Field Report: "oldnamvets' custom .40cal x 200grn R.E.A.L.

[jamesthomas]

I'm gonna quit reading your hunting posts as they get me so envious. You must be in deer heaven cause every one you post is loaded with antlers. BTW do you save the horns and make stuff with them? I would. I've also seen your rifles from TVM and they are beautiful. :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

That is so sweet of you to give that deer to a needy family. They will be eating well for many meals with that buck.
:hatsoff:

 

[roundball]

I'm gonna quit reading your hunting posts as they get me so envious. You must be in deer heaven cause every one you post is loaded with antlers. BTW do you save the horns and make stuff with them? I would. I've also seen your rifles from TVM and they are beautiful. :thumbsup:

I'm lucky...I do put a lot of effort into scouting and planning throughout the year...and only hunt the very thick stuff where they mostly live...but lady luck still plays a part.
IMO, there are no better 2 weeks to live in the woods deer hunting than the two weeks prior to the actual breeding phase of the November rut here.
Bucks are on the move cruising for Does in heat and spend a lot more daylight hours doing it than normal...this guy surprised me 2 hours before dark...coming along that trail with his head down on it like a bloodhound.
I had turned my head to reach for my coffee cup and when I looked back I saw the top of a deer's back floating along on the other side of that blow-down...if I had been spending even 30 seconds removing the cap from the thermos, pouring the cup, putting the cap back on, etc...by the time I would have turned back around he would have moved across that narrow 40-50' opening and I never would have known he'd come through. I firmly believe we often have deer in our proximity that we never even see or know about...they either pass on through undetected or see us move first and slip back away.

And yes, the rifles & smoothbores I have from Matt Avance are outstanding...couldn't have asked for a better, more professional relationship and didn't have to take out a second mortgage for them, which is a good thing of course...

 

[roundball]

That is so sweet of you to give that deer to a needy family. They will be eating well for many meals with that buck.
:hatsoff:

Gave them 6 last year...she asked me if I was going to have any more that I didn't need and I told her I had 5 tags left and she could have every one I was able to fill...LOL.
I slide them up on this hitch haul, deliver them, slide them off...go home and clean up...win-win for everybody.

 

[wattlebuster]

Great buck, pic an beautiful rifle RB :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[hardtimes]

Congrats on a fine buck! :hatsoff:

Beautiful rifle by the way

 

[hawk]

very nice! well played RB :hatsoff:

 

[AWsaddles]

Nice buck! I love my 40 so I may experiment with a combo like that as I would like something with a little more punch . I spent all last week in the woods as our season was last week but could not make it happen. Our gun season starts on nov 10 so I am going to hunt the first part of it with my flinter . Congratulations! :hatsoff:

 

[PaulN/KS]

Another good looking deer roundball. Nice shooting again Sir. :hatsoff:

You are lucky to hunt when the rut is coming on. Here in Kansass they don't start the gun season till the end of November. There is an early "muzzleloader" season in mid-late September but that's a bit too warm and buggy in NE Kansass to make it enjoyable...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Great buck, and I will PM Oldnamvet. I am thinking of employing them on some local coyotes. By law I could use a modern cartridge like a .22 hornet or a .223 Remington, but I think I'd like a round that doesn't go 600 yards, and besides it'd be much more fun with my flinter.

LD

 

[roundball]

Thanks for the good comments on the deer and the rifle...the .40cal Late Lancaster is just beautiful as far as I'm concerned.
And taking this buck with it is sort of special because I don't normally deer hunt the .40cal but 'oldnamvet's' R.E.A.L. ended up getting the Lancaster in a deer photo so I'll always have that.
Yes, it's great our deer season opens so early here...and North Carolina is a deceptively very large state, having a deer herd well up over a million. September deer hunting is too warm here for me too...October/November with cooler temps and beautiful fall colors really makes for some nice days afield.
Watched a flock of turkeys go scratching through the woods yesterday...good thing we don't have a fall season...LOL.


Reminder again...anyone using the REAL in a deep groove round ball barrel should satisfy themselves that you're keeping it snug on the powder with an "over bullet card or wad".

 

[vietnam71]

RB nice buck old friend. Glad to see you're still chugging along. :thumbsup:

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Very Nice deer. Very good looking rifle.

 

[George T.]

Great deer and Very nice rifle! Your pictures are great as well. Here in the land of 100 pound deer I shoot a 395 round ball patched tight over 90 grains if FFF. I have never had a pass thru but the ball is flat under the off side hide. There is a quarter sized purple circle on the hide. I have often wondered how far out the hide goes before snapping back. Again thanks for the great post and pictures! Geo. T.

 

[rabjr]

Oh grats! Didn't realize you had a deer here. Thought it was another one of your testing like with the brass balls. :haha: :thumbsup: Nice buck!

 

[skunkskinner]

Good looking deer roundball !

 

[roundball]

Sorry I wasn't able to have one of your excellent loading blocks in the photo...but being a R.E.A.L. projectile with lube on it for testing, I just carried a spare in a traditional plastic slurpy straw...
:wink:

 

[skunkskinner]

"I just carried a spare in a traditional plastic slurpy straw" :rotf: :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

Had to have something to store them in...since it was basically just for a range trip & field test, couldn't justify the research time to find/build something truly original just for the brief testing, and necessity being the Mother of Invention...

 

[starlight]

Outstanding idea. :hatsoff: