KY Muzzleloader season has come and gone
Kentucky Muzzleloader season has come and gone. There were no deer on the meat pole to show for the weekend. The Hawken is back on the bench, and will soon be in the safe. It performed flawlessly, but the only two shots were into the ground to empty it out on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Why should I be so happy? Saturday was the hands-down best day of deer hunting I have had in twenty some years. I was at the new stand. I had deer at hand in nearly constant succession from an hour before sunrise until 0930, … More . . .
Moose Scores Doe in KY Yute Season
Moose and I were up in the stand called Campground for the opening of 2006 KY Yute Season. Local sunrise was at 0740. By 0805 Moose had a doe down. He had sent one round from the Garand through both lungs and the heart. Her legs buckled and she crumpled. Few seasons are going to be that short. Mark another bang-flop for Mister Garand. The doe appeared with a friend, walking through a creek bottom at fifty yards. Moose had about a minute to size things up and plan his shot. When the lead doe stepped into an open shooting … More . . .
Angus Passes Hunter Ed
Angus, age 8, passed Hunter Ed in Bracken County on 10/7/2006. Herb Rumsford had announced his retirement after 15 years as a hunter safety educator, so George Mountjoy stepped in at the last minute. Angus got only 2 wrong on the test and was most pleased with himself. Dad was pleased and proud too. Views: 2 Related posts: Mooselette — A New Hunter Checks in at Camp Indiana Passes New Deer Rifle Rules Angus Gets His Gun Angus’ Doe Angus’ Last Yute Hunt Angus Bags a Buck in KY Yute Season PODCAST: Angus Scores in Last Minute Hunt Changing a … More . . .
QDM, Shaman-style
I’m not trying to crow here. I’ve done so little over the past five years to make this happen, it would be hard to take credit. As late as the end of last season, I had a hunter ask me, “Why is it you never see and bucks around here?” The reputation for our ridge for quite a while has been lots of deer, but no bucks. Frankly, I was just so happy to have 200 acres of my own to play with, I didn’t much care. There have been a few exceptions. I took a nice 125-incher in 2003, … More . . .
The Buddy Stand II
I put the first of the two new buddy stands into place yesterday with the help of Angus and KYHillChick. This was the first time I tried the pulley-and-rope method of getting a buddy stand into place– MUCH easier. 1) I put up a climbing stick 2) I put a sheave on a rope and tied it around the tree about 14 feet up. 3) I ran a rope through the sheave and back to the ground. 4) On either end of the seat, I attached a rope and then made a loop. 5) I attached one end of the … More . . .
What I think of the WHA
Worldhunt.com Here’s the link. I posted in a thread on the Deer Forum a few weeks ago. My reaction: tell me it’s just a joke like the Bonzai Kitten site. Then I can laugh at it and move on. Hunting whitetail deer isn’t all THAT hard. Granted, they’re a wiley species. However, if you find a place that has deer and you take an elevated stand over a place they frequent, it isn’t all that hard to do. Furthermore, a big one gets shot just as easily as a small one. There are just fewer of the big ones. A … More . . .
Treestands — A survivor looks back
Something occurred to me this summer as I was getting ready for the start of deer season. I was in the shed, moving unused stands around, and it hit me how far removed from my earlier hunting experiences I had become. I’m now 48. I’m now well into my 20-something-th year going after deer. What has changed? The biggest change is my choice of treestands. My first few stands were home-brew jobs. The first was an ill-conceived bit of wrong-headedness based on the assumption that a nice piece of marine plywood could be hung on a tree with a piece … More . . .
Making the Switch to H4895
With gas prices, inflation, etc. kicking me in the wallet, I decided that I would try a new reloading project. Before I got started in reloading, I had foresworn that I would refrain from trying to push the velocity/pressure envelope too far I have previously embarked on projects that optimized for accuracy and recoil. That usually left me using H4895 for a rifle powder. I reload in the following rifle calibers: 30-06, 308 Win, 35 Whelen, 30 WCF, 7.62X54R and .223 Rem. Over the past five years, I’ve used a bunch of powders: IMR3031, Varget, IMR4895, BL-C(2), to name a … More . . .
Super Double Secret Ultimate Outdoorsmen
From the 24hour Campfire: I’ve got a very strange hunting partner (deer -) he’s a new hunter and doesn’t have near the drive as anyone else I hunt with. Last year he called me on the radio at around 9:30 and said he was done. Turns out he had forgot his shells, went to the stand, didn’t even think about loading the gun until he saw a deer. He said he pulled up, clicked the safety off and CLICK. hehehehehehe…. This guy is really a character … The next weekend I took a two does in the morning and he … More . . .
How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle?
How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle? Good question. Somebody asked it over at the 24HourCampfire in the optics forum. I won’t point you to it, because it quickly degraded into another pissy flame fest, common to that forum these days. (Sigh!) How many shots do I need to sight-in a rifle? How many have you got? Update: Here it is, 2014, and I the more I thought about this piece, the more I wanted to say more.  See How Many Shots. . . Really . This is a very popular article, so I did not want … More . . .
Brush Guns
From the 24hourcampfire.com If you go back and read what was being published back when the “Brush Buster” myth was running rampant you also see a lot of suggestions that shooting through a bush was an acceptable way to take game. I’ve got an O’Connor article from back in the mid-fifties that describes Jack shooting through a small bushy tree to hit a deer in the ass on the other side. His idea was that the deer would be incapacitated enough for him to get a finishing shot without much tracking. All that stuff is strongly discouraged now. The culture … More . . .
Availability of Rem Core-Lokts
NOTE: 12/17/2012 — This is from way back in 2006. Since that time, I have been able to procure just about any Remington bullet I needed from Grafs.com . Also, I finally settled on the 200 grain Rem SPCL (round nose) and it has been a great performer in succeeding seasons. Counting since 2001, it has been the demise of more deer than any other round. Just thought I would let you know. There are a bunch of other stories about hunting whitetail deer with the “Whelenizer” on this weblog. Availability of Rem Core-Lokts – (FROM THE 24HOUR CAMPFIRE) #930252 … More . . .
Mosin Nagant for Angus
I was at the Bill Goodman Gun and Nut Show in Sharonville, OH this weekend with #2 son, Mooseboy. I got to handle some K31’s and some 31’s and M44 Mosin Nagants. The M44’s impressed me. It then hit me that: 1) I could buy an M44 for under $70. 2) I could cut the stock to fit #3 son, Angus. He’s nearing 8 and needs a deer rifle. I could add a slip-on butt pad to help. 3) I could load a 130 – 150 grain bullet behind some H4895 and develop a load that was easy on a … More . . .
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