A buck in the trees

After weeks without a rifle, I came down stairs yesterday to find my variation in the letter box. Off I went to my RFD to collect my new custom .222, bought from Nigel on the site.

A couple of hours later I had it zeroed in using crappy factory winchester soft points . .and crap they were, one of the rounds had a cracked neck, and that was before firing :eek:

Nevertheless the rifle shot like an absolute jem, easily throwing these junk into sub inch groups. . . I'm planning to start developing a load for her tmro so no more factory crap.


Anyway I had a few hours to spare tonigh and thought I would head out for a few hours in search of my first buck of the season and to hopefully christen the new bang pole.

There is still a good 12'' of crispy snow in the rides with some deep drifts so it was impossible to stalk where I had originally planned . . I made my way back to the jeep and headed for the clear fells and replant . . .there are some huge clear fells on this ground, which given the right winds are sometimes productive . . . after glassing for ten minutes I spot a fat doe and what I think is a little button buck . . after a good twenty minutes of crunching through snow, a wet foot and nearly breaking a leg on a hidden tree trunk, I set up the bipod and wait for the button buck to turn side on . . . and turn side on 'he' did after giving me a good look at his bushy white tush . :doh:. .I could have swore he had buttons . . .but it was obviously just wishful thinking . .the does were left to scrape whatever they could from the clear fell . . .


I drove around half a mile on down the road and took a walk to another area that for reasons unknown has always been very productive, minerals in the soil, who knows, but the roe seem to like it. . . Result, I had only walked a couple of hundred yards and I could see two deer out feeding on the edge of the sitka spruce, up with the binos and there is no doubt this time, its a nice six point buck and a doe, but their a good 300 yards away over the clear fell . . the same antics ensue as before . . stumbling around, down unseen holes, crunching up to the knee in snow . . . their still feeding, how can they not see or hear this comedy act making its way towards them . . . And to make matters worse I can hear the dog howling with excitment, obviously watching things unfold from her vantage point above me.


200 yards and this is as good as it gets . . nowhere else to go, by some miracle the deer are still feeding, I suspect they either have tintus or are so hungry they simply don't care!!!

Down onto the snow, bipod deployed, scope magnification on the Zeiss screwed up to 12 . . .he's a nice buck, why did I sell my 25-06 . . . is the .222 up to this shot . . .my balls have retracted into my scrotum . . whether it was the cold or the thought of a long track with the dog i'm not sure.

The buck eventually turns side on, I aim an inch above his spine just behind the front leg and I touch off a round . . .the effect is instantaneous, he jumps forward, runs in a small circle and drops dead, not ten yards from where he stood . . . the doe stands for a moment before quite nonchalantly walking off into the trees, quite unperturbed by the demise of her suiter.

When I get to the buck he is stone dead, the winchesters have done their stuff surprisingly well . . there is a tiny entry wound mid way down the buck and the bullet has liquified the beasts lungs . . a quick gralloch and a climb back to the car, where the dog upon seeing the deer is on the verge of a seizure.

The deer is duly loaded and we make for home, not before seeing another two beast in a little clearing . . .I suspect a doe and a yearling, but i'm past caring as my foot is now completely numb, but on a plus note my balls have returned to normal.

An excellent night stalking with the new rifle and a six point buck to boot, it can't be bad !!

6 point buck -

View attachment 26740


Shot with Custom .222 -

View attachment 26741
 
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I enjoyed your write up Cadex. It had everything I look for in a good read. Blood and gore, dogs and a happy ending!
Even a mention of sex but that reference was actually to your ******** so I'm putting that out of my mind!!
Well done, I appreciated and enjoyed it.
 
Thanks bobthedug . . . it was a factual account with a bit of exaggeration for everyones amusement :lol:
 
Isnt it great when a plan comes together, great read. Sounds like you still have some heavy snow laying in places up there. None left in Sussex or Kent, but the grass is hammered and everything looks dead, although there is the slightest hint of green in places. Yesterday it reached 18, today back to low cloud and chilly wind and about 9 degrees.

Roll on summer................Please!!!
 
It is always nice to get a new rifle to draw blood. nice read and i must compliment you on the rifle as well. it looks the part and sure seems nice to handle.
Congrats and keep them coming
 
Thanks bobthedug . . . it was a factual account with a bit of exaggeration for everyones amusement :lol:

Well done on the buck! I am a bit confused, how was your rifle zeroed?




Hi mate,

I draw your attention to the above post :lol: but for the the record, at that time it was zeroed to hit dead on at around 100 yards . . or in my case 100 steps . .:D

Since developing a home load for it, its now zeroed an inch high at 100 yards {steps}.

For anyone interested the load is now -

21.7g of H322
50g Nosler B/T
Winchester Brass {soon to be lupua}
Federal small rifle primer {Match}
COAL - 2072


Don't take my account to seriously, it was writen more for a bit of fun and amusement for everyone other than anything scientific, and I certainly didn't range find any distances.

Regards,

CADEX
 
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Hi Cadex - nice going on the buck & a novel use for a grow bag tray! Unless you're punching paper you can do a lot worse than Winchester ammo, maybe you were just unlucky with the batch with that cracked neck? I envy you with the home loading but a recon another hobby would tip my Mrs over the edge. I wondered how long it would be before someone did the maths & worked the drop of a factory round at that range.
 
Hi Cadex - nice going on the buck & a novel use for a grow bag tray! Unless you're punching paper you can do a lot worse than Winchester ammo, maybe you were just unlucky with the batch with that cracked neck? I envy you with the home loading but a recon another hobby would tip my Mrs over the edge. I wondered how long it would be before someone did the maths & worked the drop of a factory round at that range.


Yes the old grow bag trays from the local garden centre come in handy mate, are as tough as old boots and as cheap as chips. . . . and yes, theres always someone sitting with their balistic calculator trying to pick holes in a good 'story' :D

Although I must be doing something right as the bucks are falling like dominos at the moment . . . and I don't even own a range finder :norty:
 
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