First deer

Sighthound

Active Member
Finally shot my first deer at dawn this morning!

I was in a highseat on a local estate where I have permission to accompany the Gamekeeper/ headstalker if they are out, and this Fallow buck wandered past me at @70 yards at first light. I could just about manage a hoarse ‘oi’ and he stopped broadside just long enough for me to take the shot.

Shaking hands…correct I.D…..safe backstop….elevated heartbeat….remember to breathe!…..safety off…don’t snatch ….BANG!

He dropped on the spot and it was a minute or time before I remembered to reload.

Been shooting since I was a kid, but I have so say I went through some pretty mixed emotions, especially walking up to him.

It was great to be able to do my first proper gralloch and inspection, though.

I over compensated for shooting downhill, so bullet was a high lung shot that seems to have hit a rib and angled up, severing the spine. This has troubled me all day; it seems the .308 150grn soft point did the job whereas I probably did not, and a smaller round might not have. Does anyone know Fallow anatomy well enough to tell me whether it is possible to thread a bullet under the spine but over the lungs and therefore wound but not kill?

One thing I did note was that aside from the blade length needed to cut around the anal tract, a short more manoeuvrable bladed knife would seem a better bet for gralloching?

Anyway, thought I would share it.

Cheers
Lloyd


View attachment 76803
 
Phew, Thanks Tartan_Terrier, you are right. I was trying to compensate for the path of the bullet coming down from above at an angle, but should have aimed lower.

I think I will set up a target and practice from the highseat just to see what adjustment is required.
 
Well done you will not forget this ever. Bullets do strange things once inside and coming off ribs can go up down left right. To answer your question there is no way you can thread a bullet over the lungs. They are adherent to the spine and the hydrostatic pressure from the bullet will disrupt them and cause them to collapse. Aiming for the boiler house gives you this margin for error and as said before don't worry. The deer dropped on the spot, died quickly and you have a great memory and hopefully some prime venison!

BE
 
Well done Lloyd. Don't overthink it or analyse too much. The animal is dead and the carcase harvestable well done the first of many I hope
good luck mate
regards Steve
 
Congratulations! :thumb:

And great job! You have a deer that dropped on the spot, and a carcass to take home. You did just fine. First of many more to come. Bloody well done :)
 
Well done, just need to get the keeper trained up in taking a steady picture....

It takes a lot of work to get to stage you are at, I have found when doing them on a hoist it is better to have the beast as low as possible for taking the arse out as you are not working too high with the knife. I have number of knives but the F.Dick 6" boning knife works well for that job. Have them super sharp and take your time as it is not a race...


Tim.243
 
Well done, just need to get the keeper trained up in taking a steady picture....

It takes a lot of work to get to stage you are at, I have found when doing them on a hoist it is better to have the beast as low as possible for taking the arse out as you are not working too high with the knife. I have number of knives but the F.Dick 6" boning knife works well for that job. Have them super sharp and take your time as it is not a race...


Tim.243


Great effort on your first one. I agree with Tim I have a F Dick Trip knife which is awesome for gutting stuff.
 
Congratulations! I know the unforgettable satisfaction of getting to and then successfully past that first shot at a deer. It was only a few months ago that I shot my first. I think don't worry about over analysing the first shot you have taken at a deer. Its a uniquely intense shot. As you know from practise, you need a good set of shots taken in similar conditions to analyse anything reliable from. You did the job just fine this time and it will probably be a different shot next time. Well done!
 
Many congratulations with the deer! You did a good job. In reality shooting up and downhill has a rather small effect at short ranges and small angles of elevation. If you are shooting at 200 yards plus then it is probably necessary to correct for shooting angle but at normal woodland ranges then it has a negligible effect.
 
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