Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

After 6-7 trips to the timber and not seeing a deer, last night I go once again and it's lowers 30's and snowing like crazy. Friends & family think I've finally lost it, but I know ya can't kill a deer on the couch. After sitting an hour and again seeing "0", I hear movement on the fenceline I am on. It's a darn coon coming down it and I am thinking he wants to climb the tree I am in. He finally goes on down the fencerow as I watch him I see movement behind him. It's a 6 pt buck sneaking in. I wanted something bigger this year (don't we ALL?), but decided that my schedule may not allow me much more hunting AND he will beat the heck out of TAG SOUP!

So as he enters the thick fencerow, I raise the Black Pearl (Black CVA Optima Pro 50 Cal) and put him in the crosshairs of the new Nikon ProStaff scope as he starts to exit it. Once he stops, I squeezed off the trigger. He heads away down the fencerow and I wonder...HOW DID I MISS? I couldn't have......I quickly get down and check for blood. Nice blood and hair on the ground where he was hit. I decide to follow up quickly as it was snowing and I didn't want to lose his path. Very little blood trail, but I could follow him in a few snow patchs and the turned over leaves. He went 75 yards and I found him piled up. He was hit with 2 Pyrodex Pellets and a 350gr Hornaday FPB from about 40 yards if that far.

It was a double lung shot but I was dissappointed that he didn't fall in his tracks. I feel it was my fault though. I hit him perfectly where I aimedBUT I once again aimed for the entrance and not the exit as he was slightly quartering too me. So the entrance was perfect, the exit wasback just a little. Live and learn but it does happen FAST. I had to act quickly because in about 15-20 more yards and he would have had my wind.

It did keep the Black Pearls streak alive though. Shot 5 times at deer and she's 5 for 5 on 1 shot kills!

Sorry for the bad picture!

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Good deal.I'm sure that deer would have dropped if you hit a shoulder. They don't usually drop when only through the ribs, as you know. I'm hoping to shoot a deer with an FPB this weekend.

Based on the exit hole, do you think the FPB expanded at all?

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Hoosier_Hunter1963

Ya Howdy! - nice job - and congratulation to the 'Pearl' - gotta keep those streaks alive...

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Hoosier_Hunter1963

Ya Howdy! - nice job - and congratulation to the 'Pearl' - gotta keep those streaks alive...

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Uncle Norby,

From what I seen and the lack of a blood trail, I'd have to say not much expansion if ANY. I will also say that it went between 2 ribs on the way through and just grazed one on the way out...so it didn't hit anything hard in it's path! I couldn't believe there wasn't a good blood trail. It was high on the lungs though and of course they fill up on the inside first..........There won't be a speck of meat ruined, but I always shoot for a bang-flop.

I guess he was just as dead 75 yards away as he was if he was a bang-flop! This is only the 5th deer I have ever shot so I am still learning. If the shot would have been more forward, he wouldn't have done much more than hit the dirt. I know it jellied the first lung and am pretty certain it got the 2nd on the way through. You can always improve with hindsight.

I was actually hoping that I would get a chance to take a 100+ yard shot to test my new scope and load. There is that "anterless tag" left........ ;)

He will be some good eatin though! :D

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Way to go "Pearl"... You did not let Hoosier Hunter down. You did just what he made you do and for a reward you get his undying admiration and a good cleaning...

Congratulations on that buck HH. I'd of never let one that nice walk by me. You did point out a very good aspect of shooting. All too often people worry about the entrance locationof the bullet and forget the path and exitof the bullet. As you saw, a high lung straight throughhit is lethal, but might not bleed. I always look at a muzzleloader bullet like I do an arrow... where to I want that arrow to penetrate to. So I play a lot of angles in my head when I shoot.

But the main thing is you shot a beautiful buck, and got a lot of great eating not to mention memories. Good write up too. I really enjoyed it.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Good going HH. Nice buck there, and you're right - you can't kill a deer on the couch.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Cayugad & Semi,

I am still learning. It all happens so fast sometimes....you just want to place it in there quick before the flag flies. He is a real nice deer though. You are right, the Pearl put it just where I aimed her and that's all I can ask of her.

Semi, I actually thought about YOU last night while I was in the stand. My family told me I was "INSANE" being out in that snow and cold. I was thinking to myself...maybe only "part way"....:D BTW, I don't really think that's a bad thing!

Best of luck to all this season. May all hunters besafe before, during and after their hunts and may their aim and bullet be true for a quick andhumaneharvest.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

I would expect the FPB to do exactly what it did in this case. I agree, he would have dropped if hit through the shoulders. Any way you look at it, good shootin' and some good eatin' on the way.

I'll post the perfomance I get with FPBs if lady luck should smile on me tomorrow.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Good job. And he will taste better than tag soup. I have a big pot of chili simmering on the stove to take to the camp. Have about 4 lb of venison burger in it.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Excellent!!;)

Good eating there:)

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Hoosier_Hunter1963

Not to start a long controversy... but it is not necessary to shoot an animal in the shoulder to get it to go down ... now - and in fact it might not always work at all. I have seen several elk shot in the shoulder and it makes no difference to them at all - they still have 3 functioning.... I have seen whitetail go bang-down after a shoulder shot and then in a few minutes of shock recovery time get up and go again... so it is not the all end all shot.

What really makes the difference, for me, I am talking about - is what does the bullet do on it way through the animal. If it pancakes or pencils (semi's term) then you might be in trouble. I use a bullet that cause a TRAMATIC shock to the whole animal and when I can I shoot the crease. My bullet will always expand to about 3/4 inch with 6 copper wings cutting their way through the animal, but the most important thing is creats a tremendous 'hydrostactic' shock to the vitals. It will turn the lungs to jello and usually it will do the same to the heart whether you hit all them or not.

Here is an elk I shot @ 100+ yards... It was shot in the crease... it had enough energy to turn 180 degrees from it's original direction and them fall to the ground.



You can see the bullet entered the crease passed through the vitals and exited out the other side into a upper leg bone. When i open her all of the lungs were gone - nothing but jello - there still was a portion of the upper heart intack but everything else was mush.This was a tremendous shock to herwhole system - down she went....

Found a composit picture if the recovered bullet.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Congrats!! Thanks for the story and I'm glad you got your buck! We all want bang-flops, but it doesn't always happen- sometimes its shot placement, sometimes its bullet performance, sometimes that's just how things go. A deer pumped up on adrenaline can go a distance even if its missing 2 lungs or a heart.

RE: Black Pearl SCORES!!!!!
 

Congrats on a fine deer

Is it a safe assumption(If there is any such thing) that some of the solid bullets shoud be shot at the shoulder,are they designed for this type of impact for optimal preformance while other clad bullets should go behind the shoulder?