Two friends and I were able to get out one last time on 12/20. We had an ice storm the previous night that continued into the AM. It was misting in the air, but freezing on trees and lower vegetation.
We decided to push a few smaller pieces that they bed in. I was the designated driver, as I had 4 deer already. First couple pieces were empty, though I thought I heard deer running more than once. It was probably smaller branches breaking from the ice.
At the third spot, the two standers and I went in from the same side, the plan was for me to hunt around the outside edge of a long narrow piece and encourage the deer to take the back-door escape route. I worked through the thick cover along the south edge, behind some houses and out to a small field at the east end. I had seen several groups of beds and lots of tracks and pee stains, mostly from the day before. At the east end I got into fresh looking beds and again thought I heard deer running, but then I heard more branches breaking and ice falling so was not sure. I stopped for about 10 minutes in a spot where I could see down an old lane.Figured it was time to get going and sneak back along the north edge toward the standers. Took a step and BOOM! from thewest side. I stood another ten minutes in case something came back through but nothing, so I proceeded. Got back to the lowest stander, basically on the R/W fence for a highway. He was the one that shot. From his stand to the deer was about 10 yds. Blood was clearly visible. 3 deer came to him, and they all wanted to run along the fence. After he shot he tried to get the other 2 to run to the other stander, but they squirted between him and the fence. He said he could have jumped on one.
His deer was a nice doe about 100 lbs. The blood trail was amazing. The deer bled a swath of blood that was about a foot wide for about 40 yds. He was shooting a Savage smokeless ML, with 300 gr Hornady hollowpoint bullets in a MMP sabot (black I think). The bullet hit the ribs and essentially blew up. There was an exit wound 2 inches in diameter about 6 inches from the entrance on the same side (never seen that), and a couple exits wounds on the opposite side of the deer. Not good performance but a good outcome.
Sounds like a fun hunt, kinda fun with only a couple people moving slow andguiding the deer in the direction you want them to go. Maybe the deer was too closeand the bullet moving too fast for good performance?
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I AIN'T AS GOOD AS I ONCE WAS, BUT I AM AS GOOD ONCE AS I EVER WAS
I'm sure it was a combination of the 10 yd range and the hollowpoint. Problem is, you never know how far they will be. The guy said he had trouble trying to shoot the deer even with his scope on 3x, all he could see was brown. I suggested he try another bullet for next year, something without a hollow point.
Congrats on your friends deer! It looks like he put the deer down fast, but the bullet blew up. I'm guessing that with his Savage smokeless he was pushing the bullet way to fast- he might want to either load it down some or switch bullets, especially if he gets a lot of close range shots.
Similar story- at our extended family Christmas, I was talking with my cousin who got a doe. He said, "Yeah, the entrance hole was the size of my fist, and there was no exit hole".
I asked him what he was shooting and he said "Oh, 150 grains of Pyrodex and a Powerbelt". I thought, "Oh.....my". If he knew how to use a computer, I'd point him to Frontier Gander's "How to use a powerbelt correctly"
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"Speak softly and carry a big stick - you will go far."
-Theodore Roosevelt
When you have a small group, you can push small patches and get good results. If the people hunting with you are willing to work with you. Congratulations to you and your friends for working as a team.
I was doing that one year with two other friends, we could not see each other but knew where we would end up. When I got to the end, no one was there.. I walked their trail back and discovered their truck gone. Turns out they got cold and decided to go to town and get coffee and doughnuts. I was so mad I could have spit blood. Needless to say, they were not invited back to hunt. One of them had pulled that same kind of stunt once before. I put him in my best blind and I took a very poor one. At the end of the night I walked out his way and he was gone.. Turns out he got cold and went back to the house..
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"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."
I'm guessing that with his Savage smokeless he was pushing the bullet way to fast- he might want to either load it down some or switch bullets, especially if he gets a lot of close range shots.
Bingo. I have a Savage, agree he needs a "strong well constructed bullet", also I am going back to 5744 since I don't need the extra range and the hot loads are a problem up close. Example I have a spot that has a 25 yard shot, and with 67g of 4198 and a 300g Barnes Origonal (what I sighted in for Elk in Co), they shoot thru with no expansion and little blood trail, dead deer for sure. I am switching to the Barnes Flat Nose 458 45/70 bullet with 44g of 5744, got excellent groups with it and a Crushed Rib sabot. The huge hollow point will open quickly and the all copper will shoot thru and hold together.
Barnes MZ will do same. Nosler Partiion will do same. Speer Gold Dot will do same.
Chap
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Chapman Gleason
Purcellville Va
http://www.the-gleasons.com
When you have a small group, you can push small patches and get good results. If the people hunting with you are willing to work with you. Congratulations to you and your friends for working as a team.
