The smallest of the small and a nice buck

Sat out in my high seat watching the edge of the forest across the clearfell always allows the naturalist in one to flourish.I had two stoats dance across the deep vehicle tracks making their way into the woods in the late afternoon followed by a croaking chorus in the black ,almost stagnant stream waters below .Its difficult picking out a roe when they emerge from the wood. They arrive as ghosts mostly and i can never figure out how i managed to miss their initial emergence from the pines onto the open clear fell amongst the scatterings of birch.Today ,charlie popped his head out of the deep dark forest but decided against a wander over to the sheep fields, probably due to two of his relatives being bumped off last week at the same spot!I looked over to his right after his head had disappeared from the pine banking to see a big old doe standing proud on the banking, debating a foray onto the fresh young shoots bursting forth everywhere .She decided to have a wander and i took great pleasure on watching her for 10 minutes whilst at the same time hoping she would not come too close ,spot me , and alert any bucks to me being there. She seemed content to browse a good 80 yards off so i felt reassured i was still in with a chance .I saw movement below to the left. I turned and looked down. The smallest of the small. A roe but pint sized and careless quite content to pick at the shoots and prance over to me. I shielded my face(already in a face mask ) against the gunstock and hoped the breeze would not give me away as she passed not 15 feet below the seat rested against a sturdy pine at the end of the strip. I looked over at the big old doe, She was watching. I felt any minute the tiny doe would dash off and then the old doe after her .That would be that i thought. fox calling for 10 minutes ,possibly call out a charlie then head home. The gods were with me and tiny doe pranced on by so close i could hear her munching. I could feel myself cheezing with joy. what a lovely sight. The older doe looked full in the belly and i suspect the lure of the deep forest for safely called her back so she about turned and slowly fed back over to the earth ridge at the forest edge and was gone. I was , at that point content to go home. I was delighted at the double encounter, and at my effective level of concealment up the seat of course! Ten minutes passed by and close on 7pm i felt that i was all over and maybe time to plod off .Movement again on the left at the forest edge. I scoped the spot slowly with the rifle and spotted a roe. I zoomed in to 20x and there they were. a nice set of antlers on top of a handsome buck. This lad moved a tad faster than the old grazing of the doe. He had covered 20 feet in no time , moving to the centre area of my arc of fire in . He then stopped of his own accord to turn back to the left scent rubbing a birch branch, affording me the shot at 60 yards or so. A sharp crack a short 10 foot dash and he fell heart shot. My error. i had re-zeroed the gun earlier, my usual inch high at the 100 as i felt it may need done after a few months of being driven about and i had forgot to lift up for the shot an inch or two. No matter the heart on gralloching was seen to be mincemeat, completely destroyed, but mental not to self ,on closer in shots lift the bloody gun a wee bit you fool!!!.What a great outing . I do love the woodlands.Full of life.Tiny doe tiptoeing about under me made it for me really. But a nice buck was icing on the cake.

 

[Rutland lad]

 

[kenbro]

