My wife got her first deer today...

[Ridgerunner665]

Its not a monster, but will be good eating.

Shot with her 270...130 Nosler Ballistic Tip pushed by 54 grains of H4350.

The deer was 345 yards away and quartering away slightly...I told her the drop and wind drift, she did the rest...dropped him with one shot.

I'd say she's off to a great start!

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc137/Ridgerunner665/ResizedImage_1385931877499_zpsc6ff19b3.jpg

I should add that she's not new to shooting...she's been active in shooting all her life, especially in the last 12 years since we got married...but she started hunting just last year.

She's lethal with that 270 out to about 1/4 of a mile.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[SpankMonkey]

OP tell your wife congrats. Great looking first deer. You have to be proud seeing her do that.

[Airhasz]

Congratulations to your wife on the shot and being able to tell it was a buck from that far away.

[Ridgerunner665]

Congratulations to your wife on the shot and being able to tell it was a buck from that far away.

That did take a few minutes...to make sure it was a buck...even at 16x.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[JW5219]

Congratulations to her on her first. Nice shooting!

[SeriousStudent]

Dang, that's a good shot and a nice deer. I'm an old fellow that always loved a .270 for deer hunting.

So is it going to be jerky, sausage, or both? :)

[Detmongo]

Outstanding. Good shooting to boot.

[JTQ911]

Congratulations on having a wife with that capability. So honestly... who is the better shot? Since teaching my gf to shoot, it's forced me to focus on the basics. I can't stand to think of her being a better shot than me.

[Stangman]

Congrats, and bravo to that shot

[FlyingHunter]

Congratulations. That's perhaps the longest first shot at a first deer I've heard of...I hope she had a great experience and will now be your lifelong hunting partner.

[Ridgerunner665]

Better shot? She's catching on quick...earlier today I caught her looking at ballistics charts for the 270...I asked her what she was up to, she answered "I figured I'd need to know the drops and stuff myself eventually...so make me a range card to put on my stock".

The proudest moment a teacher experiences...is the moment when his student becomes the teacher...I hope she does one day beat me in a shooting match.

Her fundamentals are perfect...all she needs is a more intimate knowledge of ballistics...and that just takes time.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[HKGuns]

That is one heck of a long shot for her first deer. Wow! Tell her congratulations and if she see's me in her cross hairs to let me pass!

[Ridgerunner665]

Dang, that's a good shot and a nice deer. I'm an old fellow that always loved a .270 for deer hunting.

So is it going to be jerky, sausage, or both? :)

When she first decided she wanted to hunt...she did the research and decided on the 270 all by herself...I was thinking 25-06 or 7mm-08, but I had no argument at all against the 270...the rifle, I bought from a friend...its a rifle I have owned twice before (he and I trade back forth a lot)...its an older Remington 700 (1990 or so) with very few rounds on it, maybe 250 or so...that friend bought it new.

The meat....mostly steaks and jerky.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[SeriousStudent]

A good friend of mine just traded her .308 bolt gun that she never shot, for a nice 7mm-08. It's a Remington Model 7, and will make a great deer gun as well. Very light, very handy, and should be really accurate with good handloads.

[Ridgerunner665]

I've always been interested in trying the 7mm-08...for years...but I've never owned or even shot one.

I have no doubt that it is a fine round...well balanced, and probably the best offspring the 308 ever produced.

When news of it first came to me I sorta liked the 260...always been a follower of Jim Carmichael (he lives near me)...but later decided it just wasn't hardly enough in my opinion...needs more speed I think...something like a necked down RCM (Ruger Compact Mag) would have been better...but that's only my humble opinion...I know many really like the 260 as it is.

For a light kicking, flat shooting 400 yard deer rifle...I've always liked the 25-06, I was shooting one way before they were popular like they are now...ammo was hard to find, but it shot so sweet I kept it anyway...my first true "high powered rifle", and it was a match made in heaven...that easy on the shoulder, flat shooting rifle taught me how to shoot.

The only downside is they need plenty of barrel...at least 24".

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[SeriousStudent]

Yup, I think that 6.5 to 7mm range is very interesting. That same friend I mentioned has a nice collection of 6.5 mm Swedish Mausers (as in a safe full of them). I hope she gets a nice deer like your wife did with her new rifle.

If that's her first deer, are you folks going to mount the head? That's a tradition for a lot of families - including mine.

[Ridgerunner665]

No...she said she'd wait until she got at least a nice 6 point to mount one...it's funny really...all the hunting I've done, and deer I've killed...and there ain't one single deer head in this house...yet! I killed some nice bucks years ago when there were more mature deer around here, I didn't have the $$$ to mount them then...I was only 12 when I killed my biggest buck so far...he was a real nice 140+ inch 8 point, dressed 192 lbs....that's a monster for northeast Tennessee private land hunting.

I have pictures and a couple of really nice bucks, but no mounts...we both agree, that needs to be fixed.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[SeriousStudent]

Hahaha, now she's turning into a trophy hunter! Next, she'll be looking at Chief Haught's thread on his Africa safari, and researching outfitters. ;)

Of course, there are a heck of a lot worse things in life, than going on a husband and wife safari. It's great that you both enjoy the sport.

[Ridgerunner665]

Amen to that!

I'd gladly go along for the ride!!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[RogerinTPA]

Very nice Ridgerunner and congrats to the wife. Awesome shot indeed!

[Ridgerunner665]

Thanks for all the kind words gentlemen!

My hunting season is over...gotta go back to work tomorrow...its been an awesome 2 weeks in the woods with my family (wife and oldest son)...everybody got at least one deer!

Vacations don't get any better than that!

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[wilson1911]

I have to say a big congrats for a first kill. Most people miss a bit on their first few hunts. Now that I'm thinking about it, it makes my 250 yard shot seem trivial. There are lots of shots between 200-600 here and I was praying for a longer shot, since I used my 338 LM.

Where did the bullet land ? I do not see much blood. If its a neck shot, I will humbly bow to her with much respect.

[Ridgerunner665]

I have to say a big congrats for a first kill. Most people miss a bit on their first few hunts. Now that I'm thinking about it, it makes my 250 yard shot seem trivial. There are lots of shots between 200-600 here and I was praying for a longer shot, since I used my 338 LM.

Where did the bullet land ? I do not see much blood. If its a neck shot, I will humbly bow to her with much respect.

Sorry for the late reply...

The bullet went through the liver and lungs...she hit right where she was aiming...the deer wobbled...and fell.

If you look close in the pic...you can see blood in the grass in the upper right of the pic.

I believe she could have made the neck shot...if it had been necessary.

[Cagemonkey]

Good shooting! Congratulations.