mauser06

today was sunday and i was off....had nothing to do......no work or anything....but i know i had to sight in the flinter and find a spot to hunt in octobers doe season for muzzleloaders......so i did it all today....got to my buddys farm and i bought a delta printed deer target.....pretty realistic except a little on the small side...but it was in the shape of a deer and looked like one other then the size....i wanted to shoot that to build confidance and everything....anyone can shoot groups....but when it comes to putting it on a deer with iron sights i wanted to be sure...now i am....my first 2 shots were lower then my poa..and my sights were maxed out...i was shooting 90gr of 2fg goex...so i knew the book says i can goto 110 or so safely....so i went up to 100gr and it brought it up perfectly.....and i kept putting my shots in the lungs of my wanna be deer....range was 50ish yds....i walked it out in the field where i thought my farthest shot would be.....and shot closer and farther then that too.....then i put a milk jug filled with water out there just ot see waht the 350gr maxi hunters will do.....i expected alot...but thats not what i go......my godness....it EXPLODED.....i found pieces all over the field.....my friend filmed it with his camera phone....its GREAT.....like 10 ft was sprayed when it exploded.....and it was left in pieces......i cant imagine what its going to do to a deer......wow......350gr maxihunter pushed by 100gr of 2fg goex....thats my deadly load.......i think its going to be a littttttle tooooo deadly......but thats what i want.....a dead deer in its tracks or a big trail to follow up on......i dont care what kinda deer it is its not going far with the holes these things are going to leave and the shock its going to produce....thats why the milk jug exploded was from the shock of something so big hitting like that.......i am impressed and cant wait to test them on a live deer......i also found my spot today.....should be one of them spots that you dont have to sit there long to see deer.....and if you do sit long your going to see them all day....im at the base of a finger of woods that goes into fields.....like...the finger goes up and gets thin and comes to a point of woods and has fields on both sides...corn and hay....and the finger goes down into a decint sized set of woods....not huger but theres some woods.....and a creek bottom....im sitting where the woods and the finger join...theres also apples and acorns everywehre....and the deer use the finger to travel to and from the fields...and another trail runs along the ridge above teh creek.....cant wait....everyone ready???? oct 16th....i plan to tell a good story!

cayugad

mauser06 it sounds like you're all set. You have the perfect spot, and confidence in a great shooting rifle and have a bullet powder combination that will knock the snot out of anything that walks by you. All you need now is the deer to cooperate.

I did kind of the same experiment as you last winter. I took a 2 liter plastic soda bottle and filled it with water. Then I added some red food coloring to it and put it in the middle of a hay field over a snow field. I then backed off about 100 yards and shot it with a 250 grain Shockwave over 100 grains of Goex. Well that bottle exploded too. And the red water sprayed all over the snow. It looked like something was eaten out there in that hay field the way the red food color went all over the place. There was red spray 15 feet in all directions.

I have two spots picked out to hunt so far, but am still walking the woods searching out trails, bedding areas, and feeding grounds. I found some great trails but am a little discouraged over the lack of buck rubs I have located so far. I have four rifles all tuned and ready to go.

In fact today, a friend I have not seen in ages stopped by the house. He was in my office/den looking at the wall of guns and was asking me questions about my rifles, in particular my Green Mountain Barrel .58 caliber. He had never shot a muzzleloader although he is an avid hunter and excellent shot. I then offered to take the rifle into the yard and shoot which we did. After we had shot 20 rounds into the target at 50 yards (all in the black I might add), I then shot a 4X4 chunk of treated pine post (left over from a deck project). He was shocked at the power the .58 caliber has with 100 grains of Goex FFg. It blew a hole through that chunk of wood that even surprised me.

The funny part was after we were done shooting, and cleaning the rifle he wanted to know where he could get one of them rifles.... He also was asking about my Hawkins Flintlock. I think he is hooked with the idea of black powder. He has the same problem I had, modern rifles and hunting have lost their appeal to him.

Well good luck deer hunting. I expect to hear a great story about a nice doe and how well that bullet did for you....

patch51

I went to range Sunday to put the final touches on my magbolt.Everything looks good 1 1/2"-2" at 100 yards that should do a whitetail with no problem in 39 more days.

mauser06

thanx guys....cayugad.....i was the same way....only im a youngin...im 17.....and shooting a deer with a rifle just wasnt a challenge....im not bragging but ive always been a good shooter....i been shooting since i could shoot....shooting a deer in most of the spots in PA shooting a deer isnt that hard.....ive killed them from a few FEET away to 150yds away......just wasnt fun....bang....the deer falls down.....hunting with the flinter is alot more fun...just CARRYING the gun and the gear is a blast to me....worrying about keeping the pan clean and dry......waiting for the right shot with open sights....this year i dont plan to hunt with the centerfires much at all......if i do it will be because im hunting a good buck and its foul outside.......or im doing deer drives with the guys and its messy out.....too messy to be driving with a flinter.....something about carrying a flintlock and all the gear.....and im sure my loads going to knock the stuffing out of a deer.....i wont be surprised if it actually sends it off its feet......but thats what i want......cant wait to get out there!! that deer target definently built my confidance...thats why i wanted to shoot it....open sights is a new game to me....used to shoot them all the time but i fell into the scope phase....even wanted t oscope my shotguns and pistols lol.....but never did...when i was a kid it was always iron sights on the BB guns and 22s.....but i havent shot them in a while....so the deer target was a good confidance builder....i love the fiberoptics i put on the rifle also.....what a world of diffrence.......wish i could use a peep though......cant wait........