Just a little update from Pa 4C.

Have been hunting hard all week and due to the weather, rain, wind etc, have not seen a deer. Tonight, after a a few inches of snow here, went hunting this evening. Walked alot, trying to see deer, figuring that I would/ may move some and would see something with the snow on the ground. At about 3:30, I was walking down an old road and spotted some movement. Noticed that it was a deer all by itself. I stopped and we stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. Not knowing if whether I should move quick or slow semed like the hardest decision of my life. The doe seemed like it was at about 40 yards. I raised slowly, and due to my movement, she started to run. Figuring she was spooked, I watched her run up a hill and stop. I continued down the road to see what she would do. She ran again, and after running in circles, she backtracked and ran through the woods and attempted to run across the road. she was moving! I raised the gun and by the time I got a bead on her, she was almost across the road. I tried to lead her because of her running and the delay in the muzzeolder. I picked a spot and fired. I missed! I was really upset with myself, but it was then that aI thought that I was lucky to even have the opportunity, no matter the results. I really love this black powder hunting. I am realy not proud of the miss, but I wanted to share. My stance is this. Any day in the woods is a great day. I hope to have another opportunity soon. I want to wish everyone good luck and Happy New Year....Stay Safe.

Kelly

It happens to all of us sooner or later.

Moving deer are a really tough game. When I was younger I tended to take a lot of shots at jogging/running deer, luckily I seem to have a natural talent for leading them. As I have gotten older and wiser I try to avoid or pass on such shots though I did shoot a jogging doe at 140 yds this year. That's the first in 6-8 years, I imagine.

The necessary lead on a moving deer is really surprising. Google "eskimo ballistics" to find the JBM Ballistics calculator and enter a close approximation of your load. Pay attention to the target speed field, as it will calculate the necessary lead to hit your target. Play with this speed and watch what happens to the necessary lead. It is much more than most people would guess!

Good Read Pa,
Sorry you couldn't connect, but at least you got out and got an opportunity. Clean misses are a lot better than a poor hit and losing an animal. It does happen as Spaniel said. We've all been down that same road.

Better luck next year...

Shooting a running deer is hard to do. A lot of people try and a lot of them miss or wound the deer. At least you got out and hunted hard. So that is a good thing. The next one will stand there and smile (or we hope so).

A running deer is sure enough tough to hit. Been there and done that. I used to be good at hitting running game, because I always rabbit hunted with a 22 many years ago. Its been a long time since I had beagles and rabbit hunted, it doesnt take long to lose it.

I'll do a slow walking shot inside 100 yds.
All others get a pass.

I missed a runner this years as well. They are just hard shots to make, period. But, like you say, enjoy your time out and make the next one count.

Sorry you missed the doe.

Yes, it is. It has been awhile since i took a shot at a deer that was running full tilt but i've killed a lot of running hogs. Think my style is called trapping. On a hog running warp speed at right angles at 100 yards, i pick a spot in front of the animal; when animal gets about two lengths from the crosshairs i touch off the round.

My longest muzzleloader shot ever on a running animal was a sow at a lasered 227 yards last spring. Lead the sow by about 15 feet-bang flop. Yep, a lot of luck was involved.

Although this link is for a .243 bullet with a mv over 3,000 fps it will give you some idea:

http://www.udarrell.com/leading-runn...fle-frames.htm

I'm right there with you SteveBNy. That's about the limit of my confidence/ability.

Well PA - shooting and hitting a running deer with a flinter is a real challenge. I've done it with percussion rifles but not with the flinter. And unless I really concentrate on the shot, especially if I dont practice too much, I have a tendancy to drop the muzzle when the pan goes off resulting in a low miss. I really have to focus shooting a flinter cause I'm lefty and my flinters are right handed. That flash a couple inches in front of your nose is hard to ignore.