Drop him right where he stands

[Kentucky]

OK, here is my situation. Currently I am living on 2 acres and obviously dont have room to hunt on such small acreage. My wife and I are planning to move onto 42 acres next spring, but I am stuck where I am for right now.

Now I love deer meat, absolutley my favorite thing in the world to eat. AS luck would have it, there are several deer who have taken to hanging out in my yard, VERRY tempting!!

Deer season opens in Tennessee this coming weekend, and I am trying to figure out a way to get myself on of those deer. I have never been a deer hunter in the past, always preferred to hunt hogs and coon with dogs growing up.

My problem is that these deer are hanging out just about 15 yards from my property line. Easy shot, but if they dont drop really close to right where they are, they can get over the line. If they go over that line they wind up on the property of a recently transplanted Californian who raises miniature ponies and has violent mood swings, (he is a real idiot). Needless to say I dont want to go over on his property to get the deer.

I have the following caliber firearms available to me. What caliber/specific cartridge/shot placement would you use to make sure the deer doesnt move. My shot will probably only be about 20 yards.

308
7.62x54R
12 GA

 

[Floppy_D]

A well placed headshot with the above will probably make for quick pickup. Aim for the ear canal.

 

[heySkippy]

deleted silly question.

 

[Jamie C.]

Kentucky, I'm thinking you probably need to leave those be... After all, you don't wanna end up with your crazy neighbor hauling the cops out and claiming you were shooting toward his property, do you?



J.C.

 

[ksnecktieman]

How many other houses are close? I think I would go with the 12 ga, with a slug, becaue of less danger of the projectile causing consequential damages. either of the rifles will exit a deer. You are responsible for it until that bullet stops. A slug from a 12 ga, three inches behind the leg, and three inches above the belly line will destroy the heart. I have made heart shots on two. one made his second step before collapsing. the other was down at the shot. A one ounce slug is going to create massive damage, and not travel far after leaving the deer. Shoot some targets. Shot placement is critical for an instant stop.

 

[peyton]

Check also if there are restrictions on how much land your required before hunting. In Texas of all places certain counties require 10 acres to hunt, not even in the city.

 

[atblis]

Not hard

Aim for the red x. Do not try a frontal head shot, only the side. Spine also works, High in the lungs has always dropped them for me.

 

[Hardware]

I'd go for a scoped rifle and a head shot. Shooting from a tree stand will help assure that any misses or overpenetration travel on and strike the ground. If you can, go for a shot from the rear arc because that also opens up the possibility of a spinal cord hit.

Good hunting.

 

[Kentucky]

There are no other houses close. As far as how I am shooting, from my angle I will be shooting down and even a clean miss would hit the dirt. Pretty steep territory over here.

There arent any restrictions for how much acreage you need to deer hunt. Matter of fact, we have no zoning, building codes, permit requirements, etc...

A fellow here at work mentioned that he always had great success with neckshots.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Moving to hunting.

 

[Kentucky]

My only scoped rifle is a Mosin, that would probably be my best bet for a headshot.

 

[CNYCacher]

12Ga to the vitals drops em in 0 to 50 yards usually. That's all we get to hunt with around here. Head shot is usually either a instant kill/knockdown or clean miss. Spine shot works as expected.

 

[redranger1]

Personaly i would aim for the neck, largest vital area to aim for with the least amount of meat that could be damaged by a shot to the shoulder. I have shot every deer ive ever shot with the exception of one in the neck and they fall right where they are standing. Also, i would use the 12 guage also. At that close of a range and your situation i would take the gun with the most knock down power and i suspect its the 12 guage. Good luck and give us a report back!

 

[308win]

Check with the Tennessee Department of Natural Resources to determine the law regarding recovery of game. In other words, can you legitimately trespass a reasonable distance on adjacent property to recover game legally taken?

 

[Art Eatman]

Kentucky, what you're really saying is that while you want to obey game laws and not shoot a deer on somebody else's property, you don't want hassle if you shoot a deer on your side of the line and he manages to get over onto a neighbor's place.

The highest odds for DRT is a head shot as mentioned and illustrated above, or a shot through the neck, about one-third down (side view). Or through the white spot, if the deer is facing you, head up.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Well I hate to be the voice of dissension but my opinion, based on what facts you present here, indicate that you do not have enough room to do this responsibly ESPECIALLY if you have a "touchy" neighbor.

