This is my second year of chasing deer, in hopes of getting my first deer with a handgun. I've been hunting with handguns for over 30 years, but never gave a thought to hunting deer with one. I figured that I've killed nearly everything else with a handgun, so why not a deer. Plus, I've killed deer with everything except a handgun.
I was standing just inside the woods, looking across a ravine and listening. After hearing several shots in the distance, I see a buck and 3 does walking along the south edge, traveling west. Suddenly, they spook, decide to back-track and come into the woods with me. They didn't seem to be interested in crossing the ravine, so as they walked by I rested my .44 Mag. Ruger Super Redhawk on a sapling. The buck hesitated, I settled the red dot on his shoulder at 58 yards and squeezed the trigger.
At the recoil the buck walked off, while the does ran off to the east and it was 9:10 a.m. I wasn't totally sure I'd hit him, even though the shot felt good. I waited 10 minutes and decided to slowly cross the ravine and check for blood. No blood, but I noticed the does running off, while the buck was bedding down about 80 yards away. I crept one foot at a time, toward him, while he got up and bedded back down 5x...over the next 2 hours.
Around 11:00 he got up and bedded on the other side of some blown down trees. I kept creeping closer, one foot at a time and by 12:15 he'd stood up and laid back down for the 7th time. The last time he was facing to my right, while his chest was toward me. There was the shot that I'd been waiting to present itself. He looked my way, while I leaned against a sapling for a rest, settled the red dot on his brisket at 40 yards and squeezed the trigger.
When the Ruger recoiled, the buck rocked onto his back and I ran up to him. He attempted to get up and was throwing his rack at me...I was 10 feet from him. I gave him a second to settle, he moved his head away from his vitals and I shot him through the lungs. I'm getting him mounted in a "sneak mount", but won't get him back until April.
I'll never forget this hunt with a handgun.
Bowhunter57
I was standing just inside the woods, looking across a ravine and listening. After hearing several shots in the distance, I see a buck and 3 does walking along the south edge, traveling west. Suddenly, they spook, decide to back-track and come into the woods with me. They didn't seem to be interested in crossing the ravine, so as they walked by I rested my .44 Mag. Ruger Super Redhawk on a sapling. The buck hesitated, I settled the red dot on his shoulder at 58 yards and squeezed the trigger.
At the recoil the buck walked off, while the does ran off to the east and it was 9:10 a.m. I wasn't totally sure I'd hit him, even though the shot felt good. I waited 10 minutes and decided to slowly cross the ravine and check for blood. No blood, but I noticed the does running off, while the buck was bedding down about 80 yards away. I crept one foot at a time, toward him, while he got up and bedded back down 5x...over the next 2 hours.
Around 11:00 he got up and bedded on the other side of some blown down trees. I kept creeping closer, one foot at a time and by 12:15 he'd stood up and laid back down for the 7th time. The last time he was facing to my right, while his chest was toward me. There was the shot that I'd been waiting to present itself. He looked my way, while I leaned against a sapling for a rest, settled the red dot on his brisket at 40 yards and squeezed the trigger.
When the Ruger recoiled, the buck rocked onto his back and I ran up to him. He attempted to get up and was throwing his rack at me...I was 10 feet from him. I gave him a second to settle, he moved his head away from his vitals and I shot him through the lungs. I'm getting him mounted in a "sneak mount", but won't get him back until April.
I'll never forget this hunt with a handgun.
Bowhunter57
