I missed another birthday with my family this summer while I was deployed in Afghanistan. My wife, unbeknownst to me, decided to book a deer hunting trip to Luray, Virginia in the Shenandoah Mountains. It's beautiful country out there. We got a cabin overlooking the Shenandoah River out onto the park. Here's a pic from the cabin porch (and yes, every hunting cabin should have a hot tub!):
I hunted five days in all. The first two days I didn't see much, just a few does moving through the brush in the distance. Right before lunch on the third day, this old boy came walking up. I drove a 180 Hunting VLD out of my 7 WSM through his lower neck and he didn't move an inch.
He was an old buck, his rack was all jacked up and he had worn down his upper teeth. Still, he lived a good long life and provided a good amount of meat for the freezer.
If you're wondering how the 180gr Hunting VLDs work, here's your answer:
The bullet went in midway on the other side of the neck, and tore the shit out of everything in its path. I'm hugely impressed with these bullets and will continue to use them.
I hung out with my wife for Thanksgiving but got back in the stand for Friday. Around 10:30am, five does came down the mountain into the hollow I was hunting. I shot this little beauty through the high neck and she just rolled a few feet in the hollow and expired.
I didn't compensate properly for the angle so the shot was a bit lower than I wanted, but the bullet still broke her neck and severed the arteries. I gutted her right there and dragged her out. She was a huge doe, lots of meat and fat for the coming winter.
My last day I didn't have any luck but I did get to look out on this meadow all day.
In the end, that's what hunting is about for me: leaving all the work bullshit behind and enjoying the outdoors. I did see a black bear toward the end of the day. If you squint really hard you can see a black dot at the base of a large tree in the center of the picture. That's the bear.
Overall, it was a great trip. I'm stoked to have gotten two deer this year, both with clean one-shot kills. Do I wish I'd gotten that trophy buck? Sure, but I wish that after every deer season. In the end, I'm wanting to fill my freezer before putting anything up on the wall. Plus, that elusive big buck is always going to be out there waiting for me next year.
I hunted five days in all. The first two days I didn't see much, just a few does moving through the brush in the distance. Right before lunch on the third day, this old boy came walking up. I drove a 180 Hunting VLD out of my 7 WSM through his lower neck and he didn't move an inch.
He was an old buck, his rack was all jacked up and he had worn down his upper teeth. Still, he lived a good long life and provided a good amount of meat for the freezer.
If you're wondering how the 180gr Hunting VLDs work, here's your answer:
The bullet went in midway on the other side of the neck, and tore the shit out of everything in its path. I'm hugely impressed with these bullets and will continue to use them.
I hung out with my wife for Thanksgiving but got back in the stand for Friday. Around 10:30am, five does came down the mountain into the hollow I was hunting. I shot this little beauty through the high neck and she just rolled a few feet in the hollow and expired.
I didn't compensate properly for the angle so the shot was a bit lower than I wanted, but the bullet still broke her neck and severed the arteries. I gutted her right there and dragged her out. She was a huge doe, lots of meat and fat for the coming winter.
My last day I didn't have any luck but I did get to look out on this meadow all day.
In the end, that's what hunting is about for me: leaving all the work bullshit behind and enjoying the outdoors. I did see a black bear toward the end of the day. If you squint really hard you can see a black dot at the base of a large tree in the center of the picture. That's the bear.
Overall, it was a great trip. I'm stoked to have gotten two deer this year, both with clean one-shot kills. Do I wish I'd gotten that trophy buck? Sure, but I wish that after every deer season. In the end, I'm wanting to fill my freezer before putting anything up on the wall. Plus, that elusive big buck is always going to be out there waiting for me next year.
