Posted on 11/05/2012 5:07:52 AM PST by marktwain
Early this morning, just as the sun was coming up, I was sitting on a pair of buckets with Tyler Kee in his brand new deer blind when a beautiful love-struck buck wandered into our field following a doe that had run through a few seconds earlier. And as I lined up my scope for what would be the fourth headshot on wildlife in a row, the biggest thing that was running through my mind was “I might be about to make history…”
The state of Texas has always made hunting with silencers illegal for game animals. Something about poaching being harder to detect for the game wardens. Anyway, this year they changed the rules, and for the first time silencers would be legal to use on deer and other such “game” animals. The older generation isn’t very happy about the change, but its now 100% legal starting this hunting season.
A hunting season which, by the way, opened for modern rifles this morning.
Considering the number of people that actually own a can (small), and then the subset that hunts (even smaller) and the subset of that subset that was out this morning for the opening shots of the season (infinitesimal) its a good chance that my 7:45 AM shot may have been the quietest kill ever made in the state. Which, quite frankly, is pretty cool. Add on the fact that it was a 300 AAC Blackout rifle and it gets even better.
or those interested, here’s a quick rundown of the equipment:
* AR-15 in 300 AAC Blackout
* AAC 762-SDN-6 Silencer
* Millet DMS Scope
* PNW Arms Hunting Ammo (110gr Ballistic Tip)
Anybody know the velocity or the range?
I sure hope he didnt disturb any other wildlife.
Okay....you guys from Montana and Colorado don’t laugh at our little Texas deer. I realize they look like mice compared to the big game in the Rockies, but it gets the men, with all their expensive hunting gear, out of the house on the first weekend in November...and their wives go shopping all weekend...so it’s a boost to the TX economy. We have more deer than adequate browsing acreage, so it’s good for the deer population as well.
I have had worse hearing problems from the high velocity smaller caliber rounds like the .223 than using the .338 Winchester magnum my preferred caliber in Alaska.
I have made my own suppressor but I would not just yet start using it while hunting, mostly because our critters tend to be bigger, badder, faster and more dangerous. the can works great on my .22 pistol and subsonics or even single fire short rounds. Good for backyard plinking.
(My son got this little one a few weeks ago)
I went to a state park in southern Kentucky this summer and there were many dear along side the road and I was appalled at how emaciated they were. All of them. Once at the park facilities I asked a park ranger about their condition and he did not seem pleased that I was asking. With a scowl he said it was the product of overpopulation. That Texas deer looks amazing by comparison. The deer hear in Indiana are corn fed and fat fat fat.
Stupid iPad auto correct. Deer and here.
I know, its faster to post on my android at times than at home on the puter, I tried the auto complete and we locked horns immediately. So I just send single sentences usually.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/bigheadfred_111/fair089.jpg
Is that how you guys always dress to go hunting?
Just what I asked my wife. Damned preppy looking hunter. Is that the outfit he wore to field dress the deer or was this a managed hunt?
I wish suppressors and tree stands were outlawed.
Most deer hunting in Texas is done from blinds, on private property, so you need neither camo, to keep the deer from seeing you as you wander through the woods, nor bright orange to keep all the other guys wandering through the woods from shooting you.
Interesting. Thanks.
I agree, hunting is an effort, an adventure, get dirty!
The reason that deer is so puny is because it is a 2 1/2 year old and appears to be from the Hill Country. That crappy limy soil does not produce big antlers or bodies.
Lots of places to do that in Texas. There are also lots of places where the deer population is so high, so destructively high, that harvesting deer is more akin to culling Canada Geese at a golf course. It is not a contest where one can cheat, but just prudent property management.
They all cook up the same.
The reason that deer is so puny is because it is a 2 1/2 year old and appears to be from the Hill Country. That crappy limy soil does not produce big antlers or bodies.
The OP pic sure does look like a antler restricted buck. I hope the OP was not in a AR county because the game wardens have more power here than the state police. Nice buck but would have let him walk for another year.
Id like to see supressors widely available. Love ARs too, but ill just be charitable and say this is not a typical snapshot of Texas hunting. Deliberate headshots are considered unsportsmanlike. If you want to play junior military sniper, stick to HALO and Call to Duty video games.
That deer head is a small target. Blow a jaw off, or have that bullet graze across it’s face, and you condemn that deer to a slow starving death. This is the same mentality that shoots at deer from 600 yards away.
Marksmanship stunts belong on the range. The deer is owed a clean, dependable kill. Not shots that carry a significant chance of crippling.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
