Sniper-T
11-19-2013, 12:00 AM
Last week, my buddy and I are out hunting, he's walking the inside edge of a bluff to my left, I'm walking it to the right, it is just wide enough that we can catch a glimpse of each other occasionally, but being that we've hunted together so long, we have an intrinsic sence of what and where the other is and is up to.
just as we clear the widest portion of the bluff, I hear a single *whack* of two sticks hitting. a signal that we use to say 'pay attention, something is here' Basically pick up a 1" branch and whack a tree. Not an uncommon sound in the bush, and something that really doesn't spook a semi-spooked deer.
on high alert, we continue, fresh track, beds, and rubs common, and then the ever telling nuugh! of a buck followed by the crash of timber. heading away.
I hustle foreward, and out to my side, as he does the same to his. They deer, TWO, cleared the bluff, and stood standing about 50 yards from the end looking back towards us, and then off to the next bluff, almost 800 yards away.
As usual, I take aim on the deer on my side, knowing my buddy has a line on the other. as is our standard practice. Now, since "MY" deer was the bigger of the two, I get first shot, no matter what, unless it appears I am out of position, which he knows isn't the case.
So, I'm on the outside of the blkuff on one side, up to my chest in cattails, he's 50 yards from me, in the same shiit on the otherside. I looked through, and saw him with gun up, ready and waiting, so I focus back down my scope, knowing he's waiting for me.
I line up on a SWEET 5x5, quietly snick off the safety, and slowly exhale. as the crosshairs fall perfectly into place, I finish my well practiced squeeze...
*CLICK*
The sound was deafeningly loud in the silent bush, there wasn't so much as a squirrel or a snowbird breaking the silence.
BOTH deer, seemingly sensing my problem, broke my way, an although my buddy had 2 or 3 secods of visibility of his deer before it busted out my way, he paused and looked in shock at me.
At this point, I am thinking hang fire, and although cringing my face away from the barrel, try to keep it pointed at them, and a safe direction.
TIME STOOD COMPLETELY STILL... for me, not for the deer. I've always been taught to hold a hangfire for a minute or more, but watching this buck clearing the field in front of me, time accelerated. I kept the gun on him as he ran... one.... two... three... four... five.... six (do you know how much ground a deer in full flight can cover in six seconds?...
At this point I'm thinking 'safe enough' and pull the bolt back on my 6.5, just far enough to re-cock it, not to cycle a new round in. JUST as I snikked the bold closed, while I was still holding position towards the deer...
*BANG*
I was still aimed at the deer, therefore in a safe direction, but was in his general direction and not actually aiming with a lead, so as much as I would like to say I got him, I was probably 10 feet behind at that point, but it scared the shit out of me for two reasons.
1. it fired.
2. It fired, when I thought it was a dud. I'm not sure why, instead of dumping it onto the ground and chambering another round, I short stroked it for a second shot on it. I don't recall a conscious effort to do so, and by doing so, I clearly blew my chance at him. but for some reason, I had a bad feeling about that round, only pulled the bolt back far enough to re-cock the gun wiuthout dumping it, and putting it back together, while holding position.
The click shocked both of us, me more than him, because I know my gun and have fired a lot of freakin rounds through it... but the second even more for me. because it went off without touching the trigger. It truly was a hangfire, not a misfire.
By the time I finished the cycle, and had it rechambered was probably 10 seconds from first click. If I was a few seconds slower, or faster, who knows where that bullet would have been in that action.
The next day, we went out and pounded a few boxes of rounds through it at a gravel pit, and it was flawless, until the final round of the same box of Federal that I missfired previousy. That one was a full out Fail to Fire. and I'll tell you, we waited a good 5 minutes before I cycled the guin, and then another 5 after trying to reshoot it. Then I threw it, FAR away...and we had lunch.
I pulled it apart, and it looked like any other cartridge; without scales, it looked like the right amount of powder, and the primer looked fine.
The empty casing, I put into my gun, and first squeeze of the trigger popped the primer! GO figure!
just as we clear the widest portion of the bluff, I hear a single *whack* of two sticks hitting. a signal that we use to say 'pay attention, something is here' Basically pick up a 1" branch and whack a tree. Not an uncommon sound in the bush, and something that really doesn't spook a semi-spooked deer.
on high alert, we continue, fresh track, beds, and rubs common, and then the ever telling nuugh! of a buck followed by the crash of timber. heading away.
I hustle foreward, and out to my side, as he does the same to his. They deer, TWO, cleared the bluff, and stood standing about 50 yards from the end looking back towards us, and then off to the next bluff, almost 800 yards away.
As usual, I take aim on the deer on my side, knowing my buddy has a line on the other. as is our standard practice. Now, since "MY" deer was the bigger of the two, I get first shot, no matter what, unless it appears I am out of position, which he knows isn't the case.
So, I'm on the outside of the blkuff on one side, up to my chest in cattails, he's 50 yards from me, in the same shiit on the otherside. I looked through, and saw him with gun up, ready and waiting, so I focus back down my scope, knowing he's waiting for me.
I line up on a SWEET 5x5, quietly snick off the safety, and slowly exhale. as the crosshairs fall perfectly into place, I finish my well practiced squeeze...
*CLICK*
The sound was deafeningly loud in the silent bush, there wasn't so much as a squirrel or a snowbird breaking the silence.
BOTH deer, seemingly sensing my problem, broke my way, an although my buddy had 2 or 3 secods of visibility of his deer before it busted out my way, he paused and looked in shock at me.
At this point, I am thinking hang fire, and although cringing my face away from the barrel, try to keep it pointed at them, and a safe direction.
TIME STOOD COMPLETELY STILL... for me, not for the deer. I've always been taught to hold a hangfire for a minute or more, but watching this buck clearing the field in front of me, time accelerated. I kept the gun on him as he ran... one.... two... three... four... five.... six (do you know how much ground a deer in full flight can cover in six seconds?...
At this point I'm thinking 'safe enough' and pull the bolt back on my 6.5, just far enough to re-cock it, not to cycle a new round in. JUST as I snikked the bold closed, while I was still holding position towards the deer...
*BANG*
I was still aimed at the deer, therefore in a safe direction, but was in his general direction and not actually aiming with a lead, so as much as I would like to say I got him, I was probably 10 feet behind at that point, but it scared the shit out of me for two reasons.
1. it fired.
2. It fired, when I thought it was a dud. I'm not sure why, instead of dumping it onto the ground and chambering another round, I short stroked it for a second shot on it. I don't recall a conscious effort to do so, and by doing so, I clearly blew my chance at him. but for some reason, I had a bad feeling about that round, only pulled the bolt back far enough to re-cock the gun wiuthout dumping it, and putting it back together, while holding position.
The click shocked both of us, me more than him, because I know my gun and have fired a lot of freakin rounds through it... but the second even more for me. because it went off without touching the trigger. It truly was a hangfire, not a misfire.
By the time I finished the cycle, and had it rechambered was probably 10 seconds from first click. If I was a few seconds slower, or faster, who knows where that bullet would have been in that action.
The next day, we went out and pounded a few boxes of rounds through it at a gravel pit, and it was flawless, until the final round of the same box of Federal that I missfired previousy. That one was a full out Fail to Fire. and I'll tell you, we waited a good 5 minutes before I cycled the guin, and then another 5 after trying to reshoot it. Then I threw it, FAR away...and we had lunch.
I pulled it apart, and it looked like any other cartridge; without scales, it looked like the right amount of powder, and the primer looked fine.
The empty casing, I put into my gun, and first squeeze of the trigger popped the primer! GO figure!