MY first!!!

[Wink]

I know this may seem like a small achievement but I just shot my first muzzlelader whitetail last week in my home state of WI. It may be just a doe but the satisfaction I got will linger in my memory a long time. I'm getting hooked on this almost as bad as Traditonal Archery!!!

 

[roundball]

I know this may seem like a small achievement but I just shot my first muzzlelader whitetail last week in my home state of WI. It may be just a doe but the satisfaction I got will linger in my memory a long time. I'm getting hooked on this almost as bad as Traditonal Archery!!!

Nothing small about that achievement at all...you did your homework, both on the muzzleloader learning curve and the deer hunting side...congratulations on both counts!!
:thumbsup:

PS: You know it's a sickness, right?
And there's no 12-step program to get over it...only the continued shooting of black powder and additional acquisition of muzzleloaders will put it into remission...no cure...just remission!
:grin:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Good for you.

Never say "just a doe". She gave all she had to give. Who do you think taught the bucks how to be careful when they were young'uns?

Congratulations. There are quite a few trad bow slingers on this forum. Similar attractions.

 

[howdydoit]

Traditional archery and ML are the 2 best sports anyone could get into or better yet involve children in. I also do both and Ill never turn back. Im having so much fun. :blah:

 

[KyFlintlock]

Wink - way to go!!! Congrats on your doe.

 

[mglampson]

Congratulations!
Meat is meat be it buck or doe and you have a right to be proud of the accomplishment. Ain't this BP hunting a beautiful thing!

 

[paco97]

I think does are harder to kill than most bucks. Every deer is a TROPHY in my books. I've got a skull cap mount for my 3pt and a spike. I view them all as worthy quarry.

 

[Gametracker]

Good job Wink. I happen to know how hard it is to get "just a doe". You certainly have my admiration :hatsoff:

 

[fvigo]

I concur with the rest of the guys. I wish I had got just a doe when I had my opportunity to shot at one of four of them on Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I rushed the shot and they outwitted me. The good news is, I can still hunt for a few weeks.

 

[Catof9tails]

Great to hear about another good hunt with a muzzleloader. Congrats Wink!

I have limited experience with muzzleloading, but have to say I just have too much fun hunting with them. Muzzleloaders do put a thrill on the hunt in my opinion. Folks at work think I've gone Mountain Man on them and the wife thinks I've lost one of my two marbles, hee hee. Yep! I'm hooked!

Wink, congrats on the deer and wish you many more hunts.

Cat9
"Keep your powder dry and watch your six."

 

[RC]

CONGRATS ON YOUR FIRST ML DEER, AIN'T NO SMALL THING... BUCK OR DOE YOU STILL HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING RIGHT TO SCORE! RC

 

[Ron LaClair]

Congratulations Wink, well done. :thumbsup:

Did ya take pitchers?

 

[Hamourkiller]

Congrats Wink! Hope I can post about getting "Just a doe" in a few weeks! Enjoy the meat and the memories!

 

[rabjr]

Congrats wink! :thumbsup:

 

[Wink]

Id like to thank all of you for your kind remarks and to StumpKiller for putting "just a doe" into perspective " She gave all she had to give" are powerfull words that will stick with me the rest of my hunting years. Stump..with your permission Sir, I'd like to use that phrase on my children and any other hunters I am with in the future who feel they " just shot a doe". I think your words will be a positive lesson to them as well.

 

[Stumpkiller]

:hatsoff:

It's from a poem.

Just a doe
By Charlie Pearsall

I sit on a stump and pick my nose
And think of many things
Of why my feet are blocks of ice
And how my nostrils sting

It’s so darned cold I had to stoop
To pick my fallen nose
From when it fell upon the ground
Down by my frozen toes

I hope a buck comes gliding by
From somewhere up the hill
But as of yet they ain’t broke loose
From glacier’s icy chill

I marvel that, in ages past
Men lived about these parts
In skins and hides and little else
And killed with sticks and darts

At last a doe comes stiffly past
And by sheer luck, half blind
As noiselessly I twist around
And fall on my behind

A shot rings out! The woods are split
By smoke and fire’s blast
And then I spy the other deer
The one hightailing fast

A flash of rack like upturned chair
Atop a massive head
And I look down just past my feet
A luckless doe, now dead

I sigh a sigh and set to work
From haversack I draw
A pouch, a knife an organ bag
A jerky strip to chaw.

From pouch I draw a little pinch
Of kinni-kinnic blend
And sprinkle some upon the doe
And then for prayer, bend

“Dear God”, I say, in a quiet voice
“I thank you for this gift.
And thank, you doe, though not your choice
I’m glad I didn’t miss.”

“Your gift was life, and you gave all
As much as any buck
He learned his skills from you, sweet Mom.
Sometimes it’s just plain luck”

My fingers tremble at the thought
Of having done this thing
They are so cold, her wound so hot
And when they meet they sting

Her blood I spill upon the ground
Her viscera I pile
Tonight some smaller mouths will feast
For just a little while

Her heart I take, and liver too
It’s too much meat to waste
Though not my favorite cuts for sure
I’ve come to prize the taste.

My task is now to drag her out
It’s not my favorite journey
Two hours toil, I make the car
I’m ready for a gurney

And so the bittersweet success
Of bringing meat to table
Goes on in season’s roulette spin
I’ll play, while I’m still able

 

[Halftail]

Good Poem Stumpkiller!
Thanks for posting it! :thumbsup:

 

[shmrck1]

Wink,
Congratulations! No matter how many additional deer you may harvest this is the one
to remember above all others. IMO
snake-eyes :hatsoff:

 

[Billhuntz]

Congrats!!! I have to agree with the rest of these guys on how smart does are. I killed my first BP deer this year as well and it was a buck. Just walked right into me. I have had millions of does around me during my life and they always seem to know exactly where I am.

Good going!!!

 

[bigbang1]

CONGRATS Wink the does eat better, anyway you cant eat the horns.Two years ago my son then 12 yrs old killed a buck with a 30/30 this year he got a doe with a ML I think he was more excited with the doe. I told him the next one will be with a flintlock :hatsoff: