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
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