Past Deer Encounters

This is an 8 point I shot in 2003. He was shot with a shotgun at 10:30 AM on November 15. November 15 is the gun opener in Michigan.

He was dogging a doe. I saw him early, at about 8 AM. But he was about 60 yards away, moving in some pretty thick stuff. He was dogging the doe then too. He was followed by a band of subordinate bucks. They stayed back about 40 yards from him. I had good shot opportunities at 3 of them between 8 and 10:30. But I thought if I sat tight, he might run the doe past me. And that is what he did. He ran past at about 30 yards, following the doe. I was using a Browning Gold Deer Hunter with a fixed 4X Nikon scope. I had a hard time getting on him, partly because he was so close and partly because he was moving. I was trying to get on his shoulder, but the crosshairs seemed to want to float about on his neck. I shot at the lower 3rd of the neck. The shot is evident in the picture. I wasn't sure if the shot was lethal (I have had bad luck with neck shots before), so I shot again. I tried to get on the shoulder, but he was moving quickly. My crosshairs were aligned with the shoulder, but just above the line of his back when I slapped the trigger. I knew I had shot over him. Ironically, the 2nd shot confused him. He wasn't sure where the shots were coming from. He looped around and stopped about 30 yards from me. This shotgun holds 5 shells, but I only had 2 in the gun (my first mistake). I was out of shells, and he was standing right there by me. I grabbed my pack, looking hard for more shells. As I was fumbling with that, he took off and I didn't see where he went. (my second mistake) Dismayed, I looked for blood. I knew he was hit by the first shot. I couldn't find any blood. Finally, I walked through the woods in the direction I guessed he would have run. I went about 80 yards and spotted him on the ground. The neck shot finally got the best of him.

This story highlights a big advantage of using a semi-auto shotgun vs. a pump for deer. After a shot, often the deer are confused as the direction of the shot and hesitate before running. This allows time for a second shot. With a pump, though, the noise from the pumping action lets them know right where you are. With a semi-auto, they stay confused longer and it is much easier to get another shot off. (Assuming you brought enough shells). You may be wondering why I only had 2 shells. I bought a box of 5. But I rechecked my scope and made an adjustment. In that process I used 3. That left me 2. I guess I figured that was twice as many as I would need.

Another point I would like to make is that neck shots are really iffy. There is a lot of room to miss the spine, carotid artery, and esophagus. Always take a lung or shoulder shot as first choice. If a deer is standing still and the lungs and shoulder are blocked by a tree but the neck is not, wait for the deer to step forward and shoot at the lungs. Patience is a virtue in deer hunting.