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I've finished my muzzleloading season for the year.

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I've finished my muzzleloading season for the year.

Old 11-13-2011, 01:45 PM
  #1  
Fork Horn
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Default I've finished my muzzleloading season for the year.

So, we have one more week of our 2 week black powder season left, but unfortunately I won't get to hunt any this week, so I'm pretty much done for the year. Rifle season starts next Saturday.

Anyway, it's been mixed results for me. This has been the first muzzle loading season I've ever had since I started seriously hunting with black powder that I haven't killed a buck.

Anyway, I hunted last Saturday which was the first day of muzzle loading season. I was hunting with 2 other friends who live in that area and have quite a few stands set up. I live about 2.5 hours away, but do most of my hunting down in that area. Anyway, he originally told me that I could use the stand by his house, but that he and his father in law were going to go into the stands on the property on the other side of his house. So I got in the stand about 6 knowing it got light shortly after 7. About 6:45, he texted me and asked me if I could come out and go with him into the other stands as his father in law was having neck problems and didn't want to walk far, so just wanted to use this stand. Of course I agreed, but the other stands were quite a walk, so I felt like we were too late getting into them by this point. It was starting to lighten up by the time we got there. He asked which stand I wanted, and while I usually go to the back stand, I decided I'd try the front one this time. We were there about 30 minutes when I heard him shoot. He shot a pretty nice 7 pointer that was probably 13-14" wide. Not a monster, but it was a nice deer. I sat a while longer, but after not seeing anything I went to help him get the deer.

His father in law said he saw a doe from the stand I had been in, but that was it.

So that afternoon they decided to try a spot a few miles away and they invited me to come along. We all got in our stands and after sitting about 2 hours 3 does walked out in front of me. Having not seen a buck, or any other deer I finally decided to ahead and take one of the does.

I shot it from around 70-80 years with a 100 grains of Pyrodex and a 300 grain Speer Deep Curl bullet. When I first shot, the deer ran off and looked un hit. I knew that it was no possible way I missed that shot, but it took off like I'd just scared it. I waited a few minutes and then headed over to where I'd shot it. I instantly saw a spot of blood, and then noticed it was a quite large blood trail into the pines. Blood had sprayed on weeds and tree's on both sides. It looked like the deer had blood spraying out of it on both sides. It was a blood trail anyone could follow. I knew at this point I'd be finding this deer, and it reminded me of why I love this bullet. I found the deer about 100 yards away. I couldn't believe it made it this far, but it did. It had been a perfect shot with nice sized exit wound.

So, I thought even though I didn't see a buck that it was a nice start off to the season. I wasn't able to hunt the first few days of the week, so I didn't get back out until Thursday afternoon. In the mean time my buddy who had been hunting daily had killed a very nice 13 point buck, his father in law had killed either 1 or 2 deer, I'm not sure which but neither were major. I didn't ask how many, just asked if he'd killed anything as was told yes. I heard them talking about a doe and a small buck later, but I'm not sure if he got the small buck this year, or was talking about last year. My buddy had shot at a few other deer from his stand but not found any, and it seemed like they were seeing nice bucks daily from these stands.

So I get down on Thursday evening, and a friend of mine that rarely hunts, and killed their first and only deer last year was coming with me to hunt Friday and Saturday. When I get down, my buddy told me that he has just shot another deer that morning, with the Powerbelts he was still using as it's what he had left and the gun was sighted in for. He like me feel they suck, but he didn't have time to shoot anything else so had to use what the gun was zereod for. He actually found blood this time, and pieces of bone. There was absolutely no blood where he shot the deer, or for about 75 yards, but once we found blood in the woods, there was a pretty decent blood trail for about 70 yards, and then all of a sudden the blood dried up again. We found no more signs of the deer, or blood or anything. After looking for an hour we decided to hang it up and go hunting. He'd looked for several hours that morning, but just wanted someone else to help some more.

