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'24 Hunting Season

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Frontier's

Buckskins & Black Powder
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Dad and I got a buck and doe out of the same group!
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Congratulations!
You've told a good yarn before. Care to elaborate on this successful outing?

Both my dad and I are shooting traditions St.louis hawken rifles that I built us from kits and rebarreled them in 54cal to meet Colorado minimum for elk.

My dad used 70gr 3fg Gearhart-owen, .530" round ball and .020" patches lubed with Frontier's Bear Paws patch lube.

Everything in my rifle was the same, except I used 80gr 2fg Goex ( the new stuff )

Sunday I came up by myself, early in the day so I could get more rest. Later that day I met some fellows elk hunting and told them what I was after. We ran into each other multiple times on the trail, waved, the usual friendliness.

Wednesday comes around on the way back to camp, there's a big bowl cut out and I spotted 2 deer down in the middle! I parked my atv, ran into the tent and told my dad to get ready!

Ran to the truck where his gun was stored and turned around and noticed a UTV parked on the road watching the deer.

manure!! How the heck did I not see them before!

Next the driver door opens and the bow hunter steps out, looks back at me and raises his arms above his head with his fingers sticking out, letting ne know there's a buck.

Turns out, it was the same fellers I'd been seeing and had spoke to!

The deer ran off into the trees, so they backed up closer to camp and told us what all was down there and one led me around some brush to show the direction they ran, then spotted them.

I laid down and got ready. The man told me the 2 deer I see were dies. manure! I had Dad swap positions with me and he sighted down his doe and squeezed the trigger.

I couldn't see anything but deer running around so I got him reloaded.

Our good buddies left after I thanked them for keeping watch.

We couldn't tell if he had hit, so the 3 of us, dad, brother and I to go look around.

We found the doe and in the process, I spotted the other doe watching a good 75-80 yards away... but no buck!

We watched for a while and high up and to my left, the buck takes off trotting towards the doe!

He stopped perfectly broad side, maybe 40 yards from the doe, and I squatted, took aim and then he completely turns away, 1/4ing hard away from me!

My heart sunk, but I knew if I aimed far enough back, it'd take out his lungs.

I took aim behind his last rib area, squeezed the trigger and saw him hunch up HARD! He stumbled and did a slow, very slow walk away from us and then just stood there.

I was shaking good with adrenaline by then and stumbled in my reloading. By the time I got loaded, he was out of sight.

We have him a couple minutes before we headed up the mountain in search.

I found him quickly with the 3 foot wide blood spray he left.

He sure isn't breaking any records but man will he be tasty!

The doe my dad shot was hit in s 1/4ing toward position, hitting the shoulder blade at the front and completely destroyed that shoulder along with the Internals. She did not go far at all.

We took the following day ( today the 19th ) to relax, sight see and grouse hunt. No grouse to be seen, but some amazing scenery!
 
Congratulations. Good memories.
Years ago my uncle and I were hunting opposite sides of a ridge. If either of us heard the other shoot, we were to go there and help drag. Well, I shot, but my uncle didn't show. I field dressed my buck and waited. Finally, he came over the ridge. He was surprised to see that I had a deer down. He had not heard my shot. And, he also had a buck down. I had not heard his shot.
Later, I mounted both sets of antlers on a single plaque, along with an engraved brass plate telling the when and where of our hunt, and I presented it to him. He kept it for years, and when he died, I got it back. Good memories.
 
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