GPR draws first blood!!

[sdhunter]

well it turned out to be the best and worst hunt of my life. I finally got a shot at a nice doe after getting only opportunities at bucks for the last week. As the sun was starting to fade, four does made there was down into my draw and I shot the leader at about 50 yards with a frontal shot at the base of the neck. They all tore off back in the direction they came from. I could tell the one I shot at was hit by the way she was running so I loaded up again and headed toward the blood trail. I found very good blood and followed it over to the next draw where she layed with her head still up. I tried to creep around a tree to get a better angle but she seen me and took off over the butte. I went to her bed and it was covered in blood. She cant go far I thought to myself. About 800 yards later I caught up to her and put another ball in her to finish her off. Now for the long drag back to the pickup. I drug her about a fourth of the way up and down the hills before I couldn't hack it anymore. So headed back to the pickup the get some rope and lighten up my load a little. I got back to the pickup and realized that I had lost my ignition key somehow. Did it fall out of my pocket when I was grabbing my loading stuff or did it fall out when I tripped on the snow covered log and face planted while dragging the deer. so I called up a buddy of mine who introduced me to this property. He would be the only one to even know where I am at in this rough country. so he came and got me and even go his pickup close enough to the deer so we only had to drag it about 100 yards to the pickup. I wish I got to ride saddle horse in in this country as a kid. So long story short, I went through hell to get my first black powder deer but dammit I got her. now I just have to call my ford dealer to get a new key for my pickup

 

[Sean Gadhar]

now I just have to call my ford dealer to get a new key for my pickup

3, three new keys, one to take with me, one hidden on the truck (not under the hood if the hood can't be opened from the outside I did that one) and one at home so I don't have to call the dealer again.


:hatsoff: on the doe kill.

Next time you might want to hang back 10-20 minuets Likely you would have found her expired in that first bed... Of course I was not there so that's a general thought and may not have applied to your hunt :v

While scouting for elk with a doe tag in my pocket I once shot a doe about 2 1/2 miles down hill from the truck in the rain with a hill on my trail that was now wet clay

There now you can feel better you just dropped you key :grin:

 

[roundball]

Glad you found her, good work!
:thumbsup:

Just for FYI / consideration:
Small key ring for hunting has a strong double fluorescent shoelace for keeping it tied to my belt whenever I walk away from my Trainblazer;
Spare key in my wallet.
Spare key in a magnetic keybox under the SUV in an out of the way place on the frame.

Overkill ???? You bet...LOL

 

[Eric Krewson]

I haven't done it since keys got chips in them but I used to tape a spare to my rear brake line with electrical tape. Hard to spot and didn't look like a possible key to thieves. Got me out of tight spots several times when I locked my normal keys in my truck, one time with the truck running in a mall parking lot.

 

[BrownBear]

...at about 50 yards with a frontal shot at the base of the neck.

That frontal shot is about the toughest shot I know of. Longest blood trail I've ever followed was from just that shot. A bud and I followed that deer over 2 miles over a mountain ridge and caught up just before dark to finish the job. Thank goodness for snow!

The gun? A 7mag at around 100 yards. The 150 grain bullet (at 3100fps) hit right in the brisket, but rather than penetrating, the slight angle of my shot caused it to slide along the outside of the ribs under the shoulder and out behind it. A 50 BMG wouldn't have done any better.

Only reason I ask, in all the talk about lost keys we never got down to the bullet path in the deer. I'm still learning after all these years, and try to keep track of such things. Thanks.

 

[dbutch]

Congrats on the doe down :thumbsup: hard earned!!!
Enjoy the backstraps!!!!

You are in good company with the keys...
56 yrs never lost a set till last Friday.
Have a spare cab key in wallet but not ignition.. :slap:
I do now! HaHa.
Lost mine doing the cattail shuffle...2 hr walk... no way I'm even going to try and back track..Yep a handfull of keys shining some place out on the ice in the cattails.
Normal mop is open the duck camp hang keys on key hook inside, go hunt..
Nope not that morning.
Leave truck sit in stand,walk out on marsh....no keys upon return.
My wife said "Merry Christmas" ..replacement keys!!!some gift! :rotf:
A least I'm not getting coal again!