We got in the stands, and a small spike came out to me. I decided to watch him, and see if anything else bigger came out. I was afraid after all of the shooting my buddies had done that there wouldn't be any more deer coming out, but this was starting too look like a good sign. I watched him for 20 minutes or so, and nothing else came out. As he started leaving the field I decided to go ahead and take him. By this time he'd worked his way close to me and was no more than 15-20 yards from me if he was that far. I wasn't exactly sure where the bullet would hit at this range, so I put it dead center on his shoulder, took a deep breath and rested the gun on the rail of the stand. I then squeezed the trigger and shot. When the gun went off, through the smoke I saw him spin around hard like he'd just been his by a train. I then watched him run towards the woods, but he got around the corner where I couldn't see him before going into the woods, so I couldn't tell which side of the path he'd entered on. From the look of him I thought I'd gotten him for sure. I got out of the stand and went to look. I immediately went to where he was, and I couldn't find any blood. Puzzled I looked quite a bit more and called my buddy over. Neither of us found blood, or any signs of him being hit. We then walked into the woods and didn't see any signs of him either in the way of blood, or even footprints in the mud on either side of the path. We searched the woods for a while not seeing any blood or the deer and finally called it quits as it got dark. I couldn't figure out what had happened and I thought maybe since I'd not shot that close maybe it hit way high or something. So I set up a target an estimated 25 yards away and shot and the bullet impacted 2" high, but still dead center. 2" high from the middle of him behind the shoulder should have still been a great shot. It's also a shot that I'd bet that I could make 100 times out of 100 even free handed, so I just can't figure out what went wrong with it. He acted hit which is what makes me even more puzzled. Every deer I've seen hit with these Deep Curls has left a massive blood trail, so I'm not sure how this one could have been hit and not have left one at all. So I'm not sure if I missed somehow or what.

So, I decided I'd just have to back the next morning. This time, he went, I went, and my friend that was new to hunting went. None of us saw anything in the morning.

In the afternoon, neither me, nor my friend that had come with me saw anything, but once again the one that lived in that area got a shot at another buck. He shot it, and said it started stumbling and falling in the field, but it made it to the woods. He went down to get it thinking it would be laying in the woods, and he couldn't find any blood, hair, or anything else. It was exactly the same story as the one I'd shot the afternoon before. We both expect this type of performance from a Powerbelt, but it was weird that it happened with a Deep Curl.

So, after neither of us saw anything, we hung it up for the day. The next morning, I wasn't feeling well so I sat this one out, and my buddy that lives down there went with his father in law, but they didn't get into the stand until 8 or so, and it was entirely too late. They also didn't see anything. I sat my friend that had come down with me in what I thought would be a prime location, and the only thing that my friend saw was two deer a dog chased through, and my friend couldn't get a shot at either of them.

I was really hoping my friend would get a shot at a deer more so than any of the rest of us, as we all had a lot more experience hunting.

That afternoon my friend went to another spot that was a lot better than any of the spots we'd been to. We thought for sure that my friend would see something. I went to a stand several miles away, and my other buddy that lived there wasn't able to go. Once again neither of us saw a single thing. It was really disappointing.

So overall, I can't say the black powder season was a failure since I did get a doe, but it was a lot of sitting and disappointment the rest of the time. I think my friend that had come with me was also pretty disappointing they never got a shot at anything, but such is life I guess.

Next weekend the regular gun season starts, and I'm hoping I have better luck then. When gun season starts, most of the town starts hunting with dogs, so that's about the only way to get a shot. I prefer sitting in the stand, but I will more than likely start hunting with them with the dogs. I am excited to get my rifle out, as it's my preferred weapon of choice.

I hope that everyone else has had a good black powder season, and just thought I'd share my story of this past week.
slowr1der is offline  
Old 11-13-2011, 01:59 PM
  #2  
Dominant Buck
 
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Interesting read. Sounds like you saw a lot of deer total. Its a shame you did not find the ones you shot at. And any bullet can hit and not leave a blood trail.
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Old 11-13-2011, 02:04 PM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
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That is an interesting tale. Thank you for sharing. Myself, i use my muzzle loader during our rifle seasons. I just like muzzle loader more better.
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Old 11-13-2011, 04:59 PM
  #4  
mountaineer magic
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Originally Posted by ronlaughlin
That is an interesting tale. Thank you for sharing. Myself, i use my muzzle loader during our rifle seasons. I just like muzzle loader more better.
yea me too. i actually shoot better with a muzzleloader than a centerfire. my groups are half the size with a muzzleloader. Strange huh>
 

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