I finally have some field data to report for those of you that are interested. I have carried the little 32-20 Contender with me off and on throughout the regular season, but never as the primary weapon, only to be used if all the right conditions were met. I wasn't going to use it on a big buck or big hog, but I would use it for a coyote, turkey, spike, doe, or maybe a smallish pig. With the rotation of firearms for each hunt, it just wasn't in the cards. Since the regular season closed last weekend, and the spike and doe season just began, I thought I should try a little harder to use it. My son and I had been seeing several spikes throughout the regular season and knew that they would still be available for the late spike and doe only season. Conditions for the hunt were not the best. It had rained the night before with the arrival of a cold front, and the winds were still gusting to 20 or 25 mph. This makes the deer a little jittery, and worse yet, it stirs up the cedar pollen. With every gust of wind the cedar trees would release a cloud of pollen, and there are a lot of cedar trees where I hunt. Temps were around 48 degrees but felt in the 30's, and my eyes and nose were both running like crazy, but I was determined to stick it out. Shorty before sunrise a doe came by on my left, and 10 minutes after that a doe came by on my right. They didn't hang around, they were just passing through. About 20 minutes after that, I see a deer coming up the road towards me and identify him as one of the spikes we wanted to cull. He was still a little over 100 yards away, but I figured when he hit 50 or 60 yards I would let him have it. Somewhere around 70 yards out he changes his mind and reverses course. By this time I had put my sandbag on the rail of the tripod and had the Contender resting on it, just waiting for an opportunity. At what looked like 100 yards away, he stopped and turned to the South, giving me a perfect broadside shot. I wanted to hold just behind the shoulder, but my instincts/muscle memory kicked in and the cross hair ended up on the shoulder and the gun fired. The deer dropped at the shot and never got back up. I watched him for a few minutes and only saw an ear twitch and a leg kick one time. I gathered my stuff and climbed down. I paced off the distance at 110 steps, close enough to yards I reckon. The bullet hit just where the cross hairs were when I touched the trigger, entering the left shoulder and exiting the right, with foamy blood on the ground behind him.





Entrance wound.


Exit wound.


Chest cavity.


Cross section of spine/chest cavity.

I really can't believe that bullet punched it's way through all that bone and still exited. All in all I must say that I am impressed with this 123gr Speer Gold Dot. I think I'll have to shoot something else.