!!!

[turbo1889 1]

Thanks for the congrats, I'll pass them on. She can't handle much recoil and was already familiar with the AK platforms opperation so the Saiga-410 was the obvious choice for hunting this area. Was her first time out shotgun slug hunting, guess I kind of spoiled her though, usually takes a lot more time and effort then that to get one.

Edited October 22, 2007 by turbo1889

[turbo1889 1]

. . . . It's always nice to hear about another female who has accepted the hunt. Kudos to her and to you for showing her how to feed herself, as well as operate a firearm on a level not every paper shooter learns how to do.

 

NOW OUT WITH THE PICS!!!!

 

We were both typing at the same time. Now about the pics --- me no have dig camera, but she might have one. If she does I'll see if I can't get a photo of her with the gun and mountain-bike she road next to the deer hanging up before we cut it up.

 

Why the bike as well as the gun? Well mountain-bike tires on a soft bed of pine-needles make a very different (as in silent) sound compared with big boots. For shotgun slug hunting in areas with old logging roads and good trails the bike is almost as important to a sucessful hunt as the gun is.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Cool...looking forward to the pics. I'll bet she's mighty proud...she should be, Nice shootin!

 

On the bike thing, that was surprising to read. At least in my state, I thought that hunting from any vehicle, including bikes I guess cause you can sure get a DWI on one...was illegal. We can't hunt deer from boats either. I'm not accusing by any means...just was a little surprised. A lot of people around here hunt...or rather "get to their spots" using ATVs, but I believe they have to have their guns locked inside boxes on the vehicle to make them unaccessable for a quick shot if they jump a deer.

 

[chris410 0]

Congrats man, guess this should shut up all those that question the 410 slug as a hunting round.

[turbo1889 1]

. . . . On the bike thing, that was surprising to read. At least in my state, I thought that hunting from any vehicle, including bikes I guess cause you can sure get a DWI on one...was illegal. We can't hunt deer from boats either. I'm not accusing by any means...just was a little surprised. A lot of people around here hunt...or rather "get to their spots" using ATVs, but I believe they have to have their guns locked inside boxes on the vehicle to make them unaccessable for a quick shot if they jump a deer.

 

 

I already checked with MT Fish & Game before I hunted for the first time that way (like a long time ago). In MT it's legal to hunt and shoot off the back of a horse or from a "human or animal powered vehicle" so as long as it only has pedels or is a cart pulled by a horse, mule, goat, dog-sled, etc. your fine. In fact it's considered more ethical to hunt from a bike then from a horse since your doing all the work yourself. More people hunt on horses then on bikes but I have met a few others out in the woods who hunt from a bike like I do. Check your states regs. it might make a distinction between "motorized vehicles" and "human or animal powered vehicles" like my state does.

 

Hopefully will get some pics snapped tomorrow night before the deer gets cut up.

[turbo1889 1]

Okay, here are some of the pics. (I'll edit later when I get the rest --- Bike, ammo used, gun up close, ect.)

 

Oh, yah, apparently the date setting on her camera is like way messed up --- noticed that when I was editing the photos.

Edited October 24, 2007 by turbo1889

[dinzag 31]

Sweet! Thanks for sharing - even pics of the autopsy!

 

Cool you can hunt off bikes, they probably thought you were tourists and were getting ready to attack.

At least you were armed, other unsuspecting folks may not have been so lucky.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

They're comin right for us!

[turbo1889 1]

Okay, here are the rest of the pictures I finished getting. Oh, yah, its totally in the freezer now --- everything is done and wrapped including grinding the burger.

[Superhawk138 202]

Congrats on the kill. Is that the hologram red dot that daisy makes for the airguns, I think you said something about it before. Recoil hasn't bumped it off zero yet?

[turbo1889 1]

Congrats on the kill. Is that the hologram red dot that daisy makes for the airguns, I think you said something about it before. Recoil hasn't bumped it off zero yet?

 

Yes, it is the Daisy. I used a drop of locktight on the adjusting screws after I had it sighted in and it hasn't moved since. That was about a thousand rounds ago --- mainly slug loads. Works fine for the S-410 don't think it would hold up to the recoil of the S-12 though.

[Bvamp 604]

I like how the DEC (DEP in some places) say that a .410 slug isnt enough to take tastey deer. I have seen them taken with a .22 hornet at LONG range (150 yards roughly for the cartridge) , and its more than enough, in the hands of an apt hunter..........

 

looks like a solid kill to me, solid shot, massive effect, if you used a saiga410, you MORE THAN HAD a follow up shot or two or three.....

 

wheres my steak???

[G O B 3,516]

Doug Merchant (does business as "the Gun Merchant") who sold me my S-12 said that he sold every S-.410 he could get his hands on to the guys on MD eastern shore -they love 'em for deer.

[Bvamp 604]

I am missing deer week back home right now. sorry that I cannot add pics to this.

 

the saigas are VERY viable hunting weapons. 410 included. uneducated hunters is all that the shot payloads and round limits protect in the DEC.

 

if its any consoloation, the back yard (almost) of the gov of NY is lit up with kill shots hourly right now. how do I know? he was my neighbor...........OH HE HEARS YOU GUYS out there. trust me on that one LOL.

[vz58 0]

I grew up taking deer with my mossberg 410 bolt action. 60 yards is about where I would not shoot.

Now my son is learning on his mossberg 410 bolt. Maybe next year he will have a 410 saiga...

 

It does teach you how to read a deers anatomy to be effective.