46rkl

Just got back from picking up my two bucks from a friend who does the euro mounts. Really nice work.

I used to use one of those. Hated it and had a bunch of near disasters before heaving it in the scrap pile.

A good day to retreat to the shooting shack with all this wind. Saw two decent bucks but I’m down to doe only and, of course, no doe to be seen.

Very nice buck and great story! They do exist, even on public land, even on Long Island.

Rewarding myself for today’s efforts. Found my lost knife in the field, survived misfires and killed a decent doe. The real reason for rewarding myself is for surviving the drag out. Just not used to having to do that anymore but no options tonite. Big Ditch Hayburner to start with. Fitting as I was the mule today.

Sorry Lawdwaz, I missed that part. It’s a Savage 111 chambered in 25-06.

Cleaned it a couple of days before the gun opener but did not lube the firing pin. It’s certainly a possibility, though. Fired a single shot on Wednesday, no problem but today…. I’ll be doing a deep cleaning and testing it out after the season. I’d like to have someone else shoot some of the ammo I’m using but I don’t know anyone with a rifle in 25-06.

Yep. Three misfires out of five shots. Every one of the cartridges had a well dimpled primer but no bang. I’m gonna retire the 25-06 for the season and run a fair amount of ammo thru it after the season is over. It appears to be the ammo but can’t be certain.

Looks like a pair of coyotes to me. Leg to body ratio is not right for deer it seems to me.

Doe down. Ridiculous story. As I posted earlier, I lost a doe due to a misfire. We’ll, I was sitting in a stand when two doe stepped out about 80 yards away. No good shot because of branches in the way. I waited impatiently for them to feed their way towards me and they did. The smaller one was at twenty and the bigger one at forty when I first tried to shoot. Misfire. Slowly work the bolt while they are both looking around and trying to figure out what the noise was. Ejected round rinks off of the stand and I get the action closed. They are back to feeding so I try to shoot again. Misfire. Now I’m screwed as the clip is empty. I slowly eject the bad round (caught this one), remove the clip, unzip my backpack and get my spare (loaded) clip out. I’m surprised that I remembered where I had put it. Get it loaded and rack a round. I look up and the bigger one was now out around 60 yards and acting nervous while the little one is closer. I managed to lean over to my right a bit and get a clear shot off. She bolted but circled back in 15 yards and fell right where I shot her. Nice heart/lung shot. The only problem with the whole thing was that I had a very long drag, more than half a mile and three creek crossings to get this deer to my truck. Getting way too old for that but as the song goes,”I may not be as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was”. Sort of… All in all a good day but I’m beat and I need a beer.

Absolutely. I left it in the field. Not gonna stick that in my pocket!

Good day, bad day. Good, I retraced my steps from last Wednesday and managed to find my Buck knife. Careless on my part to lose it but very happy to have it back. I’ve had that knife close to thirty years and used it on all sorts of game. Deer, elk, hog and antelope not to mention all sorts of small game. Very good day. Bad, just minutes after finding my knife, I spotted a doe working it’s way across a goldenrod field and went on a stalk for about a hundred yards until I was thirty yards from her. Waited a couple of minutes while she grazed with her hind end facing me. When she turned broadside, I pulled the trigger and only heard the firing pin whack against the Hornaday Performance round but no luck with it firing. The deer looked up and hopped into a hedgerow and was gone.

No deer seen this afternoon. Better luck with beer. Southern Tier Old Man Winter is a favorite this time of year.

Trying a noon till dark sit today and despite near perfect conditions (no snow) it is completely dead out here. No deer, few squirrels and few birds. It’s quiet enough that I can hear the mice rustling the leaves around me.

What a great story! I can’t think of a better way to spend one of my last days. All involved in making this vet’s day so great is to be thanked. Just amazing.

Dark meat only.

All quiet in 8H this afternoon. Stay warm and dry and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. Know that somewhere out there there’s a deer hunter doing their best to keep the deer population in check. Doe hunting only for me now but nothing moving in my area. Not a single shot heard.

After knocking it down twice in the first four shots, he got down from his tree stand and went after it. Kept getting close and trying to put it down but a smooth barrel 870 isn’t the ideal weapon for shooting distance. I appreciate the fact that he doggedly pursued the buck after hitting it across about a half mile total. I was surprised that he had that many slugs in his pack. I asked him afterwards if his pack or his wallet was lighter after firing 14 rounds..

So, this guy was a real warrior. There were three of us hunting my buddies property, two carrying shotguns and me with the 25-06. The landowner spotted this buck about 80 yards out and knocked it down with the first shot but it got back up and was limping off so he kept shooting. He got out of his stand to chase it and kept shooting, knocking it down two more times. Meanwhile, I got out of my stand to try and cut it off but it turned and crossed the field where a young hunter on the adjoining property shot at it twice when it ran right under him, also knocking it down. My buddy caught up to it but couldn’t get a shot. I set up next to a brush lot opposite all the action and got lucky when I heard the deer coming through the brush. I knelt down and spotted him as he stuck his head and shoulders out of the brush. Neck shot dropped him right there. Finally tally was 17 shots. 14 from the first shooter, two from the neighbor kid and one from me. The buck had an injured front foot that was misshapen and caused his limp. Scars from fighting all along his back and neck and a gouge below his eye. The Swiss Buck, as in Swiss Cheese from all the shots. One antler tine shot off, lower jaw shot off, shoulder shot, grazed under the front leg, neck shot and my kill shot in the neck. Nothing pretty about this one but it’s hanging in the barn after a real fight.

Buck down! Story to follow.

Not at all. There are a whole lot of choices on Amazon. Search for wood stove fan. I have also seen them in a couple of fireplace supply stores.

It’s a heat activated fan. The type you set on a wood stove. I used an angle grinder to cut a little slot so it would fit on the grill of the heater.

Cold but no snow in my part of 8H. Sitting in the shooting shed trying out the new fan mounted on the Little Buddy heater. It’s working great! Pushing the hot air towards me and really keeping me warm. Now if the deer would just cooperate.

This is the one who stood in front of me and the trail cam this morning. One antler with a little fork in it.

Not many shots in my valley here in southern 8H. I had a unicorn standing in front of me earlier and two yearlings strolled by a half hour ago. Twenty three degree temperature swing from this morning. I think it’s time for a tree stand nap.