First blood for the .350 Legend

Looking south-southwest from the Taj

 

After the shot. I walked back to the cottage and called Belladonna. She cancelled her date and came out to help me drag the deer.

Gore alert.

The first bullet entered the left side of the lower-neck while quartering toward me and/or the exit hole from when he was playing Peek-a-boo. Or maybe both.

An entrance hole from when he was playing peek-a-boo?

Close-up of the Peek-a-boo entrance hole.

Exit hole on right side, slightly aft of diaphragm. Hit liver and grazed rumen on the way out. I THINK the entrance hole is coincident with the exit hole from the neck shot. Autospy suggests this was an entrance hole after hitting a twig.

A three point. The broken surface looks old.

The buck showed up with about fifteen minutes of legal light left.

He was about 80 yards out when I took the shot.

He was off like a rocket.

As I watched him run a voice told me "Rack another shell, you ninny!" So I did.

The animal stopped behind a massive Silver Maple with only the right side of his head visible at 100 yards out.

I kept waiting for him to show me to shoot at.

Finally, he gave me a few more inches and I took the shot. And then a third and then a fourth.

At least one of them grazed the Silver Maple.

After the fourth shot, he disappeared.

After waiting about fifteen minutes, I called Bella. Then I walked out to the cottage to wait for Bella and to give the deer time to bleed out.

The deer was a good twenty feet behind the tree. I think the second and third follow-up shots (called "F-U shots" by old-timers) missed and the fourth hit, because that is when he disappeared.

I don't know how much clearer things will be after the full autopsy. I have two holes on the right side of the animal and one on the left. I am not sure how that happens. Maybe I will find a second entrance hole on the left side. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow will be a work day. Most of this guy will go into quart jars and through the pressure-canner. The prime-cuts will go to some friends as gifts.