After a very slow archery season and slow start to the general season, I gave up on the bow and started huting with the .54 caliber T/C Renegade this past weekend. The weekend started out as slow as the rest of the season has been. I only saw 1 deer for hunting all day Friday and Saturday. I was starting to get very frustrated with the way the season was going. On Sunday morning, I decided to sit in a stand I hadn't hunted in the morning yet this season. Sunday morning was a beautiful morning. No wind, pleasantly cool, and a fairly thick ground fog. About 15 minutes after shooting light, this guy stepped out of a group of oaks about 75 yards from my stand. Because of the fog, I couldn't tell if he was a buck or a doe, so I held off on deciding on a shot. He slowly worked his way toward me through the fog. At about 40 yards, I could make his rack out clearly and decided he was a shooter. I had my gun up and in position when he turned broadside at 30 yards. I eased the hammer back to full cock, and he stopped dead with the click and looked in my direction. I decided not to risk a second click with the set trigger, and put my finger on the front trigger. As I started to pull the trigger, he stepped forward again. As a reaction, I moved the rifle slightly forward to follow him as the hammer fell. As the smoke cleared, I could see him running full out to the left and away from me. He disappeared into a group of oaks, and I thought I heard him crash shortly afterwards. I reloaded the rifle, and made myself wait to let him expire. When I got out of the stand and went to look for blood, I could find nothing. I started to question my shot. I couldn't believe that a buck shot at 30 yards with a .54 wouldn't leave a blood trail. I went back to my stand to verify that I was looking in the right spot. No blood. I began to walk the path that I saw him take on exit, and was questioning my shot placement and if I had actually heard him crash. As I slowly worked the trail he took, looking for sign, I finally saw him down, just 75 yards from where I shot him. The ball had entered in the center of his shoulder, broke through the shoulder blade, went through the center of a rib on the near side, through the center of a rib on the far side, and had lodged just under the skin. Therefore, no blood.
What a wonderful hunt it was and my best buck to date (muzzleloader or not). Load was 80 grns. FFFg Goex, 0.018 Oxyoke patch, Wonderlube, 0.530 roundball.
What a wonderful hunt it was and my best buck to date (muzzleloader or not). Load was 80 grns. FFFg Goex, 0.018 Oxyoke patch, Wonderlube, 0.530 roundball.
