By Mladen Simovic
Due to unusually high temperatures in September, I have decided to skip the first two weekends of elk archery hunting and go during the third weekend with an idea to spend Sunday looking for large mule deer in the same area, since gun season opens on that Sunday. I had no luck with elk but I did have good action, I just never got an opportunity to shoot. Since that area is a grizzly country, I carried an S&W PC 629 Stealth Hunter, topped with Ultradot 30mm Gen 2 for bear protection. For ammo, I used my reloads with 200-grain Cutting Edge Raptors.
I decided to use that gun as the only one for a mule deer hunt. The number of mule deer is in decline, and I wanted to make my hunt harder by limiting myself to only a wheelgun. I ended up finding a large buck, but he outsmarted me in the last part of my stalk. Regardless, I had a great weekend with many miles in a very steep terrain. Last day I did 12.5 miles with 5500 ft of elevation gain. All those steep miles left a mark on me and I decided to take a good rest the following weekend. So I can be ready for the coming elk firearms season.
My plan changed when I saw only two packs of venison left in my freezer. As someone who doesn’t buy meat, I needed to go and get some in the field. The easiest option was to go and try to fill one of my whitetail doe tags. Whitetail hunting will always be something special for me since I started hunting in Ohio and in West Virginia. WV hunts were special because Dr. Larry Rogers (aka WVHitman) got me into hunting and handgun hunting at the same time. I wish I started hunting earlier in my life, instead of mid 30s but I am glad I started it the right way, with handguns.
Anyways, I went to, I can now easily say, my whitetail honey hole. Sun is setting earlier and earlier, and I was not able to get there to hunt in the evening, instead, I got there around 10, slept in the back of my Pathfinder with the idea to get in a little bit before legal time and try to find a doe. Gun of choice was again my 629 Stealth Hunter. Last year I was first spotting deer on private land, right next to the public land and then I would observe their movement and decide where to go and wait for them to cross the river onto public land. This time I was only seeing mule deer. Little after sunrise I went to the end of that small parcel of public land and after crossing the river I started walking in the opposite direction, upwind. On that side of the river it seemed like a perfect bedding and a deer travel area; I had a feeling I would find deer on this side of the river. After moving from Ohio, I rarely hunt by waiting in one spot. I walked along the game trail slowly with my revolver in my hands. Having electronic custom molded earplugs is so nice, that was the best investment I could make when it comes to hunting gear. I was able to hear everything more intensely and if I see an animal I like I do not have the delay of dawning hearing protection. This is what happened this time as well, after only half of a mile I saw a doe lifting her head out of tall grass, at about 35 yards. After making sure that is was a whitetail doe, I cocked my gun and aimed at the shoulder area. I let Cutting Edge bullets fly, the meat report was heard, and she kicked with her back legs. I knew she wouldn’t go far. She made it about ten yards before collapsing.
It turned out that she was quartering towards me and the bullet hit the front of the shoulder, went through it, hit the front of her chest, making about an inch and a half wound and mess inside her, and exited behind the shoulder on the opposite side. I use the “gutless method” when quartering animals, in most cases that is the best option we have to get an animal broken down efficiently in the field. After I finished that I opened the chest to see the damage and take the heart if it wasn’t damaged. Her heart was not damaged but the majority of her lungs were turned into the mash. No wonder she didn’t go more than 10 yards.
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