I took my .358 Winchester built on a pre-War Mauserwerke Mauser out late yesterday afternoon, the first day of deer season. I was almost back to the house, when I came to the open field behind it and stopped to glass it before moving on out. In the last rays of the sinking sun I could see something reflecting light between me and the hill the house is built on. A quick glance through the scope revealed a six point buck looking at me.

I went to one knee, released the safety, used my hiking stick to steady my rifle, settled the post reticle of the Lyman 2 1/2X All American scope on the buck's shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Immediately following the report of the shot was the satisfying "whop" of the bullet hitting. The buck took off in a dead run and topped the rise to my direct front. A short search revealed him piled up in the middle of the field 150 yards away. The bullet had struck exactly where aimed, had missed the heart but destroyed the lungs and the near shoulder. How he made it that far on a broken shoulder remains a mystery.

The 250 grain Silvertip bullet is too much for the comparatively low resistance of a deer rib cage. It exited, leaving a quarter sized exit hole. In the future, I will stick to the 225 grainers, and leave the 250's for bigger stuff.