Bambi Whacking 2023-2024

[lazarus]

Somewhat of a long shot (please PM me if you don't want to post the area) but I'm wondering if any of you hunters know of hunting areas in region B that allow camping overnight as well as hunting. I know these options exist in places out west like Green Ridge, but all of the areas I've looked at in B are day use (hour before/after sunset) only. Thanks

I've been wondering the same. As near as I can tell, none.

And Eastern shore, basically all of the campgrounds out there close up by late October or early November. I think it is pretty much get a motel room. Now western shore, there are some campgrounds open not far from those areas in to the winter.

Closet I can think of is I think catoctin/Cunningham campgrounds are open year round, but I could be wrong about that. You aren't camping IN the legal hunting area, but it is a very short drive from where you can hunt in the park.

 

[outrider58]

Very true. That said, on a good broadside, I'd still want something that exits. Because on a quartering, you might not be getting sufficient penetration.

Just about everything will exit with a well placed heart, lung, liver shot.
If people want to stop destroying meat, stop shooting them in the shoulders. If a shoulder shot is all you have, place your shot high and forward on the shoulder. It will be an instant kill-neck shot.

 

[Doco Overboard]

Just about everything will exit with a well placed heart, lung, liver shot.
If people want to stop destroying meat, stop shooting them in the shoulders.

Or use a bow.

 

[outrider58]

Or use a bow.

There you go!

 

[BigCountry14]

Just about everything will exit with a well placed heart, lung, liver shot.
If people want to stop destroying meat, stop shooting them in the shoulders. If a shoulder shot is all you have, place your shot high and forward on the shoulder. It will be an instant kill-neck shot.

I just screwed this up on my buck. Entry was good, but because of my angle up in the tree on a ridge top and him way down in a draw below, the round hit the far shoulder on exit. There, uh, wasn't much left of it.

 

[outrider58]

I just screwed this up on my buck. Entry was good, but because of my angle up in the tree on a ridge top and him way down in a draw below, the round hit the far shoulder on exit. There, uh, wasn't much left of it.

Hey, that's hunting. It ain't perfect. I've made tons of imperfect shots. You take your losses(I don't mean losing deer, but that's part of it too) and move on. That's just the way it is.

We know what we want to achieve. We make it a point to improve. That's all we can do.

 

[BigCountry14]

Hey, that's hunting. It ain't perfect. I've made tons of imperfect shots. You take your losses(I don't mean losing deer, but that's part of it too) and move on. That's just the way it is.

We know what we want to achieve. We make it a point to improve. That's all we can do.

Yep. Ironically of all the deer I've killed, I've only had that happen twice. Both times on big bucks. This one and the 8 pt I killed in 2020. That one was actually an arrow, but it was only at 7 yards, somehow it managed to deflect slightly, hit the rib cage and it hit perfectly in the far rear hip joint, completely disintegrating it. Craziest thing about that one was it had a gaping hole where the arrow went it, and absolutely no blood trail, and not even blood pooled where it bedded.

 

[CaptainAwesome]

Hey, that's hunting. It ain't perfect. I've made tons of imperfect shots. You take your losses(I don't mean losing deer, but that's part of it too) and move on. That's just the way it is.

We know what we want to achieve. We make it a point to improve. That's all we can do.

I'm still struggling to "move on", I've mentally reviewed my poor shot from three weeks ago.
I learned the hard way, I didn't get my prize that day. I rushed the perfect situation.
Bow hunting is not for the weak hearted !!!!

 

[RRomig]

I'm still struggling to "move on", I've mentally reviewed my poor shot from three weeks ago.
I learned the hard way, I didn't get my prize that day. I rushed the perfect situation.
Bow hunting is not for the weak hearted !!!!

It’s a longer story than I want to type but a couple years ago I arrowed a buck in October that ended my season. The mental side of hunting is more important than the physical. So if your mind ain’t right it’s best to stay out of the woods. That said sometimes it takes a tree stand to get my mind right lol.

 

[Doco Overboard]

There you go!

This where I think some of these sub caliber cartridges would be beneficial or even a ML using a maxi ball at much lower velocity if meat loss is a concern.
Because most deer are killed at such close range a 2700+ rifle is going to do a whole range of things including poke a hole right through them like a pencil, ricochet inside them like a ping pong ball, flatten them entirely if the Cns is affected or bust them open like a ripe melon and they’ll still often run off.
The angle at what a spitzer or any pointed bullet regardless of construction hits them at has a lot to do with it as well. Secondary missiles such as a bone strike combined with velocity has a lot of impact as well.

 

[gwchem]

I'd rather lose a little shoulder than lose a deer. But I definitely try to shoot just behind the crease, no matter if I'm using a rifle or bow. Last doe I shot just clipped the far shoulder. Maybe I lost a pound or two.

 

[thedutchtouch]

I've been wondering the same. As near as I can tell, none.

And Eastern shore, basically all of the campgrounds out there close up by late October or early November. I think it is pretty much get a motel room. Now western shore, there are some campgrounds open not far from those areas in to the winter.

Closet I can think of is I think catoctin/Cunningham campgrounds are open year round, but I could be wrong about that. You aren't camping IN the legal hunting area, but it is a very short drive from where you can hunt in the park.

