Share some hunting photos

[The Baron]

Let's share some pics to help pass the summer.

My first (and only) traditional BP deer. Took this big doe at about 60 yards with a PRB from my T/C New Englander .50. Shot from top of a ridge, into the creek bottom below. We estimated her at 130-140# field dressed. Ball entered high rib and exited mid rib catch the top of both lungs. She sprinted about 40 yards with just a few drops of blood but her chest cavity was full. We could see where the ball hit the snow behind her, but I dug around and couldn't find it.

My first Rio tom, taken in OK. Going back to 2011 for this one and my Caywood didn't have quite so many miles on it.

Lucky enough to score my 2nd flintlock Rio the very next morning! It was extremely dry when we were last in OK - they'd had 3" or rain in the previous 8 months. Apparently it is much greener right now, with good rains the past year. They tell me the hogs are thick now, and I need to get down there!

We came across this little fella when turkey hunting in NY. We had seen the doe a bit earlier, acting funny and then figured out why. We back out quickly so momma could get back to her little one.

A very special Ontario tom for me, a few years ago. Work and money stress had taken me out of the woods for 2 seasons. I got back at it and when the hammer fell I remembered how much I love turkey hunting with my flintlock. Didn't hurt that Daddy came home a hunting hero to his little boy. :grin:

Let's see some random or special ones from y'all!

 

[Micah Clark]

Great pictures !!! Great memories too. I got my first ML deer with a Lyman Great Plains .50 flint last November with a similar high rib hit on a doe from my tree stand. Not my biggest deer, but Very satisfying with the ML and my 12 yr old son was with me too .. which was icing on the cake.

Someone on this forum aptly noted that every deer with a traditional muzzleloader is a trophy and I agree. . . its about the experience of God's creation and the time spent anyway, in my view. Here's that pic.

 

[BrownBear]

Funny thing for a guy who made his living with a camera for 20 years, but I have only one game photo. Pretty good sign that getting into the woods meant getting away from work and cameras.

Here's a typical snowshoe hare popped with a 62 cal smooth barrel on a Renegade. Maybe it's appropriate to have only a snowshoe photo, because I shoot about 100 of these for every deer.


This is a fair look at our terrain, but it would be even more typical with patches of Sitka spruce thrown in. The snowshoes (and the deer) really like mixed habitat, especially the edges where different types of veggies collide. Both are often in the thick stuff with shots smoking your meat along with the kill, but 2 minutes later you could be looking at game 100 yards away. Mix a fair number of 1,000+ pound bears into that tangle, and things can get a little spicy now and then. Hey, spice goes pretty well with smoked meat, come to think of it. :rotf:

 

[wattlebuster]

Here's a few

 

[The Baron]

Very nice!

Mac - I couldn't agree more. Game taken with a flintlock is so much more than just meat in the freezer. I find taking game with a flintlock to be a very spiritual event - it's hard to put into words but I'm guessing many here know what I mean.

However, there must be something wrong with my computer, because it looks like yer lock is on the left side of that gun. :haha:

BB - I will go after snowshoes up home this winter. Haven't done that in a while, but am inspired to do so with my flinter. I'll enjoy it that much more, knowing I don't have to worry about large bears where I hunt - that must be a bit spooky at times with only a light trad BP gun in hand. :shocked2:

wattlebuster - beautiful guns and trophies! What caliber is your rifle? It does seem to ker-plunk the deer nicely. :thumbsup:

 

[wattlebuster]

Sorry bout that Its a 62 made by Don Bruton. Both of the smoothbores are 12 ga that have been jug choked full by Danny Caywood. I broke the stock on the darker smoothbore an its in Joe Schells hands who will restock it for me before turkey season

 

[The Baron]

Broken stock = ouch. But the new, darker stock looks beautiful!

I am on the hunt for a .62 smooth rifle. For reason not fully understood, I am really in love with the idea. I may break down and just find someone to build me one. I'm the impatient sort, but I've wanted one for some long I could have had one from just about any builder if I'd just jumped sooner. I may be saying the same thing again next year. :haha:

 

[George]

First buck killed with my old .40 flintlock.

Just a squirrel, with the 20 gauge smooth rifle, tow wadding, personalized map horn, gift of a dear friend no longer with us.


Nevada, 1989, first deer with BP, running like a scalded dog at 35 yards.


First gobbler using cedar bark wadding.


First squirrels with my original 28 gauge smooth rifle.


First buck with cedar wadding, 20 gauge smooth rifle, 40 yards.



First turkey with a gift smooth rifle, modern wads.


My favorite sport.


