Finally got my first Deer

This was the first year I've tried big game hunting in 8-10 years after a handful of years with no success on State Land. I've seen quite a few Doe, unfortunately most places around here are Buck only all season, with maybe 1 Doe day for Primitive or Firearms season.

The area I planned to hunt his afternoon didn't work out as someone walked in right after I did, so I left there and found another section of National Forest land not far up the road. I had the area to myself as most folks are wise enough not to hike down the side of a mountain knowing how miserable the drag out is going to be, But since I've been chasing my first deer I figured the reward would be worth it if I did manage to find success.

I was sitting with my back against and Uprooted Oak and he wandered in on my right about 50 yards out and I figured I would play it safe and wait for him to come in farther out of the brush and past the obstructions I had in my way, Right before he made it past the tree blocking my view he turned and bolted back to the direction he came from and stopped about 40 yards away behind another group of trees and he stayed there for a brief moment out of view. Meanwhile my rifle has been shouldered this entire time and due to his location and the fact that i'm sitting on the ground and cant move, my upperbody is twisted as far as I can go to my right just waiting for him to walk into the only clearing between us and it finally happend. Even with the shaking I felt like I could make the shot and I went for it.

The way he took off gave me doubt, so I reloaded and headed for where i suspected he was, it took a few minutes but i finally found some hair although not a drop of blood anywhere to be seen. So I scouted the area trying to follow the disturbed leaves as best I can. I wandered around for 30+ minutes and went back where I found the hair and got down on the ground and with still no blood to be seen so I'm starting to think I just shaved a few hairs off. Its now that i find a small tree a few yards away that was clearly hit with a roundball and this reinforces the thought that I missed considering how hard the RB hit the tree



It looked like the ball hit the tree with a little blood on it, so I decided I would look a little longer before it got too dark, so I ventured further downhill and got very lucky and wandered right into him, probably 80+ yards from where he was shot at and over the next ridge. He's barely a 4 pointer but that doesn't bother me

The 54 got the job done with 95gr 2fg and a .530 ball, it entered further back than intended in ribs and exited behind the opposing front leg and still had enough pep to do some serious damage on the tree. I guess it's fitting that after dragging up hill over 600 yards, I make some calls to find out that atleast 20 Deer Coolers in the surrounding area are full and not accepting deer that I had to go home and "process" this one myself by headlamp, Hopefully I didnt waste too much meat will have to pick up a grinder and finish the job tomorrow

Driftingrz, congratulations on your first deer. Hopefully the first of many! Great job on a difficult trail....way to ferret it out.

Best regards, Skychief.

Congratulations on a job well done. You never forget your first time! I usually wait a few minutes before heading after them, even though the Rush makes it hard to do it. Again, Great Job !

Great shot. Sure demonstrates the awesome power of these Rifles.
Very healthy young Buck like that is great eating. Congrats!

Nice deer, beautiful rifle, congrats!

I'm impressed, you did not give up. Stayed positive. But what a haul out! You must of been tuckered in all the next day!
Well done you.

Congratulations! Good on you for not giving up the search.

Congratulations mate, nothing beats your first.

My first was almost 20 years ago and I still remember it vividly.

Congratulations! I’m glad to hear you didn’t give up to soon on tracking.

Congrats on the deer. The round ball got it done.

Congrats on a public land buck! That's the hard way, for sure. I admire your tenacity in the drag out, also.

I also do all my own butchering. It isn't hard, just time consuming. The effort is certainly worthwhile. Now that you know you can do it, you won't want to pay the high fee for someone else to do it for you.

Glad you found him!! It’s hard when you find no blood!! Way to stick with it!!

Congrats! First of many deer for you, I hope.

Great story...and good for you for doing the whole job yourself

Well Done.

Congratulations, .54 is sure some great deer medicine!

Nice buck and rifle. Good job not giving up.

Congratulations! And my hat off to you for doing the hard but ethical thing.

Congrats! Nothing makes my heart sink faster than finding no blood. Good on you for sticking with it and getting your deer.

Well done! Patience on the shot, tenacity on the track, and endurance on the drag out. This will be memorable.