Your evaluation of your still hunting success ratio cracked me up. I have experienced similar frustration. Perhaps your luck is changing. Nice buck.

I shot this monster on November 8th in Central Va. with the Muzzle Loader. He is a giant for Virginia!


http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/sout...buck-down.html

Last week i managed to tag my second rifle season deer using a muzzle loader. I decided to quit hunting until muzzle loader season. It snowed 6" here at the house. Yesterday, i shoveled snow, and worked in the shop. It was -4* this morning at dawn. The forcast for today was for a little wind, and some sun. I got the itches to go hunting, after all, the rifle was cleaned and loaded with 105g BH209, and a 300g Gold Dot, so i changed my mind about not hunting until muzzle loader season.

Out on the prairie, the day old snow, and sun, and bitter cold was some pretty. Many deer were out and about, and the does were on the run with bucks chasing behind. Just once, i would like to be able to hunt them deer cavorting on private land displaying no fear, but alas i had to continue on to the mostly barren government land. There were tracks of a few deer crossing the county road from private land to government land, so i parked the truck, and went for a hike. The breeze came up and was blowing on my back, so i gave up and came back to the truck. I decided to try another area about 30 mile away.

As i was traveling out on the county road i spotted 3 deer grazing on private land, and they were moving toward the government land. Driving a little further i spotted a lone deer quite aways away on government land. I drove a bit further out of sight of the lone deer, and parked the truck, and walked North toward it. Whilst walking, i noticed the 3 deer had continued on, and they were now on government land. One of them laid down. I continued on my way North looking for the lone deer. Up there, i found a lot of tracks, but no deer.

When i gave up on finding the lone deer, i noticed the 3 were bedded, and then another deer walked into their group, and laid down. I could see them, and they could see me. On a whim, i decided to walk East, and most of the time i could see those 4 deer. When i moved out of their sight, i turned South, and put a sneak on them. The terrain provided cover, and i managed to get quite close. Then i crawled on my knees; then my belly. There was one buck, and three antlerless. I carefully glassed them, and decided to shoot what i thought was a mature doe. Then i changed my mind, and decided to shoot one of the others. Laying in the snow on my belly, i took careful aim at the back of the head of the chosen deer, and jerked the trigger. There was no boom. I opened the action, and there was no primer.

Three of the 4 deer got to their feet; the other remained sleeping. I inserted a W209, and again took aim. This time the powder was burned.

Here is an image of my hike, and the locations of the involved parties.












The other 2 doe/fawn hung around, and i could have easily killed another. My heart wasn't into it though. Dressing the deer in the snow ended up making my jeans wet, It was about 11* at the time, so when i was dragging the deer to the truck everything froze, and i started feeling like the tin man. The snow made the drag workable, but it was still a job, and it was hard on me. Loading the deer wasn't too bad, because i drove into the borrow pit, and the tail gate ended up being about 8" above the ground.

The hot coffee in the thermos sure was good, i mean it sure was good, and i ran the heater full hot, and full fan all the way home. All along the way were bucks chasing doe; deer running around all around. Wife let me in the door, and she said, "You are all wet."

very nice story Ronlaughlin,thanks for sharing.congrats on the stalk.while i do hunt on some private land(that borders state land)i haven't found any deer that didn,t bolt as soon as they wind or see ya.now there are some dumb button bucks around that should have paid better attention to ma.we do take a few of them each year for meat........karl

semi;it was noon when i got him and it was a very warm 50*so i took him right home to cool him down so i didn't take him to get weighed.i'm guessing he went about 180lbs.one of his back legs was quite a bit smaller than the other.it looked like he broke his ankle some time ago as it was huge and fused.you deserve a long story with all of your excellant and detailed posts but alas,i can only type with one finger.good luck hunting,i hope your .58 makes smoke on a nice one..........karl

1st deer with real bp - been using T7 for years in my Whites and decided to give Swiss a try. 70gr w/488 bullshop 45 cal.
Shot was my longet ever - 163 yds along edge of a solid field - dead solid rest. Didn't allow enough for wind and hit her a little forward, but she only made it 80 yds into the woods. 130 lbs dressed on my scale. Poor pic, but it was just about to pour.

163yds. WOW.congrats, what was the holdover usin that big ole chunka lead?...karl

I'm 2 inches high at 100.
Held about 4 inches down from the top of back and hit heart hght just in front of heart.