Yeah, too bad. Having to drive in between kinda ruins the idea for me, might as well drive home at that point. I wonder if any of the IWLA locations would allow members to do this, haven't found much on their sites but I know a few members here are affiliated. From what I've found those that have camping areas don't have hunting areas and vice-versa. I suppose it makes sense for liability reasons.

 

[lazarus]

Or use a bow.

Or scare them. My Ex's uncle had a story from upstate NY. He "shot" a nice buck at about 40yds. It ran hard. They finally recovered it laying at the base of a tree, not a scratch on it. As near as him and his buddies can tell, he shot right over the buck's back with his .25-06 and the darned thing ran head first into a tree 100yds away and broke its neck.

 

[Slackdaddy]

This year has been dismal for me,,
Did not get out as much as I liked in Rut/Bow,,
Had to cancel a "Sure thing" management hunt,,
remaining 2 management hunts had me see ZERO deer and shooter on each side blasting away.

I am in need of putting down a few yearlings and a Doe,, no interest in bucks at all.
Anyone have a property that needs some does/yearlings taken off of? remaining Firearms and late muzzle loader.

 

[wilcam47]

when you see it...first decent buck of significance ive got on camera here. Hopefully get more pics....or even better a chance to shoot this one.


Shot my muzzle loader today, scared my neighbor was way off paper but got it dialed back in.

 

[outrider58]

View attachment 443638 View attachment 443641
when you see it...first decent buck of significance ive got on camera here. Hopefully get more pics....or even better a chance to shoot this one.


Shot my muzzle loader today, scared my neighbor was way off paper but got it dialed back in.

That doe is buck-blocking you!

 

[Ponder_MD]

The Spousal unit finally got hers tonight. 10 minutes before cutoff time. Shot through the heart (and you're too late...) looking forward to Mississippi pot roast.

 

[outrider58]

The Spousal unit finally got hers tonight. 10 minutes before cutoff time. Shot through the heart (and you're too late...) looking forward to Mississippi pot roast.

Congrats to her! I love seeing women out hunting and gathering.

 

[Pale Ryder]

Two things I thought I would never see happen simultaneously. One, I thought I would never see at at all.

Were sitting out there on the range the other day and the next thing I know I spy this buck running around like a dam fool in this other field. And its a good one. Not a 2 1/2 old by any means with a good heavy rack. Probably 9 or more points. Good mass.

So he's up there by the end of the range and makes his way over to where my oldest boy is sitting about 150 yards. And, is looking like he's heading back into the woods. It's about 9o I guess. He's up there with a fine modern bolt action equipped with a Luepold Vx-3. The thing shoots like a laser and its bang on zeroed for 200 yards and the boys no tenderfoot.

I'm thinking, he doesn't see the dam deer, so I go to call him and wake his ass up or something.
Thats when he opens up on the deer. I see it run directly towards him and fires again. And now its clear to the other side standing on the edge of the woods about a hundred yards from where the stand is. Me and my wife are both looking with binoculars and the deer is just standing there and the kids not shooting. I'm thinking, WTF is the matter with that dam boy?

The deer walks off into the woods and thats when the phone rings. I asked, what was it getting ready to fall out or something so you didn't shoot?
He says, no I had two fail to fires out of four rounds loaded into the rifle and two of them wouldn't light. He ejected the last one, bungled a spare out of his wallet and the deer's gone. I think somethings wrong with my rifle, I put it right on him twice and clean miss as far as I can tell.

I said reload wait there for a little while and go look for him and Ill wait here to see if he runs out the other way or something.
No Dice, clean misses. He's gone back into the cut-over for a nice sunny day nap.
Later on, when we met up down the other end I said give me that dam rifle and you ammo. When I looked at it, the scope reticle was rotated about 60 degrees from vertical and he told me he heard something clicking or rattling when he was loading the rifle once he was in the stand. Something didn't sound right but he overlooked the noise thinking it was nothing like the follower rattling in the box mag or something when he pushed some rounds into it.

The ammo, factory Remington 308 spitzers that he buys in lots had to two fail to fires from the same pasteboard factory box.
It was then I was like, Ill trade you my rifle for that one straight up with 5 boxes of 270 and you can keep all the ammo you bought for that one to yourself.
He wasn't to thrilled with that proposition as you could very well imagine LOL but I did my best to try and talk him into it, but I still have some time to work on him I think.

Afterwards, we rode over to the plantation house and let the rifle warm up in the hot truck, proved the sighting on a 8 "gong two hundred yards to the corn field there, never touching the turrets, burned a good way through another crisp box of ammo that had you guessed it, two more cartridges that were FTF.
The scope rifle combo is practically dead on for deer shooting with the reticle still about sixty degrees off.
One thing I could see, two...... never much with any rifle/ telescope combination. Especially with supposedly superior manufactured products from reputable suppliers.

The only ammo I have ever had issues with is Remington. Two misfires from 12 gauge slugs and two from 30-06. Admittedly that was several years ago, but I can imagine their QC hasn’t gotten considerably better. I will still use Remington ammo for range and hunting, never for SD.

 

[Todd S]

Got a fat doe this evening!


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