I had a hell of a shot on Saturday, December 4th hunting up in Northwestern Minnesota. It was -10 with a 20-30 mph wind out of the NW. I was hunting with a brand new CVA Optima Pro with 270 grain platinum powerbelt aerotip bullets and 100 grains of t7. A doe came out at 220 yards at 12:30 into our oats foodplot and I was thinking oh yea. Deer are coming now. But then she ran off after 20 minutes. No other deer came out. At 4:30 it started getting dark and I think it was the same deer but she came out again into the same spot. I had passed her up due to the long shot but with darkness coming in I thought what the hell. Luckily the wind had died down to 10-20 by evening.
I aimed at the top of her shoulder and let her rip. 220 yards out. I saw her kick in the air and wheel into the woods. I felt bad thinking that I nicked her. I waited and got down. I found where she kicked up snow and no blood. I walked about 20 yards and found a pin size dot. 20 more yards and I found a little tuft of hair. I was feeling pretty crappy. At the edge of the woods behind a blown down tree I found a fresh bed and a bunch of blood. 20 yards further and there she lay. Entrance wound was right through the middle of the shoulder.
I have been rifle hunting for 28 years but I actually whooped and hollered for a little doe. Muzzle loader hunting is the best. Also this was my first deer after 5 years of mlh.
The exit hole was the same size as the entrance and I was disappointed in expansion in the Powerbelt bullet- it was the .270 platinum aerotip. If I wouldn't of hit the lungs and heart she would be still running today.
what issue did you have? what ive read in your post,everything seems right. Bullet went in, bullet came out, you found blood, dead deer at end of the trail. If you put it dead center of the shoulder and it came out,that bullet did its job. I always go for double lung shots rather than ruining the meat and taking a shoulder shot. What powder/power charge were you using? How did all the insides look? And yes its always a good idea to hit the heart or lung area.
I use Power Belts got one Sunday,38 yards,100 grains of American Pioneer
2f powder,clean kill,dont shoot over 100 yards myself better chance of
killing it clean!
__________________
Happiness:My Ten Point,my dog,on my Rancher headed
to the ground blind!
I had a hell of a shot on Saturday, December 4th hunting up in Northwestern Minnesota. It was -10 with a 20-30 mph wind out of the NW. I was hunting with a brand new CVA Optima Pro with 270 grain platinum powerbelt aerotip bullets and 100 grains of t7. A doe came out at 220 yards at 12:30 into our oats foodplot and I was thinking oh yea. Deer are coming now. But then she ran off after 20 minutes. No other deer came out. At 4:30 it started getting dark and I think it was the same deer but she came out again into the same spot. I had passed her up due to the long shot but with darkness coming in I thought what the hell. Luckily the wind had died down to 10-20 by evening.
I aimed at the top of her shoulder and let her rip. 220 yards out. I saw her kick in the air and wheel into the woods. I felt bad thinking that I nicked her. I waited and got down. I found where she kicked up snow and no blood. I walked about 20 yards and found a pin size dot. 20 more yards and I found a little tuft of hair. I was feeling pretty crappy. At the edge of the woods behind a blown down tree I found a fresh bed and a bunch of blood. 20 yards further and there she lay. Entrance wound was right through the middle of the shoulder.
I have been rifle hunting for 28 years but I actually whooped and hollered for a little doe. Muzzle loader hunting is the best. Also this was my first deer after 5 years of mlh.
The exit hole was the same size as the entrance and I was disappointed in expansion in the Powerbelt bullet- it was the .270 platinum aerotip. If I wouldn't of hit the lungs and heart she would be still running today.
Anyone else have an issue with Powerbelts?
That is a long shot to make with a muzzleloader. Although, that goes to show you want the right load in a rifle can accomplish... congratulation on your deer.
Some day I am going to have to practice that long distance shooting.
coyote170 sounds like did it right also. 38 yards would be much more comfortable to me then 220 yards.. congratulations
__________________
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
congratulations I shot a doe at 80 yds off hand last year the last day at 3:30 and I thought that was the shot of a life time but you have out done me. Good for you hope you have many more successful hunts.
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WHITE TAILS AND BLACK POWDER
& T/C Fire Arms.
if you shoot for lungs, deer will run..i shoot for neck if close,if i dont have real nice buck to shoot,its neck ..if people are around me, its neck shot..
now, i shot a big buck on monday..no one was near me so i shot himIN THE SHOULDER..i aim just where elbow is towards lung.. i want to hit that elbow..this way he going down..he went right down and did not go a foot..his shoulder was bro..
if you aim back towards lungs ,he is going to run and holdblood in ..
i teach this all time at our sportsmen club to kids..
same with bears ..i always shoot for shoulder with my .50 cal on bear..hard to run on 3 legs..
in todays greedy world of meat hunters that will steal a deer from you in woods if it comes by them wounded, you have to put deer down so it does not run..
neck and towards shoulder shots on deer will do that..
If they are within range (close range,100yds. or less) I allways shoot for the sholder. Last year I shot a doe @100yds. I aimed at her sholder and let the White .504 rip! When the smoke cleared,she was right where I shot her. The 460gr. NE bullet went through her left sholder,crushed her spine,and exited the right sholder with a 3 inch exit wound. There's really not much meat in the front sholder area,and the shot stops them in their tracks!
Only issue in this report is no expansion from the Platinum.
Congrats on the harvest & the long shot to make it happen.
If you want to stick with Powerbelts, move up to the 405s. Even the cheaper leaded ones work better than the smalller ones. Bigger is what works best with Powerbelts. 2nd best would be slowing down the bullet -- butaccurizing the 405s requires us to slow that bullet down - in order to get the accuracy we're seeking. Like any bullet, a wonderwad may be needed when tweaking your load.
__________________ Make Smoke - Not War with those using a different style muzzleloader than you.
Awesome Shot
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