# Range Story "Revenge of the Whitetail"



## Dsig1 (Dec 23, 2007)

I had an "experience" today at my range.

First, let me say that I have not hunted in 20 years but bought a .308 rifle when I moved to PA in anticipation of someday getting out in the woods to do so again.

That said, I went to the range today to shoot my new Taurus 24/7 and I brought along my .308 just to make sure it was sighted in. The outdoor range has 3 stations. First, on the far right there is a lane for handguns at 25 yards with concrete block walls on either side. Then, there are two rifle lanes, one at 50 yards in the middle and one at 125 yards on the far left, but all 3 right next to each other, each lane being about 15 yards wide.

I was alone at the range so I was taking my time. I shot 100 rounds with the 24/7, mostly slow fire without issue. I then took 2 targets downrange to hang 1 each at the 50 yard mark and 1 at the 125 yard mark. After hanging the 50 and walking to the 125, I was clipping the target onto a wire mesh in front of the stoppage area. I dropped a clothespin I was using to secure the target. When I bent over, my movement triggered something in a thicket about 10 feet to my left. All of a sudden a whitetail who was bedding there reared up and tried to jump over the 12 foot tall thicket. The deer didn't make it and and fell backward *AT ME*. It landed about 3 feet away from me on its back and flipped immediately to its feet and sprang to run. The only problem was it was facing me. I moved slightly left and ducked a bit though it may not have mattered. The deer basically jumped clear over me. My nerves were severely shaken as I played out terrible, IRONIC scenarios in my head all the way back to the shooting area.

It would have been a dumb way to die or get injured but the comedic irony is not lost on me.


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

:anim_lol::anim_lol::anim_lol::anim_lol:

Now THAT'S funny!

(glad it didn't happen to me though :mrgreen

-Jeff-


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## JustRick (Sep 14, 2008)

Pretty dramatic. I've seen animals (a deer, birds, the occasional squirrel) wander onto a Boy Scout shooting range during a firing session. I haven't seen a Boy Scout actually fire at an animal on the range, but a lot of .22 rifle barrels go automatically into tracking mode. Haven't had an animal counterattack, though. Yours is a first!


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## ghost stang (Sep 22, 2008)

WOW thats pretty crazy.


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## Spartan (Jan 1, 2007)

That's.... kind of funny.


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

I love those "when animals attack" videos... Glad you didn't end up living through one!

lol

Jeff


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## tekhead1219 (May 16, 2008)

Now that's funny!! Glad there was no damage except to the pride.:anim_lol:


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## babs (Nov 30, 2007)

Holy cow!!! Too bad there wasn't a vid cam somewhere catching you mess your pants. hehehehe :mrgreen: Glad you're ok but now you know how fast your heart will beat I bet. Just think of it this way.. That deerdelsky got the crrrrrrap scared out of him just as bad. :smt033


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## revolvers&w (Sep 28, 2008)

Glad you are okay.
Is your range a no hunting area?
Mine is a 140+ acre refuge area and it seems that the deer and turkey understand that they are safe regardless of the sound of gunfire.
It is common to see game carefree in the area but not in the shooting lane.


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## Dsig1 (Dec 23, 2007)

I'm not sure if it is a "no hunting" zone. There isn't a whole lot of real estate there. It's in a hollow which follows a creek but there are residences pretty close.


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## cvillechopper (Jan 27, 2008)

Glad you didn't end up with hoof prints on your face. 

My gun club is a strict no hunting area. Even when folks are in the middle of live fire you'll get a few deer that really couldn't care less and walk right though the range. Stops the fun until they're clear.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

Aren't you glad that deer didn't have his human tag?


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## Wyatt (Jan 29, 2008)

This is exactly why I prefer an indoor range. :anim_lol:


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## PanaDP (Jul 20, 2007)

I notice you left out how you shot after that...


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