Thread: Nice 12Stag at 744y 6.5 - so am I unethical now guys?

So part 3: as I said in the part 1, I’ve been after a thumper stag in the back up deep bush from where I was doing the long shots. Anyway 2 mates from our hunting party got bored of their section and asked seeing I wasn’t confident going back in the bush just yet, could they go take a look up the back in our zone, I figured with 10/80 on its way my mates may as well have a go… so when they finally emerged from the bush after I had herd 3 shots, 1 first, then 2 in quick succession later on, I was supprised to see them both looking glum with no deer in tow… reluctantly I got the story out of them… they had roared up the thumper to 50y ish and let him have it with the 708 in the chest… it bolted before they could get another shot off… found a few specks of blood but soon lost any traceable tracking evidence… wandered around a fair bit looking and hoping but no luck. On the way out they roared up another stag, heavy timber but only an 8 this time, 708 Boom in the chest they say, then boom 270 in the chest too they say… animal bolted, minimal blood again… then I shot an animal on the bush edge and my over the top nervous mate made the call to abandon the search and come out as he thought they had unwelcome company somewhere near them in the bush. (I was 800y from them at that point so the gps said)… so yup I wasn’t impressed, cause man that stag had fence posts on his head if he was anything like the last sighting I had of him… my 708 mate confirmed he was a thumper.. 12 or more he said sheepishly. Oh we’ll mates a better than antlers so moving on… but all that to say I’ve lost more animals up close than the long shots. 13 of my last deer were shot at an average of about 580y one was shot at 180y and I was so amped I was worried I’d miss😆 and for your info a few years ago I recovered a 147 from the offside of a stag I shot at 801y and it held 88% of its weight and mushroomed perfectly. At closer ranges/ higher velocities they can blow up and you’ll be picking lead and copper from the rump steaks when you shot it in the shoulder. But they die real dead all the same.