.. THE CREEK DOE .............

[hawgslayer1]

:slaps:
I was in the same blind, 3 acres, that I was in when I got the spike 2 weeks ago. It was a cold morning and I was in the blind well before dawn. I sat there and watched squirrels and birds for about 5 hours and now the hunger pains started to make those strange noises in the gut. As I reached for my sandwich from my back pak I seen movement from my right. I froze and the I seen the deer walking from right to left. The clearing that I'm in has scattered trees so I got ready and waited for the deer to enter a good shooting lane. As she entered the lane the Fire Dot rested on a high shoulder shot. I was hoping to drop her right there but as I squeezed she started to take a step. The bullet missed the shoulder by a hair but blew out both lungs. She bolted into the woods. I reloaded and looked for blood. No problem following the blood but the trail was unbelievable. It was so thick that I'm sure it would stop a truck from getting thru. I managed to get thru the 20 yard thicket and there she was. Problem now is getting her out of the water. The creek was crystal clear and had a good current. I could see the bottom were here front legs and head where was about 2 feet deep but her hind quarter and rear legs were only in about 6"s of water. Keep this in mind, from were I was standing the deer was only about 5 or 6 yards from me. I had to walk about 30/40 yards down stream to find a spot that was shallow enough for me to cross. I then grabbed  her rear leg and retraced my steps back to the other side. By now I'm dripping wet. Now I realize that I have to get her up a 4 or 5 feet embankment and thru the thicket to the clearing. It was then that I decided to call for help. The guide came with the mule and a rope and ever so slowly we got that deer into the clearing. The guide estimated her at 150#s and about 4 years old. A measurement that we here in IL that we have to report is the distance in mm'ers the distance between the front corner of her eye to her nostril which was 160mm.
My load for my MR was 110 grs Black horn 209, Parker Ballistic Extreme 275 grs, Harvester EZ-Load Smooth Sabot and a Fiocchi Primer. The shot was 71 yards, pass thru double lung. She ran approx 40 yards including the middle of the creek.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE...........

Ray............ :thumbs up:

 

[patocazador]

Congrats Ray. You might not have needed that MR after all at 71 yards ... hard to say.
I don't know if I could make myself sit for 5+ hours in a blind. You have more patience than I.

Can you still get a buck or does that finish you off?

 

[hawgslayer1]

:No:

No Bob. I can still get 1 buck. The spike is considered an antlerless deer because the spike was less then 3"s. Next week end is Muzzleloader Only Season and I still have 2 tags. An either sex tag and an antlerless tag.

Ray....... :Red tup:

I usually sit from dark to dark...............

 

[DE_Shooter1]

:cheers: Good shooting! 
Dec 13-22 for me.

 

[patocazador]

 I usually sit from dark to dark...............

If I sat that long, I'd look like this -----> ete said what

 

[exMember]

Good goin Ray! You have put the MR through a solid test this year! Any problems in the hotel with the cold to hot temp change?

 

[hawgslayer1]

:No: :No:

Jonathan,

No problems at all with moisture. 1st day of hunting I was out in the blind from from dark to dark and the temp was 9*s. When it was time to call it a day I removed the Fiocchi Primer and put the rifle in the case and drove back to my room. Once I got there I removed the rifle from the case and stood it in the corner. I keep the room at 72*s all the time. Next morning I reseated the bullet to make sure it didn't move up the barrel and shot another deer with that load.

Ray............ :thumbs up:

 

[Mebits]

Nice hunting!

Interestingly (well, to me), I was going for a high shoulder on my first deer with the Pursuit, too. This at ~100 yds (IIRC), off sticks. I missed the shoulder by 1", too, and sure enough, that deer ran 40 yds as well, through thick stuff, and then died --you guessed it-- on the other side of a little creek. I had a helluva time dragging it across the creek and then uphill (ish) back through the woods to a path where I could get an ATV to it.

My load was also 110gr BH 209 with a sabotted 260 gr. Harvester. The only difference of significance, really, was that I found not a drop of blood. I had to guess where the deer ran.

I am pleased with the knock down power of this gun and slug combination. I don't think our similar outcomes are more than half coincidence.

 

[hawgslayer1]

Mebits,

We shared the same pain. CONGRATS BUDDY  :!:

Ray.......... :Red tup:

 

[Mebits]

You too!