A great story

[Buckmaster7600]

I love reading about others that hunt deer the way I do almost as much as I like talking to people about it. Hal and his boys know how to get it done when he going gets tough! http://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/Gallery/Articles/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/200/The-Beagle-Buck-VT-Muzzleloader-2016

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Doewhacker]

Hal is a good guy, real easy to talk to as well. One of my recent life goals is to move to the big woods of Maine where I can track deer and hunt grouse and hare till I croak. That will wait till the kids are finished with school though.

[nodeerhere]

Sounds like a great hunt to me! And I'd like to say I would have let it lay a bit longer. But I've also been there before where I just needed to get on them. Either way he still got it done in the end and had a fun time doing so!! Great story! The drag was no fun tho I'm sure!! 

[ApexerER]

Great story, thanks for posting it....

[wolc123]

Wow, 5 shots at the same buck with a ML, and it sounds like 4 of them connected.  Getting that much lead into a deer with a ML is quite a feat compared to doing it with a repeating rifle.  I got a second shot into the neck of a big, double-lunged Adirondack doe one time, when she tried to get back up after her initial fall.  A dozen or so other deer that I killed with my ML only required one shot. I thought I was ok with just 2 loaded speedloaders for backup.   That story has convinced me to add a tube of bullets/sabots and a small pack of powder pellets to my pack.  I was already leaning that way, because a friend at work recently ran out of ammo down in PA during the late flintlock season, and it cost him a big buck.   Has anyone ever needed more than 5 shots on a ML hunt?   I will be packing (8) from now on, because things don't always go according to the plan after contact is made with a deer.     

That style of hunting has got to hurt marksmanship quite a bit compared to "sit and ambush", making a less-than lethal first shot far more likely.   Imagine trying to get off a quick shot offhand, when you are half out of breath and your heart rate is elevated.  It is easy to see why follow up shots are sometimes needed, especially when you throw some big antlers into the mix.   It might be a good idea for those who want to hunt that way to practice that in the off-season, with a BB-gun and some pop cans.  Keeping yourself in top physical condition would help a lot also.   It is a fun way to hunt, especially when there is snow on the ground.                    

[dbHunterNY]

16 hours ago, wolc123 said:

...   Has anyone ever needed more than 5 shots on a ML hunt?

                 

yes.  if i'm hunting with a muzzleloader it's the last weekend and the freezer is most generally not close to full.  been a while since that's happened though.  i drop meat earlier and earlier as each year goes by.  i always save a couple for a doe that happens to be close to the truck or atv on the way out; one to put it down and the other just in case i need to finish it quicker.

[Coachdad]

Nice story thanks for posting it.