Made reference about this incident on pod a few weeks back. Also since it happened during deer gun season, I am putting it under the “Hunting Category” on the website.
Where: This is a steel target setup at about 170 yards. It is held in place by three metal t-posts.
What: As you can see, two of the 3 posts are folded over, and the heavy humanoid target is down on the ground. With it’s head partially buried in the soil.
Condition: This is one of my oldest targets. Records indicate it was installed November 30th, 2017. As such, the t-posts are shot up pretty good. So folding them over isn’t like doing it to 3 new t-posts. CLICK HERE:CLICK HERE:
Theory 1:
Did hunters come onto our property with a UTV of some kind and hit this target? For staters, that would be pretty aggressive considering who we are, and everyone knows what’s up around here. So at the very least, I would expect a preemptive call explaining what happened and why.
And considering where the target is located at the bottom of a hill, just off a driving path, it is not unreasonable to see someone flying down the hill, in the dark, and crashing into this target.
But…how does a UTV hit 2 t-posts and not all 3? Additionally, I don’t see any metal v metal scraping, paint marks, plastic or glass debris or even tracks. And if a UTV or 4-wheeler did hit the target, would’t be reasonable for the metal plate to be sent flying? If for no other reason than bouncing and riding on the machine for a few seconds. And finally, if someone did hit this target in an open faced vehicle, there is a better than even chance, they would have been seriously injured.
Theory 2:
This happened during gun season and the rut. Deer do tend to cross the range in front of this target since it’s a low point. It’s entirely feasible a deer in rut, or full run to get away from hunters, hit and / or rolled into this target.
Three data points support this theory: One, the t-posts are shot up. Two, the steel target is down under the t-posts, and appears to have been “dropped” there. And three, we do get big deer around here. How big? I have personally seen a 300lb buck shot in this area.
The only thing that whigs me out is the two t-posts folded over. Something big hit this target stand. My default was a vehicle. But looking at the damage, logic is leaning more towards a deer strike.
What say you?
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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