contender
Ruger Guru
Well, our local muzzleloading season opened Saturday. I managed to get out & hunt,, seeing a yearling doe, and a small 6 pointer that had a damaged rack. Apparently he's gotten injured a little, and his right horn was folded forward. I judged him at 1-1/2 years old. I let him walk.
Then monday,, I went hunting,, and all I saw was a pair of smaller does. While legal,, I kinda wanted to wait a bit. Even if I have 4 doe tags.
So this morning,, hoping for a bit better day,, again I ventured into the woods.
(I gotta make sure I have plenty of backstrap ya know!)
About 8:30 I had a doe come in,, and trailing her,, a good bodied buck. He kept in the brush enough to where I could no see how big the rack was,, but his body size said he was a good one.
When he finally put his neck & shoulder in an opening I felt good about,, about 75 yds away,, I lit the charcoal, and the smoke rolled across the woods.
When it cleared, he had dropped in his tracks.
The doe ran off a bit,, and while I could still see her,, she got in the brush before I could get the smokepole reloaded.
But,, I knew I still had a chance.
It took about 25 minutes,, with me watching her in & out of spots of brush,, before she too gave me an opening.
Once again,, with a bit of fire & smoke,, belching from my T/C Pro Hunter .50 cal, I dropped her in her tracks as well. I hit her a bit lower than I'd figured,, but she was DRT!
I took a few pictures with my phone. And once I get time to figure out (again) how to transfer them to my computer,, I'll post a pic.
When I got to them, I found the big body buck was actually just a 5 pointer. But he was good & heavy,, and when I was skinning him,, a good layer of fat. I judged him to be 3-1/2 years old. The doe,, nice average for here, and BOTH will help me fill the freezer.
So I had a productive day.
But I told a few folks today,, that it was a revenge hunt. See, I had a doe run out in front of my newish truck friday evening. She dodged the city cop's vehicle,, but hit me hard. Probably $5000-$6000 in damage. I'll know more tomorrow. I went by a body shop this afternoon & they will give me an estimate tomorrow. She got my grill guard, my grill, my hood, one headlight assy, & a quarter panel. And that's what I can see.
Then monday,, I went hunting,, and all I saw was a pair of smaller does. While legal,, I kinda wanted to wait a bit. Even if I have 4 doe tags.
So this morning,, hoping for a bit better day,, again I ventured into the woods.
(I gotta make sure I have plenty of backstrap ya know!)
About 8:30 I had a doe come in,, and trailing her,, a good bodied buck. He kept in the brush enough to where I could no see how big the rack was,, but his body size said he was a good one.
When he finally put his neck & shoulder in an opening I felt good about,, about 75 yds away,, I lit the charcoal, and the smoke rolled across the woods.
When it cleared, he had dropped in his tracks.
The doe ran off a bit,, and while I could still see her,, she got in the brush before I could get the smokepole reloaded.
But,, I knew I still had a chance.
It took about 25 minutes,, with me watching her in & out of spots of brush,, before she too gave me an opening.
Once again,, with a bit of fire & smoke,, belching from my T/C Pro Hunter .50 cal, I dropped her in her tracks as well. I hit her a bit lower than I'd figured,, but she was DRT!
I took a few pictures with my phone. And once I get time to figure out (again) how to transfer them to my computer,, I'll post a pic.
When I got to them, I found the big body buck was actually just a 5 pointer. But he was good & heavy,, and when I was skinning him,, a good layer of fat. I judged him to be 3-1/2 years old. The doe,, nice average for here, and BOTH will help me fill the freezer.
So I had a productive day.
But I told a few folks today,, that it was a revenge hunt. See, I had a doe run out in front of my newish truck friday evening. She dodged the city cop's vehicle,, but hit me hard. Probably $5000-$6000 in damage. I'll know more tomorrow. I went by a body shop this afternoon & they will give me an estimate tomorrow. She got my grill guard, my grill, my hood, one headlight assy, & a quarter panel. And that's what I can see.
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