Up around Bracken County, it’s looking like scattered rain on Saturday and then sunny on Sunday. I guess my best shot will be the afternoon of Saturday, but you can bet I’ll be somewhere out there in the morning. One of my biggest disappointments was on the Saturday afternoon of … Continue reading →
I was downstairs this morning at the bench, running one more patch down the Hawken before I pack it for the farm. This weekend is early Muzzleloader, and I finally got a good group out of the new barrel on Sunday. For twenty years, I shot buffalo bullets and round … Continue reading →
——————————————————————————– Well, I wish I had a story for you that began: “There the doe lay, under a bush beside the gully. The 150 grainer had taken its time doing its work, but . . .” or “The coyotes had done their work. All that was left was . . … Continue reading →
We had a hearty second breakfast and then headed out to the stand at Heartbreak Ridge, stayed for a couple of hours, heard nothing, saw nothing. Along about 1 PM we headed in for lunch and a nap. The deer we had seen in the morning had been grazing directly … Continue reading →
It’s 0640 on Sunday. Why am I not in the stand? It’s Youth Weekend, why am I not in the stand with my son? Saturday morning started off perfectly. #2 son was all primed to take a deer. First light came and zap! #2 was up to his old habits, … Continue reading →
How do you know if you have an optimized whitetail load? That question is simple to answer: take it out in the woods, point it at deer and touch it off. If, in the next few seconds, you transform a graceful, warm, vital deer into a slowly cooling pile of … Continue reading →
There was a time in my life when one deer rifle was all it took. Now I have a safe full of them, and I cannot seem to ever be totally satisfied. Do I need another deer rifle? No. Do I want another? Always. What I’ve found that I really … Continue reading →
I loaded up a bunch of .308 Win for the Savage 99 yesterday. They’re light as 308’s go, they’re more like a hot 300 Savage. Why? Why not load these puppies up to the max? Why not hunt with a 300 WSSSSM or a SAUUUUUM? Why? Why go to all … Continue reading →
A lot of smokepole people have been getting rude surprises after switching to plastic sabots. The sabot has been leaving a plastic residue. The residue is promoting rust. The best thing I’ve found for plastic residue removal is Ed’s Red. It’s basically equal parts kerosene, automatic transmission fluid, acetone, and … Continue reading →
Somebody over at 24hourcampfire was asking the question: What is your goto gun for deer? Mine? I’ve been stretching my horizons over the past few years, experimenting with different pieces. I hunt both sides of the Ohio River; Ohio is a shotgun-only state and Kentucky is pretty wide-open for rifle … Continue reading →
Never take a load for granted. This weekend was proof of that. I had two rifles out this weekend. These were slam-dunk no-brainers, that I had been putting off in lieu of some tougher loading projects. The fault was mine—these were problems I should have been discovering in June, not … Continue reading →
I’ve killed 250 lb deer and I’ve seen 300 lb deer killed in the Greater Ohio Valley within 100 miles of Cincinnati. None required a premium bullet. The are awesome to look at, but that size difference is deceiving. You have to remember that the key dimension in a deer … Continue reading →
He froze. My right eye was blinded in the muzzle flash through the scope, but my left could follow him as he leapt once and then turned towards the bottom of the gully. I heard three bounds, a crash of brush, and then silence. It was 0650 on opening day. Twenty years of work had come to fruition, and a great buck had finally fallen to my hand.
Continue reading →13699: Ode to a 30-30 11/12/02-10:41 AM Posted by: shaman from Shooters.com ODE TO A 30-30 PART III by Shaman As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool to his folly. Or at least that is how it felt. There I was, up in the stand at Heartbreak … Continue reading →
11136: Ode to a 30-30 06/03/02-1:22 PM Posted by: shaman from Shooters.com Ode to a 30-30 Part II The Trip to Target World After the call to Bob, I had pretty much given up on buying a new deer rifle. Oh sure, I still hit Gunbroker.com, and I still read … Continue reading →
05/16/02-12:48 PM Posted by: shaman from Shooters.com Part 1 The Dream By Shaman We all handle stress differently, and everyone has their favorite methods of stress reduction. Since giving up climbing without a rope a few years ago, I’ve found shooting a box or two of ammo at the range … Continue reading →
2001 was my first year shooting reloads. I’ve got a new farm, a new stand, I’ve got my new loads too. I’d worked all the way from January to September getting it just right. Prior to finding the farm, I’d been thinking about a combination deer/boar trip out to the … Continue reading →
