This morning was nice and cool so I headed out for my walk as usual. I normally avoid the east side of the property as we suffered (like many of you) high winds this spring and summer and a lot of trees came down back in the cedar/black ash marsh/bog.
Its hard to call the area a marsh as there is little free standing water, but you do walk on bog grass and there are pools of water and a creek that runs through the area. Deer love it in there and often times, when hunting pressure gets hard, they go to small islands in the bog and hide out.
Well I wanted to see how many trees were down and it looked pretty bad. I should have taken my camera but of course forgot. But back in there along the bottom side of the hill, a creek runs through there. At first I thought I had cattle. The trail in there was wide, and all marked up with track. Some nice track too.
Then I found a spot in the trees where the trail crosses in the open. The shot would be about 25-35 yards tops. So I thought.. what a place for an ambush in the early mornings and late in the afternoons.
Back at the house I was looking at the rifle selection for short range ambush. And decided I wanted to hunt with a flintlock this year. So I took down the 21 inch Green Mountain Barrel with the 1-28 twist and put that on my Thompson Center Hawkins Flintlock. The only thing I dislike about the rifle is it has fiber optic sights. But this might be an advantage in the low light hours of the day back in the cedars.
This rifle of course needs black powder. So I checked the barrel card and it said.. 85 grains 2f black powder. That's easy enough, so I grabbed a bottle of Graf's & Sons 2f black powder and my 4f primer flask.
Now for bullets I wanted something accurate that would hit hard. I liked the Harvester Scorpion funnel nose 260 grain bullets I have been shooting. At these low speeds they should hit, open and do a lot of damage. The last thing I want is the deer to run too far back into the bog. Its hard to get them out. So I grabbed a pack of them.
The target was placed at 30 yards. I figure this is the worst it will get for me back there. You really can not see to shoot, further then that. And with where I am sitting, I want to plant them right there... after they jump that creek.
Why #3 did what it did, I have no idea. The ignition time was excellent IMO. #6&7 were to see how hard it would be to load on a fouled barrel and what would they do. So I guess this load will work just fine.
Notice my two attempts at free hand shooting. Pretty bad!! BUT I will say that I have shot free hand at deer and when in the heat of battle, for some reason.. I can do it. I can make the shot. But I will be shooting off shooting sticks out in the woods.. just in case.
Another bullet I considered because of the planting ability is the Buffalo Bullet 375 grain pure lead SSB hollow point. I know it might sound a little big for that tiny carbine, but it should hit a deer and really do some damage. I shot a few of them with 85 grains of powder also. I can attest to the fact that being 82 degrees out, and wearing a T shirt.. that brass butt place on that rifle shooting those SSB's really let you know (if you don't tuck it in good) that you are shooting some weight there.
I figure those six would have been bad medicine for a deer. Maybe not screaming out there, but I am going to guess that the pure lead design should open up and do a lot of damage going through. This is the same bullet another poster I know used on elk. He used a Black Diamond XR but planted an elk just fine with the 375 grain SSB. They should sure work on a deer.
So now it is a waiting game. Season is in November. And that's fine. It will give me time to shoot more, scout more, and dream more.. good luck to all of you hunting this year.
I found a good ambush spot today
No kidding. I hope you kill a monster buck in that spot. I also made it out in the woods with the kids this afternoon on a squirrel hunt. And I also picked out a tree I was going to sit next to this year in a funnel ambush spot I have been wanting to hunt for years.
