IL Deer Season is Officially Over! I Tried My Bess...

[jethro224]

Tonight was the very last chance to fill a 09-10 Illinois deer tag. Late antlerless season ended at a 5:24pm in my neck of the woods.

The early-late-antlerless season the 31st thru the 3rd was BRUTAL! I hunted all I could stand every day and like to froze to death but couldn't get close to an antlerless deer until the very last few minutes. I was totin' the Bess so I needed to get real close and even those deer weren't close enough. I missed.
After I went down to confirm the miss, walked back to the Jeep and put my stuff away, 15 minutes past quittin' time, ten deer came right up and stood 30-40 yards out in the field. :surrender:

This weekend was the last chance. The temps were in the mid 30's. MUCH better. :thumbsup: Wind was light too. The snow kept melting and re-freezing tho, so it was crunchy. I hunted almost all day all 3 days. (Got up a little late all 3 days... :redface: )

Saw a few each day. All long shots. Coulda shot a few with my GPR but I really wanted to shoot one with my Bess. It's a much shorter range gun. I had to get closer than 50 yards. So I waited.

At 5:19 I took one last look around the woodlot and saw no deer. Hadn't seen anything but squirrels and a coyote all day. The snow had thawed and was quiet so I decided to leave my logpile and go look see what was on the other side of the field. There's a hump in the middle that you can't see over.

When I got to where I could see the other side there were 2 deer heading my way along the edge. :shocked2: I hunkered down and took a couple steps closer, then kneeled down and checked the time. 5:21. Still legal but they ain't close enough. But they're coming.

Check the time again. 5:22. A few more steps. That's close enough but the angle is bad. 2nd deer is broadside but too far. Bleep!(that's for RC) The front deer sees me out there in the field!:cursing: She's doin' the head bob & stomp bit. Bleep Bleep! (RC knows what I mean)

Finally she turns and takes a few steps. Check the time. 5:23. KL-BOOM! She runs about 40 yards and stops, wobbles, and drops! WOO-HOO!

This is my Bess deer of 2010. :grin:

 

[GreyWhiskers]

SWEET! Jethro you're getting to be a legend in that part of the woods. Good hunting and good shooting. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: GW

 

[dbutch]

Jethro- Awesome! -With a "Bess no Less!"
Are you going to do the post shoot with that one too?If yes(I'm in trouble)
You and other members have harvested deer with smooth bores- That's upping the bar!..Good On Ya!
What did you think of your experience toting around the Bess?..i.e.Weight-length-feel?
Now about all that extra venison in your freezer.Hint-Hint!
Enjoy the back straps..Way to hang in there!
Now that the season is over you got no excuse for not getting the Honey-do's done!
You had a good year-lots of action..consider yourself lucky...(by lucky) I mean you hunt in a "hot spot" for whitetails be good to the land owner! It's not easy to find one of those!
.......Enjoyed the story and picture..Dan

 

[StevePrice2]

Congrats! :hatsoff:

nothing like cutting it close, eh?

Steve

 

[buttonbuck]

Good shooting and hunting skills to take a schooled doe like that even after one has sight of you that is skillful. It has been a hard couple of years hunting with the crops being late and the deer just seem to be adapting to hunting pressure more than ever. Our old strategies just aint working. This comes from every hunter I talk to. Good shooting. My son and I went I did not see anything on private ground son saw 2 fawns. We hunted lake evergreen yesterday we bumped a group of 6 when we scouted and found a spot of blood from a previous days hunters deer. We had 2 deer 25 yards from the blind the park had set up but the Autum Olive and Honeysuckle was so overgrown that we could not get a shot.

 

[roundball]

Tough conditions and late in the year too, good way to wrap up the season !!
:thumbsup:

 

[RC]

Holy BLEEP Jethro! :bow: Congrats! way to stick with it(an I will NOT throw any stones..or rb's about gettin up late a few times, been a l-o-n-g season fer alot of us!) Good fer you! I know how bad ya wanta a bess deer! good fer you!! :bow: :bow: :thumbsup: bleep! :rotf:

 

[shootemup]

Outstanding! Congratulations.

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[hawk]

one for bess! :thumbsup:

:hatsoff:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Congratulations, Jethro! Kudos for all the perseverance. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[luieb45]

Great Job!!! :thumbsup: I wish I could've gone hunting this weekend but I was stuck in Kansas City. At least I picked up a co2 ball puller at cabelas.

 

[Dave K]

That is a deer at the buzzer. Congrats! Had you thought about setting the alarm clock on your cell ph. or wrist watch, for the final moment? LOL

 

[agill]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing! :hatsoff:

 

[neal b]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[jethro224]

You and other members have harvested deer with smooth bores- That's upping the bar!..Good On Ya!
What did you think of your experience toting around the Bess?..i.e.Weight-length-feel?

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

The whole reason I wanted to take a deer with the Bess was for the extra challenge of needing to get real close. Kinda like bowhunting I guess.

A Bess is definitely not the best choice for a deer gun. It is kinda kewl tho.:grin: Kinda heavy, tho the weight doesn't really bother me that much. Long as you pay attention to what you're doing the length is not a problem. Just gotta thread it thru the brush while walking, slow down like you should be anyway, and pay attention to where you're trying to swing it. As far as the "feel" of it, it's not a rifle. It's a musket and it feels like one. The trigger is heavy and creepy and the stock is kinda bulky. It's just a whole 'nother animal than a rifle. The absence of a rear sight sure takes some getting used to too. I haven't had the Bess very long and I still need to spend a bunch more range time with her to get completely comfortable. Totin' it around deer hunting I got to know her quite a bit better tho. :thumbsup:

 

[jethro224]

That is a deer at the buzzer. Congrats! Had you thought about setting the alarm clock on your cell ph. or wrist watch, for the final moment? LOL

I never even thought of doing that. :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

 

[larry wv]

Good job! Makes it all the better getting one doing the head bob and stomp. :thumbsup: Larry

 

[PreglerD]

Waidmanns Heil, Jethro! Well done! :thumbsup:

It is always outstanding when a guy is able to harvest game with a smoothie flinter!

Regards

Kirrmeister

 

[luieb45]

Correct me if I am wrong, but compared to most fowling smoothbore guns that people use deer hunting, aren't they a lot easier to handle than a bess? I have heard of plenty of people killing deer with a smoothbore fowling gun but this is a first for hearing about a deer being killed with a brown bess.

 

[buttonbuck]

What kind of load do you stuff down a Bess? I was thinking it was a 69 caliber ball? and gosh how much powder what kind? what kind of entry and exit wound do you get. The only thing I ever saw on someone hunting with a Brown Bess was in a 1970's muzzleloading book arranged by one who must not be named (TB) where a guy was moose hunting with an orignal Bess.