By Jerry Shadrick

December 4, 2012

I live in the state of Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks where most deer kills are 100 yards or closer. This is mainly due to the heavy woods and large oak trees. The last couple of years I have started hunting a high line that runs through the area. I hunt where 500 plus yard shots can be taken. Most of the time when you see deer in a high line they are just crossing it and sometimes at a high rate of speed, so you're not given much time for long shots.

This year in Missouri it is different due to the drought. It has been so dry that the acorn crop had a very low yield. This has made the deer look for another food source such as fields, and high lines where there is still some grass. I was set up in my hunting spot with my .270 and my shooting sticks when I saw four does crossing the high line very slowly. Taking solid placement on the sticks and slowing my breathing and heart rate like they taught us in the Marine Corps, I squeezed the round off, hitting the deer right behind the front shoulder. The animal ran about 30 yards and drop. Meat for the freezer, my longest kill to date.