CarJunkieLS1
Member
I had a local rifle builder do me a custom built 7mm08 about 5 years ago. I shot it at targets and was very pleased with my reloads accuracy. I had velocity, bc, dope chart, etc. etc. already done BUT I never hunted with it until this year. After shooting before season I was very confident in my rifle and ammo choice.
This year I got access to a place where a 425 yard shot is possible so out came my 7mm08. I checked everything before season and it was ready. Opening weekend a large bodied spike that needed to be culled came out at 75 yards. He was perfectly broadside and after a 25 yard run it was over. That shot was hardly a stretch for the accuracy of this rifle BUT it was the first animal I had ever shot with it.
Then yesterday evening I'm sitting in that same spot and 15 minutes before dark 4 does come out and start grazing. I hit the largest one with the rangefinder at 231 yards. Broadside and standing perfectly still. My dope chart said .54mils for 225 so .5 mil was dialed into my Vortex HS-T 4-16x44 scope and I raised the rifle and slowed my breath as best I could. As my crosshair naturally found itself just behind the shoulder for a heart shot it was like time stood still, everything was quiet, and then my finger slowly squeezed and the loud crack of my rifle broke the silence and the doe takes off hit and obviously mortally wounded.
It is now dark and blood is particularly thin and hard to find. I went the direction I thought (keyword thought) she went and no blood, no hair, no nothing. I'm getting worried so under light from my headlamp and flashlight I back track to where she stood. Low and behold she went 60* degrees off in a different direction. I follow a sparse blood trail literally one step at a time. Low blood, dark, and tall grass will do that lol. Well I follow the trail just to the edge of the field where it starts down a fairly steep slope and there she is dead up under a fallen log 10 yards or so down the hill.
Talk about relief allthe second guessing myself went out the window. I hit her literally exactly where I aimed right in the top of the heart. And she ran 40-50 yards before falling. My confidence in myself, my rifle, my ammo, my tracking ability and doing all alone by myself with no help means the absolute world to me. Its something i wont soon forget.Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed living it.
This year I got access to a place where a 425 yard shot is possible so out came my 7mm08. I checked everything before season and it was ready. Opening weekend a large bodied spike that needed to be culled came out at 75 yards. He was perfectly broadside and after a 25 yard run it was over. That shot was hardly a stretch for the accuracy of this rifle BUT it was the first animal I had ever shot with it.
Then yesterday evening I'm sitting in that same spot and 15 minutes before dark 4 does come out and start grazing. I hit the largest one with the rangefinder at 231 yards. Broadside and standing perfectly still. My dope chart said .54mils for 225 so .5 mil was dialed into my Vortex HS-T 4-16x44 scope and I raised the rifle and slowed my breath as best I could. As my crosshair naturally found itself just behind the shoulder for a heart shot it was like time stood still, everything was quiet, and then my finger slowly squeezed and the loud crack of my rifle broke the silence and the doe takes off hit and obviously mortally wounded.
It is now dark and blood is particularly thin and hard to find. I went the direction I thought (keyword thought) she went and no blood, no hair, no nothing. I'm getting worried so under light from my headlamp and flashlight I back track to where she stood. Low and behold she went 60* degrees off in a different direction. I follow a sparse blood trail literally one step at a time. Low blood, dark, and tall grass will do that lol. Well I follow the trail just to the edge of the field where it starts down a fairly steep slope and there she is dead up under a fallen log 10 yards or so down the hill.
Talk about relief allthe second guessing myself went out the window. I hit her literally exactly where I aimed right in the top of the heart. And she ran 40-50 yards before falling. My confidence in myself, my rifle, my ammo, my tracking ability and doing all alone by myself with no help means the absolute world to me. Its something i wont soon forget.Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed living it.
