Muzzleloader season at Oakley Crossing?.
A couple of days off work?.cold front?muzzleloader season?hey what could be better for an Alabama deer hunter? Because of my heavy year-end work schedule it was REALLY great to get away for a few days to the hunting club. This club I?m in located south of Montevallo, Alabama has 50 members hunting around 5,500 acres and gives the deer a substantial amount of pressure each season. For this reason I was eager to get ahead of this pressure by hunting the last two days of the muzzleloader season week, Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18. Saturday the 19th would bring the opening of rifle season. The club leases land from IPC and it consists rolling land with small hardwood bottom strips around the creeks and streams, clear cuts to be planted in pines, and pine sections of various ages. I concentrated my hunt on a section that is split by a high-power transmission line where green fields are planted. The night before my hunt I studied a map in my older model Wilderness travel trailer and considered the brisk wind blowing from the North Northwest. I decided on a familiar area number19 that has a hillside shooting house on the southeast end of a long green field on the power line. Four am came all too early but I was very excited to get going. I hurriedly dressed for 31 degrees, ate a honey bun, threw my backpack and extras in the truck, signed out stand area 16 and got off in the predawn darkness. I was happy that I was the only one signed out of this box area. After getting to my spot I loaded up my Savage 10MLII with 42 grains of vv 110, pushed down a 250 grain SST in a Harvester sabot and started walking to my shooting house. I had worked up a sweat walking over and down a big hill but I put on my insulated coveralls anyway and climbed up and into the house. Whew! Finally here! As daylight came I began to notice familiar woods sounds, small birds and a couple of crows answering each other and began to take in my view overlooking the creek, green field, railroad track, and a distant 2nd green field, area 16. At 8 am I watched a tom turkey walk and peck his way through the most distant field but see no deer yet. Then about 30 minutes later I saw some movement on the left side of my field in the brush. I raised my binoculars and focused to see one deer then another hurriedly making their way toward the back of the field. I was amazed that both were bucks and the first had the largest antlers, a six point at the least. I raised the Savage and thought the back of the field to be between 150 to 200 yards so I decided to hold a few inches high then the MLII kicked. The deer instantly collapsed in its tracks. Good! But within a few seconds its head raised up. Bad! Oh my gosh I need to reload! While I was scrambling around I saw the deer start to kick a little?. then more violently slinging dirt everywhere. Then rolled over and over trying to get up. Before I could get reloaded it jumped up and ran to the left out of the field into the pine thicket. Oh man I hate that! So I tried to calm down, got reloaded and started walking toward the field. I found some blood where the deer had wallowed but I didn?t see a blood trail in the direction the deer had gone. I went over and over the ground between the blood spot and the trees but didn?t find any more. I looked at my watch and decided to wait 45 minutes or so before I go looking in the pine thicket. While waiting I had time to think about my shot. Maybe because I was shooting at a slight downward angle or maybe I just pulled but I thought I may have hit the deer too high and didn?t get as much blood as I should have. Anyway it is obvious I didn?t get a good enough hit. After an hour passed I went into the pine thicket back and forth for about 30 yards and found where the deer had crashed and left more smears of blood and blood drops. But no more and no trail. So I went in the general direction the deer was headed. It was a thick briar covered pine thicket. Hard going. I looked for 2 more hours deeper and deeper into the thicket with no results. The disappointment grew needless to say. Of coarse I wished I had never taken the long shot. So I gave up for the morning and left for lunch. I felt that I should spend the afternoon back searching more for my lost buck. I went back into the pine thicket for a couple of hours and made larger and larger semi-circles. Nothing. Not a sign. Very disappointing. As I had given up and was walking out of the thicket I glanced over to the green field on the other side of the railroad tracks and I saw deer. I sat down for a minute then raised up behind some cover looking through my binoculars and saw that they were bucks, four or five of them with a couple with good racks. I knew where I was going the next day!
Friday morning was a cold one with a bit less wind but still from the North North West. I knew I couldn?t use the shooting house on 19 on the North end because of the wind direction. So I looked around in my camper and found a small folding stool. At 5:30 am I went straight to the Southeast end of that field and went just inside the pine thicket with a small tree in front of me to break my outline and backed up against a pine tree. I raked away the leaves at my feet so I could have some quiet movement, put on my head mask and gloves and settled in on my stool. This gave me a cross wise view of the field with sage and briars about head high (sitting) between the tree line and the field. It wasn?t until 9:30 when a long horned spike showed itself and grazed for about an hour and left. That was it so I broke for lunch.
