Deermanagement
Well-Known Member
Out yesterday with a colleague, I heard a shot and I asked on the radio, Sika or Roe? Answer came back "Roe, have a blood trail". My colleague was using Barnes TTSX in 6.5, apparently the buck was some 140yds. 45 minutes later, he's back on the radio, "I think I need your bloodhound skills". I tell him it'll be 45 mins before I can get back to the parked quad and get to him.
So an hour and a half searching had taken place at the end of a block of conifers to no avail before I got there. He shows me where he last followed the blood trail too, some 100yds from where it was shot, but nothing thereafter. I check a ditch at the edge of the woodland and go out into the field in the unlikely event the buck actually left the cover of the conifers. I checked all the places where the buck may have leapt the ditch for a 100yds, knowing that if it did, it would have been a good place to find any spray, but nothing.
Some 30 mins had passed since I got there so knowing the buck wasn't in the immediate area, I surmised it could very likely carried on down through the conifer block. I crossed the stream to open up as much of a view as possible. This wasn't so easy as there's a lot of wind fallen conifers and the odd patch of bramble to hide an animal.
Anyway, made my way down through the wood and eventually a fox just inside the woodland edge some 50yds away, caught my attention. I don't shoot many foxes at all whilst stalking but on this occasion I decided I would so I moved a little to try and pick it up from where I last saw it. He had disappeared but where he was laid a 6 pointer, and on examination with the binos he looked ok. It led there, head up facing the field some 5yds from it's position and by the way it was alert, I suspected this was not his buck. Carefully however, I changed position to try and get a look at it's flanks, but whilst doing sp
o, it stood and moved closer to the field. I moved to a better position and saw the buck stumble a little and I then knew it was the one and same beast. I knelt and lined up at 50yds, and the 130g Accubond struck the heart. It made some 8yds before collapsing.
We were very lucky to recover this buck with so many hiding places and a dog would have done the job had it been a dog capable of pulling it down. Inspection showed that the Barnes had entered at the back of the shoulder, breaking it in the process, but exited in front of the same shoulder, midway between the shoulder and brisket.
My colleagues a decent shot using quad sticks and he assures be that the buck was broadside but not fully broadside, and if so, the bullet had done something I've never seen a lead core do.
That's the end of his lead free effort for the moment, it'll be back to the conventional until he trials some Neilson Sonic. The buck, a very old one will be skinned off next week so we'll hopefully see a little more of what the bullet did and btw, the buck had travelled some 400yds.
So an hour and a half searching had taken place at the end of a block of conifers to no avail before I got there. He shows me where he last followed the blood trail too, some 100yds from where it was shot, but nothing thereafter. I check a ditch at the edge of the woodland and go out into the field in the unlikely event the buck actually left the cover of the conifers. I checked all the places where the buck may have leapt the ditch for a 100yds, knowing that if it did, it would have been a good place to find any spray, but nothing.
Some 30 mins had passed since I got there so knowing the buck wasn't in the immediate area, I surmised it could very likely carried on down through the conifer block. I crossed the stream to open up as much of a view as possible. This wasn't so easy as there's a lot of wind fallen conifers and the odd patch of bramble to hide an animal.
Anyway, made my way down through the wood and eventually a fox just inside the woodland edge some 50yds away, caught my attention. I don't shoot many foxes at all whilst stalking but on this occasion I decided I would so I moved a little to try and pick it up from where I last saw it. He had disappeared but where he was laid a 6 pointer, and on examination with the binos he looked ok. It led there, head up facing the field some 5yds from it's position and by the way it was alert, I suspected this was not his buck. Carefully however, I changed position to try and get a look at it's flanks, but whilst doing sp
o, it stood and moved closer to the field. I moved to a better position and saw the buck stumble a little and I then knew it was the one and same beast. I knelt and lined up at 50yds, and the 130g Accubond struck the heart. It made some 8yds before collapsing.
We were very lucky to recover this buck with so many hiding places and a dog would have done the job had it been a dog capable of pulling it down. Inspection showed that the Barnes had entered at the back of the shoulder, breaking it in the process, but exited in front of the same shoulder, midway between the shoulder and brisket.
My colleagues a decent shot using quad sticks and he assures be that the buck was broadside but not fully broadside, and if so, the bullet had done something I've never seen a lead core do.
That's the end of his lead free effort for the moment, it'll be back to the conventional until he trials some Neilson Sonic. The buck, a very old one will be skinned off next week so we'll hopefully see a little more of what the bullet did and btw, the buck had travelled some 400yds.
, well done on finding and dispatching the buck 
