Thanks to all for the congrats. It's "just a doe", but you all know how it feels to take a nice deer with an opensighted muzzleloader. I was tickled.

While butchering I found that the maxiball struck both shoulderblades. The nearside shoulderblade was basically centered but not broken, the offside was nicked. An offside rib was broken as well.

I've shot quite a few deer with this gun. Pass throughs are what I've come to expect. So the performace was what I would call typical for maxiballs. Two or three times, it has nearly shot diagonally through deer. In these cases the slugs were recovered under the hide or nearly so.

I don't shoot the gun much these days, but it has always been as accurate as the shooter. It is a hunter model with the single trigger, and it is a sweet trigger compared to some like a white mountain carbine I have and a friend's New Englander, all with the same trigger design. I like the hunter model, but it is obviously not as traditional looking as the original.

I shoot the maxiballs over 100 gr loose Pyrodex. It does pack a whallop but it's not a real hard kicking gun. One thing about the stock design though, if you don't get your face down on it, you may get whacked on the cheek. I know you guys know this, but there is something about a big lead slug for killing power. It wilts them pretty quick.

I'm still hunting, waiting for a decent buck. We'll see what the weekend brings, sounds like warm weather so who knows.