Winchester97
40 Cal
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2020
- Messages
- 395
- Reaction score
- 580
I finally connected on a nice fat doe with my .40 cal flintlock. I developed a load using 70gr 3f black powder, a durofelt wad lubed with deer tallow/ beeswax/ olive oil, and a 175gr .401 bullet from an Accurate mold. I was able to get 1.5" groups at 50yd, and 3" at 100yd with this combo. Pictured below is the bullet, along with the recovered bullet.
I had one doe tag left in my county as Ohio's muzzleloader season opened on Saturday. I elected to hunt from an elevated blind overlooking a small foodplot with 60yd max shot distance.
I got all situated about 40 minutes before legal time, and discovered a 4ft long rifle doesn't fit well in a 5ft box blind. About 20 min later I watched a very nice buck walk out in the moonlight, mill around, and leave after about 10 minutes. Next was a small buck about 8 am. He walked past at 50yd and headed off to bed. Both were safe as I needed a doe.
I had my wife hunt that evening, as she still had a buck tag, thinking that nice buck I saw might show up during legal time for her. Her evening ended with 5 big does at 25-50 yd. Feeding in the foodplot, she let them go, waiting on her buck.
Sunday morning I skipped church and hunted again, catching a glimpse of 2 does in heavy brush, but no chance for a shot.
That evening found me sitting in the blind again overlooking the plot. I got in at 3pm, and was enjoying the crisp weather, when the neighbors comenced to firing about 500rd of .556 and pistol rounds in their woods 200yd away. I just drank my coffee, and hoped they would hang it up soon.
The shooting stopped at about 4:30, and at 4:45 I heard a stick pop to my right the old apple orchard. I caught sight of a doe picking through the brush heading for a lane I had trimmed. I slowly got to my knees in the blind, manuvered the rifle out the window and waited. After a few minutes she entered the opening, I stopped her with a grunt and focused on the sights, placing them right behind her shoulder. The flash and recoil seemed instantanious, and she spun around running the path she came from for 10yd, then turned hard to the right away from me and ran straight up a steep hill 30yd before I heard her crash.
After recovering her, I found the bullet hit a bit forward and had passed through both shoulders,lungs, and was caught in the offside hide. She had her right leg back, and left stretched forward at the shot, otherwise I would have gotten a passthrough. That bullet did it's job, and I was more excited about this doe than the last few bucks I killed. I'm most definantly hooked.
I had one doe tag left in my county as Ohio's muzzleloader season opened on Saturday. I elected to hunt from an elevated blind overlooking a small foodplot with 60yd max shot distance.
I had my wife hunt that evening, as she still had a buck tag, thinking that nice buck I saw might show up during legal time for her. Her evening ended with 5 big does at 25-50 yd. Feeding in the foodplot, she let them go, waiting on her buck.
Sunday morning I skipped church and hunted again, catching a glimpse of 2 does in heavy brush, but no chance for a shot.
That evening found me sitting in the blind again overlooking the plot. I got in at 3pm, and was enjoying the crisp weather, when the neighbors comenced to firing about 500rd of .556 and pistol rounds in their woods 200yd away. I just drank my coffee, and hoped they would hang it up soon.
The shooting stopped at about 4:30, and at 4:45 I heard a stick pop to my right the old apple orchard. I caught sight of a doe picking through the brush heading for a lane I had trimmed. I slowly got to my knees in the blind, manuvered the rifle out the window and waited. After a few minutes she entered the opening, I stopped her with a grunt and focused on the sights, placing them right behind her shoulder. The flash and recoil seemed instantanious, and she spun around running the path she came from for 10yd, then turned hard to the right away from me and ran straight up a steep hill 30yd before I heard her crash.
After recovering her, I found the bullet hit a bit forward and had passed through both shoulders,lungs, and was caught in the offside hide. She had her right leg back, and left stretched forward at the shot, otherwise I would have gotten a passthrough. That bullet did it's job, and I was more excited about this doe than the last few bucks I killed. I'm most definantly hooked.
Last edited:
