2014 rifle season pics, keep the pics from your stand and trail cam pics coming too!

[rugerla1]

Tomorrow starts my unit's two weeks of anterless during rifle season. Gonna try to hunt as hard as i can. Crunch time!


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Good luck!!!  :up:

[Sidinman]

Alright I finally got something more to add.

Now its nothin special, except fer the fact that I took 'em with my new to me 44 Mag. Vaquero.

He came out of the woods about 50 to 60 yds. to my east, then turned and came right by me at about 20 yds.

Well the 240gr. lfp & 10.5 grs. of unique knocked him right down.I think this is the same little fella that I gave a pass to last Sun. while I was huntin with my 35 Rem.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Sidinman

[RED333]

Fat and slow will stop them just about every time.

Congrats Sidinman

[KahrMan]

Nice.  Any deer taken with a pistol is a trophy. :up:

[raildog]

I wish. But I have to take credit for missing the shot. I didn't pay attention when I loaded up this morning.


I had 2 magazines in my pouch, and instead of grabbing the 65gr Sierra Gamekings I grabbed the mag with 64gr Nosler Bonded Solid Base. These bullets shoot high left at 100 yards with my rifle- intended to use them in my carbine when I hunt the ridge line as they shoot dead on with my carbine.

I checked after missing the coyote. So I knew to adjust when shot the doe.


I have taken 2 deer now with an AR in 5.56. I am not sure that I will take another, plan to switch back to my 30-06 for rest of this season.

The AR is fun to shoot and easier to handle in the stand. But both deer I have shot left no blood. Both fell within sight so trailing these two was not a concern. But what if the next one runs?

Both bullets expanded well (based on the damage, not recovered) and passed through the animal. But no blood trail. I don't want to take any chances on losing one so plan to finish out the season with the 30-06 and next year will have my 6.8 finished and hunt with it.

This my frist season useing my AR to deer hunt with killed two so far one spike and a doe the spike walked of in no hurry thought i missed him went 15 yards and hit the ground was a thru and thru no blood at all the doe was yesterday morning miss judge the distance was high hit spine loged she thrashed around and tumbled about half way down the hill some blood but not much so i see what you are talking about still like useing the AR its light and little recoil

[Luke E.]

This my frist season useing my AR to deer hunt with killed two so far one spike and a doe the spike walked of in no hurry thought i missed him went 15 yards and hit the ground was a thru and thru no blood at all the doe was yesterday morning miss judge the distance was high hit spine loged she thrashed around and tumbled about half way down the hill some blood but not much so i see what you are talking about still like useing the AR its light and little recoil

You won't typically get much blood at all when you hit around the spine even if you're using a larger caliber.
If you get a pass through around the vitals, you will almost always get blood..... Eventually. The higher up the shot, the longer it will take because the body cavity has to start filling up with blood so that it can start spurting out as they run. Widening half moon passes will usually net you a successful tracking. I find hitting lower in the vitals with a small caliber (.223-.243) to be best because blood hits the ground quicker. That being said shooting stray into the shoulder will break them down very quickly but usually ruins what little meat there is in the shoulders. A neck shot in the first 8" of neck from the base of the skull will almost always drop them in their tracks even with a small caliber. By the time Florida's deer season is over I will likely reach or pass the 100 deer killed mark and 75% of those were with a .243. I have used these shots many times so I'm not just guessing, this seems to be how it worked out almost every time. There will always be an exception though I guess.

[whiskey]

Luke gave solid advice. I like the .243 and may try the .223 next season, just for comparison.

[RED333]

Here is a good read for yall, not to long.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/energy_transfer.htm

[Luke E.]

Luke gave solid advice. I like the .243 and may try the .223 next season, just for comparison.

