On the opening morning of Michigan's 2017 firearm deer season my 85 year old Father shot a very nice 7 point with his old Marlin lever gun. It is the biggest buck he has taken in a very long career of hunting in northern Mi. Not a ML be please read on.
On Dec. 3rd I sat in that same stand with my TC Big Boar hoping for a chance at a nice 8 point that I had seen in November. I did not see a deer in the morning, went in for lunch and returned about 3:30. About half an hour before the sun went down I looked over my right shoulder and saw a nice buck about 50 or 60 yards away. At first all I saw were antlers and an ear. Then he started walking toward me. There was not enough time to turn around so I cocked the hammer and moved the gun so that I could shoot left handed. As the buck moved closer I started to get nervous about shooting left handed but he kept walking so I just kept following him over the sights. When he stopped quartered toward me at 10 yards I aimed for the shoulder and squeezed. I lost sight of him in the smoke. Then I saw movement at the bottom of the cloud as he dropped and rolled over on his side. As I was reloading he tried to get back up, it was obvious by the way he was moving, or not moving, that the round ball had hit his spine. I shot him a second time to stop his struggling. Luckily I didn't need a third shot because I reloaded again only to have the ball stop about a 3rd of the way down the barrel. No matter what I did I could not move it.
I recovered the ball from the first shot under the hide on the far side. It is almost 80 cal. I am impressed that it stayed together after hitting the shoulder blade and a couple sections of the lower spine.
Turns out that although this buck is only an 8 point he is much bigger than any deer I have taken, and to do it with a ML from the same stand as Dad's best buck made this year very special.
It has also renewed my interest in hunting and shooting a ML. I continue to be impressed with the effectiveness of a patched round ball.
I returned to that same spot during the late antlerless season to take a doe at about 30 yards with the same ML.
She was quartering toward me also. The ball hit a little low in the shoulder, shredded part of the heart, the lungs and the liver on the far side then exited. She ran about 60 yards leaving an easy to follow blood trail in the snow.
That cloud of smoke and loud boom has me hooked.
I am having trouble figuring out how to add pictures please let me know if they are here.
On Dec. 3rd I sat in that same stand with my TC Big Boar hoping for a chance at a nice 8 point that I had seen in November. I did not see a deer in the morning, went in for lunch and returned about 3:30. About half an hour before the sun went down I looked over my right shoulder and saw a nice buck about 50 or 60 yards away. At first all I saw were antlers and an ear. Then he started walking toward me. There was not enough time to turn around so I cocked the hammer and moved the gun so that I could shoot left handed. As the buck moved closer I started to get nervous about shooting left handed but he kept walking so I just kept following him over the sights. When he stopped quartered toward me at 10 yards I aimed for the shoulder and squeezed. I lost sight of him in the smoke. Then I saw movement at the bottom of the cloud as he dropped and rolled over on his side. As I was reloading he tried to get back up, it was obvious by the way he was moving, or not moving, that the round ball had hit his spine. I shot him a second time to stop his struggling. Luckily I didn't need a third shot because I reloaded again only to have the ball stop about a 3rd of the way down the barrel. No matter what I did I could not move it.
I recovered the ball from the first shot under the hide on the far side. It is almost 80 cal. I am impressed that it stayed together after hitting the shoulder blade and a couple sections of the lower spine.
Turns out that although this buck is only an 8 point he is much bigger than any deer I have taken, and to do it with a ML from the same stand as Dad's best buck made this year very special.
It has also renewed my interest in hunting and shooting a ML. I continue to be impressed with the effectiveness of a patched round ball.
I returned to that same spot during the late antlerless season to take a doe at about 30 yards with the same ML.
She was quartering toward me also. The ball hit a little low in the shoulder, shredded part of the heart, the lungs and the liver on the far side then exited. She ran about 60 yards leaving an easy to follow blood trail in the snow.
That cloud of smoke and loud boom has me hooked.
I am having trouble figuring out how to add pictures please let me know if they are here.
