I'm visiting my parents in Michigan at the moment and saw a neighbor in his tree stand which is about 50 yards from the house. He hunts pretty close to the property line but faces away from the house and the horse paddock. So OK, what ever. My parents don't hunt so the deer are pretty lax on their property. Probably why the neighbor has his stand so close to the prop. line.

I had just brought my mother home from a day of shopping (oh how I suffer!) it was a bit past legal shooting light but the person was in his stand over looking his grassy food plot. I was curiously watching inbetween unloading my mother's packages when Bwana made his move on a heard of five does and fawns. They were probably 20 yards from him when he fired.

Yep, he missed.

The group of deer bounced a few steps from him and stopped. He sat there. I could have made (if kitted up) the now 60 yard shot from my position on the driveway. I figured he was going to have another go at the girls. I waited quietly hoping to see him make a good shot.... I got bored after a few minutes.

Short end of the story. After going back in and out of the house with goods unloaded to completion, I saw no one had moved yet. Not the deer and not Bwana. So I stood by my truck to distract the deer so he would have a shot.

Gawd, after 5 minutes I couldn't take anymore of the situation and it was really well past legal light. So I flashed a white piece of paper at the deer and they slowly trotted off away from Bwana.

I seriously had hopped Bwana would have gotten one just to get him away from the house with old people. They are not anti hunting but they do worry about the close proximity.

Good one!

Am I reading this correctly? Your parents and this fellow live on adjoining acreages, and his treestand is only 50 YARDS from your parents' house?

Hell in Arkansas we all consider the outhouse a deerstand.

Bwana is back out there this morning with a buddy. Walking in the woods.

I was telling my parents the story and they said Bwana has made many wounding shots over the years. Many times they would find a dead doe in their pond. Bwana often has to ask them permission to look for a wounded deer that (no surprise) had come onto their property.

I just wish folks like this guy would actually spend time at a shooting range and learn his weapon and how to shoot accurately!

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Bwana is back out there this morning with a buddy. Walking in the woods.

I was telling my parents the story and they said Bwana has made many wounding shots over the years. Many times they would find a dead doe in their pond. Bwana often has to ask them permission to look for a wounded deer that (no surprise) had come onto their property.

I just wish folks like this guy would actually spend time at a shooting range and learn his weapon and how to shoot accurately!

Ann,you just cant fix stupid!!!

Sounds like he needs to sharpen his hunting tools and his aim !

This just gets worse and worse. I assumed that he was using a bow, but it sounds like he is hunting with a firearm? And missing deer at 20 yards??!!

How does this guy get into and out of the tree without killing himself?

He's hunting with a shotgun.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
He's hunting with a shotgun.

Is he using #8 shot?

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
He's hunting with a shotgun.

Is he using #8 shot?

Must be smaller shot than #8, I'd think with #8 at 20 yds, the does would have ran some. Dust maybe?

I was helping on a cull hunt a few years ago on friends' property. All the guys he invited were supposedly good shots so we could fill doe tags quickly, that was the theory. I was on stand near one of his buddies when a doe came down the hill and ran in a semi circle around this guy at about 20 yards, he emptied his gun, an 870 with an extension tube, and never connected. If the deer hadn't been running away with him between me and the deer, I could have shot her myself at about 60 yards. The next place we went, I made sure there was trees between him and me

maybe taking bwana out to a range or teaching him how to shoot would help the most.

all this laughing behind his back accomplishes nothing useful.

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:
maybe taking bwana out to a range or teaching him how to shoot would help the most.

all this laughing behind his back accomplishes nothing useful.

I understand what you are saying, however, past experience has shown me that men are not inclined to have a woman help them in any way in such matters.

Oh Ann, how can you say that ??

Of course the dummies don't listen to other men either .

Ann,

Your neighbor is in violation of Michigan law requiring a hunting safety zone around buildings:

"Safety zones are all areas within 150 yards (450 feet) of an occupied building, house, cabin, or any barn or other building used in a farm operation. No person, including archery and crossbow hunters, may hunt or discharge a firearm, crossbow or bow in a safety zone, or shoot at any wild animal or wild bird within a safety zone, without the written permission of the owner or occupant of the property. The safety zone applies to hunting only. It does not apply to indoor or outdoor shooting ranges, target shooting, law enforcement activities or the discharge of firearms, crossbows or bows for any non-hunting purpose."

Just thought you should know.

quote:

Originally posted by Ramhunter:
Ann,

Your neighbor is in violation of Michigan law requiring a hunting safety zone around buildings:

"Safety zones are all areas within 150 yards (450 feet) of an occupied building, house, cabin, or any barn or other building used in a farm operation. No person, including archery and crossbow hunters, may hunt or discharge a firearm, crossbow or bow in a safety zone, or shoot at any wild animal or wild bird within a safety zone, without the written permission of the owner or occupant of the property. The safety zone applies to hunting only. It does not apply to indoor or outdoor shooting ranges, target shooting, law enforcement activities or the discharge of firearms, crossbows or bows for any non-hunting purpose."

Just thought you should know.

I figured as such but to keep the peace no one has brought that situation up. It's not my property anyway. I figure if the cranky old people living here get bothered enough they will do something about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:
maybe taking bwana out to a range or teaching him how to shoot would help the most.

all this laughing behind his back accomplishes nothing useful.

I understand what you are saying, however, past experience has shown me that men are not inclined to have a woman help them in any way in such matters.

all too true.

Ann, by chance, did this hunter happen to be wearing a football helmet while shooting?

POST OF THE YEAR!

It really does amaze me how many folks can make a clean miss on a deer at a fairly close range... but I have seen people do it over and over and over and over.....

Truth be told - the fellow was probably trying to head shoot the deer... You know - to avoid "Meat loss" and such.... and many folks don't understand that a load of buckshot through a "Full" choked barrel barely opens up at all at 20 yards.... You are talking a 3" pattern or so.... Aim for the head - deer moves the head and you miss if you are lucky... Unlucky = a deer nose or jaw shot... and you find it in the pond a few weeks later.... Died from starvation.... Hit a deer with 1 of those pellets in the neck muscle - and they don't even bleed.... Probably die from infection later in the winter.... *Sigh*

The embarassing situation would have been if you pulled your concealed pistol... and dusted off said wounded deer from 60 yards....

I didn't have a hunting permit for Michigan nor would I have shot over the property line. There was certainly plenty of time though, for me to lock and load for such a situation!

Reality, many people who use buckshot never test their gun/choke/load on paper. It is the same as never sighting in a rifle. As for the "neighbor", he probably has no idea of where the pattern center is or how many pellets his gun places in the critical core pattern.

It is normal performance for a well centered 10 inch pattern core of 6 or more 00B to drop a deer in its tracks most of the time.

It is also more common than thought, to find that an untested gun/choke/load combination will throw a doughnut shaped pattern that is worse than useless.

Fench line hunting bozos like that can usually expect some special attention such as:

Parking an idling tractor or mower across the fence.
Building a very large conspicous deer blind of my own just across the fence and getting a few volunteers to man it until the other guy gives up.
Move a few goats into that acreage.

If you have beef cattle you can toss out the hay on that area.

There are lots of ways to discourage the bozos including putting a back stop and a bench rest near the fence and using it everytime he shows up.

Of course a large string of black cats set off now and them will do it too.