Mule Deer Hun in Sonora, the 28 Nosler works!

[effendude]

Just back from a week in Sonora, MX hunting mule deer. My 28 Nosler finally earned its keep. The 195 Berger EOL at 3175fps did quick work of both bucks. No exit holes, vitals were mush.

Scott

 

[Jason_A]

Nice deer! No exits, wow, that must have been a lot of damage inside.

 

[jsthntn247]

That's a dream hunt. Very nice bucks.

 

[CJ6]

Just back from a week in Sonora, MX hunting mule deer. My 28 Nosler finally earned its keep. The 195 Berger EOL at 3175fps did quick work of both bucks. No exit holes, vitals were mush.

Scott

How far Scott ?

 

[timeout]

Dream hunt indeed! Do you have website info for the outfitter?

 

[effendude]

Dream hunt indeed! Do you have website info for the outfitter?

Tierra Encantada, the outfitter is a good friend of mine, Roger Gabaldon of San Antonio, NM. He and his two sons are the exclusive outfitters of oryx hunts on the Armendaris Ranch south of Albuquerque owned by Ted Turner as well. He leases between 7-11 ranches in Sonora each year for mule deer and coues deer. Each year they shoot one or more ~220" or better bucks and only take about 10 hunters each year. As a guy from MN, I am very pleased with these 190-200" bucks. Roger will be back in the USA in early Feb. Phone him at 505-563-0135 or email: roger3rd@msn.com Roger is old school, does not have a website.

Scott

 

[FatBoy]

With threads like this, he doesn't need one. People will find him.

Two beautiful takes.

 

[effendude]

Nice deer! No exits, wow, that must have been a lot of damage inside.

The smaller of the two bucks was quartering to me at about 75 yards. Shot at opposite shoulder, bullet entered in front of near shoulder taking some cartilage with, blew a substantial hole in a couple ribs and took out the heart, continuing into the liver. No bullet pieces were found, but we didn't dig into the abdominal cavity. The buck spun and ran about 10 yards, expected with a heart shot.

The second buck was quartering away, slightly down hill, about 75 yards away as well. Offhand shot ended up landing a couple inches higher than I would have liked as he was obscured behind a mesquite bush so only the top portion of his chest was visible. The bullet entered just below the spine, blowing the spine apart and continuing into the lungs, one of which was mush. The buck dropped instantly as expected and didn't move. Not even one head toss or flop typical of spine shot deer.

Obviously, the 28 was overkill for these two shots, but the ranches have a few hillsides where one could shoot at distance if the opportunity arose. The 28 had never killed anything so I chose it for the hunt. I continue to be impressed by the performance of Berger bullets on game. I'm still going to use a Partition or Barnes on dangerous game but of the 20 big game animals I have shot with either the 6.5mm 140gr. VLD or the 7mm 195gr. EOL, only two took more than a step after being shot. The two that did run were heart shot, and went about 10-15 yards before piling up.

Scott

 

[timeout]

Tierra Encantada, the outfitter is a good friend of mine, Roger Gabaldon of San Antonio, NM. He and his two sons are the exclusive outfitters of oryx hunts on the Armendaris Ranch south of Albuquerque owned by Ted Turner as well. He leases between 7-11 ranches in Sonora each year for mule deer and coues deer. Each year they shoot one or more ~220" or better bucks and only take about 10 hunters each year. As a guy from MN, I am very pleased with these 190-200" bucks. Roger will be back in the USA in early Feb. Phone him at 505-563-0135 or email: roger3rd@msn.com Roger is old school, does not have a website.

Scott

Thanks for the info.

 

[Jason_A]

The smaller of the two bucks was quartering to me at about 75 yards. Shot at opposite shoulder, bullet entered in front of near shoulder taking some cartilage with, blew a substantial hole in a couple ribs and took out the heart, continuing into the liver. No bullet pieces were found, but we didn't dig into the abdominal cavity. The buck spun and ran about 10 yards, expected with a heart shot.

