November 25th, 2024
9minute read
It was the best spot.
I approached it carefully.
But the doe met me before dawn.
The author killed this Montana buck in a wooded cleft between prairie hills. His low-power optics helped him make the accurate shot.
The rack of the buck in her wake tore noisily through the shrub pines.
In forest, Id have had no salvation.
But this was a tiny island of cover in a great sea of low, dun-colored grass.
The Wyoming prairie yielded this large buck. Not long ago you’d have been most likely to find mule deer here.
But prairie gifts are conditional.
I had no cover for another try.
The doe spotted me, chin to earth, bellying to a rise.
Small patches of cover, here on the breaks of the Missouri in South Dakota, can hold many whitetails.
She froze as antlers floated through a gap in the fescue.
My rifle raked past it.
The bullet clipped grass and caught shoulder with athwuck!
When walking between thickets on a short-grass prairie, stay alert for deer. Also be aware that you’re very visible.
Some places in the West, whitetails are displacing mule deer.
Habitat has changed to favor game that abides year-round contact with people.
Once-remote ranges are ATV-accessible; rifles hurl bullets farther than deer sense threat.
Springfield’s 6.5-lb. Boundary rifle in .308 makes the author’s short list of bolt action rifles for prairie whitetails.
Mule deer hunters were held to a nine-day slice of October.
Then a wildlife agent in the states northeast sector, I saw many big whitetails pulled from small farms.
A New Path for Grassland Deer
Friends introduced me to deer hunting on the northern plains.
In tall cover, focus your binocular close. You should watch for pieces of deer that may be visible. Pines that can hide you can also hide deer.
A glance doesnt reveal the topographic relief and brushy cover that shields and feeds resident deer.
Successful hunters on the prairie adapt their tactics to the terrain.
A tree-stand has no value where there are no suitable trees or approach routes.
Prairie creases are often bigger than they look. Focus on the heads of draws like this one in Wyoming.
Also, grassland bucks range widely foraging and searching for does.
And crop harvests can move deer overnight.
Corn is good deer cover until its cut!
Offhand, with braked carbon-fiber or fluted stainless barrel, the Springfield Boundary points naturally.
All are important, so woody cover that looks promising to us can be less appealing to deer.
Bucks shun thickets popular with hunters.
Once after a long hike through grassy hills, I paused for a sit next to a lone cedar.
You can easily top-load the Springfield Boundary’s internal magazine with additional ammunition.
I glassed, sipped water.
After a few minutes, I rose.
A buck burst from the cedars other side and galloped off.
A long shot took this buck, but most prairie deer fall well within the reach of ordinary loads using 4x riflescopes.
Hed lain within 12 feet of me.
New snow is a blessing, before and after a shot.
Once, still-hunting, I spied a lone whitetail buck angling slowly off through scattered cedars.
I managed to terminate the gap to 80 yards.
Cover can be driven, though savvy bucks routinely out-think hunters.
Two of us posted at likely exits.
Deer are hard to see mainly because they appear in shards, not as statues.
You may see any part of a buck, from any angle.
Even when most of the torso is visible, shadows can confuse.
They turn warm colors dark.
Even a deers coat texture, musculature and bone structure can reach your eye as background.
Your brain lusts for a recognizable buck, a nut-brown creature with white accents.
Shine on a black nose.
And of course, ivory-tipped antlers.
Unwittingly, hunters overlook deer that are mostly exposed, dismissing them as background, thus irrelevant.
Sometimes youll find deer by looking forwhat might not be background.
Look close first, then far.
A deer you miss nearby is a chance lost.
Distant deer arent as quickly alarmed.
Engaging other people, we meet their eyes.
But a whitetail stands just 30 to 40 inches at the shoulder.
Ankle-high grass hides the torsos of bedded deer.
A binoculars magnification tempts hunters to look far and keep the lens focus there.
A binos primary task is to reveal detail.
While resolving power helps your eye sift deer from distant vegetation, it can also show you bucks nearby.
A deer that wants to see something clearly stands very still.
Youre smart to do the same.
Cover sliding by obscures the flick of an ear or tail.
Each step opens new windows into cover.
Remember that grass is deer cover, too!
Read a section as if reading a page in a book, holding the binocular still.
The best bino is one youll use often.
The more you glass, the more deer youll see.
I favor a trim, lightweight, low-power binocular thats easy to carry still-hunting.
Its wide field delivers a quick read of a reasonable span of cover without tempting me to pan.
That field doesnt bob about uncontrollably in wind or when Im breathing hard.
Modest magnification also yields a big exit pupil, for bright images at dawn and dusk.
A bonus: moredepthof focus in cover.
I started hunting with a 735 B&L Zephyr.
I bought it second-hand for $125, a lot of money 55 years ago.
Its still a fine glass!
New lens coatings give top-end 832 binoculars from Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski an optical edge.
Leicas laser-ranging 832 Geovid instantly shows you target distance, valuable info on the prairie!
A good binocular is a good investment in better hunting, whatever the price.
Big binos are a burden.
I prefer a short strap.
Unlike elastic harnesses, it keeps my bino above my chest, minimizing hand movement when I glass.
The binocular doesnt drag when I crawl.
Reaching Out
Rifles useful for hunting prairie deer are as common as mugs suitable for coffee.
The best choice is what you like most.
Ditto for loads and scopes.
Youd expect Springfield Armorys Model 2020 Boundary to appear in my list of appealing new bolt rifles.
Like the stainless receiver with integral recoil lug, the bolt is machinedafterheat-treating to ensure finished dimensions match specs.
It slides piston-smooth through EDM-cut races.
Dual cocking cams assist bolt lift.
The two-detent side safety permits cycling when on.
A TriggerTech trigger adjusts down to 2 12 pounds.
Lock time: a lightning-quick 1.9 milliseconds.
Mag., 7mm PRC, .300 Win.
Mag., .300 PRC.
The .308s barrel on the Boundary in my rack is 20 inches long, the 6.5 Cms 22.
Those two cartridges are my picks for prairie whitetails.
The others, in 24-inch barrels, add more reach and recoil than necessary.
For hunting I prefer the Boundarys sporter stock to the Waypoints.
The straight comb is more slender, though still supportive.
It naturally aligns my eye with scopes in low and medium rings.
The grip makes for easier carry and quicker pointing than possible with the Waypoint.
The fore-stock is trimmer, less angular in cross-section and 2 inches shorter than the Waypoints.
It has twoM-Lok slots; a left-side sling swivel pocket pairs with one on the butt-stock.
Id prefer traditional swivel studs on the rifles belly.
The Boundarys push-feed cycling is slick and reliable.
The bolt-face extractor, 5mm at its rim, is very strong and grabs cases securely.
The plunger ejector gives cases an enthusiastic boot from 4 oclock.
While the ejection port isnt huge, top-loading is easy.
Springfield guarantees the 612-pound Boundary to shoot into 3/4 MOA with three-shot groups of match loads.
Firing 16 loads through two rifles, I got a sub-minute average, with several loads cutting half-inch knots.
[Dont miss Wayne van Zwolls in-depthSpringfield Model 2020 Boundary reviewfor additional information on this bolt-action rifle.]
Best loads for whitetails on the plains?
I like mid-weight bullets of traditional design.
Winchester Power-Point, Remington Core-Lokt, Federal Power-Shok, Sierra GameKing, Hornady Spire Point.
Nosler Solid Base bullets in Noslers new, appropriately named Whitetail Country are a great pick.
Despite their grand sprawl, the plains dont demand long-range shooting.
My average poke: under 150 yards.
My biggest buck fell at 70.
Go to forum thread