 

 I went through a spell where if I was hunting meat somewhere that I was 100% against the deer taking a single step I would head shoot them. While this is typically an effective shot choice, a deer's brain is very small compared to the overall size of it's head so making sure you keep the bullet behind the eyes and above the jaw line is imperative. I got about an inch to far forward one time and ended up having to run to the deer and finish it. I can't stand for one to thrash around with a deadly wound that it might take it several minutes to die from so that was my last head shot. I would still do it if the need arose but just something so simple as her moving her head back for a Greener blade of grass as I was pulling the trigger caused me to be off enough to miss that 2-3" target. 

 

 I think if I were going to hunt with my .223 AR I would probably double tap her.The cost of 2 rounds vs. 1 isn't huge and if your 1st shot is low in the vitals your 2nd should be mid ways up them (assuming and good quick double tap) and give you a great deal more damage and a better chance for blood. 

 

 You guys that are hunting or have and have taken a few deer with .223, what ammo are you using? There are A LOT more and better options available now than there were the last time I hunted with the caliber.

[Luke E.]

Here is a good read for yall, not to long.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/energy_transfer.htm

 

 Interesting Red. I agree completely that there is no shortage of "this caliber or this bullet is best because,,,,," stories out there that are likely based on nothing more thana kill or two made by someones grandfather before the persons birth date. I always look forward to inspecting the damge and comparing it to mental images and memories of past kills. I have always found it amazing how much difference there can be in wound channel from shot to shot when using the same ammo, from similar ranges and roughly the same shot placement. Maybe that's why there is so precious little info out there, perhaps there are so many potential differences in the animal itself to be able to come up with a definitive "best choice"? 

[raildog]

I'm useing Hornady American white tail this year last year i used winchester 64gn. The reason for the change was I went to the range before the season and could not get the new box I had bought to hold a three shot group less than 5" not acceptable to me I need all the help i can get when the old hart gets to pumping the Hornady does a great job so far. I'm useing the MSR platform in 223 because it's light and cheap to feed the place that I hunt is extremely hilly and step and don't want to carry any more wait than i have to. This year I have kill three and none have went more than 20 yards from in pact not to say that the next time i will not be tracking for hours but i have had to do that with .308 its all about shot placement if I do my job the bullet will do its.

[maroonandwhite]

I'm useing Hornady American white tail this year last year i used winchester 64gn. The reason for the change was I went to the range before the season and could not get the new box I had bought to hold a three shot group less than 5" not acceptable to me I need all the help i can get when the old hart gets to pumping the Hornady does a great job so far. I'm useing the MSR platform in 223 because it's light and cheap to feed the place that I hunt is extremely hilly and step and don't want to carry any more wait than i have to. This year I have kill three and none have went more than 20 yards from in pact not to say that the next time i will not be tracking for hours but i have had to do that with .308 its all about shot placement if I do my job the bullet will do its.

i bought two boxes of this the other day but haven't got to use it yet. Looks like a Hornady brand core-lokt. And I've always had good luck with core-lokts.


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[10-Ring]

In case anyone was wondering we are still in rut.  Seems most of the does have been bred but the bucks are sitting tight on the ones that haven't been bred yet.  I took this picture this afternoon.  Just shooting with the camera today so no, this hoss isn't going on the wall.

 

[RED333]

In case anyone was wondering we are still in rut.  Seems most of the does have been bred but the bucks are sitting tight on the ones that haven't been bred yet.  I took this picture this afternoon.  Just shooting with the camera today so no, this hoss isn't going on the wall.

 

David is gona give you points for the porn!!! :rofl:

Edited December 9, 2014 by RED333

[gregintenn]

David is gona give you points for the porn!!! :rofl:

At least he didn't post the "money shot". :lol:

[KahrMan]

If you did have you gun, would you have at least let him finish?

[gregintenn]

All joking aside, that's a damned good quality picture!

[10-Ring]

If you did have you gun, would you have at least let him finish?

Not necessarily, because I wouldn't have any objections going out "mid performance."  Although I was amazed at how quickly the act took place.  He approached her mounted her for a few seconds and came off of her.  Mounted her once again for a few seconds and was done. 

 

All joking aside, that's a damned good quality picture!

