Skychief
69 Cal.
I had a great hunt in the WINDY woods today. I awoke to blustery and warm weather on this second day of our firearm season.
I decided to make my sit in an area of the woods where several deep hollows might afford the deer a little protection from the gale force winds (I found that the winds were 23 mph with 39 mph gusts after my hunt)!
An hour after sunup, two bucks chased a doe out of the neighboring thicket. I watched the show for a half an hour. Later, I spied a deer 150 yards away on a hillside to the West. During a lull between heavy winds, I grunted loudly 4 or 5 times in the deer's direction. Lo and behold it was a buck and he had another buck cruising with him!
I pulled the hammer back on my virgin 45 caliber "Hawken Squirrel" percussion rifle as he made a beeline toward me. As he closed to 20 yards or so, he made a 90 to my right. I bleated after he cleared a fat Beech tree at a whopping 15 yards and he stopped "on a dime".....broadside with not a twig between he and me (BEAUTIFUL)!
I lined the buckhorn and blade where I thought the top of his heart should reside and touched the set trigger. At the shot he made a mad dash downhill for ~30 yards when he went "end for end" like a shotgunned cottontail.
All of this was seen from my lofty perch and I was ecstatic.
He wont be mistaken for a monster, but, none of my friends have said "he will eat good", either. :haha: I am finding as I age, that, trophies are what you make them....and antler size means less to me each year.
The cleaning chores showed that my cast roundball found the buck's heart. I had no exit and was fortunate enough to find a souvenir under the buck's hide on the offside....a flattened .445 home-spun roundball.
Today was a great day, wind or not. I have been reading on the state forums that so many guys sat the day out because of the "wind advisories"! Glad the deer pay no heed to such things.
Wishing you ALL great days afield, Skychief. :thumbsup:
PS, As per usual....if any kind soul will PT their email addy my way to add a photo to this thread, I would be indebted to you!
I decided to make my sit in an area of the woods where several deep hollows might afford the deer a little protection from the gale force winds (I found that the winds were 23 mph with 39 mph gusts after my hunt)!
An hour after sunup, two bucks chased a doe out of the neighboring thicket. I watched the show for a half an hour. Later, I spied a deer 150 yards away on a hillside to the West. During a lull between heavy winds, I grunted loudly 4 or 5 times in the deer's direction. Lo and behold it was a buck and he had another buck cruising with him!
I pulled the hammer back on my virgin 45 caliber "Hawken Squirrel" percussion rifle as he made a beeline toward me. As he closed to 20 yards or so, he made a 90 to my right. I bleated after he cleared a fat Beech tree at a whopping 15 yards and he stopped "on a dime".....broadside with not a twig between he and me (BEAUTIFUL)!
I lined the buckhorn and blade where I thought the top of his heart should reside and touched the set trigger. At the shot he made a mad dash downhill for ~30 yards when he went "end for end" like a shotgunned cottontail.
All of this was seen from my lofty perch and I was ecstatic.
He wont be mistaken for a monster, but, none of my friends have said "he will eat good", either. :haha: I am finding as I age, that, trophies are what you make them....and antler size means less to me each year.
The cleaning chores showed that my cast roundball found the buck's heart. I had no exit and was fortunate enough to find a souvenir under the buck's hide on the offside....a flattened .445 home-spun roundball.
Today was a great day, wind or not. I have been reading on the state forums that so many guys sat the day out because of the "wind advisories"! Glad the deer pay no heed to such things.
Wishing you ALL great days afield, Skychief. :thumbsup:
PS, As per usual....if any kind soul will PT their email addy my way to add a photo to this thread, I would be indebted to you!