The second buck was quartering away, slightly down hill, about 75 yards away as well. Offhand shot ended up landing a couple inches higher than I would have liked as he was obscured behind a mesquite bush so only the top portion of his chest was visible. The bullet entered just below the spine, blowing the spine apart and continuing into the lungs, one of which was mush. The buck dropped instantly as expected and didn't move. Not even one head toss or flop typical of spine shot deer.

Obviously, the 28 was overkill for these two shots, but the ranches have a few hillsides where one could shoot at distance if the opportunity arose. The 28 had never killed anything so I chose it for the hunt. I continue to be impressed by the performance of Berger bullets on game. I'm still going to use a Partition or Barnes on dangerous game but of the 20 big game animals I have shot with either the 6.5mm 140gr. VLD or the 7mm 195gr. EOL, only two took more than a step after being shot. The two that did run were heart shot, and went about 10-15 yards before piling up.

Scott

The 28 Nos is definitely an interesting cartridge, and it sounds like it and the Bergers worked well. Looking at those pics I cannot even tell which deer is "the smaller of the two".

 

[nakneker]

The dark horned buck is my favorite. Heavy, dark horned typical. I guided for an outfitter north of Hermosillo 20 years ago for a couple of seasons, he reminds of those bucks. They rub on cactus and desert trees and some of that rub almost gets sticky. Beautiful bucks, both of them!

 

[284winner]

Just back from a week in Sonora, MX hunting mule deer. My 28 Nosler finally earned its keep. The 195 Berger EOL at 3175fps did quick work of both bucks. No exit holes, vitals were mush.

Scott

Wow, that's amazing that the eol bullet did not exit at those ranges. Those deer got the entire load of punishment. Crazy. Great trophy's. Congrats.

 

[effendude]

The 28 Nos is definitely an interesting cartridge, and it sounds like it and the Bergers worked well. Looking at those pics I cannot even tell which deer is "the smaller of the two".

The photo on the left is the deer I describe as smaller. He'll probably tape around 190" or so. He is perfectly symmetrical and balanced with a 30" outside spread. He had a broken sticker coming off of the back of the left fork and his eye guards come out an inch and the go straight back at a 90* angle another inch. Roger aged the deer at 5-6 years old. The photo on the right is the deer I describe as bigger. He is 30" wide too, but with much more mass. He is a little weak on the left front side but his mass makes up for it. He'll probably tape around 200". Estimated age was 7-8 years old. I really don't care about scores but the outfitter uses it to judge the health and age structure of the deer he hunts. I was happy with the "smaller" buck when I shot him and the opportunity for a second, heavier buck was special. I have now shot three 190-200" deer with Roger. When I return, I'll try for a non-typical old buck.
Scott

 

[Preacher]

GOOD JOB !!!

 

[Phil]

Nice bucks.......

 

[GNERGY]

WOW....Both are really great Deer. Are you getting both of them mounted.
Tarey

 

[EBaker]

Wow.......simply amazing! Congradulations!!

 

[WindSurgeon]

Well done! Great deer!!

 

[BIG D]

The photo on the left is the deer I describe as smaller. He'll probably tape around 190" or so. He is perfectly symmetrical and balanced with a 30" outside spread. He had a broken sticker coming off of the back of the left fork and his eye guards come out an inch and the go straight back at a 90* angle another inch. Roger aged the deer at 5-6 years old. The photo on the right is the deer I describe as bigger. He is 30" wide too, but with much more mass. He is a little weak on the left front side but his mass makes up for it. He'll probably tape around 200". Estimated age was 7-8 years old. I really don't care about scores but the outfitter uses it to judge the health and age structure of the deer he hunts. I was happy with the "smaller" buck when I shot him and the opportunity for a second, heavier buck was special. I have now shot three 190-200" deer with Roger. When I return, I'll try for a non-typical old buck.
Scott

 

[BIG D]

I apologize for not knowing how to post with a previous post. Congratulations on 2 lifetime dream bucks!!! I really like the heavy dark antlers on the second buck. You are living my dream!!! Good job and nice pictures.