excess650
50 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2009
- Messages
- 1,671
- Reaction score
- 635
Since I had taken a big, old buck in Virginia with the flintlock, I wasn't excited about Pennsylvania's rifle season which always opens Monday after Thanksgiving. I did buy the basic license, but no extras like doe/bear/late flintlock. The old Husqvarna 30-06 remained in the safe as I drove to "camp" 2 hours away. Instead I had my .54 percussion still loaded from November 2015 and the little .62 flintlock.
Monday morning was a clear, cold 22F, and a heavy frost covered the dry leaves. I dressed light for the hike to a new stand, but carried extra layers in my pack. My fingers got cold through my gloves during the hike, and I had my doubts. At the stand I put on the heavy layers and stood rather than sit. Once the sun rose and was shining on my side of the ridge, it didn't feel too bad. Deer were moving because of hunting pressure and because the bucks were still chasing. The big surprise is that the deer didn't move as anticipated, and crossed the finger ridge below me rather than taking the easier path up the spine to where I was waiting.
There is a 3 points to a side minimum antler restriction in this area. A group of six does and fawns appeared from the white pines below. They dropped down into the hollow and were followed by three small bucks that ran after them. The middle appeared legal, but didn't present a reasonable shot. More deer crossed both above and below me through the morning, some in the clear and others obscured by brush and pines. Around noon I heard rustling in the leaves as a big doe bounded over the ridge below me. She was followed by a white horned buck, but he was in the pines and seemed to only stop when he was obscured. Finally I watched as he dropped down into the deep, steep sided hollow. He paused just after crossing the bottom, and was in the clear. I won't admit to how far I thought it was until after I check with a range finder, but it was a very steep down angle. I held the front blade where the neck met the shoulder and CLICK!He was too far away to even hear that, so I cocked the hammer and tried again BOOM! Under the smoke I saw him roll. After reloading I removed the heavy layers, grabbed my camera and knife and made my way on down. He raised his head as I approached, but couldn't get up, so the coup de grace was offhand behind the head from about 25 yards.
After field dressing, the climb back UP was deemed absurd, so the longer (mile) walk down and out the bottom was taken instead.
While skinning, I noticed the left backstrap was the entry, and the ball literally fell to the ground as the hide was pulled down over the brisket. It was nearly spherical except for where it clipped the spine. The mass of the .605" roundball got it done. :wink:
Monday morning was a clear, cold 22F, and a heavy frost covered the dry leaves. I dressed light for the hike to a new stand, but carried extra layers in my pack. My fingers got cold through my gloves during the hike, and I had my doubts. At the stand I put on the heavy layers and stood rather than sit. Once the sun rose and was shining on my side of the ridge, it didn't feel too bad. Deer were moving because of hunting pressure and because the bucks were still chasing. The big surprise is that the deer didn't move as anticipated, and crossed the finger ridge below me rather than taking the easier path up the spine to where I was waiting.
There is a 3 points to a side minimum antler restriction in this area. A group of six does and fawns appeared from the white pines below. They dropped down into the hollow and were followed by three small bucks that ran after them. The middle appeared legal, but didn't present a reasonable shot. More deer crossed both above and below me through the morning, some in the clear and others obscured by brush and pines. Around noon I heard rustling in the leaves as a big doe bounded over the ridge below me. She was followed by a white horned buck, but he was in the pines and seemed to only stop when he was obscured. Finally I watched as he dropped down into the deep, steep sided hollow. He paused just after crossing the bottom, and was in the clear. I won't admit to how far I thought it was until after I check with a range finder, but it was a very steep down angle. I held the front blade where the neck met the shoulder and CLICK!He was too far away to even hear that, so I cocked the hammer and tried again BOOM! Under the smoke I saw him roll. After reloading I removed the heavy layers, grabbed my camera and knife and made my way on down. He raised his head as I approached, but couldn't get up, so the coup de grace was offhand behind the head from about 25 yards.
After field dressing, the climb back UP was deemed absurd, so the longer (mile) walk down and out the bottom was taken instead.
While skinning, I noticed the left backstrap was the entry, and the ball literally fell to the ground as the hide was pulled down over the brisket. It was nearly spherical except for where it clipped the spine. The mass of the .605" roundball got it done. :wink:
