Story time - my sister's 221 yard muzzleloader buck
07-05-2016, 07:14 PM
#1
Typical Buck
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Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Martin, TN
Posts: 854
Story time - my sister's 221 yard muzzleloader buck
Being new here, I thought I'd share with some of you the story of one of my favorite hunts of all time. It's the story of my sister's biggest buck to date. I ask you to bear with me, since this will be somewhat long.
Summer 2014
As hunting season approached, I eagerly checked my trail cameras every weekend in the hopes of discovering "the" buck. Unfortunately, 2014 was a bust year as far as big bucks go. Sure, there were some decent ones around, but nothing exceptional. There was one that showed promise, though, and he was a frequent visitor to my family's farm:
You see, several years prior, I had finally taken up handgun hunting, taking one step closer to fulfilling my long held dream of taking a deer with a handgun. As November approached, I practiced quite often with my 460 S&W revolver in anticipation. Unfortunately, 2014 was one of the most uneventful seasons we've had in a while. After the opening weekend, warm weather severely curbed deer movement. When I did see deer, they never quite got within my comfortable revolver range of 50 yards. To my additional disappointment, the buck I was after vanished, and I resigned myself to the fact that one of the neighbors must have taken him. I went my third season of handgun hunting without taking a deer with a handgun.
Summer 2015
While browsing through the large volume of pictures taken by one of my trail cameras, I was quite pleased at the number of big bucks that had visited the smaller of the two food plots. Two in particular stood out as giants for our area. As I looked more carefully at the smaller of the two, I realized it was the big buck from last year. He had made it through the season, and now he was even bigger.
(On the right)
I had another thing going for me with the 2015 season approaching. Earlier in the year, I finally saved enough money and built another handgun to hunt with - a Thompson/Center Encore with a 15" 300 Winchester Magnum barrel. It was chambered in a much more powerful round than I originally planned thanks to a happy coincidence, but that didn't really matter. I had a handgun that could reach out and kill a deer at far beyond the ranges I could comfortably shoot with a revolver. So, with the Encore tuned and sighted in to 100 yards and easily 200 yard capable, I was excited for season.
Then, my plans changed.
My sister had not gone hunting in years. Although she had some success earlier on in her hunting career, several issues kept Summer from hunting. You see, she competes in rodeos and has held multiple rodeo queen titles, notably the title of Tennessee High School Rodeo Queen for three years. With those titles came the requirement to attend specific rodeos on weekends, some of which occurred during the early weekends of our gun season. By the time she was free on weekends, it was well into deer season and deer sightings became few and far between as they caught on to what was happening. And, I'll be honest, Summer's not a morning person. I can't begin to count the number of times we tried to wake her up to hunt, only to be told groggily "I don't feel good." She wouldn't hunt the best mornings, only finally asking to accompany me and my dad later on in the season during the slow mornings.
After seeing the big bucks I had been getting trail camera pictures of, though, Summer changed her tune. She was determined to finally shoot a big buck. In particular, she decided to name the one I was after. "Goliath" is what she christened him, quite appropriately I might add. We don't name deer, but in this case we began to call the buck Goliath.
"If I want to get a good buck this year, what do I need to do?" she asked me. Well, I told her she needed to be out as early in the season as she could. Unfortunately, she had to go to a rodeo during the first weekend of gun season, so the answer was clear.
"Then go during muzzleloader season," I told her.
Our father let her borrow his Thompson/Center Pro Hunter muzzleloader, and we got it sighted in at 100 yards. However, I began considering the prospect of having to make a long shot. After all, about half of the shots I've made on deer and coyotes on our farm have been 200 yards or longer. Fortunately, I had a solution.
The muzzleloader has a Nikon Omega 250 BDC reticle scope. For those who don't know much about them, certain Nikon scopes have small circular ballistic marks on the bottom crosshair. The Omega scope in particular is marketed as having circles that indicate 150, 200, 225, and 250 yards. I wasn't about to take that at face value, though, but I did have a way to map the bullet's trajectory.