After all, you said it yourself...

obviously I don't have room to hunt on such small acreage

Is getting that one "tempting" deer worth the disaster that could unfold with a mistake?

 

[Gordon]

If you use that scoped Moisin (I'd get a decent scope on the .308) use good soft point ammo,take the rifle out and cold bore shoot it at the range you will fire from. Head shoot as indicated,Make sure you vector your shot from an angle that you are sure of the back stop !
I shoot deer out of my small orchard once a year, I only have 300 yards to nearest neighbor, but hey not every Kalifornian is a fruit or nut! I use a 788 Remington .44mag bolt gun with a 2-7 scope and Winchester Silver tip .44spl ammo and hit them in the head as indicated. They bounce off the ground stone dead .

 

[MCgunner]

Not many deer I've shot went far at all. My .308, so far, has killed 'em right there with chest/lung shots. Shoot through their shoulders and even if they're still kickin' they won't go anywhere. At that range, though, a head shot would put 'em down.

This sorta reminds me of a friend that came back from an east Texas trip. He's a photographer and brought back his picture of a redneck home. It was on about an acre, a single wide trailer house, and in the back yard on one end of the trailer was a feeder, other end was a deer stand.....ROFLMAO! To top that off, there was an old truck in the yard up on jack stands.

 

[ojibweindian]

12 gauge, and place the shot a wee bit high on the shoulder. Should punch straight through and take out the other shoulder. Bone fragments should hit the lungs and heart.

If all goes well, it should drop right in place. Of course, nothing ever goes right 100% of the time.

 

[CajunBass]

I doubt you'll have any long shots. Every deer i've ever killed, was killed with 3", No. 1 buckshot, out of a 12 ga., modified barrel, with the point of aim being the neck. Every one of them dropped right in their tracks. They might have needed a follow up shot to turn the lights out for good, but not one ever got their feet back under them. Of course you have to know your range and your gun.

Having said that, I don't know if I'd do it under the circumstances you've outlined.

 

[everallm]

12 Gauge solid shot or 00 buck, check with your local hunting laws.

Remember, .308 and 7.62x54 at the range you will be shooting will keep on going through, you wnat to dump as much energy as possible for a clean drop.

 

[MCgunner]

A .308 at 20 yards will kill right there regardless of if it "dumps" all the energy. Exit holes are desirable, BTW. I shot one in the shoulder about 5 years ago at about 25 yards and he didn't twitch, piled up right where he stood. I haven't had a deer go more'n a few feet after a shoulder/lung hit with it and it doesn't tear up meat like the 7 mag can do.

But, if you're THAT close, just put it in his head. he ain't goin' no where with his brains scrambled. Heck, a .22 mag is plenty for a head shot at close range, of course wouldn't be legal in Texas, but would do the job fine.

 

[Jimmy Newman]

I have had exactly zero (0) bullets fail to exit while shooting deer (including the one I shot with a revolver last year). I want to keep it that way. I agree with MCgunner, you don't need to dump all the energy into the deer, and exit wounds are a good thing.

I've only had a couple go more than 15 feet (the handgun shot, 35 yards, and one 200 yard shot six or seven years ago, 45 yards).

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

I'd hunt some public land where you'll have some room. Shooting a deer from 20 yards from your house/back porch isn't hunting, it's target practice with a live animal IMO.

Go find the deer in some woods....

 

[tinygnat219]

I'd only hunt on your 2 acres if you know the local rules and regs. CAN you legally hunt in such a small parcel? Can you discharge a firearm in a residential area?

Personally, I think if you are hunting on 2 acres with a firearm, you are asking for trouble. Bullet overtravel can be a big concern. Even with a called neck shot or a head shot , deer have this annoying tendency to run. If it collapses on your neighbor's property, what are you going to do?

My suggestion, get a bow, a treestand, and your neighbor's permission to retrieve deer that make it to his property if you persist on wanting to hunt such a small parcel. Your consideration in this might win you over in his eyes if you aren't shooting firearms 100 yards or so from his house.

Or, like some other posters have suggested, go to some public land and set your stand, rifle, or bow there as well.