Deer Hunting
The Shaman on Youtube
This month marks the beginning of my 20th year doing the weblog. I’m starting something new, a Youtube Channel. In invite you to watch, and be sure to hit the notify and subscribe buttons. KYHillChick won’t let me buy another deer rifle unti this thing starts making money. Enjoy! This post has already been read 13873 times!Views: 11 Related posts: Deer Camp 2015 — Ineff is Ineff A New Youtube — Ode to a 30-30 Part 1 Report from Deer Camp 2014 Which is More? (a Rem 742 or a 30-06) More on Deer Porn A Doe in the Scope … More . . .
Trip to the Farm
The weather was going to be ideal, so I took the opportunity to ride down to the farm and get some chores done. Most of the weekend was spent dealing with the water system. I ended up replacing the shallow well pump and some plumbing in the cistern, but I did get a chance to get out and do some shooting. It is that aspect of the trip that I want to detail. The Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem I have not had the chance to really wring out the Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem. I bought it … More . . .
What Deer Rifles this Year, Shaman?
Every year, my whole cabinet of deer rifles erupts with cries of “Take me!” One of the hardest things I have to do is come up with a final list of what’s going and what’s staying. Normally, I’m thinking about it starting 1 August as I’m pulling out rifles for sighting in. I usually have a final cut by 1 October. This year, the list was finalized before 15 June. The reason was Chemo. Yeah, I know, everything has something to do with Chemo. It is what it is. In this case, I had to make some hard choices last … More . . .
European Mount from 2022 is On the Wall
I dug up the head from my 2022 buck over Memorial Day Weekend and I’ve been cleaning and bleaching it. I let it dry all last week and today I mounted it on the wall. This all started back last November. As soon as I got home from deer camp, I dug a hole in the backyard on the other side of the fence so the dogs would not be able to get to it. The hole was just big enough to bury the head, leaving the antlers out. Next, I gently filled in the hole. Some people use sand, … More . . .
Memorial Day Weekend, 2023
I made it down on Thursday– it’s great to be retired–and was able to spend Friday morning at the bench without interruption getting two projects figured out. 25-06 Mauser When my buddy, O.T., was about to pass, he let me buy his 25-06 custom Mauser. It is an easy rifle to shoot, but the terminal performance on whitetails has not been what I would expect. Now that I’ve got all the time in the world, I figured I would bear down and get this rifle sorted out. I compared 117 grain Hornady RN and SP vs. 100-grain Speer Hot Cor … More . . .
Crawling out of the Basement
It’s been a little over a year now since my retirement. The Chemo kept me from reloading most of that time, and I just got back to it after New Year’s. Mostly it was about stamina and to a certain extent the neuropathy in my fingers, but I kept doing the exercises and eventually achieved a threshold where I could spend useful time in the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility (SSURF). Once I was past that, I have been spending many hours a week catching up on projects. In between jobs cranking out new loads, I have also been attending … More . . .
