Yesterday and today are Ohio's early antlerless only muzzleloading deer season, this two day early season was introduced last year, and hunting this early in the fall is different than what I'm used to - lots of leaves still on the trees and brush making for less visibility than latter in the season when I am used to deer hunting. I blocked off both days, and was looking forward to spending the time outside, an I hoped to tag a doe of two.
Yesterday morning there was too much wind and nothing was moving so I gave up around 10 am and came in for some lunch, and during the early afternoon started to feel punky with a headache and chills, about 4 pm I took some tnynol and forced myself back out to my stand, on the back part of my property, overlooking a creek with oak trees full of acorns now. I almost didn't go out, but am so glad I forced myself to as a couple of does came walking down the streambed around 5:15pm. When the larger of the two (not that she was really big) turned broadside to me I had the sights of my .54 Lyman GPR on her and squeezed the front trigger, the charge was 100 grs FFg, a rb patched with .018 pillow ticking (mink oil lube), wonderwad over the charge, and the ball blew through her.
I took my time getting down out to the stand and reloading - I always force myself to reload, it calms me down and gives the deer a chance to bleed out, but she was down for good and didn't move more than a couple of feet when shot. I didn't feel bad at all anymore, the headache was gone and I knew I was about to work up a sweat dragging her up to the barn where I would field dress her. Getting het across the dry creek was easy, up the embankment not so, and then to the barn was a real challenge, and I managed to smack my right eye good with a branch in the process. By 7:45 I finally had her up to the truck, dressed, with a bag of ice in the chest cavity and on the way to the processor - when it is colder I normally process my own, but the forecast had the temp at 45 F overnite, probably cold enough to hang and cut up in the morning but I wanted to be able to hunt this morning, not cut meat, and today the temps. were supposed to hit the mid 60's. By the time I got back from the meat locker I was feeling really poor, headache back along with the chills. I just could not force myself up and out this morning, whatever I have has the better of me for now so no more deer hunting until the regular gun season in December, but I am than thankful for this doe, and look forward to the meat in the freezer and more hunting opportunities latter in the season. Today looks like a prefect hunting day, good luck to anyone out there hunting today.
Yesterday morning there was too much wind and nothing was moving so I gave up around 10 am and came in for some lunch, and during the early afternoon started to feel punky with a headache and chills, about 4 pm I took some tnynol and forced myself back out to my stand, on the back part of my property, overlooking a creek with oak trees full of acorns now. I almost didn't go out, but am so glad I forced myself to as a couple of does came walking down the streambed around 5:15pm. When the larger of the two (not that she was really big) turned broadside to me I had the sights of my .54 Lyman GPR on her and squeezed the front trigger, the charge was 100 grs FFg, a rb patched with .018 pillow ticking (mink oil lube), wonderwad over the charge, and the ball blew through her.
I took my time getting down out to the stand and reloading - I always force myself to reload, it calms me down and gives the deer a chance to bleed out, but she was down for good and didn't move more than a couple of feet when shot. I didn't feel bad at all anymore, the headache was gone and I knew I was about to work up a sweat dragging her up to the barn where I would field dress her. Getting het across the dry creek was easy, up the embankment not so, and then to the barn was a real challenge, and I managed to smack my right eye good with a branch in the process. By 7:45 I finally had her up to the truck, dressed, with a bag of ice in the chest cavity and on the way to the processor - when it is colder I normally process my own, but the forecast had the temp at 45 F overnite, probably cold enough to hang and cut up in the morning but I wanted to be able to hunt this morning, not cut meat, and today the temps. were supposed to hit the mid 60's. By the time I got back from the meat locker I was feeling really poor, headache back along with the chills. I just could not force myself up and out this morning, whatever I have has the better of me for now so no more deer hunting until the regular gun season in December, but I am than thankful for this doe, and look forward to the meat in the freezer and more hunting opportunities latter in the season. Today looks like a prefect hunting day, good luck to anyone out there hunting today.