Sat out in my high seat watching the edge of the forest across the clearfell always allows the naturalist in one to flourish.I had two stoats dance across the deep vehicle tracks making their way into the woods in the late afternoon followed by a croaking chorus in the black ,almost stagnant stream waters below .Its difficult picking out a roe when they emerge from the wood. They arrive as ghosts mostly and i can never figure out how i managed to miss their initial emergence from the pines onto the open clear fell amongst the scatterings of birch.Today ,charlie popped his head out of the deep dark forest but decided against a wander over to the sheep fields, probably due to two of his relatives being bumped off last week at the same spot!I looked over to his right after his head had disappeared from the pine banking to see a big old doe standing proud on the banking, debating a foray onto the fresh young shoots bursting forth everywhere .She decided to have a wander and i took great pleasure on watching her for 10 minutes whilst at the same time hoping she would not come too close ,spot me , and alert any bucks to me being there. She seemed content to browse a good 80 yards off so i felt reassured i was still in with a chance .I saw movement below to the left. I turned and looked down. The smallest of the small. A roe but pint sized and careless quite content to pick at the shoots and prance over to me. I shielded my face(already in a face mask ) against the gunstock and hoped the breeze would not give me away as she passed not 15 feet below the seat rested against a sturdy pine at the end of the strip. I looked over at the big old doe, She was watching. I felt any minute the tiny doe would dash off and then the old doe after her .That would be that i thought. fox calling for 10 minutes ,possibly call out a charlie then head home. The gods were with me and tiny doe pranced on by so close i could hear her munching. I could feel myself cheezing with joy. what a lovely sight. The older doe looked full in the belly and i suspect the lure of the deep forest for safely called her back so she about turned and slowly fed back over to the earth ridge at the forest edge and was gone. I was , at that point content to go home. I was delighted at the double encounter, and at my effective level of concealment up the seat of course! Ten minutes passed by and close on 7pm i felt that i was all over and maybe time to plod off .Movement again on the left at the forest edge. I scoped the spot slowly with the rifle and spotted a roe. I zoomed in to 20x and there they were. a nice set of antlers on top of a handsome buck. This lad moved a tad faster than the old grazing of the doe. He had covered 20 feet in no time , moving to the centre area of my arc of fire in . He then stopped of his own accord to turn back to the left scent rubbing a birch branch, affording me the shot at 60 yards or so. A sharp crack a short 10 foot dash and he fell heart shot. My error. i had re-zeroed the gun earlier, my usual inch high at the 100 as i felt it may need done after a few months of being driven about and i had forgot to lift up for the shot an inch or two. No matter the heart on gralloching was seen to be mincemeat, completely destroyed, but mental not to self ,on closer in shots lift the bloody gun a wee bit you fool!!!.What a great outing . I do love the woodlands.Full of life.Tiny doe tiptoeing about under me made it for me really. But a nice buck was icing on the cake.View attachment 363702

Very nice read.
Thanks, Ken.

 

[WalkedUp]

Interesting to see where your two intersections of scope axis and bullet trajectory lie, 60 yards may not be far off the first one.

 

[kenbro]

Interesting to see where your two intersections of scope axis and bullet trajectory lie, 60 yards may not be far off the first one.

Rough estimate, 50 yard zero would be just short of 1” high at 100 yards. Around 3000 fps.
Ken.

 

[Anser anser]

Rough estimate, 50 yard zero would be just short of 1” high at 100 yards. Around 3000 fps.
Ken.

May well have been simply error on my part as i let a shot off earlier on the fields at 100 yards and it was dead centre and 1 " high exactly. I,d zeroed the gun in the day before so this was just a final check,firing off a round from the sticks before heading on to the high seat. You cannot be too careful in checking optics as you all know. Either way the shot was spot on regarding the horizontal. Simply an inch or two too low by my usual choice of placement. Heart was just totally obliterated. I,ve had very few run this year, vast majority dropping on the spot. Because of the angle from the high seat i prefer to select an aimpoint higher to allow for the bullet passing through and mostly exiting lower on the far side of the beast,No matter , i enjoyed the trip

 

[kenbro]

'spose at that range it wouldn't matter, but normally if shooting "Down hill" you would aim low.
Ken.

 

[triggertrix]

Well done. It would be interesting to see the trophy clean from an age perspective. I have an idea, but what age do you put him at?

 

[Heym SR20]

May well have been simply error on my part as i let a shot off earlier on the fields at 100 yards and it was dead centre and 1 " high exactly. I,d zeroed the gun in the day before so this was just a final check,firing off a round from the sticks before heading on to the high seat. You cannot be too careful in checking optics as you all know. Either way the shot was spot on regarding the horizontal. Simply an inch or two too low by my usual choice of placement. Heart was just totally obliterated. I,ve had very few run this year, vast majority dropping on the spot. Because of the angle from the high seat i prefer to select an aimpoint higher to allow for the bullet passing through and mostly exiting lower on the far side of the beast,No matter , i enjoyed the trip

An inch or so either way is well within the error limits of 1 MOA and a slight bit of misjudgment of range, angle of elevation, a slight movement of the target, slight error of wind reading (and yes wind can make a bullet go high or low if it is blowing up or down a hill) or indeed a slight error on the part of the shooter.

But in the field a bullet hitting within an inch of point of aim is perfectly good shooting.

Not all deer drop on the spot, even those that are hit perfectly. This deer was clearly alert and hence a short run. To be honest 10 yards is pretty much one bound for a roe and certainly for a red.

Beauty of 1” high at 100 is that for pretty much most cartridges and loads out to about 200 put cross hair in middle of your preferred kill zone and bull will hit just above or just below your cross hair line (depending of course on reticle) and you can focus your attention on the buck.

Don’t beat yourself up. You took a nice buck with a good clean kill.

