Hunted all day all 3 days of Illinois first season. Firearm season but, of course, I was totin' my new Roy Stroh .54 rifle. With both either-sex and antlerless-only tags in my pocket I was hoping for a big buck and/or an adult doe.
I was seeing plenty of deer but they were mostly all small bucks. Does were mighty scarce and big bucks didn't show up at all. Saw a couple of medium sized bucks but not the one I was after.
I know there are some nice bucks in the area.
Friday and Saturday we had to deal with high winds. Like 25-35 mph! It was impossible to hear deer coming from very far. Today it finally calmed down some.
Turkeys were everywhere around me the past 2 days. I guess I oughta start hunting them. The deer didn't seem too fond of them tho. This morning a big doe and a small one were coming my way and would have crossed right in front of me in the next couple of minutes. Then a whole bunch of turkeys flew off their roost and scairt the manure out of 'em and they hightailed it toward the next county. A half-dozen turkeys came over and spent about 4 hours 30-50 yards from me making all sorts of ruckus. While they were there I only saw one other deer, a half-rack buck. He came truckin' thru from my right and skidded to a halt right in front of me when he saw the turkeys. Then he backtracked and circled about 100 yards out away from them. :idunno:
Finally the turkeys left my area and things got a lot quieter. :thumbsup:
Then, about 3:00 a nice lone doe came into view. I cocked the rifle and got ready to take a shot if she offered one. She stepped into a small opening and I set the trigger but she moved before I could take the shot. Now she appeared to be on her way somewhere at a semi-fast walk.
One more opening just ahead of her. When she got into it I whistled and she took a few more steps. I whistled again and she stopped. The sights were on her and I touched the trigger.
My rifle went off and she kicked her hind end up in the air like a bucking horse and took off. I thought I heard her crash a few seconds later.
After a short wait I walked down to where she had been standing and found a big wad of hair. Not 10 feet from there was already the beginnings of a blood trail. It was a very easy blood trail to follow. There was blood on both sides high and low. She had run about 50 yards after the shot. Unfortunately it was all the way to the bottom of the valley and across the creek. A couple steps up the far side and she was wedged in between 2 small trees.
My home cast .530 ball, wrapped in pillow ticking lubed with Swampy's bear grease huntin' lube, cut at the muzzle with a new patch knife Grey Whiskers sent me, over 82 grains of Goex 3F had gone thru the near side lung, cut a big furrow thru her heart, and nicked the bottom of the offside lung on the way out. It broke ribs both coming and going. Pass thru at about 45 yards or so.
When I got her home I had my wife take a pic with me in it.
I love this rifle! :grin: And now she's been properly bloodied up.
I was seeing plenty of deer but they were mostly all small bucks. Does were mighty scarce and big bucks didn't show up at all. Saw a couple of medium sized bucks but not the one I was after.
I know there are some nice bucks in the area.
Friday and Saturday we had to deal with high winds. Like 25-35 mph! It was impossible to hear deer coming from very far. Today it finally calmed down some.
Turkeys were everywhere around me the past 2 days. I guess I oughta start hunting them. The deer didn't seem too fond of them tho. This morning a big doe and a small one were coming my way and would have crossed right in front of me in the next couple of minutes. Then a whole bunch of turkeys flew off their roost and scairt the manure out of 'em and they hightailed it toward the next county. A half-dozen turkeys came over and spent about 4 hours 30-50 yards from me making all sorts of ruckus. While they were there I only saw one other deer, a half-rack buck. He came truckin' thru from my right and skidded to a halt right in front of me when he saw the turkeys. Then he backtracked and circled about 100 yards out away from them. :idunno:
Finally the turkeys left my area and things got a lot quieter. :thumbsup:
Then, about 3:00 a nice lone doe came into view. I cocked the rifle and got ready to take a shot if she offered one. She stepped into a small opening and I set the trigger but she moved before I could take the shot. Now she appeared to be on her way somewhere at a semi-fast walk.
One more opening just ahead of her. When she got into it I whistled and she took a few more steps. I whistled again and she stopped. The sights were on her and I touched the trigger.
My rifle went off and she kicked her hind end up in the air like a bucking horse and took off. I thought I heard her crash a few seconds later.
After a short wait I walked down to where she had been standing and found a big wad of hair. Not 10 feet from there was already the beginnings of a blood trail. It was a very easy blood trail to follow. There was blood on both sides high and low. She had run about 50 yards after the shot. Unfortunately it was all the way to the bottom of the valley and across the creek. A couple steps up the far side and she was wedged in between 2 small trees.
My home cast .530 ball, wrapped in pillow ticking lubed with Swampy's bear grease huntin' lube, cut at the muzzle with a new patch knife Grey Whiskers sent me, over 82 grains of Goex 3F had gone thru the near side lung, cut a big furrow thru her heart, and nicked the bottom of the offside lung on the way out. It broke ribs both coming and going. Pass thru at about 45 yards or so.
When I got her home I had my wife take a pic with me in it.
I love this rifle! :grin: And now she's been properly bloodied up.
