armymedic.2
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2007
- Messages
- 586
- Reaction score
- 1
I got a late start this afternoon since i ended up helping my dad with some farm chores until about 3 pm. I decided that instead of trying to sneak into a feeding area late, i would hop in my steel horse and cruise a couple of my close hunting properties to see if anything was already feeding and try to make a stalk.
After checking a few fields i saw some bedded deer and a couple feeders but nothing that was a comfortable distance from property lines and houses. amazing how late season their bedding always seems to happen closer to where you can't hunt them.
I pulled into my "meat" hunting spot, and decided to go after some antlerless deer the old fashion way. As i was grabbing my gear i slipped my shooting bag over my shoulder, and reached for my priming horn. not there.....dang. left it in my other jacket from the other day. ah well, some ffg from the day horn will have to do.
I stalked across a field using the edge for cover, and slipped down an old logging road to another hidden field that ussually has some activity. nothing feeding there yet, so i crossed the field after glassing the woods on the edges. when i reached the far side of the field i peered down a ravine into some mature pines and hardwoods, but nothing was moving through.
i turned to put the wind in my face, and started stalking through a really old barren pine forest which is about 20 acres seperating the field i just left from another field the deer like to feed in, late in the evening.
the pine forest is like a mini-gorge, with a ten foot across stream in the middle of it in the bottom that runs really good this time of year.
i was really enjoying myself and the view, listening to the stream flow as i quietly made my way across the still wet from the mornings frost leaves. after scanning the far side of the gorge i decided to drop down and cross, sort of on a timeline as i had about 20 minutes of light left to check the other field i was heading towards. When i got down to the noise of the stream i took a moment to relieve myself with the cover of the babbling stream. I zipped up and hopped from rock to rock to cross the stream, and made my way upstream about 30 yards to get to the saddle that makes the hill a bit easier to climb that leads up to the field i wanted to check.
I began my climb and paused every few steps to look around, and to keep my heartrate down in case there was something close in the field when i got to the top and i needed to shoot. a few climbs and rests later i took another break to look up the ridge and all around me. as soon as i did i caught a dark form moving about, just at the top of the hillside.
initially i thought i had just been busted, but as luck would have it a doe was working her way down the hill, using the saddle to descend just as i was using it to ascend. already well withing range, but headed right for me i held the trigger as i brought the cock back on ol' red (my .62 flint fowler) silently.
as she continued toward me she crossed behind a tree and i shouldered red, readying for the now inevitable, as she was 25 yards and closing. she disappeared for a moment behind a tree but i knew she was going to come back into view, and i held my fowler against my shoulder with the blade on the tree she had disappeared behind.
a brief moment passed when she had stopped to look around, and then she suddenly came into full view again at a mere 12 paces. nearly 45 degrees uphill and fully facing me she took notice of my form and brought her head as high as it would go to sort me out. my front blade settled on her throat, right where it met her main body and i pressed the trigger.
in the fading light the flash from my pan was blinding, and i reacted poorly to it shutting my eyes for a moment, but the fast lock and close range forgave my mistake. instantly smoke and a thrashing deer filled my view right in front of me, and within a few seconds all was quiet.
i heard another deer break away out of my vision, and i grabbed my antler speed loader i made the other day and pulled the cork. down the powder, a wad, and the waiting patched ball. a sloppy pan fill from my day horn and i was reloaded faster than i though possible.
few moments after i finished my reload i saw the second deer come back into view, taking the same course the first one had. I readied for the shot, as i have many people waiting for venison from me if i can make it. i had a few opportunities to shoot as it was making its way to me but i decided to wait until it reached the already downed deer and hopefully came broadside to me as it surveyed the situation.
instead, after seeing the downed deer while it was still probably 20 yards away it bolted back up the hill and stood there trying to figure out what was going on. the shot opportunity was perfect, except it was now skylined and did not offer a safe shot. i held red at the ready and waited to see what she would do.
after just a few seconds she decided to break right and come across my field of view. as she followed a trail up there she decended just enough that the top of her back came below the skyline, but still wanting more of a backstop i picked out a huge oak she was working towards, and aimed ol red there waiting for her to cross it, so that i had a ball catcher no matter what happened, including a hugely high miss.
given how on edge she was i decided not to try to stop her as she crossed it and pressed the trigger as her front shoulder crossed my sight blade.
