This is the third deer *ever* that I’ve brought to hand using a flintlock, and it is the first deer I’ve brought to hand with this particular flintlock. It is a .54 made in 2013 to replace my original .45 Pedersoli, and it has seen a lot of time afield, but not much shooting during hunting season. For whatever reasons, it just hasn’t been pointed at deer much. My rifle season is usually successful, so sometimes I don’t have a tag left. In the past, I’ve shot a couple deer with it, and not been able to find them, including one last year that I distinctly heard crash and pile up, but could not find because of the jungle conditions where she died.
Anyhow, the first shot this afternoon was from a decent rest, uphill about 112-115 yards (range finder results). She stepped forward just as the gun fired, and the ball hit her a little behind. It angled down and exited from her belly. She mule kicked and ran hard with her tail down. I reloaded and slowly picked my way to where she had been standing. Hair, lots of hair, brown and white, but no blood. Her tracks tore up the leaves, though, so she was pretty easy to follow. At 25 yards blood appeared. Not much, but enough to follow looking closely and carefully. As I was in super slow Elmer Fudd mode, I looked up and there she was at 40 yards, looking at me, slightly blocked by a blowdown. I cocked the gun, shouldered it, aimed at her side, and took a half step to the right and fired. She jumped high again and tore off. At her immediately former spot was another bunch of cut hair; another hit. But no blood spray. So I reloaded and for twenty minutes I carefully tracked the light blood trail through the woods. Sometimes backtracking, leaving markers of branches and stones at each good sign. When she turned downhill and her tracks in the leaves became unsteady and sloppy, I expected to find her. And another fifty yards downhill she was piled up under a small pine tree. First shot was mortal but not immediately fatal. Second shot also, but did not exit, and the entry hole was plugged up with innards, so it didn’t bleed. Very faint blood trail the whole way. Probably ran a total of 200 yards.
Anyhow, the first shot this afternoon was from a decent rest, uphill about 112-115 yards (range finder results). She stepped forward just as the gun fired, and the ball hit her a little behind. It angled down and exited from her belly. She mule kicked and ran hard with her tail down. I reloaded and slowly picked my way to where she had been standing. Hair, lots of hair, brown and white, but no blood. Her tracks tore up the leaves, though, so she was pretty easy to follow. At 25 yards blood appeared. Not much, but enough to follow looking closely and carefully. As I was in super slow Elmer Fudd mode, I looked up and there she was at 40 yards, looking at me, slightly blocked by a blowdown. I cocked the gun, shouldered it, aimed at her side, and took a half step to the right and fired. She jumped high again and tore off. At her immediately former spot was another bunch of cut hair; another hit. But no blood spray. So I reloaded and for twenty minutes I carefully tracked the light blood trail through the woods. Sometimes backtracking, leaving markers of branches and stones at each good sign. When she turned downhill and her tracks in the leaves became unsteady and sloppy, I expected to find her. And another fifty yards downhill she was piled up under a small pine tree. First shot was mortal but not immediately fatal. Second shot also, but did not exit, and the entry hole was plugged up with innards, so it didn’t bleed. Very faint blood trail the whole way. Probably ran a total of 200 yards.
