My 'almost' deer:

by Hoot , Diversityville, Liberal-sota, Sunday, April 16, 2017, 11:50 (2716 days ago) @ Bri A

We were hunting in a shotgun zone in southern MN. It is also legal to harvest deer with a handgun statewide regardless of zone. On my hip was a .45 Colt OM Ruger Blackhawk with a 7-1/2" barrel and in my pack was a Charter Arms Bulldog sporting a 3" barrel. There was also a Mossberg 500 loaded with slugs at hand. I was sitting on the ground in a natural 'pinch point' which has been very successful in the past.

Along about 11am there was some noise coming up on my left; no snow but plenty of leaves. I took up the shotgun and tried to stealthily get turned in the correct direction. When I finally got maneuvered around I find a yearling eyeing me with intense curiosity, bobbing his head and pawing at the ground a bit. I didn't want that particular deer but waited to see if he was alone.

After about 15 minutes with no other action, I very obviously put down the shotgun and started to talk to this young-un. I told him I didn't really want to blast him with a slug at the 15 or so yards separating us and that he should run along and send back his big brother. This only made him more curious and he moved in a bit and bobbed his head some more trying to figure out what this noisy lump in the woods was.

Another 15 minutes passes and I tell him, "If you stay there long enough for me to get my pistol out of my pack, I will shoot you with that." So I made a bit of a show of dragging my pack up close, running the zippers open and digging out the little Bulldog. All the while, he's bobbing around and wondering just what is going on. Well, I got the pistol out and cocked it and had a nice easy broadside shot at maybe 12 yards or so. At the shot, he took off and ran down the bit of draw I was on and up the far side; showing no signs of any distress whatsoever.

I waited a few more minutes and got up to see if I could find any blood or hair, still shaking my head over the whole affair. There was no sign of this deer being hit. What I did find though was a 2-1/2" sapling with a nicely center-punched, 44 caliber hole in the near side and no exit. In my concentration on the sights, I had failed to see any intervening obstacles.

I dug out the slug and had a good laugh.