 

[Anser anser]

I,d guess at perhaps his 5th season maybe more. Im no age assessment guru though.

 

[triggertrix]

I,d guess at perhaps his 5th season maybe more. Im no age assessment guru though.

I’m going to go with a very good 4 yr old based on the long front tine and short but not receding back tines - seeing the width, height and slant of the pedicles would make it more clear.

A friend recently shot what he thought was an old buck going back, but it turned out to be the strongest 3 yr old he’s had on his ground…oops

 

[Anser anser]

An inch or so either way is well within the error limits of 1 MOA and a slight bit of misjudgment of range, angle of elevation, a slight movement of the target, slight error of wind reading (and yes wind can make a bullet go high or low if it is blowing up or down a hill) or indeed a slight error on the part of the shooter.

But in the field a bullet hitting within an inch of point of aim is perfectly good shooting.

Not all deer drop on the spot, even those that are hit perfectly. This deer was clearly alert and hence a short run. To be honest 10 yards is pretty much one bound for a roe and certainly for a red.

Beauty of 1” high at 100 is that for pretty much most cartridges and loads out to about 200 put cross hair in middle of your preferred kill zone and bull will hit just above or just below your cross hair line (depending of course on reticle) and you can focus your attention on the buck.

Don’t beat yourself up. You took a nice buck with a good clean kill.

I'm happy with the accuracy of the gun .Its been superb on the roe .There was a bit of a blustery breeze at the time .Just needed this single 100 yard test shot to confirm the previous afternoons zeroing was satisfactory before i headed to my seat.

 

[triggertrix]

I'm happy with the accuracy of the gun .Its been superb on the roe .There was a bit of a blustery breeze at the time .Just needed this single 100 yard test shot to confirm the previous afternoons zeroing was satisfactory before i headed to my seat.

Pulled it ps. Good shooting

 

[Heym SR20]

I'm happy with the accuracy of the gun .Its been superb on the roe .There was a bit of a blustery breeze at the time .Just needed this single 100 yard test shot to confirm the previous afternoons zeroing was satisfactory before i headed to my seat.

I was not criticising, I was more saying don’t be over critical of yourself. And also don’t forget that it really needs half a dozen if not more shots to really tell where and how well a rifle is grouping. That single shot 1” high could be in the middle of the group, at the top or at the bottom of the group - all assuming a 1” group size, or to the right or left.

But in real life it really doesn’t matter, as provided you keep ranges reasonable it’s a dead deer everytime.

It’s also why I really have doubts about long range shooting at live animals, as the natural variations quickly compound as you get further out.

Also the sense of achievement of being close, picking out a particular animal and taking it with a clean kill is very high. But equally just getting close, and then choosing not to squeeze the trigger as the beast is not part of my cull plan is also for me equally satisfying.

 

[Anser anser]

I was not criticising, I was more saying don’t be over critical of yourself. And also don’t forget that it really needs half a dozen if not more shots to really tell where and how well a rifle is grouping. That single shot 1” high could be in the middle of the group, at the top or at the bottom of the group - all assuming a 1” group size, or to the right or left.

But in real life it really doesn’t matter, as provided you keep ranges reasonable it’s a dead deer everytime.

It’s also why I really have doubts about long range shooting at live animals, as the natural variations quickly compound as you get further out.

Also the sense of achievement of being close, picking out a particular animal and taking it with a clean kill is very high. But equally just getting close, and then choosing not to squeeze the trigger as the beast is not part of my cull plan is also for me equally satisfying.

Absolutely. Having the tiny doe skip on by and watching the heavily pregnant old gal was as much the highlight as the buck simply because watching the deer is equally as satisfying. I think thats why the woodland and woodland edges appeal The rhythm of life is vibrant there for me much like on the foreshore when im after the pinkies on the winters moonlit nights. Each to their own of course im sure the hills hold their own brands of magic .Yes i'd done a box of 20 rounds the evening before at varying ranges to ensure the gun was still on the money( and had some fun doing it of course)

 

[Heym SR20]

Absolutely. Having the tiny doe skip on by and watching the heavily pregnant old gal was as much the highlight as the buck simply because watching the deer is equally as satisfying. I think thats why the woodland and woodland edges appeal The rhythm of life is vibrant there for me much like on the foreshore when im after the pinkies on the winters moonlit nights. Each to their own of course im sure the hills hold their own brands of magic .Yes i'd done a box of 20 rounds the evening before at varying ranges to ensure the gun was still on the money( and had some fun doing it of course)

I too love sitting on the woodland edge. I particularly enjoy catch and release stalking - I could have easily shot it but chose not to. Most of my stalking is on side of a defunct volcano or along a river gorge, with a 120m shot downwards at 30°. Recovery is then either a long drag along the bottom, or a shorter carry back up. Hence catch and release is often practiced.

