End of season photos

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pamtnman

Hunt to Live
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Location
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Tough to say goodbye to our favorite season here in PA, the late flintlock. I hunted with a brand new rifle made by Mark Wheland, a 62 caliber British Sporting Rifle with a 28” barrel and sights in the white that I kept improving until the last few days. While learning the new and newer sights, I missed at least half a dozen deer. One deer was knocked flat, but got up, went uphill, and left a very spotty and light blood trail for 300 yards before rejoining her herd and not being found dead. Here are some pictures of a great season.
 

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Pretty pictures and interesting write up. Next year that barrel will be blued or browned, the sights will have been fully filed/drifted in and the investment of powder, lead and range time spent will ensure your complete success. All the other pursuits and distractions until then will take a back seat in your goals toward next year's Flintlock season. We'll be looking forward to your pictures at that time, too.

The knocked down doe was hit high, near enough to the spine to shock it off its feet, but not a vital shot to kill. Seen that before myself.

Interesting outline in the skiff of snow. Thanks for sharing.
 
Pretty pictures and interesting write up. Next year that barrel will be blued or browned, the sights will have been fully filed/drifted in and the investment of powder, lead and range time spent will ensure your complete success. All the other pursuits and distractions until then will take a back seat in your goals toward next year's Flintlock season. We'll be looking forward to your pictures at that time, too.

The knocked down doe was hit high, near enough to the spine to shock it off its feet, but not a vital shot to kill. Seen that before myself.

Interesting outline in the skiff of snow. Thanks for sharing.
Well said. I concur on where she was likely hit. An inch more in any direction probably would have been success.
 
Thanks for sharing that recap. That picture where the doe hit the ground is a one in a million image given the perfect amount of snow. Sorry that the meat isn’t in your freezer.
 
Thanks for sharing that recap. That picture where the doe hit the ground is a one in a million image given the perfect amount of snow. Sorry that the meat isn’t in your freezer.
Thank you. That is/ was my deer. At the steps of our camp porch. Turned out to be a buck that dropped its antlers in late November…i had thought it was a doe when i pulled the trigger. Glad you like the image. I agree it is one in a million. The bulging eye gives it a fawn appearance, but it was hit right between the eyes and the eyes bulged out of the sockets.
 
very confused by this...I think you should sight in the rifle on targets not deer and can you explain the photo of the deer outline in fresh snow more? Very confused...
You are confused because you are leaping to silly and unsupportable conclusions without evidence. And criticizing someone you don’t know, apparently to position yourself as some sort of expert critic. New sights on a new gun look and operate differently at the range than they do in the woods while stalking. I am here on this website to have fun, to learn, to share. Not waste my precious time. Blocked
 
Did I get this right, you keep shooting till you find a dead deer?
No, you did not get this right. I have no idea how you would come to that bizarre conclusion based on a very brief summary of a long hunting season. You would have to deliberately mis-read into the text in order to arrive at your weird conclusion. Blocked for wasting time here with unpleasant foolishness
 
Count me as #3 that is confused by your post. Were you gradually adjusting the sights over the coarse of the hunt or having difficulty shooting with sights that were well adjusted prior too the hunt?
Whole bunch of stuff was going on. 1) new gun with new stock shape size etc, 2) new sights. 3) turned sixty and my eyes are suddenly getting older. The sights started out in the white. I got them filed down in front and into a correct V in the rear in December. Shooting seated from a Caldwell sled rest with ideal light, the sights seemed ready to hunt. Dead center and 2.5” high at fifty yards is perfect. Couple of misses in field made me realize the struggle was with lack of contrast, then more misses = glare, etc. Finally got front blade painted fluorescent orange, beneath rear V fluorescent yellow triangle, finally finally used a Sharpie to black out the rest of the rear sight. It was quite a process and made me appreciate my older guns that I apparently forgot about the sighting in process. So the gun was accurate from the bench. The eyes perceived things differently in the field. My objection to the prior comments was they are accusatory, demeaning and arrogant, Judgmental. Etc. Absolutely the worst of “superior” know-it-all critic internet personalities. I am busy and have zero time or patience for that. This forum has been good to me for a long time, real helpful friendly people with good intentions, zero attitude issues. Experiences outside that boundary get nipped in the bud.
 
Here's my take on these posts. If you (pamtnman) had begun your posts with the information you eventually provided in your post #16, readers like Vikingman, Phil, longcruise, and me wouldn't have been confused and concerned that you were hunting with an unsighted-in rifle. They are good people.
I understand the situation now and I also struggle a bit with sights too. Testors fluorescent model paint is becoming my friend.
 
Here's my take on these posts. If you (pamtnman) had begun your posts with the information you eventually provided in your post #16, readers like Vikingman, Phil, longcruise, and me wouldn't have been confused and concerned that you were hunting with an unsighted-in rifle. They are good people.
I understand the situation now and I also struggle a bit with sights too. Testors fluorescent model paint is becoming my friend.
Neither your role here nor mine is to anticipate the myriad questions and criticisms some people might have, and then spend two hours trying to address them. I posted a brief synopsis of the end of my season, with some representative pictures. People can be positive or they can move on to the next subject. This is just Being A Good Human Being 101.
 
There are hunters in America who object to archery and black powder hunting, because sometimes our lethal hit or critter collection percentage is lower than a scoped 30-06. In fact both archery and black powder are illegal for hunting big game in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Probably also illegal in most other European countries, too. Point being that it is very easy to criticize people and types of weapons, thereby weakening hunting overall. Why do it here on this forum where people feel most comfortable openly discussing their challenges and successes with “primitive” weapons?
If this message seems belligerent, then this website probably isn’t for you. Or at least the hunting forum. Heck, black powder firearms probably are not for you. We hunt with them precisely because they are challenging. Sometimes a new flintlock just doesn't hit its groove and get all the bugs worked out right away, too. This is all part of the process and lifestyle/ hobby we enjoy on this site dedicated to it.
If I sound belligerent defending black powder hunting and related firearms, that is good. We should all have each other’s backs here, none of us should be trying to slip a knife in. We all should be protecting one another and supporting one another here, not taking on adversarial or superior attitudes.
Everyone have a great weekend. I am headed to the 18th Century Artisan Fair in Carlisle momentarily. Looking forward to seeing many friends there. Cheers!
 


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