At 2 pm I went to that same spot. The afternoon sun was in my face but was ok because I knew I would be in the shadows after about 3:30 or so. I sat there looking until about 4:15 when I began to see some activity. A small deer and a second came out across from me and began milling around eating. I saw that both of these were bucks, a 2 inch spike and a knot head. They got close to me but never knew I was there. Then I got glimses through the weeds of more deer coming in the field. There was the long horned spike and a big fork horn I had seen the day before. Then for some reason these deer plus some more began running roward the North end. I got glimpes thru the weeds of a bigger deer running. My heart was really pounding by now as I couldn?t believe how many deer were on top of me, all bucks! Thank goodness they stopped running and started eating again and using my binoculars I spotted the big one and examined his horns. Yes three on each side. Finally he moved into a clear lane and was broad side to me at about 60 yards. I had to wait until their heads were down or turned away so I could stand up to shoot over the weeds. Then there was my chance to slowly rise. By then he was facing me with his head down. I centered on his neck and body then my savage boomed! He collapsed right in his tracks! I started reloading as I was watching him but he never moved. Man had my luck turned around. A nice 8 point.
The next morning brought in rifle season. I went out to the sign out box at about 4:15 and couldn?t believe that there were over 20 hunters lined up to sign out. Since I was feeling no pressure I let everyone go ahead and even helped 2 new members pick good spots. I looked over what was left and picked stand 12 that I was familiar with. I decided to watch a fire lane/road that was between two large pine tickets. I settled down on my same stool up against a pine tree. Nothing happened until about 8:30 when I thought I heard some noise. A deer came out in the fire lane and started walking straight toward me and stopped at about 50 yards. I had my Savage up and examined his horns through my scope. I centered on his chest and my Savage cracked. The small 6 point dropped in his tracks and never moved a muscle.
I can?t remember a hunt that began with utter disappointment and ended on such a great note.
A couple of days off work?.cold front?muzzleloader season?hey what could be better for an Alabama deer hunter? Because of my heavy year-end work schedule it was REALLY great to get away for a few days to the hunting club. This club I?m in located south of Montevallo, Alabama has 50 members hunting around 5,500 acres and gives the deer a substantial amount of pressure each season. For this reason I was eager to get ahead of this pressure by hunting the last two days of the muzzleloader season week, Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18. Saturday the 19th would bring the opening of rifle season. The club leases land from IPC and it consists rolling land with small hardwood bottom strips around the creeks and streams, clear cuts to be planted in pines, and pine sections of various ages. I concentrated my hunt on a section that is split by a high-power transmission line where green fields are planted. The night before my hunt I studied a map in my older model Wilderness travel trailer and considered the brisk wind blowing from the North Northwest. I decided on a familiar area number19 that has a hillside shooting house on the southeast end of a long green field on the power line. Four am came all too early but I was very excited to get going. I hurriedly dressed for 31 degrees, ate a honey bun, threw my backpack and extras in the truck, signed out stand area 16 and got off in the predawn darkness. I was happy that I was the only one signed out of this box area. After getting to my spot I loaded up my Savage 10MLII with 42 grains of vv 110, pushed down a 250 grain SST in a Harvester sabot and started walking to my shooting house. I had worked up a sweat walking over and down a big hill but I put on my insulated coveralls anyway and climbed up and into the house. Whew! Finally here! As daylight came I began to notice familiar woods sounds, small birds and a couple of crows answering each other and began to take in my view overlooking the creek, green field, railroad track, and a distant 2nd green field, area 16. At 8 am I watched a tom turkey walk and peck his way through the most distant field but see no deer yet. Then about 30 minutes later I saw some movement on the left side of my field in the brush. I raised my binoculars and focused to see one deer then another hurriedly making their way toward the back of the field. I was amazed that both were bucks and the first had the largest antlers, a six point at the least. I raised the Savage and thought the back of the field to be between 150 to 200 yards so I decided to hold a few inches high then the MLII kicked. The deer instantly collapsed in its tracks. Good! But within a few seconds its head raised up. Bad! Oh my gosh I need to reload! While I was scrambling around I saw the deer start to