Boar Hunt with SuperCore
This AM, SuperCore and I ventured north of Arcadia, Florida to hunt boar. It took about 90 minutes to drive from SuperCore’s place in Bradenton. Our destination was RazzorRanch in Zolfo Springs, a year-round hunting preserve that specializes in trophy boar and exotics. https://razzorranch.com/ We got there just at first light. Supercore and I went in to sign paperwork and get the safety lecture. Afterward, we retired to the gun range to test out our guns. I was carrying my TC Compass in 7mm-08. SuperCore carried his Wetherby Vanguard in 30-06. We both nailed the steel target solidly to the … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 5
This installment of the series will conclude with what was going on at my reloading bench and the final payoff. In looking back on what I have shared so far, getting the right mindset and stopping all the wrong headedness is what allowed me to escape Planet 4 MOA. All the rest was either window dressing or confidence building. Along the way, I found most of my rifles shot better groups than I expected. The least of the concerns was what I was feeding these rifles. A Word on Factory Ammo Before I discuss reloading, I want to put in … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 4
This installment will address what I did out in the field to escape from Planet 4 MOA. This is going to be a short one. Most of the serious work was done back home at the shooting bench. However, there were several things I did to improve my lot during deer season. I pretty much stopped shooting my deer rifles off hand. When I first started deer hunting, I was a bow hunter– first and foremost. I shot standing on a raised stand without anything in front of me. When I started using a slug gun– that’s what we used … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 3
This installment in the series will concentrate on what I did at the bench, both the shooting bench and my gunsmithing bench, to improve my accuracy with my deer rifles. I would like to remember that it was a gradual process that started about 2001 and ended with me bagging my first deer at 200 yards now in 2022. Let me begin with where I stood in 2001, when I got the farm At the time I got the farm in 2001, I had two rifles that were seriously dedicated for deer hunting. One was the original Remington 742, acquired … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 2
The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears. James Mattis In this case, General Mattis was right. I had over 20 years of goo to remove and replace. Lies I cannot say I ever came right out and lied to anyone about how well I shot. Compared to what I saw going on around me, I was not all that bad. I never shot a deer at 10 yards and claimed it was at 100 yards. Actually shooting a deer at 10 yards is nearly as much of a feat with a rifle as it is … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 1
Back in 2019, I wrote a missive on 24hourcampfire.com on hunting deer where the bar for accuracy was rather low. The Planet Where They Shoot 4 MOA Rifles I would suggest you go over there and read it– read the whole thread if you like. It will really set the stage for what is to come. Planet 4MOA was a very real part of my life. I lived there for a good long time. This year, I managed to shoot a nice buck at 200 yards, and I realized that I had finally escaped Planet 4MOA and moved on. I … More . . .
Deer Season Post-Mortem, 2022
Any discussion of this past Rifle Season has to include the after-effects of my Chemo and how it played into the dynamics. It played into stand selection. It played into who hunted and when. My sons were on guard the whole time waiting for their Dad to fall over in the woods and call for help. To some extent, especially early on, I probably deserved that kind of attention. I surprised myself repeatedly in what I was able end up doing, and I was pretty much back in my usual form by the end of season. I appreciate the care … More . . .
Moose bags Doe
Most honorable #2 son, Moose shot a doe Friday evening at the Blackberry stand . At 1740, just 10 minutes left in legal hunting. A single doe popped out of the woods next to the rockpile. Moose dropped her with his Winchester 570. Two more deer ran off towards Westwood. #3 son, Angus popped out with the truck to pick me up at Midway, where I had been having a good time watching the south pasture with no interruption from the deer. We then drove out to Blackberry to retrieve Moose and his doe. The deer went 80 lbs. live … More . . .
Angus, SuperCore Score Bucks
Angus and Moose braved the 18F and went out to Midway this morning. They had just settled in when Angus noticed a doe running across the south field, behind the Garden of Stone. An 8-point buck was following close behind. Angus shot. The buck gave no indication of being hit. Angus shot again, and the buck took off into the weeds. It was 0710 . Legal hunting began at 0651. Moose called back on the radio. I had decided to sleep in. I’d been up at 0430 and decided it was too cold to risk it. I’m still not up … More . . .
The Shaman’s Buck, 2022
I really did not have great expectations when I went out to Midway this morning. I managed to fall back to sleep after SuperCore left for the blind and managed to doze for 45 minutes before jerking awake. I flew out the door– I still can’t feel my feet from the Chemo, and made it into my chair, fully suited with just 10 minutes to spare before legal hunting. It was 31F and I had clear skies and just a wee bit of wind out of the East. Nothing. I dozed again shortly after sun rise, and woke around 0900. … More . . .
Deer Opener, 2022
Some days, just being out and making it back in is the highest achievement you can expect. After Chemo, just being out is all you can ask. We started getting rain about 10 minutes before legal hunting, and it grew to a downpour. I stayed under an umbrella and managed to stay fairly warm and dry. When they came and got me with the truck about 0930, I was still quite serviceable. In a pinch, I could have still walked out. The gear didn’t fail. I was still warm at the core. I lost feeling in my hands coming down … More . . .