ch-boom smoke and a hard running deer. i could follow the direction but soon lost her running as it was pretty dim in the pine forest now even though it was still legal light.
when i lost sight of her i heard a bound or two but then nothing else. no crash, no thrashing. i contemplated a miss but thought she ran like a hit deer.
i stepped forward to the doe in front of me and withdrew my tobacco pouch, spreading it along her and thanking her. i promised her her meat and hide would not be wasted, and then reloaded before i moved up the the tree that was my marker for the last shot.
a few feet shy of the tree i found a couple white hairs, and then a piece of bone with cartilage on it. i began to fear a low hit. looking closer at the tree i saw my ball buried an inch or so into the wood past the bark, and a piece of white cartilage stuck to the bark of the tree a few inches from my ball.
i took up her track following disturbances in the leaves, with no trace of blood. after about twenty yards i found a few spots of watery muscle blood, and my heart began to sink. i began to chide myself for shooting again, and began to wonder how late into the night she would allow me to follow her track. a few steps more and there was a lot of blood, but still kind of watery, and then another step revealed a spray of blood, good blood.
then more, and more, until the forest floor was painted deep thick crimson, with no more sign of a muscle hit. just as a smile broke my face looking at the trail, i looked up to see my deer laying still, about 15 yards ahead. all told i don't think she made it more than 60 paces.
another sacrifice, a moment of peace. and then the work began. the light was not conducive to a photo, so i forwent it and enjoyed the techless moment.
the first doe was centered in the throat, with the ball breaking the breastplate and running right into the lungs. it missed the liver though, and did not exit, so i am curious as to where i will find it if i do. one hind quarter did look a little darker, so i imagine it is there, but the light would not let me determine for sure until i take the hide off in a few days.
On the second deer, my ball entered a touch low, but due to the uphill angle, it came in hard, throwing secondary (bone) projectiles up into the heart and lower lungs. it exited the other side under the far shoulder, and then broke the shoulder joint to pieces, continuing on to bury itself in the tree where i saw it initially. the distance was about forty yards.
i've no doubt that 80 grains of ffg and a 62 ball will get it done. no odd deflections this time, no real tracking, just a great moment to be a hunter, alone in the woods with his handmade flintlock, cast balls, and horn.
What a great way to end an already productive season.
After checking a few fields i saw some bedded deer and a couple feeders but nothing that was a comfortable distance from property lines and houses. amazing how late season their bedding always seems to happen closer to where you can't hunt them.
I pulled into my "meat" hunting spot, and decided to go after some antlerless deer the old fashion way. As i was grabbing my gear i slipped my shooting bag over my shoulder, and reached for my priming horn. not there.....dang. left it in my other jacket from the other day. ah well, some ffg from the day horn will have to do.
I stalked across a field using the edge for cover, and slipped down an old logging road to another hidden field that ussually has some activity. nothing feeding there yet, so i crossed the field after glassing the woods on the edges. when i reached the far side of the field i peered down a ravine into some mature pines and hardwoods, but nothing was moving through.
i turned to put the wind in my face, and started stalking through a really old barren pine forest which is about 20 acres seperating the field i just left from another field the deer like to feed in, late in the evening.
the pine forest is like a mini-gorge, with a ten foot across stream in the middle of it in the bottom that runs really good this time of year.
i was really enjoying myself and the view, listening to the stream flow as i quietly made my way across the still wet from the mornings frost leaves. after scanning the far side of the gorge i decided to drop down and cross, sort of on a timeline as i had about 20 minutes of light left to check the other field i was heading towards. When i got down to the noise of the stream i took a moment to relieve myself with the cover of the babbling stream. I zipped up and hopped from rock to rock to cross the stream, and made my way upstream about 30 yards to get to the saddle that makes the hill a bit easier to climb that leads up to the field i wanted to check.