kick a little?. then more violently slinging dirt everywhere. Then rolled over and over trying to get up. Before I could get reloaded it jumped up and ran to the left out of the field into the pine thicket. Oh man I hate that! So I tried to calm down, got reloaded and started walking toward the field. I found some blood where the deer had wallowed but I didn?t see a blood trail in the direction the deer had gone. I went over and over the ground between the blood spot and the trees but didn?t find any more. I looked at my watch and decided to wait 45 minutes or so before I go looking in the pine thicket. While waiting I had time to think about my shot. Maybe because I was shooting at a slight downward angle or maybe I just pulled but I thought I may have hit the deer too high and didn?t get as much blood as I should have. Anyway it is obvious I didn?t get a good enough hit. After an hour passed I went into the pine thicket back and forth for about 30 yards and found where the deer had crashed and left more smears of blood and blood drops. But no more and no trail. So I went in the general direction the deer was headed. It was a thick briar covered pine thicket. Hard going. I looked for 2 more hours deeper and deeper into the thicket with no results. The disappointment grew needless to say. Of coarse I wished I had never taken the long shot. So I gave up for the morning and left for lunch. I felt that I should spend the afternoon back searching more for my lost buck. I went back into the pine thicket for a couple of hours and made larger and larger semi-circles. Nothing. Not a sign. Very disappointing. As I had given up and was walking out of the thicket I glanced over to the green field on the other side of the railroad tracks and I saw deer. I sat down for a minute then raised up behind some cover looking through my binoculars and saw that they were bucks, four or five of them with a couple with good racks. I knew where I was going the next day!
Friday morning was a cold one with a bit less wind but still from the North North West. I knew I couldn?t use the shooting house on 19 on the North end because of the wind direction. So I looked around in my camper and found a small folding stool. At 5:30 am I went straight to the Southeast end of that field and went just inside the pine thicket with a small tree in front of me to break my outline and backed up against a pine tree. I raked away the leaves at my feet so I could have some quiet movement, put on my head mask and gloves and settled in on my stool. This gave me a cross wise view of the field with sage and briars about head high (sitting) between the tree line and the field. It wasn?t until 9:30 when a long horned spike showed itself and grazed for about an hour and left. That was it so I broke for lunch.
At 2 pm I went to that same spot. The afternoon sun was in my face but was ok because I knew I would be in the shadows after about 3:30 or so. I sat there looking until about 4:15 when I began to see some activity. A small deer and a second came out across from me and began milling around eating. I saw that both of these were bucks, a 2 inch spike and a knot head. They got close to me but never knew I was there. Then I got glimses through the weeds of more deer coming in the field. There was the long horned spike and a big fork horn I had seen the day before. Then for some reason these deer plus some more began running roward the North end. I got glimpes thru the weeds of a bigger deer running. My heart was really pounding by now as I couldn?t believe how many deer were on top of me, all bucks! Thank goodness they stopped running and started eating again and using my binoculars I spotted the big one and examined his horns. Yes three on each side. Finally he moved into a clear lane and was broad side to me at about 60 yards. I had to wait until their heads were down or turned away so I could stand up to shoot over the weeds. Then there was my chance to slowly rise. By then he was facing me with his head down. I centered on his neck and body then my savage boomed! He collapsed right in his tracks! I started reloading as I was watching him but he never moved. Man had my luck turned around. A nice 8 point.
The next morning brought in rifle season. I went out to the sign out box at about 4:15 and couldn?t believe that there were over 20 hunters lined up to sign out. Since I was feeling no pressure I let everyone go ahead and even helped 2 new members pick good spots. I looked over what was left and picked stand 12 that I was familiar with. I decided to watch a fire lane/road that was between two large pine tickets. I settled down on my same stool up against a pine tree. Nothing happened until about 8:30 when I thought I heard some noise. A deer came out in the fire lane and started walking straight toward me and stopped at about 50 yards. I had my Savage up and examined his horns through my scope. I centered on his chest and my Savage cracked. The small 6 point dropped in his tracks and never moved a muscle.
I can?t remember a hunt that began with utter disappointment and ended on such a great note.
