By Glen Wunderlich Outdoor Columnist Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
Note: The photo in this site’s window is that of the 9-point buck taken with the custom Contender in .45-70 caliber with the handloaded 300-grain Barnes bullet.
One of the guiding precepts to the Quality Deer Management philosophy is to promote the overall health of the deer herd. Many facets are involved including habitat management and harvesting a proper number of does and refraining from taking immature bucks – namely 1 1/2-year olds, otherwise known as yearlings – in an effort to balance the buck to doe ratio to a more natural state of existence. In practice, it can be a trying experience.
In spite of the record-breaking drought of August, our brassica food plots came through in fine form, although many of the plants are smaller than normal. Our closest stand to the nutritious food source is over 100 yards away making accuracy critical. My choice this season was a custom J.D. Jones-barreled handgun from SSK Industries in Ohio. The 14-inch ported Thompson-Center Contender barrel sports Bushnell HoloSight optics and rockets my handloaded 300-grain Barnes tipped bullets beyond the speed of Superman – or, at least any typical handgun caliber. It may not be what the legislators had in mind when they legalized single-shot pistols with straight-wall cartridges, but I couldn’t imagine a better tool for the task at hand. Years of practice had me ready for the challenge of handgun hunting for whitetails with my handcannon.
My morning stand was a quarter mile from our food plots and overlooked a swamp where deer tend to hide when pushed. For the first two days, my hunting partner, Joe Reynolds, and I had seen plenty of deer within range – all does, fawns, and yearling bucks of 6-point antlers or less. Although our antlerless tags could have been filled numerous times, each of us was patiently waiting for an opportunity at an adult buck.
On the third morning, I mentioned to Joe, that if he was afforded a good opportunity at a mature doe, that he should take it, because it was his last day of his deer-hunting vacation. In addition, we had Cocoa the wonder-tracking dog waiting to aid in recovery, if needed. At 7:30 am I heard thunder erupt from what I thought was the neighbor’s woodlot. Wrong! Over the 2-way radio came notice from Joe that he had dropped a doe in its tracks a quarter mile away with his Mossberg model 500 and a 12-gauge, 546-grain Lightfield slug. Cocoa would not be needed one little bit.
Since we already had field dressing on the agenda, and the myriad chores that accompany the chore, I figured to be on the lookout for a doe of my own, or of course, something even better. When I spotted movement to the west, I settled the Contender on the rest in anticipation of a shot, waiting to see what would develop. A bone-white antlered buck entered the swamp before me and I noticed that it was limping. Whatever the headgear, or lack thereof, didn’t really matter anymore, because our policy dictates that any injured animal be taken out; it’s about fairness to the animal and nothing else.
This buck just happened to qualify on several levels, however, because of his injured status and our self-imposed requirement to have at least 4 antler points on a side. When the 3 ½ year-old buck was skinned, we found that it had been shot in the leg; a copper jacket remnant from a .50-caliber projectile was all that remained of a previous hunter’s mistake. My Barnes bullet, on the other hand, retained 275 grains of its original 300 grain configuration, losing only 2-peeled back petals of copper.
The remainder of the season will be spent as field managers determined to continue on our mission of balancing the herd.
