first blackpowder whitetail
05-02-2003, 09:50 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: North Chili NY USA
Posts: 96
first blackpowder whitetail
Been a while since I' ve logged in, but I have to share my first bp kill from this past season.
Went to the stand on the last day of bp with a charge in my gun from the previous day (.50 Traditions Hawkins style roundball shooter w/ iron sights). A couple does came by at about 75 yards and I shot at the first. It ran past me behind some thick stuff in the woods. I immediately began to reload but then realized that I' d FORGOTTEN my powder horn! The thought of finding a wounded deer and finishing it off w/ my hunting knife was not a pleasant prospect. I waited till dusk before I started to track her and there was no blood trail in the fresh snow for about 40 yards. Then I saw a couple faint specks and was sure I' d just grazed her (and that I would never find her) but as I came through the thick stuff I saw a huge pool of blood and the deer a couple yards away (about 50 yards from where I shot her). Why no blood trail? The ball completely obliterated her heart. There was nothing to push the blood out of the hole until the blood filled up her body cavity to the point of the exit wound.
Not only was it my first kill w/ BP, but it was my first kill hunting by myself. She was a small doe, but I' ve never been prouder walking out of the woods. Boy, maybe this story would tell better if I told people I deliberately limit myself to one charge.
Went to the stand on the last day of bp with a charge in my gun from the previous day (.50 Traditions Hawkins style roundball shooter w/ iron sights). A couple does came by at about 75 yards and I shot at the first. It ran past me behind some thick stuff in the woods. I immediately began to reload but then realized that I' d FORGOTTEN my powder horn! The thought of finding a wounded deer and finishing it off w/ my hunting knife was not a pleasant prospect. I waited till dusk before I started to track her and there was no blood trail in the fresh snow for about 40 yards. Then I saw a couple faint specks and was sure I' d just grazed her (and that I would never find her) but as I came through the thick stuff I saw a huge pool of blood and the deer a couple yards away (about 50 yards from where I shot her). Why no blood trail? The ball completely obliterated her heart. There was nothing to push the blood out of the hole until the blood filled up her body cavity to the point of the exit wound.
Not only was it my first kill w/ BP, but it was my first kill hunting by myself. She was a small doe, but I' ve never been prouder walking out of the woods. Boy, maybe this story would tell better if I told people I deliberately limit myself to one charge.
05-02-2003, 11:06 AM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: first blackpowder whitetail
Congratulations. I have yet to pursue any whitetails with blackpowder rifle due to the overlap with our archery seasons but it sounds like quite an accomplishment to be able to take a deer with that type of weapon.
05-04-2003, 02:56 PM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 316
RE: first blackpowder whitetail
I don' t know, but I had the sam experience last season with my black powder rifle.
here' s my story:
I was walking down a logging road that was just off to the side of a field. I looked out to my left as I moved along slowly, and I saw a small doe (90 lbs. I' m guessing) running along the edge of the field. She crossed over into the woods about 15 yds in front of me, and then onto the logging road. She was down wind, and smelled me almost immediately, but froze in the middle of the road. Normally I wouldn' t shoot such a small doe at the beginning of the season, but since I was still looking my first kill with my " smokepole" , I decided to take a shot. I had a 250 gr. JHP loaded over 100 gr pyrodex. I put the sight right behind the front shoulder and pulled the trigger. When the smoke cleared, I could see that I hit the deer (or so I thought), as she was laying flat on her side. She got up though and took off crashing through the woods. I never found one drop of blood, thus no deer.
Now I' ve shot deer with similar loads to this black powder one (44 mag JHP and 45-70 JHP), and both of them gave me buckets of blood to follow. I' m certain that I hit the doe, but I have on idea as to why I never found any blood.
here' s my story:
I was walking down a logging road that was just off to the side of a field. I looked out to my left as I moved along slowly, and I saw a small doe (90 lbs. I' m guessing) running along the edge of the field. She crossed over into the woods about 15 yds in front of me, and then onto the logging road. She was down wind, and smelled me almost immediately, but froze in the middle of the road. Normally I wouldn' t shoot such a small doe at the beginning of the season, but since I was still looking my first kill with my " smokepole" , I decided to take a shot. I had a 250 gr. JHP loaded over 100 gr pyrodex. I put the sight right behind the front shoulder and pulled the trigger. When the smoke cleared, I could see that I hit the deer (or so I thought), as she was laying flat on her side. She got up though and took off crashing through the woods. I never found one drop of blood, thus no deer.
Now I' ve shot deer with similar loads to this black powder one (44 mag JHP and 45-70 JHP), and both of them gave me buckets of blood to follow. I' m certain that I hit the doe, but I have on idea as to why I never found any blood.
05-04-2003, 03:07 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: North Chili NY USA
Posts: 96
RE: first blackpowder whitetail
Oh... and another thing. I walked out of the woods dragging my deer and there was another standing right on the edge of the field (maybe 20 yards). Then walked over the crest of the hill and there were about 14 deer milling about in the field by my car. It probably would have been to dark, and I didn' t have any powder anyway but they would have been easy shots. Oy.
