doulos

Over the years Ive shot more than 20 deer with 300 grain XTPs. All except 2 exited even when shoulders were hit.. All had great blood trails. All deer were down with in 40 yards. This year 2 deer with 250 grain XTP's out of an Encore. 1 exited 1 didnt. 1 deer down in 20 yards the other about 60. Found the bullet under the hide in fragments. The jury is still out on these but i feel more comfortable with the heavier bullet and a much better chance of a pass through. I used these because the Encore shot them so well but next year I'll find a load with the 300's.

very nice deer

Larry What stinger are you using? The 2 or 4 blade? What weight? Im still using the 100 grain 4 blade How far did he go after the shot? much of a trail job or did he go down in sight?

Larry Way to go! great deer!!!! Sam

Im very fortunate , as I have a lot of time to hunt. Im sure that in itself and how long I have been hunting have influenced me and given me more patience to pass deer.

Id like to take a mature doe for meat but i cant get one near me. the only deer I could have arrowed so far have been 1.5 yr old bucks and fawns.

Way to go!! Nice deer. From the looks of it that buck has got some weight to him. Those carts are back savers arent they?

Im like you Joe I feel fortunate to be still hunting after 3 heart stents. Just checked out your web site. I like it. Like you also I havent used my inline as much the last 5 years. I have been using inlines since the eighties once I found how effective they were. I used them all season. But the last 5 seasons I mostly use one of my Hawkens and patched round ball. Ive had to pass alot of shots because of the open sights as compared to the optics I have on my inlines.

Wow!! Very nice deer. Congrats

nice deer!!!!!! Hes got some character!!!!!!!!

I dont think you understood my question. Congrats on your buck. I am not judging what anyone shoots or doesent shoot. Or suggesting anyone think like me. Nor am I holding myself up as an example for anyone. A far as other properties not practicing QDM. No one by my lease practices QDM either. And I killed a large deer and one of my partners saw one larger. I just know that most of my bow seasons were over the first week and I wouldnt have killed him because my tag would be filled. And so far this season what keeps me going is that I know for sure at least 4 bucks that frequent this lease made it through the season last year. (dont know if they made it throught the winter though). I am asking for those who do pass shots how they react when they get skunked. That's all. Fasteddie seems to understand what I am asking.

Great buck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all a disclaimer----------In no way is this thread meant to imply what people should do or kill. Its not a promotion for QDM. My take is this if you have a tag go ahead and take it. First off Ive been deer hunting a long time (38 years) and love it. I love all aspects of it,including the preparation and practice. Last year was the first year I didnt shoot the first 1.5 yr old buck that was a 4 pt or better. I passed a total of 4 or 5 bucks and then killed a 10 pt that scored 141 7/8 total and 128 7/8 after deductions. It was my best and I realized I wouldnt have been on stand if I had killed one of the others. Well so far this season I have passed at least 4 small bucks and have seen 1 for sure shooter that I couldnt get to come in. Id like to kill something at least 2.5 years old or better. I have also passed some does for no other reason , some were fawns and some were bad shot angles. Actually thought i had adecent sized doe to shoot tonight but passed a shot once I saw the buttons on his head. With this bow season winding down Im starting to realize I could get skunked for the first time with the bow in a long time. My questions are: For those of you who pass shots do you have regrets if you get skunked? On average how many shots do you pass a season? Do your standards get lower as the season wears down? Did getting skunked make you revert to your old ways?

Ive done quite a bit of hunting in 8F. Even though i lease property in 8G I was in 8F 3 times this week and have seen alot of deer . One reaql nice 8pt. Could have shot a couple of does but let them pass.

Great video!! I killed the best buck of my life last year with a Primos bleat can. I actually got him to come closer to get a shot. Ive had good luck with calls of all sorts. But it really seems to be dependant on the area and time of season. Ive had best luck rattling in early bow season. And it seems to me areas where the buck to doe ratio isnt all out whack seem better for calling.

Cant tell whats going on without seeing your set up but phil at indian mountain is the man. there is also Creekwood archery right in Brockport

great buck!!!!!!

Was out most of the day today Larry. Set up a ground blind near some cedars to get out of the rain for a while. The cedar trees are tore up with rubs. Ill stay away from there now for about a week so they get used to it. Sat in a tree the last 2 hours. Saw 7 deer total today. Couldnt tell what some were but 5 were definite does. The most Ive seen all season. tough day to stay still once your wet.

17-20 feet is plenty enough to allow you to draw. Higher than that makes shooting much tougher. Epecially when deer are close. I once missed a very nice 10 point that was only about 8 yards from the base of the tree while i was up about 25 feet. I actually killed the best buck of my life out of a 15 foot ladder stand that seems very short to me.

Ive been seeing buck sign since the season began. I have passed shots at at least four small bucks and have seen 3 other small bucks that I couldnt have shot. I have only had a chance at one doe and didnt take it because it was a fawn. I havent seen alot of deer considering how many times Ive been out. But Ive actually seen more bucks than does so far.

there a lot of better long term gun storage protectant products out there than bore butter. I wouldnt trust that stuff to protect a barrel.

Thats true and the ones ive recovered (only 2) stayed together and mushroomed great. they are very under rated

Ive killed about 25 the deer with Hornady XTPs.(the regular ones not the Mag xtps) The .45 cal 300 grain variety in either MMP, honady of Knight black sabots. And also a couple with the .44 cal 300 grainers. From ranges from 10 to over 160 yards. Powder loads were of real black powder , Pyrodex ,777, all in the 110 grains to 90 grain range. I only recovered 2 bullets that didnt exit. And some of these deer were shot through both shoulders. Blood trails were profuse. All of this out of 6 different inlines. Ive always wanted my bullets to be heavy enough to penetrate and exit so they leave a good blood trail. This bullet is cheap, accurate and does what is supposed to as a hunting bullet. The Savage smokeless muzzleloader that was designed around this bullet. The inventor Henry Ball did all his testing with this bullet before he sold the patent to Savage. This bullet can be bought in bulk and its all you'll ever need for most shots. Yes it is not as ballisticaly good as the spire pointed bullets and supposedly inferior but it does the job.

I believe the first muzzleloaders that came over to this country were the large caliber ,short barreled jager styles and muskets. A swamped barrel was used to lengthen the barrel and use smaller calibers, but at the same time increase velocity because of better powder burn and still keep the long barrel to a weight that was useable. heres an example of the dimensions they are slightly hourglass shaped this diagram is from Colerain Barrels site A swamped barrel moves the balance point back toward the breech, keeping a long barreled gun from being nose heavy. It is thinner where the presure is lowest and thickest where the presure is high at the breech end. The barrel flares back out again at the muzzle. .the breech is plenty strong fro a good sized charge If you ever held one off hand ,You'll WANT One. The balance even for barrels over 38 inches is incredible. You have to handle one to appreciate it. For those who are interested in flintlocks here some good web sites AmericanLongrifles.com Muzzleloading Forum .com and the Contemporary longrifle Association All these sites have alot of info about the American Longrifle and its history. Alot of the guys on these sites are custom builders. So for those of you who want a rifle built or a kit these are good places to start investigating

yea Bernie I use alot of ballistol too, For patch lube. But i use it alot more diluted about 6 parts water to 1 part Ballistol. Ive used Mink Oil for a cold weather hunting lube and like it also