First head shot deer, 30 yards, smoothbore.


Smoothbore, 20 gauge, four from a honey tree.


Javelina, Arizona 1990, 20 gauge flintlock double.


Original double-barrel percussion, 12 gauge, with original powder and shot flasks of the era.


It has been a grand trip. A lot of memories.

Spence

 

[Britsmoothy]

Great photos gents :hatsoff:

I too think there is a spiritual aspect to hunting the older way and find it far more satisfying than contemporary firearms.

Anyways,an old picture, I was slim and I like to see the best dog I had the pleasure of owning, Tia.


B.

 

[Patocazador]

Nice pic of Tia.

I'm lucky to still have my companion, Nyssa. Here she is with some black powder ducks.



And my granddaughter's first deer last Thanksgiving with her Bobcat .50 cal.

 

[Britsmoothy]

:thumbsup:

B.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

:idunno: You should have put a limit on how many :grin:







Someone hunted here before me....way before me!

 

[hanshi]

Unfortunately, I only recently had access to a digital camera therefore many pictures went unrecorded. These two are the only ones I have and have been posted before. But here they are.

Squirrel hunting with my little .36 SMR.


A running shot with my .62 smoothbore.

 

[Tilford]

First muzzleloader deer https://postimg.org/image/4u6o8a95z/

 

[Spikebuck]

This buck is probably the most special to me because I hunted him for three years before everything finally fell into place. .54 Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken and round ball.

The next one is special to me for two reasons. First is his age. While he never sported a large rack, we thought he was old. I sent in a tooth for dentum analysis and he aged at 7.5 years. Around here, that's ancient! Second was that he was taken in late muzzleloader season after 10 days of hard hunting, most of it well below zero air temp with wind chills of -25 to -35 F. It was -12 F air temp when I shot him with strong North winds. To get an old timer like this while battling hard elements makes this one very special to me.

The year I took this guy the deer numbers in my area were particularly low and I had seen nothing in five days of all-day hunting. What a thrill when in the fading minutes of daylight on day 6 a doe came out with this guy in tow at a mere 20 yards. He had me pegged sitting on the ground, but when the doe went by he foolishly followed.

My first deer taken with a rifle I built myself. It's a .62 caliber Jaeger from a ToTW kit.

One time I tried something other than my muzzleloaders in anticipation of a gun ban. :grin:

And then there's small game. I love going out in late December, January, and February. And of course there's spring turkey.

Will be a few years before my grandson can handle the Virginia smooth rifle!

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Mostly I just love being in God's beautiful creation:

 

[Brokennock]

I always love pictures of that smoothie with the wood patch box. Something really draws me to that one.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Excellent photos gents :hatsoff:

B.

 

[The Baron]

Agreed! Some great photos and I'm inspired to make my own pic with a flintlock and a deer (and squirrels, and bunnies.. and hares!). I'll have to "put my mind to it" for the deer, as right now I only sort of dabble at deer hunting. I'm not a fan of sitting still for hours and also not very comfortable at heights either. So, figuring a tree stand is by far the best way to get a deer I've never really put much time into it.

I'd forgotten where to find this, but its a video of a flintlock turkey hunt my buddy took. Not much happening until 3:00 so you can skip to there for some gobbling and the boom, which is all over by about 3:50. I spent quite a bit of time at it that spring, then decided to try to full strut decoy and had these 3 run right in one afternoon. You can see my victories reaction to finally putting the hammer down on my second flintlock tom of that year). I'm probably as happy to know the 3am alarm doesn't have to be set anymore, as to actually score a tom. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98TdOgJ-wHc

 

[Britsmoothy]

We call that "coming in like a train" :thumbsup:

 

[Micah Clark]

Very nice!

Mac - I couldn't agree more. Game taken with a flintlock is so much more than just meat in the freezer. I find taking game with a flintlock to be a very spiritual event - it's hard to put into words but I'm guessing many here know what I mean.

However, there must be something wrong with my computer, because it looks like yer lock is on the left side of that gun. :haha:

BB - I will go after snowshoes up home this winter. Haven't done that in a while, but am inspired to do so with my flinter. I'll enjoy it that much more, knowing I don't have to worry about large bears where I hunt - that must be a bit spooky at times with only a light trad BP gun in hand. :shocked2:

wattlebuster - beautiful guns and trophies! What caliber is your rifle? It does seem to ker-plunk the deer nicely. :thumbsup:

Yeah Lyman must have made a mistake - I got a good deal on that because the lock was put on the wrong side .... Funny that it works real well for me ... Every time I post a pic someone reminds me that a good craftsman could put it on the "right" side.