 

[silly goose]

As much fun as the bp way can be, it has ways of exposing holes in your game, doesn't it? Glad you got your deer, good story.

 

[Spikebuck]

Congrats on the doe and I'm glad you caught up to her and got the recovery. :hatsoff:

Probably because I was bowhunter so long before ever touching a muzzleloader, I generally avoid any kind of frontal shot unless it's really, really close and on the ground with the deer (never out of a treestand). Although first one I did with muzzleloader on a small buck at 20 yards was DRT. I agree with Brownbear that there can be a propensity for the bullet to veer and only skid along ribs and at best get only one lung...and they can go a long way on one. I tend to place that one in the "risky" category, but again, could just be my particular background.

I also have a spare set of keys hidden on the truck and always put my regular keys in a completely separate buttoned or zipped pocket just to avoid pulling something else out and the keys accidently come out with.

And I've also done the face plant while dragging? Ain't that fun??? :grin:

 

[Renegade Dan]

Congrats on your deer! :thumbsup:

 

[sdhunter]

exactly what happened. The ball hit dead center in the neck and took out part of the wind pipe then somehow changed course before hitting the spine. It trailed along the right side and got caught up in her arm pit. I have pulled that shot off at 50 yards on many deer with high powers and have never had a problem. But your can bet I wont be trying it with the front stuffer again. I guess I will just chalk that up as another lesson learned the hard way lol. Thanks for all the replies everybody. I really wanted to take a photo but I didn't get out of the woods until very late and I had to skin her out and clean the gpr so it was a late night.

 

[wattlebuster]

Congrats on your doe. Fine eats there. As for the lost keys I been there done that. I would tell that story but everybody already knows how :youcrazy: I am so why confirm it once again :idunno:

 

[Lonegun1894]

Congrats on the deer! I can beat your lost keys. I have never lost my keys, but I have lost my truck once. It was on a hunt where I drove myself into the Arizona mountains, that had desert valleys in between, and then hiked on further in. Well, I'm still not sure where exactly I went wrong in getting turned around, but I know that parking my truck in a wash, where it wasn't visible from the mountain tops, wasn't a bright idea. Well, long story short, 3-4 DAYS after I realized I was lost, I found my truck. The keys however, were still in my pack. And I never got a shot at a deer on that hunt, so you have me beat there.

 

[sdhunter]

The key story keeps getting worse though. It is so stupid it is almost comical. I called ford with the vin number and they said I need a key code number from the owners manual. When I bought the pickup used it came with one set of keys and no owners manual. So the guy at ford said that ford only keeps records back 10 years and my f-150 is an 2001 model so I was screwed there again. Then he told me about a certain locksmith that could help me out but he recently broke his leg so he might be out of the game for awhile. :v: So my next option is to somehow get it loaded on a trailer and take it to the ford shop so it can have a very very spendy new ignition system put it which might cost more than the very high mileage beat up pickup is worth lol.

 

[hanshi]

I'd say you truly earned that deer. Congratulations.

 

[dbutch]

Went back out on the marsh..Yep they they were on the ice in the spot I took a picture..Just add 2' of blown snow on top.
The lucky horseshoe up where the sun don't shine came through again.
Wife and I started here at sunset heading out to the duck blind location.
a brisk 25 min. hike

Where I stood to take this picture is where I found them..
under the snow..

Any chance to backtrack????

 

[sdhunter]

I did with one of the 30lb magnets on wheels, trying to catch the chain since the key is not magnetic. followed my tracks the whole way and dug in the snow in the places that I was digging in my pockets

 

[dbutch]

Holy smokes! thats good thinking!! :bow:
Its tough on the self image when these things happen..
I feel your pain!....
I'd try again in early spring..Know that dosn't help now...Good luck!

 

[sdhunter]

Finally got the pickup loaded up on a trailer and hauled it out with my newer F-150. Glad I have two 4x4's or else I really would have been screwed. A local rancher brought his loader down to the pasture and helped me push it onto the trailer and wouldn't take any payment when finished. That is why I will spend my lifetime in south Dakota. I really wish he would have taken my money though.