First, my dad and I sighted in the muzzleloader and used a chronograph to measure the bullet's velocity. Using the SpotOn software on Nikon's website, I input the data for the bullet and velocity - a 250 grain T/C Shockwave at 2036 fps with a 3 777 pellet load - and selected the scope. According to the software, if sighted in like it was, the first circle would be on at 145 yards, the second at 184, the third at 232, and the fourth at 272. With the gun sighted in, I taught Summer how to safely clean, load, handle, and shoot the muzzleloader. She really impressed me with how well she shot it.
As the season approached, both Summer and I grew increasingly excited for season. It helped that Goliath proved to be very photogenic, having repeatedly shown up on trail camera at both of our primary hunting locations. In fact, he even came up to one of the cameras during daylight mere yards from one of my blinds the day before the youth hunt, when I took my younger cousin hunting in that same blind:
The Hunt
The night before the opening day of season on Saturday, November 7th, Summer had a rodeo. That wouldn't be so bad, if only for the fact that she'd be getting home at 2:00 a.m. None of us believed she'd get up at 5:00 to go hunting the next morning, but sure enough she got up and got dressed.
Unfortunately, we got into a slight argument. She wanted to hunt in my blind in the smaller of the two fields, where the above two pictures had been taken. However, I argued that we'd see more deer in the treestand overlooking the larger plot. I held firm, and she relented. Soon, we were walking through the field, my flashlight illuminating the way.
"What are you going to do if I look through my binoculars and say 'It's Goliath!'?" I asked her jokingly.
"I'll probably pee myself," she replied. I laughed.
Soon, we were in the treestand together. We weren't even settled in before I began to see movement toward the far side of the field. It was just two fawns running around and acting stupid, but it was a good start. Soon, a yearling buck walked out. Since he was browsing in the plot for a while, I told Summer to practice the routine. While she found him in the scope, I ranged him and determined which ballistic circle to use. "195 yards, use the second circle," I told her, to which she whispered, "I'm on him. Bang."
A 2 1/2-year-old walked out some time later, and we repeated the process of me spotting while she practiced getting into position. The 2 1/2-year-old ended up walking within about 10 yards of the stand without noticing us. Soon, a doe walked out on the opposite side of the field, and we once again practiced our routine. Shortly afterwards, I noticed the lack of sleep catching up to Summer. She looked pretty tired.
Then, I saw him. Even from the opposite corner of the plot, I could see the buck's body and even his antlers as he slowly walked along the treeline. I slowly raised my binoculars, and surely enough. . .
"It's Goliath!" I whispered loudly.
"Don't even mess with me like that," Summer replied.
"No, it's Goliath," I repeated sternly, pulling my earmuffs on. At that point, Summer knew I wasn't kidding, and she pulled on her earmuffs and began frantically searching for the buck through the scope. I ranged him just as she said she found him in the scope.
"221 yards. Use the third circle," I told her while fumbling with my video camera trying to get it on. She pulled back the hammer as I started recording. Through the scope, I watched Goliath tending to a scrape while quartering away. He turned his head our way.
BOOM!
There was a slight delay, but then Goliath's rear hit the ground, followed by his chest. He kicked a little, then expired.
"You got him! He's down!" I told Summer. Since she had been holding her breath to make the shot, she started hyperventilating. We quickly reloaded the muzzleloader and headed over to him. I was wearing my GoPro camera on my head strap, so I managed to capture my favorite moment of the hunt: Summer's massive smile when she first put her hands on the buck's antlers.
After admiring him for a bit, we headed back to the house to get the tractor and trailer to haul him back, to tell our parents of our success, and to get the good camera for some good pictures.
The Aftermath
After field dressing him, we took him to show our neighbors and some other family members on our way to check him in. Everyone thought it was so cool that my sister was the one who got him. We picked up the mount from the taxidermist a few months ago and hung it in her bedroom. It clashes horribly with the decor, but that's where she wanted it.
Final Thoughts
You know, as much as I wanted that buck for my first handgun kill, I'm glad my sister got him. As many uneventful hunts as she's been on over the years, she really deserved him. More importantly, that hunt reignited her interest in deer hunting. I'll take that outcome over having my tag on Goliath any day.
