"even a blind sow can find an acorn now and agin"
The year did not start well. A hangfire, two flat out misses, and a misfire. Just a bit discouraging, but still having fun.
Thanksgiving morning, slipped into the blind before daybreak. Nothing moved by 10:00, not even squirrels were feeding. It had rained until about dawn, so I decided that I'd move about and try to slip up on some venison.
I topped as small rise and saw motion to my left. A large doe who hadn't seen me. My luck (bad) was holding, she was just across the line on the other feller's property. She was however, slowly feeding my way. So I waited. And watched. I'd gotten burned more than twice when the deer I didn't see spooked the one I was concentrating on. It paid off this time as I noticed the follower. Then I noticed the follower had antlers. Not just antlers, BIG antlers. The doe quickly moved down in priority. She moved to my left, crossed the property line through a small shooting lane. The BUCK followed but crossed the clearing too quickly for me to get a shot. He stopped in light brush , forty yards, and I took my shot. He took off. I looked for some sign that he'd been hit, but there was none. Of course there was none, I missed.
I headed back the way I came, and as I topped the rise, exactly the point from which I'd shot to the left, there was a deer to my right! Deep breath, slow down. It was a very nice 6 to 8 pointer (OK, the uncertainty gives that one away) following my doe from episode I. Also in the chase was the BUCK that was wearing the rocking chair on his head.
I've seen hunting shows where people sit around and watch trophy bucks mill about, but my experience has always been that they may hang around for cameras, but tend to put in much briefer appearances when firearms are present. This broke set. I watched the three of them for fifteen minutes. Again they were on the neighbor's property, but moving in the right direction. At times, all I could see was that rack moving, as weeds and brush obscured his body.
The doe then broke free of cover and I just knew that the big fellow would follow. Kneeling behind an oak I used her to pre-sight. Then THE BUCK came out. At the crack of the shot he fell. As I reloaded he tried to get up, but it was apparent that it was a spine shot. I approached. I figured he'd bleed out, but it was a high shoulder shot, through and through clipping the spine. I wasn't about to let him suffer. A heart/lung shot from close up finished it. I was fortunate to have a couple of young friends to help drag him out.
Thompson Center Hawken, .50
65 gr pyrodex
home cast roundball
75 yards.
Epilogue:
"There only two types of husbands, those that are henpecked and those that are liars".
Money's a little tight. I have some aged cherry. A nice European mount was in my future. Then the wife steps in saying that I have to get it mounted. She was insistent and would hear of nothing else. So I responded as I have throughout 30 wonderful years of marriage, "yes dear".
The year did not start well. A hangfire, two flat out misses, and a misfire. Just a bit discouraging, but still having fun.
Thanksgiving morning, slipped into the blind before daybreak. Nothing moved by 10:00, not even squirrels were feeding. It had rained until about dawn, so I decided that I'd move about and try to slip up on some venison.
I topped as small rise and saw motion to my left. A large doe who hadn't seen me. My luck (bad) was holding, she was just across the line on the other feller's property. She was however, slowly feeding my way. So I waited. And watched. I'd gotten burned more than twice when the deer I didn't see spooked the one I was concentrating on. It paid off this time as I noticed the follower. Then I noticed the follower had antlers. Not just antlers, BIG antlers. The doe quickly moved down in priority. She moved to my left, crossed the property line through a small shooting lane. The BUCK followed but crossed the clearing too quickly for me to get a shot. He stopped in light brush , forty yards, and I took my shot. He took off. I looked for some sign that he'd been hit, but there was none. Of course there was none, I missed.
I headed back the way I came, and as I topped the rise, exactly the point from which I'd shot to the left, there was a deer to my right! Deep breath, slow down. It was a very nice 6 to 8 pointer (OK, the uncertainty gives that one away) following my doe from episode I. Also in the chase was the BUCK that was wearing the rocking chair on his head.
I've seen hunting shows where people sit around and watch trophy bucks mill about, but my experience has always been that they may hang around for cameras, but tend to put in much briefer appearances when firearms are present. This broke set. I watched the three of them for fifteen minutes. Again they were on the neighbor's property, but moving in the right direction. At times, all I could see was that rack moving, as weeds and brush obscured his body.
The doe then broke free of cover and I just knew that the big fellow would follow. Kneeling behind an oak I used her to pre-sight. Then THE BUCK came out. At the crack of the shot he fell. As I reloaded he tried to get up, but it was apparent that it was a spine shot. I approached. I figured he'd bleed out, but it was a high shoulder shot, through and through clipping the spine. I wasn't about to let him suffer. A heart/lung shot from close up finished it. I was fortunate to have a couple of young friends to help drag him out.
Thompson Center Hawken, .50
65 gr pyrodex
home cast roundball
75 yards.
Epilogue:
"There only two types of husbands, those that are henpecked and those that are liars".
Money's a little tight. I have some aged cherry. A nice European mount was in my future. Then the wife steps in saying that I have to get it mounted. She was insistent and would hear of nothing else. So I responded as I have throughout 30 wonderful years of marriage, "yes dear".
