My season's over with, a couple lesson's learned

[will5a1]

I was hoping to be able to hunt all of Ohio's muzzleloading season this week but it is just too cold and too windy, so I'm done, but happy with my efforts and results and have a few things to change and consider. This past Saturday night, hunting from a blind on a friend's property, at about 5:15, I saw a nice sized doe, about 50 yards away, and had to get into a kneeling position as I could not get the right angle from the chair I was sitting on, she stopped walking giving me a shot clear of brush and I fired through the camo screen (it is supposed to be a shoot thru screen) in the blind. When I fired the blind (it is a sort of pop up tent affair) balloned up and it tore at the very top, a couple of tears right at the apex. When the weather warms up I will tape the tears shut.

Anyway the deer went down, I had tried the shoulder shot mentioned by Roundball in a previous posting last week but I guess I was a little too high or far forward, the deer went down but tried to crawl off, I reloaded, and broke the short starter I have been using for 20 years when I kneeled on it, went down the hill and realized it was a buck, not a doe, and finished him off with a shot to the back of the head. My intial shot passed through, and the exit would did not seem much larger than the entrance. The buck is hanging now and I will process it Wednesday and see how much, if any, meat I tore up with the shoulder shot.
http://i1356.photobucket.com/album...0-d5a0-4a16-80e4-35952b7d6052_zps79ec2521.jpg

Shooting in a blind, at least a small one calls for a short rifle, and the shortest one I had available was a .54 T-C New Englander, 26" barrel, and it was really too long. I am going to get a short rifle by next season, I had a White Mountain Carbine but traded it off. I may buy another New Englander and have the barrel shortened to 22", I'll see what other options I might have and have something short before next season to blind hunt with.

The last day of the regular gun season back in November I shot a doe using the T-C .54 at about 25 yards through the neck, she dropped dead in place, the bullet again passed through and severed the spine. Up until this year I had always shot for a double lung shot, next year I might try the neck shot again if I get a close in opportunity.

Hunting from these blinds takes some getting used to, it is more comfortable but harder to get into a firing position for some angles. I've got to get into better shape, dragging the doe was painful, but that buck was down a hill and I had to stop every twenty yards and rest, by the time I got to the top of the hill I would have swore he weighed 300 pounds, and I still had another 1/4 mile to get him to the truck.

I think I will buy one of those head strap on lamps - trying to gut that buck in the dark with my surefire in my mouth wasn't the best approach.

I'm gratefull for the deer I harvested, and have some things to work on before next season. For those of you still hunting Ohio's muzzleloader season, or any other for that matter, good luck but be mindfull of this cold.

 

[roundball]

Sounds like a memorable season though, congratulations !
:thumbsup:


FWIW, I use long 42" barreled Flintlocks and ease the muzzle out through the window for my shots, with the front window open to a 6" slit...don't want all that smoke & flame occurring inside the blind...so far, so good

 

[TLanoy]

All things considered, at least you have meat in the freezer. Congrats. :thumbsup:

 

[excess650]

Congratulations on a good season!

If you think that 26" barrel is too long, the synthetic stocked New Englander was 24" as was the Grey Hawk. The Tree Hawk was ~21" and quick twist, but will swap into a NE or GH stock.

 

[Tony Logan]

Congrats on the nice doe, I'd say that was surprise for sure. I also hunt turkeys with my flint fowler out of a doghouse blind. I have taken a handful successfully with a 44 inch barrel. The trick is I set in the blind diagonally. I sit in the back end of the diamond shape and unzip the window and door about 6 inches on each side of the front corner. I can usually maneuver the barrel out the slit very slowly when I see birds coming.I can then lean side to side and I am usually on my knees at this point with my chair quitely shoved in the corner. It is not perfect by any means but I like the looks of my 44 inch barrel and would not want it any shorter than 38 in a fowler.

 

[nchawkeye]

The headlights are worth their weight!!!

I always have 2 on me as well as a small LED light like your Surefire for tracking...When I find my deer, I hang the extra one on a limb and go get the 4-wheeler...

 

[roundball]

I've got to get into better shape, dragging the doe was painful, but that buck was down a hill and I had to stop every twenty yards and rest, by the time I got to the top of the hill I would have swore he weighed 300 pounds, and I still had another 1/4 mile to get him to the truck.

Smart...because men dying of heart attacks while deer hunting is not all that unheard of...and since I already had a mild heart attack years ago my self-discipline is:
Drag 25 steps, stop, sit down, and wait a couple minutes until my breathing is 100% normal;
Get up, drag another 25ys, sit down, wait, etc.

 

[ravenousfishing]

Congratulations on your deer. For the last 5 or 6 years I have carried a deer drag in my pack, the type with a shoulder harness and a 6' or so rope that pulls from belt level. Of course, I've been to macho to pull it out, especially among friends. Just grab a leg and go. Well, a couple weeks ago I reinjured my back. Last week I shot a big doe that ran 50 yds into flooded woods before dying. My hunting partner asked if I had a rope to tie to its neck so he could drag it out without splashing water all over himself. I pulled out the drag and said this is all I got but I've never tried it. Well damned if it didnt work. Tried it myself the other night on a slightly smaller doe and was impressed. Stood straight up and just walked normally. No way I could have dragged it out by the leg with my back feeling like it did. I did help to have someone follow behind though and steer the head around saplings etc when needed. I've also used a deer cart with success before on hard ground when alone.
As for lights, it's hard to beat modern LEDs for brightness, but we always grab the trusty Coleman lantern for night tracking and field dressing.

 

[Patocazador]

I'm 70 now and gave up dragging last year. I dragged a hog 1/2 mile with my belt. My shoulder hasn't been right since. I now use a cart for hard terrain without a lot of obstacles and a plastic tub-like basin for wet areas or where there are lots of logs or cypress knees. I hook my tree-stand harness to it and just hike out with stops every 100 yards or so.

Here's a cart rigged up that I hauled two does in last month.

 

[jamesthomas]

That looks like the way to go if you have hard ground to go over. Where did you get it?.

 

[ravenousfishing]

Looks like the one I got from sportsmans guide. It folds up nicely as well. I added a piece of plywood to keep the deer from falling through the frame. Also, make sure to get one with wheel spokes like this, not with the thin bicycle spokes. Never thought to attach a harness to it. Nice idea.

 

[Patocazador]

That looks like the way to go if you have hard ground to go over. Where did you get it?.

Yep, got it on sale at Sportsmen's Guide. It was about $45.

 

[azmntman]

I got one from sportamans guide too, hauled a cow elk out whole! Was a youngsters first kill and he didnt wanna cut it up (1/4 it) till ma saw it