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My 2020 Oregon Mule deer

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Oregononeshot

36 Cal.
Joined
Oct 28, 2017
Messages
166
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I was lucky enough to put down a nice public land oregon buck in mid-October. I spotted him early on the second morning, and made a plan to get ahead of him as he headed towards where I thought he might be going to bed for the day.

I dropped down off my glassing location, and got to where I thought he might pass below me in a saddle. If he passed below me where I hoped, it would provide a 75 yard shot. If he went on the other side of a small patch of trees, he would be out of range.

The buck went back to where he came from, out of sight. 10 minutes later he came back, accompanied by a small spike. During this time, a small group of elk appeared, also headed my direction. I was concerned the elk would get to me before the buck, and would smell me and spook the buck. Thankfully, they held up in a small timber patch.

The buck was still headed my way, but went into a small draw, out of sight. I waited for about 5 minutes, trying to catch a glimpse of him. Finally I spotted him trotting towards me, about 200 yards away. He was still headed towards me, and on the correct side of the brush patch I needed him to be on! I got my gun setup on a dead stump, with a clear view of where he would present a shot. I waited. And waited. And waited! I waited for what felt like 5 minutes. He should of been to me by now, where was he?

I was just about to stand up to try to get a view, when he appeared right where I hoped. He was walking below me, at 65 yards, perfectly broadside. He went behind a small tree, so I cocked the hammer and pulled the set trigger. He walked into a clear opening, and I bleated to stop him. I put the sight low on his heart to compensate for the steep downward shot, and squeezed the trigger.

Through the smoke, I was unable to see a thing. The shot sounded like a hit. I ran to the right to try to see the buck. I saw him running straight away, but he wasn't running like normal. He ran about 100 yards, then went behind some trees and I lost sight of him. About 2 minutes later, I could hear what sounded like a cough.

Myself and a friend who was with me waited for an hour before going to the shot location. We found blood and hair instantly. The blood trail wasn't huge, but was enough to follow. When I got to where I had last seen him, I was glassing with my binoculars and found him bedded under a tree, dead! He went about 125 yards! He was bigger than I thought, a beautiful 3x4 buck with a tremendous body!

My round ball left a hole through both lungs bigger than my thumb, and exited the opposite side. I was surprised at how far he went, with a complete pass through both lungs. The blood trail really opened up about 25 yards before he layed down and died, I'm guessing a clot broke free.

My gun is a GPR, shooting a hand cast 535 ball. Pillow ticking patch with Dutchs dry lube, 1:7 ratio. This was my first kill with this gun and a round ball, and I'm sold on them! Even the guys I hunt with who shoot unmentionables were impressed!
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Well done!! That is a nice little buck!!
Tell your buddies with the unmentionables about my elk. That should get their attention about what old school guns and loads can do.
 
Thanks everyone! Idaho Ron, I read your story, very impressive! Russelshaffer, I don't know on the weight, 150 lbs maybe? We were northeast oregon, not quite far enough east to be near the snake river though.
 
Very impressive. Lived in Idaho for a while. Loved that whole area … had a cabin at Garden Valley and A small ranch at Cambridge … and hunted mule deer with a ML rifle. Your pictures are terrific and that is a really pretty buck. Congrats
 
I was lucky enough to put down a nice public land oregon buck in mid-October. I spotted him early on the second morning, and made a plan to get ahead of him as he headed towards where I thought he might be going to bed for the day.

I dropped down off my glassing location, and got to where I thought he might pass below me in a saddle. If he passed below me where I hoped, it would provide a 75 yard shot. If he went on the other side of a small patch of trees, he would be out of range.

The buck went back to where he came from, out of sight. 10 minutes later he came back, accompanied by a small spike. During this time, a small group of elk appeared, also headed my direction. I was concerned the elk would get to me before the buck, and would smell me and spook the buck. Thankfully, they held up in a small timber patch.

The buck was still headed my way, but went into a small draw, out of sight. I waited for about 5 minutes, trying to catch a glimpse of him. Finally I spotted him trotting towards me, about 200 yards away. He was still headed towards me, and on the correct side of the brush patch I needed him to be on! I got my gun setup on a dead stump, with a clear view of where he would present a shot. I waited. And waited. And waited! I waited for what felt like 5 minutes. He should of been to me by now, where was he?

I was just about to stand up to try to get a view, when he appeared right where I hoped. He was walking below me, at 65 yards, perfectly broadside. He went behind a small tree, so I cocked the hammer and pulled the set trigger. He walked into a clear opening, and I bleated to stop him. I put the sight low on his heart to compensate for the steep downward shot, and squeezed the trigger.

Through the smoke, I was unable to see a thing. The shot sounded like a hit. I ran to the right to try to see the buck. I saw him running straight away, but he wasn't running like normal. He ran about 100 yards, then went behind some trees and I lost sight of him. About 2 minutes later, I could hear what sounded like a cough.

Myself and a friend who was with me waited for an hour before going to the shot location. We found blood and hair instantly. The blood trail wasn't huge, but was enough to follow. When I got to where I had last seen him, I was glassing with my binoculars and found him bedded under a tree, dead! He went about 125 yards! He was bigger than I thought, a beautiful 3x4 buck with a tremendous body!

My round ball left a hole through both lungs bigger than my thumb, and exited the opposite side. I was surprised at how far he went, with a complete pass through both lungs. The blood trail really opened up about 25 yards before he layed down and died, I'm guessing a clot broke free.

My gun is a GPR, shooting a hand cast 535 ball. Pillow ticking patch with Dutchs dry lube, 1:7 ratio. This was my first kill with this gun and a round ball, and I'm sold on them! Even the guys I hunt with who shoot unmentionables were impressed!View attachment 48854View attachment 48855View attachment 48856View attachment 48857View attachment 48858View attachment 48859View attachment 48860

First, congratulations on your buck, great account, well gone. I hunt OR as well. We hunt the Fr. Rock unit, what unit were you in? Also, congrats on drawing a tag, OR cut back on a lot of tags this year.
 
First, congratulations on your buck, great account, well gone. I hunt OR as well. We hunt the Fr. Rock unit, what unit were you in? Also, congrats on drawing a tag, OR cut back on a lot of tags this year.
Yeah that winter a few years ago really did damage to the mule deer. Then last year blue tounge wiped out a ton of whitetail! We were in the Flatiron unit. I've never been anywhere near the Fort Rock unit
 
Yeah that winter a few years ago really did damage to the mule deer. Then last year blue tounge wiped out a ton of whitetail! We were in the Flatiron unit. I've never been anywhere near the Fort Rock unit
Yes the deer herds are down, but apparently stable. Fort Rock is just SE of Bend. Where we hunt according to the biologists is a transition area from summer ground to where they will winter. I think we’re a little early and need to move our hunt back a week or so. Regardless, great work and good luck next year.
 

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