Finally.... I killed my first deer

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  • Nick

    a.k.a. Nick™
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    Sep 18, 2006
    570
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    Baton Rouge
    well, this year is my first year ever seriously deer hunting. I got in a lease, bought a rifle, camp, etc. etc.... well Friday evening I was on stand and had a spike walk out, thought it was a doe, but in the late hour I couldn't see the horns.... 112 lbs., not too bad.... but it gets better....

    Sunday our modern rifle ended and we went to primitive on Monday... yesterday evening I was back at the same spot (camera showed a doe in there 30 minutes after we recovered the spike), this time with a muzzle loader... popped what looked like a doe, turned out to be a button buck that you had to touch it to be sure, but either way, 75 lbs should make some tender eating.

    Where we are there is a big buck program, my first deer ever was the spike, I shot late but it's forgiven and they were estatic that I killed my first deer and could care less about it being a buck. The second one was a button buck, but with the 4x scope on the muzzle loader I couldn't see the lumps, might have with the 9X on the .30-06, but button bucks as an honest mistake are automatic forgivens.
     

    dzelenka

    D.R. 1827; HM; P100x3
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    Mar 2, 2008
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    Covington
    When you are hunting antlerless deer and want to avoid shooting a button buck, do not shoot if only 1 deer comes out. in fading light you don't have any scale to compare its size. If 2 deer come out you can shoot the bigger one and be fairly sure it is a doe. Also, when you look at an antlerless deer, don't try to look for the knobs on the head in an effort to identify whether it is a button buck or a doe, look at the shape of the deer's head from the side. If it appears short and angular it is a button buck. A mature doe will appear to have a long head without the angularity.

    I know these things after years of observation and a few cases of mistaken identity.

    Anyway, congrats on your deer.

    Dan
     

    TDH

    FFL/Class 3 NFA Dealer
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    Dec 6, 2008
    2,560
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    Livingston
    Congrats on your first kill.

    When you are hunting antlerless deer and want to avoid shooting a button buck, do not shoot if only 1 deer comes out. in fading light you don't have any scale to compare its size. If 2 deer come out you can shoot the bigger one and be fairly sure it is a doe. Also, when you look at an antlerless deer, don't try to look for the knobs on the head in an effort to identify whether it is a button buck or a doe, look at the shape of the deer's head from the side. If it appears short and angular it is a button buck. A mature doe will appear to have a long head without the angularity.

    I know these things after years of observation and a few cases of mistaken identity.

    Anyway, congrats on your deer.

    Dan

    Dan,

    Thats good info. I'll have to do some observation and see if I can use this info to identify them next season.
     

    Nick

    a.k.a. Nick™
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    Sep 18, 2006
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    Baton Rouge
    thanks guys, I'll take that information into account on the next deer I see, I've always been told that a lone deer without horns is likely a button buck. I had plenty of light when I shot him, I just couldn't tell. I've already seen and passed on a button buck several times earlier in the season, but his knobs were a lot more visible. I'll be back hunting for the end of muzzle loader this weekend, at this point I don't plan to shoot unless I see multiple doe together, just to be 100%. I knew of the "shoot the bigger one to avoid a button buck", but I never looked at the head shape much, I'll look at the game camera pics a little closer so I'll know what I'm looking at...... oh yeah, those game cameras are AWESOME! I have pics of my deer alive and dead.... I need to pull the camera from the button buck, hopefully I'll have a pic of him with a hole in his side :D
     

    dzelenka

    D.R. 1827; HM; P100x3
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    Mar 2, 2008
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    Covington
    Congrats on your first kill.



    Dan,

    Thats good info. I'll have to do some observation and see if I can use this info to identify them next season.

    You learn to pay close attention when there is a $250 - $400 fine for shooting an undersized or button buck. If you can't tell it is positively a doe, you don't shoot.
     

    Nick

    a.k.a. Nick™
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    Sep 18, 2006
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    Baton Rouge
    Thanks again everyone!

    When I shot the second one, the muzzle loader did it in true fashion, I lined up, pulled the trigger and heard a "firecracker like" sound... the damn cap blew but didn't ignite the powder! The deer ran off, then stopped, I had to put a new percussion cap on and lucky enough the deer was dumb enough to try for that rice bran one more time.

    I was amazed, when I shot the first deer with my .30-06 it did a back flip and hit the ground kicking. When I shot the second one with the .50 cal muzzle loader the bullet didn't penetrate completely through and the deer ran for almost 100 yds before dropping (no, not looking to turn this into another ".45 vs 9mm" thread :rofl:)

    You learn to pay close attention when there is a $250 - $400 fine for shooting an undersized or button buck. If you can't tell it is positively a doe, you don't shoot.
    lucky for me our club has problems pulling off the doe that the biologist has recommended as it is, they advised to not penalize someone for button bucks b/c it was an honest attempt to fill a doe tag. Now for shooting something like that spike I shot first, that's $250 fine and suspension for the rest of the season... but like I said, I got a free pass on that one b/c they just wanted me to get my first kill regardless.
     

    dzelenka

    D.R. 1827; HM; P100x3
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    Mar 2, 2008
    4,013
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    Covington
    Did you recover the bullet from the second deer? If so, give us a report on what the bullet was and where it hit along eith a few pictures of the recovered slug.
     

    Nick

    a.k.a. Nick™
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    Sep 18, 2006
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    Baton Rouge
    didn't recover the bullet. I shot at about 5:00, it was dark before we recovered the deer. We were in a hurry to quarter it up and get on the road back home to be at work this morning (3 hour trip). I don't even know what kind of bullet it was, the muzzle loader is borrowed from a friend that bought a .45-70. He loaned me the gun and all the supplies to operate it and the bullets aren't in the original packet.
     

    cajungunslinger

    *Banned*
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    Nov 23, 2008
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    Baton Rouge
    different zones end at different times, we were hunting in Harrisonburg, La, which is in "Area 2"... if you are hunting in "Area 1" you would be correct, our season also ends a week earlier, but our's starts 3 weeks earlier ;)

    my bad, your name said BR so i assumed you hunting in these parts :D
     

    jmcrawf1

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    Jan 20, 2008
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    Madisonville
    Thanks again everyone!

    When I shot the second one, the muzzle loader did it in true fashion, I lined up, pulled the trigger and heard a "firecracker like" sound... the damn cap blew but didn't ignite the powder! The deer ran off, then stopped, I had to put a new percussion cap on and lucky enough the deer was dumb enough to try for that rice bran one more time.

    I was amazed, when I shot the first deer with my .30-06 it did a back flip and hit the ground kicking. When I shot the second one with the .50 cal muzzle loader the bullet didn't penetrate completely through and the deer ran for almost 100 yds before dropping (no, not looking to turn this into another ".45 vs 9mm" thread :rofl:)


    lucky for me our club has problems pulling off the doe that the biologist has recommended as it is, they advised to not penalize someone for button bucks b/c it was an honest attempt to fill a doe tag. Now for shooting something like that spike I shot first, that's $250 fine and suspension for the rest of the season... but like I said, I got a free pass on that one b/c they just wanted me to get my first kill regardless.




    Suspension from the club? Wow that's harsh. I've never heard of that one.
     

    Splnut

    Wannabe Deer Slayer
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    Jan 9, 2009
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    Denham Springs, La.
    Nick don't feel bad about being 29 and shooting your first as i shot my first in mid December and was a spike that was a cull 3 1/2 year old 145 lb and got a 130 lb Doe on Jan. 4th
     
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