Long distance doe harvesting

[yoderjac]

For most of my hunting career, I've been a short range deer hunter. Bow hunting has been my passion. When I was young in PA I used a .30-06 but the places I hunted never offered a shot over 100 yards. When I moved to Northern Virginia, the military base and other areas I hunted were restricted to shotguns with slugs or buckshot. My muzzleloader didn't provide much more distance over a shotgun. So, 95% of my shots were inside 100 yards.

Things have changed. A few years ago, the county our farm is in began to allow rifle hunting. I was able to use my .30-06 again and looking toward retirement and possible hunting out of state, I got a .300 Win Mag barrel for my TC Encore.

Tonight opened my eyes to a a new caution regarding long range doe harvest. I was hunting in a box blind tonight. About 4:30 I had a deer step out into a field. I ranged it at 188 yards. I first glassed it with by binoculars to make sure it was a doe. I then dial my scope to that range, put it on full zoom and put the crosshairs on the deer. I was just waiting for her to give me a little better angle as she fed before I squeezed the trigger when a turn of the head caught my attention. I thought I saw a spike but wasn't sure. My Leupold was on 24X, max zoom. I decided to verify that it was a doe before taking the shot, but the deer quickly moved behind some brush before I could. The deer eventually worked its way my direction and I was able to verify it was a spike. I'm not talking a 3" spike. They were thin, but between 6" and 9". The deer was within 50 yards when I verified this with binoculars.

On our place, experienced hunters let young bucks walk and target 3 1/2 and older deer. I certainly wouldn't have been the end of the world had I shot that buck, but it got me thinking. What if I did not have a buck tag left? The lesson I learned is that, even with quality optics and good lighting, you can mistake a spike for a doe at long distance. I won't be taking long-range shots at does without a buck tag in hand.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Mortenson]

Those spikes can also curl backward along the skull real low. Learned that one the hard way long ago.

Make sure a doe is a doe. Make sure a shed buck is not a doe.

 

[yoderjac]

Those spikes can also curl backward along the skull real low. Learned that one the hard way long ago.

Make sure a doe is a doe. Make sure a shed buck is not a doe.

I don't have to worry about that around here. It is unusual for bucks to drop antlers during our season. It can happen but it is unusual. The spikes on this deer were pointed straight up. I simply could not see them at long range.

Another story that happened to me years ago was a mistake during archery season. I was hunting under an oak canopy but it was mid-afternoon. I watch this doe for over 1/2 hour eating acorns before it got into range. I was self-video taping the hunt with an HD camera. She finally presented a 20 yard broadside shot and I released the arrow. She ran off and I heard her crash. I then heard her death bawl. I couldn't see her but I knew where she was and it was in the open oak flat. I climbed down and walked over to her....him. It was buck with 9" spikes. My first thought was that someone else shot this deer. I had to back trail the blood trail to convince myself that this was the same deer I shot. That is how sure I was that it was a doe.

I played back the video on a large screen HDTV. The was one time during that 30 minutes of video where you could clearly see the spikes on the playback. There were no optics involved in this hunt, but it goes to show that what we think we see isn't always what we see.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[hillrunner]

The eyes see and the ears hear what the mind believes. I've experienced this enough to know how true it is. This is how people get mistaken for game and shot in low light conditions.
Many years ago I was sitting over a deer carcass waiting for a coyote. As light faded I thought I had one coming in fairly close. I was almost ready to squeeze off a round from the rifle when something made me take one last peek around the scope. It was a young 6 point buck. Ever since that day I have become more aware of how my mind can play tricks on me. It's the same phenomena that tries to makes every corn stalk look like an antler at last light.

 

[yoderjac]

The eyes see and the ears hear what the mind believes. I've experienced this enough to know how true it is. This is how people get mistaken for game and shot in low light conditions.
Many years ago I was sitting over a deer carcass waiting for a coyote. As light faded I thought I had one coming in fairly close. I was almost ready to squeeze off a round from the rifle when something made me take one last peek around the scope. It was a young 6 point buck. Ever since that day I have become more aware of how my mind can play tricks on me. It's the same phenomena that tries to makes every corn stalk look like an antler at last light.

No doubt that is true. Most of what we actually see with our eyes is discarded and only what we perceive as relevant enters. Then our brain fills in the gaps based on our past experiences and projections. Here is how I think your idea applies to my case. This was out in the open and the light was good, about 1/2 hour before sunset on a sunny day. It wasn't like I wanted it to be a doe. I think that in my case with the long shot opportunity, it was simply that even with the optics, those antlers blended into the background. I was specifically looking for them. I was on a knoll and there was another knoll beyond the deer, so the background was a planted field with greens and browns. I think the antlers were so thin that I simply did not have enough resolution with the optics. The scope was a higher zoom but by then, I had already decided it was a doe. Even though the zoom rate was probably sufficient if I had been focused on the head at this point, it wasn't until a turn of the head caused something to catch my eye that I questioned myself.

There is always a chance we can make a mistake. My primary take away was that there are things we can do to mitigate the impact when we do. For example, if I did not have a buck tag and shot it, I would have to turn myself in to the game warden. While they probably would go lightly on a guy self-reporting, I'm a hunter education instructor and any game law violation would remove that status. By simply making sure I have a buck tag available turns the situation from a game law violation to an "oh crap" incident.

Your point is well taken and things like target fixation should be a safety concern for all of us in general.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[roymunson]

good catch!

I've killed probably 20+ deer with my gun. I think 1 has been over 80 yards.

That said, I'm planning on running over and starting a new thread about the values of a 350 legend. Meet me there

 

[Gator]

Hate to be that guy but you should of been able to see those antlers with any quality optic or your eyes aren’t what they used to be in which case you just have to know your own limitations. I say this as someone who has just recently had to accept this fact myself and pay extra attention (and according to the eye Dr I still don’t need glasses)


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[yoderjac]

Hate to be that guy but you should of been able to see those antlers with any quality optic or your eyes aren’t what they used to be in which case you just have to know your own limitations. I say this as someone who has just recently had to accept this fact myself and pay extra attention (and according to the eye Dr I still don’t need glasses)


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Perhaps I "should have" been able to see them, but in that particular situation with that background, I simply didn't. I was using a pair of leupold binoculars. I did eventually see them with the higher power scope, but I had already convinced myself it was a doe by then. My brain already had a bias and I was lucky that a particular movement drew my attention. My general point holds. Regardless of the quality of the optics, there will be conditions where you simply may not see them, so keeping a buck tag if I plan to take longer shots at does is now on my todo list.

I'm sure my eyes are not what they used to be. I had Lasik years ago. I still don't need glasses to legally drive, but I do wear them to drive and hunt because I don't want good-enough vision. My glasses have a slight yellow tint to brighten a bit in low light.

Thanks,

Jack