The gun season opener was yesterday. I didn't get to hunt because I had to WORK! :evil: Anywho, I DID get up early and go this am. I got to my treestand at 5:45AM which is really about 15 minutes later than I like to get there. At 6:30AM a small 5-pt comes walking right to me down a little lane I cleared out earler in the year. He stood under my tree for about 15 mins and finally walked off.
I got down out of the tree at 9:10am and walked to look at one of my other treestands. On the way I say either a small 6-8pt and a big spike or 4-pt really close to my other treestand. I am unable to get a shot but I'm coming back this afternoon! :wink:
At 2PM Kristel and I head to the property. I decide to put Kristel in the stand that was close to where I had seen the two bucks. I told her they could be together and to watch for the bigger deer but to shoot whatever she wants. I leave Kristel and walk to the same treestand I hunted this AM. I look at my watch before I climb up the ladder and it's 3PM, about 30 minutes later than I'd like to be. I climb up the ladder and get almost to the top and have to adjust the seat which is fabric, still on the ladder. I then reach for my rifle, Savage #4, to just lay in the seat so I can climb on up. Next I just GLANCE toward my planted field and see a DEER standing there, looking right AT me! I get my rifle up and look thru the scope and yep..that's a deer all right with HORNS and looking right AT ME! AS I'M STILL HANGING ON THE LADDER I brace myself click off the safety and complete FREE HANDED center the crosshairs on the deer and sqeeze the trigger! BOOM! The Savage goes off and the deer hesitates and the runs into the thicket!
I climb down the ladder and reload. I walk to where I THOUGHT the deer was and NOTHING! Then I look down the path and there's a speck of blood...and more blood...and MORE blood. Blood on the path and blood on brush. And there he IS!
Certainly not THAT big of a deer but he was a nice little 9-point I thought. He was eating the turnip greens that Harry and I planted earlier in the year! Also, he was the nicest deer I have seen on the property and certainly was the largest I had killed there.
I walked back down the path to get my camera. I stepped off the range after he was shot, about 80yds! That the most anything has EVER traveled for me after being shot with a muzzleloader! And he had quite a hole in him. Once I got back to the patch I ended up seeing exactly where he was when shot. There was a big gob of hair:
AND a big pile of blood where he was hit!
I got out my rangefinder and ranged on the tree I was in, and get this...
148 YARDS!
That's the longest shot I've EVER made on a big game animal without using a rest!
....and I never even sat down in my treestand! BTW...Kristel didn't see a THING!
I got down out of the tree at 9:10am and walked to look at one of my other treestands. On the way I say either a small 6-8pt and a big spike or 4-pt really close to my other treestand. I am unable to get a shot but I'm coming back this afternoon! :wink:
At 2PM Kristel and I head to the property. I decide to put Kristel in the stand that was close to where I had seen the two bucks. I told her they could be together and to watch for the bigger deer but to shoot whatever she wants. I leave Kristel and walk to the same treestand I hunted this AM. I look at my watch before I climb up the ladder and it's 3PM, about 30 minutes later than I'd like to be. I climb up the ladder and get almost to the top and have to adjust the seat which is fabric, still on the ladder. I then reach for my rifle, Savage #4, to just lay in the seat so I can climb on up. Next I just GLANCE toward my planted field and see a DEER standing there, looking right AT me! I get my rifle up and look thru the scope and yep..that's a deer all right with HORNS and looking right AT ME! AS I'M STILL HANGING ON THE LADDER I brace myself click off the safety and complete FREE HANDED center the crosshairs on the deer and sqeeze the trigger! BOOM! The Savage goes off and the deer hesitates and the runs into the thicket!
I climb down the ladder and reload. I walk to where I THOUGHT the deer was and NOTHING! Then I look down the path and there's a speck of blood...and more blood...and MORE blood. Blood on the path and blood on brush. And there he IS!
Certainly not THAT big of a deer but he was a nice little 9-point I thought. He was eating the turnip greens that Harry and I planted earlier in the year! Also, he was the nicest deer I have seen on the property and certainly was the largest I had killed there.
I walked back down the path to get my camera. I stepped off the range after he was shot, about 80yds! That the most anything has EVER traveled for me after being shot with a muzzleloader! And he had quite a hole in him. Once I got back to the patch I ended up seeing exactly where he was when shot. There was a big gob of hair:
AND a big pile of blood where he was hit!
I got out my rangefinder and ranged on the tree I was in, and get this...
148 YARDS!
That's the longest shot I've EVER made on a big game animal without using a rest!
....and I never even sat down in my treestand! BTW...Kristel didn't see a THING!
