Well, my old Mauser claimed 2 more deer this weekend.
I hunt public land, on the ground. It was Saturday afternoon, and the sun had just started peaking out of the wind-whipped clouds....and boy did that really warm up the steep southwest-facing slope of the hardwood covered moraine I was sitting on. After being beaten by driving snow all morning, it wasn't long in the sun and I was sound asleep.
I'm not sure how long I was out, but I woke up to the sound of footsteps behind me (which usually means another hunter out here in The Kettles!). Man, was I startled when I opened one eye to see two does standing 15ft away, looking at that "strange stump". I opened my second eye and probably moved my head slightly during my sleepy confusion, the deer startled and deer bolted to my left....the Mauser leapt to my shoulder, knowing where it needed to be before my brain had any chance to command it. The lead doe must have been confused about what I was, because she got up to my elevation about 150ft away and stopped to look over at me. The peep ring aligned instantly and the 8mm touched off without hesitation. She lunged for the top of the ridge, but her hind legs were already failing her.
Knowing she was dead, I was slowly working the action open to save my case from flinging to its final resting place on the forest floor, when out of nowhere the 2nd doe that was in front of me (and behind the leader) came charging hard back across the hill straight at me. Chink, chunk, and another round is seated in the chamber just as she sees me. I'm now on one knee half way out of my Torges seat....the Mauser again comes to rest in it's preferred location before my brain is aware of it, and the old Redfield 70 now has a sprinting doe in it's ring at 50 ft out and closing fast. I remember seeing the deer's right shoulder through the peep with my right eye and the rest of her body with my left. I began thinking aloud in a whisper as she passes 30 ft in front of me ..."one bound, tree, tree, two bounds, tree, three"....Blauch! The deer's legs never hit the ground again, as she crumples and slides to rest at the bottom of the snow-covered kettle.
The woods are now as quiet as they were 10 seconds before, when I was sound asleep.
I keep replaying the events in my head, and it all happened so fast that I was certainly on autopilot...the Mauser, my arms, and eyes fused in concerted perfection. Have I mentioned how much I love that gun?
Upon tagging and inspecting the deer, the first shot could not have been placed any better; perfectly parallel through both lungs, separating the heart from both her jugular and carotid arteries on it's way through. Not even a rib was broken as the bullet traveled between the same set on both sides. The second shot was on a steeper downhill trajectory and a bit more than quartered away. This one entered two ribs behind the right shoulder, got one lung and blew out between the front left shoulder and brisket.
I hunt public land, on the ground. It was Saturday afternoon, and the sun had just started peaking out of the wind-whipped clouds....and boy did that really warm up the steep southwest-facing slope of the hardwood covered moraine I was sitting on. After being beaten by driving snow all morning, it wasn't long in the sun and I was sound asleep.
I'm not sure how long I was out, but I woke up to the sound of footsteps behind me (which usually means another hunter out here in The Kettles!). Man, was I startled when I opened one eye to see two does standing 15ft away, looking at that "strange stump". I opened my second eye and probably moved my head slightly during my sleepy confusion, the deer startled and deer bolted to my left....the Mauser leapt to my shoulder, knowing where it needed to be before my brain had any chance to command it. The lead doe must have been confused about what I was, because she got up to my elevation about 150ft away and stopped to look over at me. The peep ring aligned instantly and the 8mm touched off without hesitation. She lunged for the top of the ridge, but her hind legs were already failing her.
Knowing she was dead, I was slowly working the action open to save my case from flinging to its final resting place on the forest floor, when out of nowhere the 2nd doe that was in front of me (and behind the leader) came charging hard back across the hill straight at me. Chink, chunk, and another round is seated in the chamber just as she sees me. I'm now on one knee half way out of my Torges seat....the Mauser again comes to rest in it's preferred location before my brain is aware of it, and the old Redfield 70 now has a sprinting doe in it's ring at 50 ft out and closing fast. I remember seeing the deer's right shoulder through the peep with my right eye and the rest of her body with my left. I began thinking aloud in a whisper as she passes 30 ft in front of me ..."one bound, tree, tree, two bounds, tree, three"....Blauch! The deer's legs never hit the ground again, as she crumples and slides to rest at the bottom of the snow-covered kettle.
The woods are now as quiet as they were 10 seconds before, when I was sound asleep.
I keep replaying the events in my head, and it all happened so fast that I was certainly on autopilot...the Mauser, my arms, and eyes fused in concerted perfection. Have I mentioned how much I love that gun?
Upon tagging and inspecting the deer, the first shot could not have been placed any better; perfectly parallel through both lungs, separating the heart from both her jugular and carotid arteries on it's way through. Not even a rib was broken as the bullet traveled between the same set on both sides. The second shot was on a steeper downhill trajectory and a bit more than quartered away. This one entered two ribs behind the right shoulder, got one lung and blew out between the front left shoulder and brisket.