I began my climb and paused every few steps to look around, and to keep my heartrate down in case there was something close in the field when i got to the top and i needed to shoot. a few climbs and rests later i took another break to look up the ridge and all around me. as soon as i did i caught a dark form moving about, just at the top of the hillside.
initially i thought i had just been busted, but as luck would have it a doe was working her way down the hill, using the saddle to descend just as i was using it to ascend. already well withing range, but headed right for me i held the trigger as i brought the cock back on ol' red (my .62 flint fowler) silently.
as she continued toward me she crossed behind a tree and i shouldered red, readying for the now inevitable, as she was 25 yards and closing. she disappeared for a moment behind a tree but i knew she was going to come back into view, and i held my fowler against my shoulder with the blade on the tree she had disappeared behind.
a brief moment passed when she had stopped to look around, and then she suddenly came into full view again at a mere 12 paces. nearly 45 degrees uphill and fully facing me she took notice of my form and brought her head as high as it would go to sort me out. my front blade settled on her throat, right where it met her main body and i pressed the trigger.
in the fading light the flash from my pan was blinding, and i reacted poorly to it shutting my eyes for a moment, but the fast lock and close range forgave my mistake. instantly smoke and a thrashing deer filled my view right in front of me, and within a few seconds all was quiet.
i heard another deer break away out of my vision, and i grabbed my antler speed loader i made the other day and pulled the cork. down the powder, a wad, and the waiting patched ball. a sloppy pan fill from my day horn and i was reloaded faster than i though possible.
few moments after i finished my reload i saw the second deer come back into view, taking the same course the first one had. I readied for the shot, as i have many people waiting for venison from me if i can make it. i had a few opportunities to shoot as it was making its way to me but i decided to wait until it reached the already downed deer and hopefully came broadside to me as it surveyed the situation.
instead, after seeing the downed deer while it was still probably 20 yards away it bolted back up the hill and stood there trying to figure out what was going on. the shot opportunity was perfect, except it was now skylined and did not offer a safe shot. i held red at the ready and waited to see what she would do.
after just a few seconds she decided to break right and come across my field of view. as she followed a trail up there she decended just enough that the top of her back came below the skyline, but still wanting more of a backstop i picked out a huge oak she was working towards, and aimed ol red there waiting for her to cross it, so that i had a ball catcher no matter what happened, including a hugely high miss.
given how on edge she was i decided not to try to stop her as she crossed it and pressed the trigger as her front shoulder crossed my sight blade.
ch-boom smoke and a hard running deer. i could follow the direction but soon lost her running as it was pretty dim in the pine forest now even though it was still legal light.
when i lost sight of her i heard a bound or two but then nothing else. no crash, no thrashing. i contemplated a miss but thought she ran like a hit deer.
i stepped forward to the doe in front of me and withdrew my tobacco pouch, spreading it along her and thanking her. i promised her her meat and hide would not be wasted, and then reloaded before i moved up the the tree that was my marker for the last shot.
a few feet shy of the tree i found a couple white hairs, and then a piece of bone with cartilage on it. i began to fear a low hit. looking closer at the tree i saw my ball buried an inch or so into the wood past the bark, and a piece of white cartilage stuck to the bark of the tree a few inches from my ball.
i took up her track following disturbances in the leaves, with no trace of blood. after about twenty yards i found a few spots of watery muscle blood, and my heart began to sink. i began to chide myself for shooting again, and began to wonder how late into the night she would allow me to follow her track. a few steps more and there was a lot of blood, but still kind of watery, and then another step revealed a spray of blood, good blood.
then more, and more, until the forest floor was painted deep thick crimson, with no more sign of a muscle hit. just as a smile broke my face looking at the trail, i looked up to see my deer laying still, about 15 yards ahead. all told i don't think she made it more than 60 paces.
another sacrifice, a moment of peace. and then the work began. the light was not conducive to a photo, so i forwent it and enjoyed the techless moment.
the first doe was centered in the throat, with the ball breaking the breastplate and running right into the lungs. it missed the liver though, and did not exit, so i am curious as to where i will find it if i do. one hind quarter did look a little darker, so i imagine it is there, but the light would not let me determine for sure until i take the hide off in a few days.
On the second deer, my ball entered a touch low, but due to the uphill angle, it came in hard, throwing secondary (bone) projectiles up into the heart and lower lungs. it exited the other side under the far shoulder, and then broke the shoulder joint to pieces, continuing on to bury itself in the tree where i saw it initially. the distance was about forty yards.
i've no doubt that 80 grains of ffg and a 62 ball will get it done. no odd deflections this time, no real tracking, just a great moment to be a hunter, alone in the woods with his handmade flintlock, cast balls, and horn.
What a great way to end an already productive season.
