yeoman

Very true SL. I found this season that with open sights at the target range, sub 4" groups at 100 yds. is not a big deal. However, while watching deer during the season I frequently positioned the gun as though I might take the shot. Finding a "spot" on a deer at even 75 yds. in low light, when I see 90% of my deer, is more than a notion with open sights. I may try putting up one of those cardboard deer targets and see if the range will let me stay after sundown a few times just to see if my brain can pick a "spot" in low light.

cayugad

I cringe everytime I hear someone telling a story about deer hunting and they say, I looked through the scope and all I could see was brown so I pulled the trigger... with a big satisfied grin on their face. What that tells me is the person had no idea where he was aiming on that animal. Granted because of the scope issue he might have been close to the deer, but by no means was he in a position to shoot the deer.

There are lots of factors that go into harvesting and recovery of a deer. If we do our part right, we make it look simple. If not, we are in for a long day and sometimes night, in the woods.

I discovered by accident that I owned a secret weapon in finding wounded deer. I was out grouse hunting one day with my black labrador when I came across some bow hunters that had been trying to find a HUGE buck for over a day. They showed me the blood trail and as I was looking at the trail my dog walked up, sniffed the spot and stared me right in the eye. So I told him to go get it. Just a few minutes later the dog was standing over that HUGE buck. It weighed 235 pounds gutted. The person's right through the heart shot with his bow was a little farther back, through the liver.

falcon

"However, while watching deer during the season I frequently positioned the gun as though I might take the shot. Finding a "spot" on a deer at even 75 yds. in low light, when I see 90% of my deer, is more than a notion with open sights. I may try putting up one of those cardboard deer targets and see if the range will let me stay after sundown a few times just to see if my brain can pick a "spot" in low light."

This is the very best training there is. If your state permits it, put a good low light scope on your gun. Pretty often i will put a fist sized rock out,walk off 50 paces and take a shot at it in the low evening light. itrack a lot of deer in the scope, even the running ones. Sometimes one is picked out ofa herd and watched until itprovides an imaginarybroadside or quartering away shot. It has come to the point that the gun just comes up,without conscious thought the scopecrosshairs are in the right place, and the gun goes bang: Flop.