Texas Heart Shot Adirondack 6-point

This was my second Adirondack buck.  It was snowy on Thanksgiving weekend in the mountains that year.  On Saturday, I walked to the south ridge and set up my tree hammock chair along a trail that ran along the edge of a valley, where I knew there was a large group of does. 
 

I was  set up for a shot at a buck approaching from my left.  Naturally, this one decided to come from my right.  Very slowly, I swiveled my chair around that way.  The buck turned around at the same time.  
 

We both finished our turns at the same time.  He was now facing directly away at a 50 yard range, and standing still.  I had a good rest, with my elbows on my knees.  
 

I centered the crosshairs below his tail and squeezed off the shot.  He piled up right there.  
 

There was no entry hole, but the bullet exited from the side of his neck.  Blood trickled from that hole onto the snow as I approached.  I was expecting the worst but it was possibly the cleanest gut job I ever had on a deer.  
 

Even the butt-out worked perfectly for its main job and also as a bore gage to verify the shot placement of the 150 gr Federal Classic 30/06 bullet.  
 

Not my biggest buck but probably my best shot and the only one that I know for sure struck exactly where I wanted it to.  The bullet creased the bottom of the heart and broke the neck.

I remembered reading of this particular shot, but it was the only time, in 41 years of deer hunting, that I was properly positioned to attempt it.  Several others commented, on the old site, that when they did it the gutting job was messy, and/or the meat damage was significant. 
 

Neither was the case here.  I did loose the neck roast on the exit, but there was no other meat damage.  He must have had his nose to the ground when the shot hit him. 
 

I suppose that shot placement and alignment come into play there.  This rifle consistently holds under 1” group from a rest at 100 yards, and the deer was less than 50 yards away. 

The recovery of this one was much easier than the last buck that I had killed up there, two years prior.  After I called my father in law on my phone this time, he and my nephew arrived on the scene in under 20 minutes, with his atv and a trailer.   

I had asked him to bring paper towels and water, because I thought it was going to be messy, but fortunately it was not.