By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
Late-season deer hunting – in particular, the late antlerless season that ran through Saturday – has capped off a very satisfying year.
My personal deer hunting experience concluded after taking a total of four Shiawassee County whitetails, which meant that the final days of the 2010 season would be shared with friends, as part of a teamwork approach. My role would be that of spotter and coach to help in others’ success.
One friend is Mark Ergen, who had helped me construct one of my blinds years ago. Since he doesn’t own huntable land, in return for his labor, I allow him to hunt on my Quality Deer Management property. As part of the agreement, all hunters are required to “qualify” at various shooting ranges in order to hunt at those given ranges.
When Mark arrived to qualify at ranges beyond 100 yards, windy conditions prevented good accuracy in his testing months ago. After that, I hadn’t heard from him and, frankly, wondered if, and when, he might return. That call came December 27th, which began the final week of the season.
Mark came prepared with his muzzleloader and the ballistic chart we had developed for his load of 150 grains of Triple 7 powder and Hornady’s 240-grain XTP bullets. However, at 100 yards, results were sub par. So, I asked him if he’d be willing to use my New England Firearms, Ultra Slug 12-gauge gun. Mark was more than willing, knowing its well-deserved reputation for power and accuracy with Federal Premium’s ammo using Barnes bullets.
I had only three rounds left in inventory, so we were hoping that shot number 1 would be on target. It was!
At 100 yards, Mark hit the target at 2 inches high, which would put the 325-grain projectile dead on at 150 yards. Since I was keenly aware of the precision of the slug gun, I only wanted to see if it would shoot to the same point of aim for Mark. Obviously, it did and with the remaining two rounds, we went afield. For insurance, I carried my Knight muzzleloader for backup.
In the heated blind, we sat and chatted until darkness spoiled our fun. Surprisingly, we saw no deer that afternoon.
I thought how in the past Mark had hunted and came up empty, as well. During one late-season hunt two years ago, we had several antlerless deer within range, but were unable to distinguish an adult from the others in waning light and passed on any marginal opportunities. Other sessions with Mark had similar results, until last Tuesday’s hunt.
One button buck fawn appeared at 165 yards and, although we were excited about the prospects of this live decoy’s ability to signal safety to other deer, it looked as if he would be only entertainment for the final half hour of light. Finally, at about 5:10 pm, at roughly 350 yards away, I located movement in a small clearing with my spotting scope. One adult doe was heading to the brassica plot.
When it appeared, Mark patiently waited for the large-bodied female to come closer to our position. The wind was gusting to 20 mph and the angle of the shot meant there was approximately 6 inches of bullet drift to negotiate at 150 yards. Much like an experienced golfer, who waits to hit a shot during a lull in gusty conditions, Mark did the same.
At 146 yards, Mark squeezed the trigger on a hold allowing to the quieter wind. The 325-grain, all-copper projectile gave genuine meaning to “gun control”, as it humanely dispatched the trophy.
I congratulated Mark on a job well done. He had paid his dues and was finally rewarded for his persistence and patience.
Sometimes its better to be good than lucky.