Thank you, it's something I've been working on for years.

[Luke E.]

I've got a couple scrapes that are in my road going up to the back of the property that are still being worked every other day. I also went and sat along the edge of a field with a buddy this evening and saw two young (1 1/2-2 1/2yrs) bucks busting each other's heads over a young doe. However, I didn't get to see anything quite like 10-ring.

[rugerla1]

Not necessarily, because I wouldn't have any objections going out "mid performance."  Although I was amazed at how quickly the act took place.  He approached her mounted her for a few seconds and came off of her.  Mounted her once again for a few seconds and was done. 

 

 

Holy crap, that bucks name must be rugerla1 too! :rofl:

Edited December 10, 2014 by rugerla1

[RED333]

Ya think deer are fast, you should see chickens, I swear it is less that 5 seconds.

[Luke E.]

Hey that's better than Lance the 6 point that frequents my food plots. At least he didn't get kick out of the thicket before dipping his pen in the ink well lol.

[reed1285]

Soooo. Funny (if aggravating) story I wanna share with you guys. As some of you may know, Chattanooga lies right on the eastern time zone line of the state. Anything west of here is central time. So I was in Jasper yesterday at my brother's house visiting and my phone switched to central time. Even though its only a roughly 25 minute car ride, it still goes into the central time zone. So I come home with plans to go hunting this morning, so I set the alarm on my phone for 4 am. Well it went off at 4 am alright, but 4 am central, 5 eastern! My phone did not switch back to my time zone! I got up this morning, turned off my alarm, took a shower, brushed teeth, etc. and was loading my truck up before I noticed it! I looked at the sky and thought to myself "It's awfully light outside for 4:30 am. Thats because it was 5:30 am. I scrapped my hunting plans for the morning seeing as how it wouldve been around 730 am before I got set up. Ugh. Needless to say I set my phone to where it stays on my time zone now, and will not go back and forth on its own!!

[Omega]

Soooo. Funny (if aggravating) story I wanna share with you guys. As some of you may know, Chattanooga lies right on the eastern time zone line of the state. Anything west of here is central time. So I was in Jasper yesterday at my brother's house visiting and my phone switched to central time. Even though its only a roughly 25 minute car ride, it still goes into the central time zone. So I come home with plans to go hunting this morning, so I set the alarm on my phone for 4 am. Well it went off at 4 am alright, but 4 am central, 5 eastern! My phone did not switch back to my time zone! I got up this morning, turned off my alarm, took a shower, brushed teeth, etc. and was loading my truck up before I noticed it! I looked at the sky and thought to myself "It's awfully light outside for 4:30 am. Thats because it was 5:30 am. I scrapped my hunting plans for the morning seeing as how it wouldve been around 730 am before I got set up. Ugh. Needless to say I set my phone to where it stays on my time zone now, and will not go back and forth on its own!!

Phones can be a PITA as I found out a couple of weeks ago.  I have a small trailer I sleep in when I hunt, it has a propane heat source but I don't like to leave any flames on at night.  Anyway I set my alarm to go off at 5 and went to sleep, I woke to find the sun had come up already so I went to check the time on my phone.  The darn thing had shut itself off, it seems that the phone has a temperature range and if it hits any of those extremes it will shut itself off.  So now I make sure I put it under the covers with me to keep it above the freezing mark.

[reed1285]

Phones can be a PITA as I found out a couple of weeks ago.  I have a small trailer I sleep in when I hunt, it has a propane heat source but I don't like to leave any flames on at night.  Anyway I set my alarm to go off at 5 and went to sleep, I woke to find the sun had come up already so I went to check the time on my phone.  The darn thing had shut itself off, it seems that the phone has a temperature range and if it hits any of those extremes it will shut itself off.  So now I make sure I put it under the covers with me to keep it above the freezing mark.

 

I hate it when stuff like that happens. That has happened to me in the summer time when I left my phone in the car and it got too hot. Havent had it happen in the cold yet though! Stupid technology!