Head Shot Roe Doe.

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FrenchieBoy

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This is almost certainly the last of the Roe Does I will be taking this season as I have a lot of other commitments over the next couple of weeks I so will not have time for any more stalking.
I went out yesterday (Tuesday) morning and spotted this doe in the woods while I was on the way up the track to the farm. I parked in the usual place and set my rifle up and then crawled on my hands and knees (I can tell you that the grass was very damp and darned cold) across the paddock which overlooks the woods where I had spotted the doe.
I sat and watched her for about 10 minutes without her being aware that I was there so she was quite relaxed. Most of the time she was in among the trees and there was no clear line of fire but eventually she wandered out between the trees and offered me a clear line of sight and an unobstructed shot.
She was facing directly away from me at a range of about 90 yards so I decided that a high neck shot was the best option as I knew that she would drop on the spot, (As long as I did my bit) and carefully got the cross hairs on the back of the lower part of her head and carefully and gently squeezed off a shot.
The shot was perfectly placed and went clean through the Atlas Joint and (As planned) she dropped on the spot with the bullet exiting through the front of her face and burying itself safely in the soft woodland ground in front of her due to the downward angle I was shooting at.
The gralloch was done on the spot and she was skinned and butchered by me this morning. All the meat (Except for a couple of cuts that I saved for myself) was given out to friends and some of my Senior Citizen Neighbors for their Sunday Lunches.
The video shows the devastating effect a .270 soft point bullet can have on a deer. However with the high neck shot from behind there was no meat damage or wastage whatsoever.
 
Don't know your ground frenchie boy unless I'm under pressure to really reduce roe numbers then March culling will be only youngsters not pregnant if stalking is your hobbie or passion then you just killed possibly three deer but still a good clean kill lights out instantly
 
Don't know your ground frenchie boy unless I'm under pressure to really reduce roe numbers then March culling will be only youngsters not pregnant if stalking is your hobbie or passion then you just killed possibly three deer but still a good clean kill lights out instantly

+1

Also no need to show the damage caused. Something wrong if you can't imagine what a .270 will do to a deer's head after it's been shot. Humane yes but each to their own, but not for me.
 
They're all pregnant bar the barren ones,and have been for a goodly amount of time,no difference shooting one with 1/2" foetus or 10" foetus is there?
 
+1

Also no need to show the damage caused. Something wrong if you can't imagine what a .270 will do to a deer's head after it's been shot. Humane yes but each to their own, but not for me.

You watched the video then - including the warning on graphic content at the beginning of the vi, and chose to continue......
 
No she was definitely not pregnant! I check my gralloch very carefully.
You wouldn't have to check too carefully at this time of year Frenchie. However, I cannot see what difference it makes anyway? Practically every munty doe I shoot is pregnant at varying stages but I shoot them just the same. Every mature female deer that you shoot in the new year is pregnant. That's why we should be concentrating on females to control numbers effectively!
 
The deer population in the UK is still growing so why are some of you criticising a guy for shooting a doe when he is staying within the parameters of the law. I shoot roe, red and sika. It means that the vast majority of the females that I cull are pregnant. It might not be a pleasant thought but it has to be done to achieve a cull and limit damage to a forest crop which I am employed to protect. I've not watched the video by the way
 
Thanks for the positive comments, I had plenty of time to watch the doe, assess her condition and make the decision about what shot to take and the shot was taken with confidence!
Even though I don't feel that I have any need to justify myself or my actions I would like to address a couple of issues raised in the replies in a polite and calm manner.
In many circumstances I would not chose to show graphic images that might cause distress or upset to anyone (There have been many cases where I could have put photos of foxes or deer that I have shot but they have been a bit graphic so I have opted not to post the images or videos for fear of causing upset). However, I chose to show this video to highlight the damage a 130g softpoint can do after chatting on several occasions about different "Deer Legal Calibres" and the sort of damage that different calibres can do to deer. This video showed the typical damage that a .270 can do and was meant to be informative, I did not put it up to "sensationalise", "shock" or "upset" - And I did put a "Graphic Warning" at the start of it so viewers were warned in advance! If anyone thinks it is "tasteless" (Or whatever other words they would like to describe it) then I am sorry, it was not meant to be!
With regards to any thoughts or suggestions that the doe was pregnant - As I said in the write up I was closely and quietly watching her for about 10 minutes before the decision was made to take the shot - This was not a "snap decision" or a "rushed shot"! In that 10 minutes I was able to see her well enough to check her out and have enough confidence in my "limited knowledge" that she was not carrying young! Even though I did not have a clear enough line of sight to feel comfortable about taking a shot where the bullet could have been deflected by small branches I could see her well enough to assess the situation and feel comfortable about making the decision to take the shot if and when it presented itself. A close inspection of the gralloch actually confirmed that she was not pregnant and that there was no reason why I should not have taken the shot.
Had she have looked pregnant then I would not have thought about taking a shot and I certainly would not have been stupid enough to post a video of shooting a pregnant doe on line for all to see!
I hope that this has cleared up any negativity or doubts and clarified the reason for posting this video, and that there will be no more jumping on the "she looked pregnant" band wagon! If there is then I will quite simply delete the video and the entire first post of this thread as I do not feel that I need or deserve the negativity regarding this doe or my choice of shot when it was meant to be nothing else other than informative!
Sorry if this sounds like a bit of a rant guys but PLEASE credit me with a little bit of intelligence!
 
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Not a great fan of extending the Doe cull into March myself, but if your ground like ours is high up in the Moffat hill's, your constantly working around the weather, early march often gives us the break to catch up on the Cull numbers if its been a particularly poor winter weather wise
 
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