The Second Sunday of KY Rifle Season dawned foggy and warm. Rain was expected before Noon. Both SuperCore and Angus went out; I stayed behind to pack. At 0752 ET, a herd of five doe wandered out into the Garden of Stone to feed. Angus sat inside Midway and watched … Continue reading →
It would seem Midway has become the lucky blind this year. #2 son, Moose came back out after several days away from camp. I gave him the key to Midway. We had all thought the action would be out in the Garden of Stone. However, at 0703 Moose saw a … Continue reading →
The Buckless Youper, Remnar, got his first deer this morning. I was back at the cabin putting the finishing touches on yesterday’s story when I heard a shot coming from the back of the property. At 0715 ET Remnar radioed in he had a doe down and needed assistance at … Continue reading →
The deer have been rather tentative in their movements the past couple of days, probably due to a great deal of wind. We have been seeing a few, but nothing that would afford us a shot. Yesterday, the wind moderated a bit and I gave Remnar the use of the … Continue reading →
This morning SuperCore went to Jagendehutte, Remnar went to Lazy Boy and I went back out for a sit at Midway. I did not have long to wait. At 0710, 20 minutes into legal hunting, a nice doe came out of Left Leg Creek and wandered out into the pasture … Continue reading →
SuperCore continued his record of Opening Day successes with a fat 8-pointer taken as he came out from behind Broken Corners and heading into Dead Skunk Hollow. SuperCore made a brilliant neck shot and brought the bruiser down about 120 yards from his vantage at Jagendehutte. I was out at … Continue reading →
Early Muzzleloader Season has been a dry run for us– a dress rehearsal for the big show in November. This year was no exception. SuperCore, Angus, Moose, Mooselette and I went out Saturday morning with the express hope of not shooting anything, except perhaps a new camp record. Sunday, we … Continue reading →
So with the deal in the bag with the 7mm-08, I headed down to the farm to get PLAN B going, namely the 30-30’s. I’ve got two. One is the Marlin 336 that I’ve had since 2002. Even though I stopped hunting with it, I’ve kept shooting it and developing … Continue reading →
The Bad News 2 weeks ago I took the Ruger Model 44 out to do a final sight-in with the ammo I was going use for hunting. The first round went off and was perfectly placed on the target, but I just could not find the brass. I finally checked … Continue reading →
Yesterday marked the 12-week mark in the countdown to the Rifle Opener in November. It found me staying home from camp to escape the all-day rains that never quite materialized. So what needs to be done? Odds and Ends By this time of the year, I have all my clothes … Continue reading →
The last piece of the Perfect Deer Rifle Puzzle is Ammunition. There are guys out there that will tell you Barnes TSX is all you need to know. I have a friend that hunts with it exclusively. Let me just say up front, if you’re hooked on premium ammo, there … Continue reading →
In the previous missive, I examined what makes an ideal deer rifle from the perspective of chambering. The answer was “Yes, one of those will do nicely.” Now, I’m going to start getting into the real meat of it. What action? What length? The answer is still the same: “Whatever … Continue reading →
What DOES make the perfect deer rifle? I’ve tried to answer this several times over the past couple of decades. Most of those thoughts ended up on this weblog. The question continues to haunt me. Part of that is that I spent so many years trying to come up with … Continue reading →
So Shaman, exactly how many deer rifles do you need? If I said just one, this would be a really short post. In a way you do only need one. As I’ve written many times before, just about anything can kill a whitetail– certainly any modern centerfire rifle. Okay, maybe … Continue reading →
 Being trapped at home in Covid-19 purgatory gets a mind to thinking. I’ve had a real dearth of reloading projects. I have two major windows for reloading each year; they are between my two main hunting seasons. By 1 March, I have a backlog of projects that are done and … Continue reading →
 I cannot help but mention Big Bob’s passing one more time as well as talk about his Ruger Model 44 and the 44 Mag as a deer round. Big Bob only made it to our camp a few times. I rode him around in the truck. His legs had … Continue reading →
I’ve tried a couple of times to write this Deer Season Post-Mortem, and every time I get bogged down in darkness and regret. The fact is this season turned out to be something other than planned. It’s over– ’nuff said. I suppose I should be standing proud that I made … Continue reading →
Angus and I were just pulling onto our street back home as Rifle Season officially ended on Sunday. We had a cooler full of frozen venison. The truck was packed with all the rifles and gear. It had been a crazy season for all of us, but that was that. … Continue reading →
As you all know, my buddy Bob died this past winter. He was an outdoor writer and magazine editor. Out of the estate I managed to snag a minty Ruger Model 44, and swore I’d put it to good use. Bob would have been proud. I nailed a buck with … Continue reading →
Looking from the outside, one might ask why we even show up. I’d have to go back and look to see when we last shot a deer during Kentucky’s early Muzzleloader Season. This year was much the same. However, I would say everyone had a great time. At our camp, … Continue reading →
I went to point to the story of honorable #2 son’s first deer hunt, and I found that it was missing. I had pictures, but that was it. It was a seminal moment in both our lives, so I felt it bore setting down properly before the details have fully … Continue reading →
Right now, I’m all alone at the farm. KYHillChick and Angus are down on the KY/TN line at the family reunion. Moose has a friend or two down at the campground. I’ve hardly seen them all weekend. The plan is for KYHillchick to stop at Sonny’s BBQ in Richmond on … Continue reading →
As I mentioned at the beginning of the summer, I inherited a Ruger Model 44 Carbine from Bob’s estate. Since then, I’ve been slowly working towards turning it from a safe queen to a working deer rifle. I met Bob in 1982. I probably saw the rifle for the first … Continue reading →
With all the really good bottom end deer rifles out there, folks are beginning to lose sense of what it was like to own a deer rifle that couldn’t hold to a pie plate at 50 yards. As I opined here on the 24hourcampfire: Current Rifle Accuracy You have to … Continue reading →
What makes a good deer rifle? I’ve been contemplating this now since the first Reagan administration. Every time I pick up a rifle, I’m pretty well judging it based on how well it would take a Whitetail. However, for all that mental energy, I do not think I have ever … Continue reading →