Two weeks later, the opportunity I had waited three years for reared its antlered head. But that's a story for another day.
Summer 2014
As hunting season approached, I eagerly checked my trail cameras every weekend in the hopes of discovering "the" buck. Unfortunately, 2014 was a bust year as far as big bucks go. Sure, there were some decent ones around, but nothing exceptional. There was one that showed promise, though, and he was a frequent visitor to my family's farm:
You see, several years prior, I had finally taken up handgun hunting, taking one step closer to fulfilling my long held dream of taking a deer with a handgun. As November approached, I practiced quite often with my 460 S&W revolver in anticipation. Unfortunately, 2014 was one of the most uneventful seasons we've had in a while. After the opening weekend, warm weather severely curbed deer movement. When I did see deer, they never quite got within my comfortable revolver range of 50 yards. To my additional disappointment, the buck I was after vanished, and I resigned myself to the fact that one of the neighbors must have taken him. I went my third season of handgun hunting without taking a deer with a handgun.
Summer 2015
While browsing through the large volume of pictures taken by one of my trail cameras, I was quite pleased at the number of big bucks that had visited the smaller of the two food plots. Two in particular stood out as giants for our area. As I looked more carefully at the smaller of the two, I realized it was the big buck from last year. He had made it through the season, and now he was even bigger.
(On the right)
I had another thing going for me with the 2015 season approaching. Earlier in the year, I finally saved enough money and built another handgun to hunt with - a Thompson/Center Encore with a 15" 300 Winchester Magnum barrel. It was chambered in a much more powerful round than I originally planned thanks to a happy coincidence, but that didn't really matter. I had a handgun that could reach out and kill a deer at far beyond the ranges I could comfortably shoot with a revolver. So, with the Encore tuned and sighted in to 100 yards and easily 200 yard capable, I was excited for season.
Then, my plans changed.
My sister had not gone hunting in years. Although she had some success earlier on in her hunting career, several issues kept Summer from hunting. You see, she competes in rodeos and has held multiple rodeo queen titles, notably the title of Tennessee High School Rodeo Queen for three years. With those titles came the requirement to attend specific rodeos on weekends, some of which occurred during the early weekends of our gun season. By the time she was free on weekends, it was well into deer season and deer sightings became few and far between as they caught on to what was happening. And, I'll be honest, Summer's not a morning person. I can't begin to count the number of times we tried to wake her up to hunt, only to be told groggily "I don't feel good." She wouldn't hunt the best mornings, only finally asking to accompany me and my dad later on in the season during the slow mornings.
After seeing the big bucks I had been getting trail camera pictures of, though, Summer changed her tune. She was determined to finally shoot a big buck. In particular, she decided to name the one I was after. "Goliath" is what she christened him, quite appropriately I might add. We don't name deer, but in this case we began to call the buck Goliath.
"If I want to get a good buck this year, what do I need to do?" she asked me. Well, I told her she needed to be out as early in the season as she could. Unfortunately, she had to go to a rodeo during the first weekend of gun season, so the answer was clear.
"Then go during muzzleloader season," I told her.
Our father let her borrow his Thompson/Center Pro Hunter muzzleloader, and we got it sighted in at 100 yards. However, I began considering the prospect of having to make a long shot. After all, about half of the shots I've made on deer and coyotes on our farm have been 200 yards or longer. Fortunately, I had a solution.
The muzzleloader has a Nikon Omega 250 BDC reticle scope. For those who don't know much about them, certain Nikon scopes have small circular ballistic marks on the bottom crosshair. The Omega scope in particular is marketed as having circles that indicate 150, 200, 225, and 250 yards. I wasn't about to take that at face value, though, but I did have a way to map the bullet's trajectory.
First, my dad and I sighted in the muzzleloader and used a chronograph to measure the bullet's velocity. Using the SpotOn software on Nikon's website, I input the data for the bullet and velocity - a 250 grain T/C Shockwave at 2036 fps with a 3 777 pellet load - and selected the scope. According to the software, if sighted in like it was, the first circle would be on at 145 yards, the second at 184, the third at 232, and the fourth at 272. With the gun sighted in, I taught Summer how to safely clean, load, handle, and shoot the muzzleloader. She really impressed me with how well she shot it.
