Just got back from this year's deer hunt and what a great trip it was. Here's how it went:

I've been hunting this public land area for 4 years and had a good idea where I might find a decent buck. I started into the field before sun-up and was a little over a mile from the road when the sun started to break the horizon. I was headed East, climbing a ridge through moderate PJ (Pinon-Juniper) trying to move quickly but not too loudly. This area gets hunted pretty hard by hoards of road-hunters so I wasn't too concerned about spooking deer on slopes in view of the road.

When I got close to the crest I eased up slowly, glassing the hillsides in front of me carefully. I found a comfortable place to sit at the base of a fair-sized Juniper and began taking a close look at the canyons below me. After about 10 minutes of glassing the flash of antlers in the low-angle early morning sunshine caught my eye. There below me were five bucks feeding on a saddle between two small finger ridges coming off the main ridge I was on. I upgraded my optics this year to a set of Geovid 10x42 binoculars which told me the deer were a little over 425 yards away. Two of the five were pretty nice 10 and 8-points, and two of the other three were legal (minimum of 3 points on at least one side) and the last one was a fork-horn.

I wasn’t going to shoot from that far so I sat and watched the deer for nearly 20 minutes as they slowly fed North-to-South over the saddle and down into the small canyon and out of my line-of-sight. Since the deer hadn’t been spooked and would most likely continue to feed, I dropped down the slope a ways so the crest of the ridge would be between me and the deer. Side-hilling along the ridge on the tater-sized rocks was not exactly quite but I did the best I could to cover the half-mile distance without making too much noise and get to the point where I figured I’d be able to sneak up over the top and spot the deer within range.

Slowly crawling up to the crest using PJ to mask my approach, I stopped every couple of feet to glass the opposite side of the canyon. When I got to a position where I could see almost all the way to the bottom of the canyon I spotted the deer feeding on Juniper berries. I was now facing Southeast, just about directly towards the rising sun. The deer were a little difficult to see but their dark grey coats contrasted well enough with the dark green Junipers for me to make out the biggest deer. Their horns were more difficult to see but I did find the big one, now less than 300 yards away. There was no wind and my position was well hidden so I set up my shooting sticks and got them adjusted for a comfortable sitting position. I watched the deer for about 15 minutes, waiting for the big boy to present a good broadside shot and also hoping to get my heart-rate to slow a bit—I’ve been hunting for over 30-years and get just as excited today as I did when I was a kid which is probably why I doubt I’ll ever give up hunting.

The buck finally turned sideways to me and I took one last measurement which put him 279 yards across from me. I’d practiced quite a bit with my .308 BLR so was confident in making the shot. The deer definitely looked smaller through the 2x7 Leupold compact scope set on 7, but the image was clear and sharp. Now, BLR’s are not known for crisp, clean trigger pulls and mine’s no different but I honestly don’t remember even pulling the trigger, but the rifle did go off and I heard the loud “thwump’ of the bullet striking the deer. When I recovered the sight-picture following recoil I saw the deer’s right front shoulder was broken as he jumped/ran down slope and piled up about 10 yards from where he’d been standing. It was obvious a follow-up shot wasn’t needed, but I did wait ten minutes before moving from my position, watching him closely all the time. Three of the bucks who’d been with him trotted off slowly up and over the ridge while his fourth companion slowly moved down slope to where he lay to check see what happened to his running mate.

After the ten-minute wait, I made my way around the head of the small canyon and over to the deer. I was amazed at his size; easily the biggest bodied deer I’d ever been close to. Field dressed I estimate he weighed close to 250 pounds and by far the best set of antlers of any deer I’ve harvested. Just a terrific deer hunt!

Hey Toolman, nice one!

...nicely done terrific as you said...

Congratulations on making a terrific shot on a great buck....

Nice deer. He has good back and front forks.

Real nice buck there John. Sounds like you had a great hunt, even if you shot the only nice buck in New Mexico

I've got my fingers crossed already for next year's draw...

BTW, is that a double eyeguard on the buck's right side or is the light playing tricks on me?

Weidmannsheil, great story! And you did the job with a BLR... I have often wondered, is the straight grip version you have preferable to the ones with a pistol grip?? Or vice versa?? And why??
- mike

Hey John, Congratulations on a fine kill.

Sure appreciate all the effort you took putting the story together too. I felt like I was looking over your shoulder on the hunt.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills.

DesertRam,

I know what you mean aobout the "only nice buck in New Mexioc". I can't tell you how many miles I've hiked over the past five years to find this one. And, as a matter of fact the deer does have double eyeguards on the right side, but my hand is over one of them in the picture as it's only just shy of an inch long.

mho,

The BLR is my favorite rifle. I shoot left-handed and so the lever-action works very well for me. The one in the picture is a very early Belgium-made rifle I bought used two years ago. I also have a Japanese made one in .358 and did own a BLR 81 in .243. I prefer the older ones with steel receivers and straight grips but the grip preference is just cosmetic to me.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the story--it was fun to tell it.

Well Done. He does have a neat rack. Isn't it nice when it all comes together? Nate

toomany....

Waidmannsheil! Congratulations!

Great write-up, great photo and obviously a great deer, well done!

I think you tell a good story so keep it up, give us another one from your next hunt!

Congratulations on a sucessful hunt.

Just finished a supper that included some fine venison myself.

What part of the state were you hunting in?

Fine hunt for you and enjoyable hunt for us as were were reading your account!!

Great looking buch toolman congrats

Enjoyed that; thanks and great jobbie!

TCLouis,

I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I was hunting in the southwest-central region of the state near the Gila National Forest.

Nice looking buck you got there. Congratualtions and thanks for sharing it with us. Nice post. Are you an outdoor writer or just a good story teller?

Very nice Buck.
The 308 proves itself again.

Very cool story! This is probably my favorite time of year to surf AR!

Congrats TT!

IV