 

[25 Sharps]

Sat out in my high seat watching the edge of the forest across the clearfell always allows the naturalist in one to flourish.I had two stoats dance across the deep vehicle tracks making their way into the woods in the late afternoon followed by a croaking chorus in the black ,almost stagnant stream waters below .Its difficult picking out a roe when they emerge from the wood. They arrive as ghosts mostly and i can never figure out how i managed to miss their initial emergence from the pines onto the open clear fell amongst the scatterings of birch.Today ,charlie popped his head out of the deep dark forest but decided against a wander over to the sheep fields, probably due to two of his relatives being bumped off last week at the same spot!I looked over to his right after his head had disappeared from the pine banking to see a big old doe standing proud on the banking, debating a foray onto the fresh young shoots bursting forth everywhere .She decided to have a wander and i took great pleasure on watching her for 10 minutes whilst at the same time hoping she would not come too close ,spot me , and alert any bucks to me being there. She seemed content to browse a good 80 yards off so i felt reassured i was still in with a chance .I saw movement below to the left. I turned and looked down. The smallest of the small. A roe but pint sized and careless quite content to pick at the shoots and prance over to me. I shielded my face(already in a face mask ) against the gunstock and hoped the breeze would not give me away as she passed not 15 feet below the seat rested against a sturdy pine at the end of the strip. I looked over at the big old doe, She was watching. I felt any minute the tiny doe would dash off and then the old doe after her .That would be that i thought. fox calling for 10 minutes ,possibly call out a charlie then head home. The gods were with me and tiny doe pranced on by so close i could hear her munching. I could feel myself cheezing with joy. what a lovely sight. The older doe looked full in the belly and i suspect the lure of the deep forest for safely called her back so she about turned and slowly fed back over to the earth ridge at the forest edge and was gone. I was , at that point content to go home. I was delighted at the double encounter, and at my effective level of concealment up the seat of course! Ten minutes passed by and close on 7pm i felt that i was all over and maybe time to plod off .Movement again on the left at the forest edge. I scoped the spot slowly with the rifle and spotted a roe. I zoomed in to 20x and there they were. a nice set of antlers on top of a handsome buck. This lad moved a tad faster than the old grazing of the doe. He had covered 20 feet in no time , moving to the centre area of my arc of fire in . He then stopped of his own accord to turn back to the left scent rubbing a birch branch, affording me the shot at 60 yards or so. A sharp crack a short 10 foot dash and he fell heart shot. My error. i had re-zeroed the gun earlier, my usual inch high at the 100 as i felt it may need done after a few months of being driven about and i had forgot to lift up for the shot an inch or two. No matter the heart on gralloching was seen to be mincemeat, completely destroyed, but mental not to self ,on closer in shots lift the bloody gun a wee bit you fool!!!.What a great outing . I do love the woodlands.Full of life.Tiny doe tiptoeing about under me made it for me really. But a nice buck was icing on the cake.View attachment 363702

Always nice when it comes together, I have one tower I shoot rabbits from where roe cross underneath, always a great experience!

Just a note on aiming off, 1” high at 100 with any deer calibre and you’ll only be around 1/2”-3/4” at 60 so I wouldn’t worry about aiming off.

 

[1894]

Movement again on the left at the forest edge. I scoped the spot slowly with the rifle and spotted a roe.

I enjoyed reading about your evening but the above shouldn’t be allowed to pass without comment. It reads as if the rifle scope was the only optic employed to check out some movement and that as a result you pointed a loaded rifle at an unidentified object.
It may be it’s just your writing but as it currently reads it’s very bad practice

 

[triggertrix]

I enjoyed reading about your evening but the above shouldn’t be allowed to pass without comment. It reads as if the rifle scope was the only optic employed to check out some movement and that as a result you pointed a loaded rifle at an unidentified object.
It may be it’s just your writing but as it currently reads it’s very bad practice

May not have been loaded to be fair.

 

[1894]

May not have been loaded to be fair.

Agreed but it should be stated