I went hunting with a friend in the cold rain yesterday evening. The goal was to get him a deer on a ranch that wanted does and spikes culled and for him to use my .243 Winchester rifle and 100gr Hornady bullets in the process. I needed terminal performance data with that load. For science. Well, I wasn't going to go out without a gun for myself. But, with the drizzle and rain we were having, I wanted it to be stainless. So, since I was playing second fiddle on his hunt, I took the Super Blackhawk Hunter Bisley in a shoulder holster under my jacket.

We ended up getting my friend a deer relatively early so, it was my turn to hunt.

Excuse the lack of scenic pictures I usually post along with a hunt. But, with the rain and all................I opted to keep the camera secure in my ruck.

We set up on a fence corner along a long, wide sendaro. As the evening progressed, I saw a few does come out into the sendaro. But, they were about 300 yards away and that wasn't happening with the .44 Mag. Nothing else showed up any closer, so we decided to still hunt our way down the brush line along the sendaro. Maybe something would walk out in front of me and within range of the revolver. About 5:45, as I passed in front of a two-track that ended at the sendaro, I saw deer down the road.

We crouched down and I set up the BOG-Pod Tripod with a Primos Lift-n-Loc and started looking down the road with binos. There was a BIG buck!!! But, I couldn't shoot him. Does and spikes only. Luckily, he and two smaller buck were chasing a doe and one of the smaller bucks was a spike. Woohoo!

I watched and waited as the light faded and they zig-zagged from one side of the road to the other in their pursuit of the doe. They would exit the brush, doe first, small buck, spike, and big buck trailing. Cross the road and enter the brush on the other side. Back and forth, but getting closer all the while. Finally, on the third crossing, the spike paused for a second as he crossed the road in procession. Unfortunately for him, he paused at 71 yards. As it was getting dark, it was now or never. I placed the crosshairs of the 2x Weaver scope on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger.

"BOOM!"..."POP!"

As the gun recoiled off the tripod, I saw the spike crumple to the ground. I looked at my buddy, who was on the other side of the road, and gave him a thumbs up. With his earlier doe and my spike, we were done for the evening.

Leaving my ruck and the tripod, I walked down the road towards the buck. As I approached, I saw him lift his head and try to move his front legs ineffectively. But, his back legs wouldn't move. Figured I'd spined him. So, I approached from his back side quietly, grabbed a horn, extended and turned his head, and punctured his right carotid with my knife. A simple small puncture in and out and the faucet was open. Like a hose on half full, the blood quickly poured out the opening and the buck faded.

We then drug him down the road to the sendaro and over to my friends doe. Then, in the mist and drizzle, took some pictures before going to get the truck.



Back at the house, with the rain increasing and the thunder and lightening storm passing overhead..................I butchered the two deer and conducted my postmortem under an umbrella in my friends driveway.

Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter Bisley - .44 Rem Mag
240gr Hornady XTP
Muzzle Velocity: 1,416 fps
Distance: 71 yrds
Impact Velocity: 1,229 fps (est)

Entrance


Entrance Under Hide


Entrance Under Shoulder


Bullet Broke Scapula on Entrance


Entrance Under Ribs


Heart/Lungs - Entrance


Heart/Lungs - Exit


Exit Under Shoulder - Through Spine


Exit Through Shoulder


Exit

Not a vital organ was struck and there was only minimal bruising to the top of the lungs from the temporary cavity caused by the hydrolic wave of the bullet passing through the deer. But, he dropped on the spot. Ultimately needing assistance from a blade to pass on.

Still, I am pleased that I got him and pleased with the performance of the bullet for where I put it.

Outstanding autopsy! Congrats!

Good job!

Excellent pics!

X2!

Good on you getting another one down.
Great post mortem pics and description.

Congratulations Zee!

Nice shooting and great detail on the postmortem!

Very nicely done! Thanks for sharing this!

I went back to the ranch today with the good weather and took pics of the terrain.

This is the sendaro we walked down and the two-track I saw the deer on ends into the sendaro at the arrow.



This is the view down the two track the deer were traveling up.



The horizontal arrow is where I was kneeling to shoot and the vertical arrow is where the buck what standing when I shot him. He had come out of the brush to the right and was traveling towards the brush on the left while following the doe.

Great post!

AWESOME JOB

Thanks guys. I enjoy doing it. I learn something new every time.

Great write-up, description, and photos!

Great hunt and talent for details!!!

Thanks, Gents.

Very nice write up,congrats

Nice spike with 44 mag
Way to go

cool,congrats,like the pics

Congrats, Zee!

Incidentally, what editing program do you use for those pictures?

Photo Impact Pro

Congrats! Great shooting!

Way to go and great write up!

Zee that was an awesome postmortem!

I liked it. I love to view the terminal effects. Thank goodness you saved the heart meat from destruction...YUM!

Thanks. Yes, I always eat the heart. Good stuff.

A great hunt and an excellent article. I enjoy the details and the pics. The 240 XTP has served me well in my 44 Magnums. I also consider the heart to be a great delicacy and usually stir fry it with onions and peppers.

I can only join the chorus with "Great Job on the shooting and analysis". Congratulations.

Very interesting on those that like to eat the heart. I also have eaten my share of big game hearts.

Every year while hosting the HHI Antelope Hunt at the Durham Ranch, we hunters were always encouraged to save the antelope hearts for the local outfit that rescued birds of prey (hawks, eagles et al) if we didn't want the heart meat for ourselves. It apparently was a preferred meat for the great birds.

We grew up eating the heart, liver, tongue and brains of the deer we took. Now, I just save the heart and liver. The other is too much of a pain to cut out for what little reward you receive.

I've tried all, and was generally unimpressed with any organ meats. Perhaps another example of the importance of the chef's skill-set on preparation, vs. the actual cut?

Z, great shooting and great writeup. I like seeing the actual terminal performance on game vs boxes of wet magazines. Too bad you couldn't find a bullet to recover.
I also agree, the heart and liver are two delicious pieces of meat. I heard kidneys are supposed to be good, but haven't had the experience of trying them yet...maybe someday I'll work up the nerve!!