made s'more smoke!!!
 

2 oclock must be my lucky time!!!

today me and 2 buddies went hunting...i was the only shooter...we been hunting off and on all flintlock season...scouting, seeing whats left, practicing/trying to perfect our drives and learn our deer etc..mostly hunting new woods we dont or havent pushed in a long while...not expecting to do much shooting, but willing and able...!

today it all connected for us again...first push i kicked up 3 walking into my spot and a rifle hunter(2B its legal) shot at one of them...buddies seen them and a couple others...

next couple drives didnt produce much...noone seen deer...which is odd, exsepcially with snow...we usually get atleast glimpses of them with snow pretty much every drive...a little disheartened, we decided on 1 more push before quitting early to do some farm work...

not long after i sat down i seen a couple deer coming about 100yds away through the woods..they stopped behind a big blow down and i couldnt see them...thought they were going to get behind my buddies and get out of the drive...but i was wrong! 15 minutes later or so i seen the deer coming down the creek 100yds away and heard my other buddy start making a little noise across the creek to try to get them to head up the hillside to me...

i love when everything works like we plan for! the deer turned up the hill and were running right at me..i was sitting on the right side of a small ditch that ran into the bigger creek bottom...got the hammer back when i realized i was likely going to get a shot and got ready...they came to a halt 20-25yds away...first one looked tiny...2nd one looked bigger..i didnt think it was huge but it looked noticably bigger body wise..and i did a button check and couldnt see any nubs or anything..it was facing directly at me...most guys dont like that shot, but ive come to like it and will take it...even with a round ball...i got the sights barreled down on the center of her chest, set the hair trigger and touched er off...


THAPOW!!! i watched her collapse dead in her tracks! i was pumped!

30yds or so behind i watched 2 or 3 other deer, all much bigger bolt...

i was very surprised to find mine to be a yearling doe...happened pretty quick, but i knew at first glance mine was noticeably bigger than the first one that was in the group..figured mine was a young doe and the other was her fawn, but i was wrong..they were both yearlings running infront of their moms from what i could tell...

oh well! easy dragging, and great eating!! im happy!

this makes 2 for the year and my 3rd flintlock kill! me and my rifle have killed the last 3 deer weve shot at!! hope i dont jinx myself! i just started following through and its paid!

here she is!





for the PA guys----WMU 2B Beaver co(yes i could be rifle hunting but i love making smoke!!!)

50cal TC hawken, 90gr 3fg Schuetzen, .490 hornady ball, .015 pre-lubed tc patches, 4fg goex in the pan....deadly combo! thats my 3rd with that combo! all 3 dropped dead!

(2pm must be my lucky time because the one i killed last friday with the flinter was taken at 2:05 and todays was 2:00

RE: made s'more smoke!!!
 

Congrats. Nice going and a very nice looking Fl. It's a good feeling when you don't have to track:D

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Congrats on the doe! I bet she'll be some seriously good eating.

Hammer

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Congratulations on that young doe... That should besome excellent eating there.

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mauser06

Awesome... love success & CONGRATS

RE: made s'more smoke!!!
 

Congrats!!!! Great story & pics. That must be an extra challenge going out with the FL - something I'll need to try someday- looks like fun.

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Very nice.

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congrats

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Good job - One way to tell if its a young doe (if you don't want to shoot one) is the snout is usually much shorter in proportion to the rest of the face. An older doe's snout will appear slimmer and longer.

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Cool story. Makes me want to go out and get a FL.

Congrats!

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Congrats ....... sounded like a lot of fun.

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Congrats on the doe and with a FL.
Great job.

Everytime I walk up to a kill I wonder how many times in the history of man has this senario played out and how we as hunters are still connected to those hunters before us regardless of the weapon choice.
I love that feeling

RE: made s'more smoke!!!
 

Congrats on your deer.

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Sound's like you had a great time in the wood's Mauser. Late Flintlock season has to be one of the most challanging and also the most enjoyable.

I see no problem with head on Chest shot like you took as long as the deer is close enough and you feel confident in your abilities. I have shot several deer head on and aimed right in the bottom of the white throat patch. They dropped intheir tracks and never moved. The bullet snapped the spine and it was a clean instant kill. Of course the deer were 12-15 yard's away.

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Congrats, sounds like a great day.

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thanx guys!!

those of you that havent hunted with a flintlock, well...you aughta try it sometime!! its a blast! i'll admit though, if Pennsylvania didnt have a flintlock season, i would probably never ventured into the awesome sport of hunting and shooting a flintlock! lots of myths about them keep guys from ever thinking about touching one....but with a little knowledge, a good lock, and a shooter behind the trigger, well, they make meat and are very deadly!

our late season in PA is particularly tough hunting because of hunting pressure prior to the late season...plus, the unit i live and do most my hunting in, doe season for rifles has been in since the monday after Thanksgiving! any given day i can drive around my township and find rifle hunters...just very highly pressured deer...if it werent for buddies driving, i may never seen a deer...its that tough. if the deer arent moved by someone, chances of seeing them are slim to none..getting them into comfortable open sight flintlock range would be tougher....

fastflight, ive done that head on chest/neck shot on a couple deer now...2 with the flintlock, 1 in self defense at 10yds or so...last years..it was about to run me over...i stopped it, put my sights at the bottom of the white patch and dropped it...and the one in this post...like i said, i wouldnt have taken the shot if i didnt KNOW it would result in a dead deer that died very quickly...by the time i made it to her, she was done. i didnt reach inside yet, but im sure the ball hit the spine at some point...i put that one more into the chest rather than the neck...blew up atleast 1 lung...buddy gutted while i filled my tag out so i wasnt watching closely...also did it a time or 2 with the rifle...

first kill with the flinter was a groundhog at 45yds...im confident with my flinter! not cocky, but confident and know my limitations...20-25yds and a 5-6" target(head on chest shot) is a confident shot for me...like anything else, gotta know your weapon, its limitations, yourself and your own limitations. i know my eyes and opensights dont agree as well as they should...thats one limitation for me...even with fiberoptics...peeps arent legal in our flintlock season(unless they changed it) or id have a tang mounted peep and a FO front sight...i know i can shoot peeps well...wouldnt put a scope on it even if it were legal...i dont mind limiting factors...thats part of the fun!

our rocklock season came to an end today....got a decint snow storm so we didnt hunt...it was a great season....i dont know of anyone personally that has taken 2 in a season with the flintlock! cant wait to drop a buck with the flinter!!! i either fill my buck tag prior to the season or dont see or get a shot at a legal buck with the flinter...might start using it in rifle season though...ive carried it a few times but never on our rifle season deer drives....my big thing is dropping the buck before they make it to someone else (in my group or not..theres alot of hunters out in our regular rifle season...) thats why i havent taken the flinter...but some days i may start just because i want a buck with it that bad!

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Congrats!

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congrats