I was doing that one year with two other friends, we could not see each other but knew where we would end up. When I got to the end, no one was there.. I walked their trail back and discovered their truck gone. Turns out they got cold and decided to go to town and get coffee and doughnuts. I was so mad I could have spit blood. Needless to say, they were not invited back to hunt. One of them had pulled that same kind of stunt once before. I put him in my best blind and I took a very poor one. At the end of the night I walked out his way and he was gone.. Turns out he got cold and went back to the house..
my brother invited me to go hunting with him and his wifes brothers a few years ago.
WHILE WALKING TO PUT ON FEW DRIVES, THEY SAID TO sproul, hey sproul, this is where you go to watch on this drive.
3 hrs later, no one but i stayed in spot.
i was always taught by dad never to leave your watch until someone comes.
well, my brother came then and said,SPROUL THEY SAID YOU WENT TO TRUCK.[:@]
i wonder who would tell them that, not my brother.
he knew what they were doing to me.[:@]
on next drive, they put me in spot way away from where drive was again,same thing.
someday if i can return favor, i will, i hope it can be a real big favor,like a huge fine.
Reminds me of when I was a kid, hunting with some "old-timers" in a small NH town. I was a driver, and they told me to start the drive at a given time, thengo north and stop at the "new road". Sounded easy enough. I waited until my watch struck the exact moment and started. After aboutan hourI hit a gravel "road". I figured I was at my destination and the wait started. After 20 minutes I heard a twig snap, looked up and saw two deer running toward me. They were going to cross the road so I let them come. The first deer across got a load of buckshot from an old full-choked single shot 16 Ga H&R. I walked the 40 yds or so, picked up their trail and saw my deer laying about 50 yds away. I confirmed it was dead then went back to the road quite pleased with myself.
After an hour I figured something was definitely wrong, but when the old-timers told you to wait, you waited. Then after more time passed I figured I'd dress the deer and drag it. Well, my new roadturned out to be anewlogging roadabout a half-mile long, that intersected an old woods road I had been on before. I recognized an old cellar-hole and a small family cemetery and knew I was still quite a ways in the woods. It was about three hours from the time I time I should have been picked up and it was getting dark. I walked out the woods road and started back toward town wondering why they left me. After a mile or so, a truck pulled up behind me. It was my brother and he was obviously perturbed at me for getting lost. He said everyone waited for me but after an hour they continued hunting. My brother was given the job of finding me, and he was driving someone else's truck all around the piece of woods. I told him Ifound the new road but noone came except 2 deer so I shot one. "Yeah, right!" he said. I said this truck has 4-wheel drive, so let's go get my deer. When wemet up with the old-timers and I explained what happened. They laughed and said the "new" road they wanted me to go to was a state highway built in the 1950's. I was born in 1966.
When you have a small group, you can push small patches and get good results. If the people hunting with you are willing to work with you. Congratulations to you and your friends for working as a team.
I was doing that one year with two other friends, we could not see each other but knew where we would end up. When I got to the end, no one was there.. I walked their trail back and discovered their truck gone. Turns out they got cold and decided to go to town and get coffee and doughnuts. I was so mad I could have spit blood. Needless to say, they were not invited back to hunt. One of them had pulled that same kind of stunt once before. I put him in my best blind and I took a very poor one. At the end of the night I walked out his way and he was gone.. Turns out he got cold and went back to the house..
my brother invited me to go hunting with him and his wifes brothers a few years ago.
WHILE WALKING TO PUT ON FEW DRIVES, THEY SAID TO sproul, hey sproul, this is where you go to watch on this drive.
3 hrs later, no one but i stayed in spot.
i was always taught by dad never to leave your watch until someone comes.
well, my brother came then and said,SPROUL THEY SAID YOU WENT TO TRUCK.[:@]
i wonder who would tell them that, not my brother.
he knew what they were doing to me.[:@]
on next drive, they put me in spot way away from where drive was again,same thing.
someday if i can return favor, i will, i hope it can be a real big favor,like a huge fine.
Great story. My last hunt of the year didnt go so well. Got up to the cabin friday about noon and it was so foggy that you couldnt see but 25 yards and that afternoon strong winds came up and so did the temp 70 degrees. Same story saturday except no fog, just strong warm winds that blowed from every direction, temp 72. Then that afternoon about deer thirty here comes the storms, winds at 45mph and raining like I havnt seen in a long time. Sunday was a nice day temp dropped to 29 and no wind. Awesome I thought deer should really be feeding today. I reckon someone forgot to tell the deer, because my son, wife and me never saw a deer the whole day. Cant explain it, oh well i still got some bowhunting to do and there is always next year.
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