As the season approached, both Summer and I grew increasingly excited for season. It helped that Goliath proved to be very photogenic, having repeatedly shown up on trail camera at both of our primary hunting locations. In fact, he even came up to one of the cameras during daylight mere yards from one of my blinds the day before the youth hunt, when I took my younger cousin hunting in that same blind:
The Hunt
The night before the opening day of season on Saturday, November 7th, Summer had a rodeo. That wouldn't be so bad, if only for the fact that she'd be getting home at 2:00 a.m. None of us believed she'd get up at 5:00 to go hunting the next morning, but sure enough she got up and got dressed.
Unfortunately, we got into a slight argument. She wanted to hunt in my blind in the smaller of the two fields, where the above two pictures had been taken. However, I argued that we'd see more deer in the treestand overlooking the larger plot. I held firm, and she relented. Soon, we were walking through the field, my flashlight illuminating the way.
"What are you going to do if I look through my binoculars and say 'It's Goliath!'?" I asked her jokingly.
"I'll probably pee myself," she replied. I laughed.
Soon, we were in the treestand together. We weren't even settled in before I began to see movement toward the far side of the field. It was just two fawns running around and acting stupid, but it was a good start. Soon, a yearling buck walked out. Since he was browsing in the plot for a while, I told Summer to practice the routine. While she found him in the scope, I ranged him and determined which ballistic circle to use. "195 yards, use the second circle," I told her, to which she whispered, "I'm on him. Bang."
A 2 1/2-year-old walked out some time later, and we repeated the process of me spotting while she practiced getting into position. The 2 1/2-year-old ended up walking within about 10 yards of the stand without noticing us. Soon, a doe walked out on the opposite side of the field, and we once again practiced our routine. Shortly afterwards, I noticed the lack of sleep catching up to Summer. She looked pretty tired.
Then, I saw him. Even from the opposite corner of the plot, I could see the buck's body and even his antlers as he slowly walked along the treeline. I slowly raised my binoculars, and surely enough. . .
"It's Goliath!" I whispered loudly.
"Don't even mess with me like that," Summer replied.
"No, it's Goliath," I repeated sternly, pulling my earmuffs on. At that point, Summer knew I wasn't kidding, and she pulled on her earmuffs and began frantically searching for the buck through the scope. I ranged him just as she said she found him in the scope.
"221 yards. Use the third circle," I told her while fumbling with my video camera trying to get it on. She pulled back the hammer as I started recording. Through the scope, I watched Goliath tending to a scrape while quartering away. He turned his head our way.
BOOM!
There was a slight delay, but then Goliath's rear hit the ground, followed by his chest. He kicked a little, then expired.
"You got him! He's down!" I told Summer. Since she had been holding her breath to make the shot, she started hyperventilating. We quickly reloaded the muzzleloader and headed over to him. I was wearing my GoPro camera on my head strap, so I managed to capture my favorite moment of the hunt: Summer's massive smile when she first put her hands on the buck's antlers.
After admiring him for a bit, we headed back to the house to get the tractor and trailer to haul him back, to tell our parents of our success, and to get the good camera for some good pictures.
The Aftermath
After field dressing him, we took him to show our neighbors and some other family members on our way to check him in. Everyone thought it was so cool that my sister was the one who got him. We picked up the mount from the taxidermist a few months ago and hung it in her bedroom. It clashes horribly with the decor, but that's where she wanted it.
Final Thoughts
You know, as much as I wanted that buck for my first handgun kill, I'm glad my sister got him. As many uneventful hunts as she's been on over the years, she really deserved him. More importantly, that hunt reignited her interest in deer hunting. I'll take that outcome over having my tag on Goliath any day.
Two weeks later, the opportunity I had waited three years for reared its antlered head. But that's a story for another day.
Last edited by TN Lone Wolf; 07-06-2016 at 07:39 AM. Reason: Minor correction