European Mounts
For years now, I have been sawing off the skull cap of bucks and mounting these to display boards, and calling it quits. Of course, I have to boil them first, but the whole process is rather fast and easy. I can have the antlers ready to mount almost immediately. A while back, I decided that I would try a European full-skull mount and see how it compared. Moose and Angus discovered a seriously decomposing buck down in the creek at the bottom of Hootin’ Holler back in 2018. They waited until the dead of winter and then returned with … More . . .
How Do I Know a Deer is Coming?
I found this draft from back in 2009. Somebody had asked the question, and I’d hesitated to answer. The post lay in draft status until I found it again over the summer as I was housecleaning. I have been asked this many times, by readers and by my own sons as they were starting out. It is an innocent enough question. I remember asking it when I first started. How DO you know a deer is coming? Of course, nowadays most beginning deer hunters know the answer before they set foot in the woods. The answer is simple: the background … More . . .
What Deer Rifle?
I’ve got a couple projects in the oven this year even though Chemo made me curtail most of my load development for 6 months. There just is not enough room in the freezer to do all the experimentation I want to do. I always keep a rifle or two handy with proven success, just in case. I’m still getting over the treatment. I do not want any goat rodeos this year. What I’m taking to deer camp this year: Savage 99 in .308 WIN— Nothing new. This is just my go-to gun for the Opener. It did very well last … More . . .
Early Muzzleloader — After Action Report
I am not going to try and paint this rosier than it is. It is Sunday morning of KY Early Muzzleloader season. I’m wimping out and sipping coffee inside the cabin. The only one of the Shamanic Dream Team who is out is SuperCore. With the recent Chemo, at least I’ve got a fairly good excuse. I saw the Oncologist on Monday and he said I was clean. I related details of the Yute hunt with Mooselette. He was quite surprised I was making out so well. I set off early yesterday morning with high hopes and my goals fairly … More . . .
KY’s Early ML Season Looms
Every year we all get out for the mid-October Kentucky Early Primitive Weapons Season and use it as a dry run for the coming Rifle season. Some might think this is a waste of a weekend. It actually has a point– in fact, several. First off, this gives everyone at camp a chance to be there while the weather is still fairly nice. We can enjoy Deer Camp without feeling like we need to fill freezer space. We are out, we are really and truly deer hunting in usually ideal conditions. Secondly, Early ML acts as a dress rehearsal for … More . . .
Mooselette’s First Yute Hunt
Most honorable #1 granddaughter, Mooselette, went afield for KY’s Yute Hunt on Saturday. She went in the company of her grandfather. This was my first time out as well since the Chemo. Mooselette was armed with the same Marlin 336 carried by her father on his first hunt 20 years ago. We took the venerable 30-30 out to the Hollywood blind, settled in, watched the sun come up, and waited for the action that never came. Somewhere along the way we got to talking about family history and such. Somewhere along there we both took a nap. When we woke … More . . .
Getting Ready for Yute Season, 2022
I was able to get down to camp fairly early on Friday. By the time Moose and #1 granddaughter, Mooselette arrived, I had already managed to get two more deer rifles sighted in. Both the 8X57 Mauser and the 7mm-08 are ready for Rifle Season. Blacksmith and I went to Berlin for pizza and were sitting at the Thoughtful Spot when Team Moose arrived. Saturday was a big day for us at deer camp. Mooselette’s first deer is next weekend and we had lots to do. We woke up to the remnants of Hurricane Ian on the horizon. The dark … More . . .
When Do You Get In Your Stand?
From Quora: Question for YouAugust 5 What is the best time to get in your deer stand? Greg Thomas requested your answer. What is the best time to get in your deer stand? Here is my response: It is going to depend on several factors. For starters, don’t think of it in terms of when you get in the stand, but rather when are you going to be settled in and ready to hunt. One of the big factors you have to figure in how much sweating you’re going to do getting there. I set off about an hour before … More . . .
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