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My muzzleloader roared today
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,665 ✭✭✭✭
I had decided not to hunt this year, with my broken knee I can barely walk. I just got off crutches 3 weeks ago.
But, I saw an 8 pointer at the bottom of the driveway yesterday, on my way into town. I thought, "It could be deer season. Hmmm...."
I drove right to the feed and seed store, and asked if it was deer season. He said, "Yes, it lasts until Dec 8."
I bought a license for $30, and went back to shoot that buck. But when I got back it was gone.
So, I decided to hunt today anyway. My permanent tree stand is only 100 yards from the house, any further, no way I could walk that far.
Also no way to get into the stand. I can walk, but not well.
So I put a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket at the bottom of the tree, and covered it with a black T shirt, and sat on a folded up towel on the bucket.
I have a Savage muzzleloader, shooting smokeless powder.
In a half hour, up came a big 8 pointer. I shot him right in the lungs, and he ran 100 yards down the mountain. Very thick brush up here.
I went down to check him out, I saw that it was the biggest deer I have ever shot, and I have shot over 75. I asked myself, What do I do now? No way I could get that deer out, up the steep, brushy mountainside. Hell I couldn't even get a fawn out, with my knee. I gutted the deer and took the heart and liver back for the dogs and cats, boy do they love venison!
Thank God, my neighbor was home, and a guy was helping him work on his house. He is a big deer hunter, gets several every year up in Buffalo, and one or two here in North Carolina.
When Frank saw my buck he was insistent that I mount the head. I told him that I don't want to do that, I offered the head to Frank but he didn't want it. It has an inside spread of 14 inches. It isn't the biggest deer in the world, but it is damn big to me.
Took Frank and Paul 30 minutes to haul that deer up that mountain, they had to stop and rest 6 times.
Field dressed at 150 pounds.
I skinned the deer and quartered it this afternoon. My knee is screaming at me, I will need some gin and tonic therapy tonight for the football game.
I put all the meat in a giant cooler. I put 5 pounds of ice on the bottom, add a bunch of meat, add five more pounds of ice, etc, total 20 pounds of ice. Then I mix a whole cardboard 2 pound can of salt in water, and cover the meat with the salt water. I leave that cooler on the porch, and can cut steaks in 3 or 4 days, or more, when it is convenient.
The hams are just enormous, look like they are from an elk. I bet they are 20 pounds each, huge backstraps, and nice inside straps, too.
I got off easy on the deer hunting this year:
Preseason scouting: O minutes
Stand prep: 1 minute, to put black t shirt on orange bucket
Rifle range work: 5 minutes, three practice shots from porch yesterday
Driving time to lease: 0 minutes, but five minutes gimp-walk to stand
Time sitting in stand: 32 minutes
Sorry I can't post photos from my camera. I spent three hours loading photos of deer skins several months ago, only half of the photos popped up on Photobucket, I mean, only one half of each photo popped up, go figure, and, it bogged down my computer big time. Frank took lots of photos, maybe he can put them on the computer.
But, I saw an 8 pointer at the bottom of the driveway yesterday, on my way into town. I thought, "It could be deer season. Hmmm...."
I drove right to the feed and seed store, and asked if it was deer season. He said, "Yes, it lasts until Dec 8."
I bought a license for $30, and went back to shoot that buck. But when I got back it was gone.
So, I decided to hunt today anyway. My permanent tree stand is only 100 yards from the house, any further, no way I could walk that far.
Also no way to get into the stand. I can walk, but not well.
So I put a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket at the bottom of the tree, and covered it with a black T shirt, and sat on a folded up towel on the bucket.
I have a Savage muzzleloader, shooting smokeless powder.
In a half hour, up came a big 8 pointer. I shot him right in the lungs, and he ran 100 yards down the mountain. Very thick brush up here.
I went down to check him out, I saw that it was the biggest deer I have ever shot, and I have shot over 75. I asked myself, What do I do now? No way I could get that deer out, up the steep, brushy mountainside. Hell I couldn't even get a fawn out, with my knee. I gutted the deer and took the heart and liver back for the dogs and cats, boy do they love venison!
Thank God, my neighbor was home, and a guy was helping him work on his house. He is a big deer hunter, gets several every year up in Buffalo, and one or two here in North Carolina.
When Frank saw my buck he was insistent that I mount the head. I told him that I don't want to do that, I offered the head to Frank but he didn't want it. It has an inside spread of 14 inches. It isn't the biggest deer in the world, but it is damn big to me.
Took Frank and Paul 30 minutes to haul that deer up that mountain, they had to stop and rest 6 times.
Field dressed at 150 pounds.
I skinned the deer and quartered it this afternoon. My knee is screaming at me, I will need some gin and tonic therapy tonight for the football game.
I put all the meat in a giant cooler. I put 5 pounds of ice on the bottom, add a bunch of meat, add five more pounds of ice, etc, total 20 pounds of ice. Then I mix a whole cardboard 2 pound can of salt in water, and cover the meat with the salt water. I leave that cooler on the porch, and can cut steaks in 3 or 4 days, or more, when it is convenient.
The hams are just enormous, look like they are from an elk. I bet they are 20 pounds each, huge backstraps, and nice inside straps, too.
I got off easy on the deer hunting this year:
Preseason scouting: O minutes
Stand prep: 1 minute, to put black t shirt on orange bucket
Rifle range work: 5 minutes, three practice shots from porch yesterday
Driving time to lease: 0 minutes, but five minutes gimp-walk to stand
Time sitting in stand: 32 minutes
Sorry I can't post photos from my camera. I spent three hours loading photos of deer skins several months ago, only half of the photos popped up on Photobucket, I mean, only one half of each photo popped up, go figure, and, it bogged down my computer big time. Frank took lots of photos, maybe he can put them on the computer.
Comments
Thanks for the Hunt play by play.[:)]
Although, I've been in my stand every waking moment, and still nothing.[V]
You don't have to be "The Great White Hunter", just in the right place at the right time! I know how that goes!
I've always said the first trick to being a successful deer hunter is to hunt in a place where there are deer. [:D]