2017 HuntingNY Muzzle Loader Harvest Thread

[WNYBuckHunter]

Post up pics of your 2017 Muzzle Loader season deer here!

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Feel free to start a new thread if you wish to have comments in addition to posting the photo / story here.

[Fletch]

NC 6 point 2.5 yo
TC Triumph 148 yards




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[WNYBuckHunter]

Yesterday I went Out for the evening sit, as our closing on the new house had been postponed. I walked in and found an ungodly amount of tracks in the thickets behind the standing corn field, so I decided To sit a stand between the thickets and swamp, where I’m sure they are bedding up most of the day. I was In the stand for about 30 mins when I saw A group of 4 does come out of the swamp heading right for me. They cut across my boot tracks in the snow and the 2 older ones hung up while the younger 2 came right in to 10 yards. I got My muzzleloader off the hook and waited to see what the older does we’re going to do. Eventually one gave me a nice broadside shot at 65 yards, so I pulled The trigger and down she went. I reloaded And waited, as I still Had quite a bit of daylight left. After 15 mins or so I loomed Behind me to my left to see a big doe coming out of the swamp. She walked right through my wind and started trotting. I got My muzzleloader ready and grunted to try and stop her. She must have been grunted at before because as soon as I did It, she took off at full speed. 10 mi s later I saw Another deer exiting the swamp. Got my Bono’s up and it was a good 2 1/2 year old 8 with a small drop tine that I have Plenty of pictures of. I gave Him a pass, hoping that he makes it through the last few days of the season, as I really Want to see what he becomes next year. I stayed In the stand till dark to see what else was going to pass through but I didnt See anything so I hopped Down to retrieve my doe. She’s a big old nanny with a massive noggin. Biggest doe I’ve shot in the last few seasons. She also makes my goal for this year complete. 1 doe with my bow, a buck with my crossbow, a doe with my rifle and a doe with my muzzleloader. I may Go out tonight to see if I cant find a nice buck to fill my last tag with. 

[goosifer]

In the same stand in a tree row overlooking a field when I got my first muzzleloader deer. About 80 yards to my left, perpendicular to the tree row is a row of trees that gets a lot of east-wes deer traffic. At my 10 o'clock, about 90 yards away, I see three doe slowly moving East. I Iined up a clear shot on the lead doe and fire away freehand; didn't even bother to zoom in the scope, although I probably could have and should have. No drop. It just scampers off to its hard left, while the other two doe go run away to the left. Fortunately I have an experienced hunting buddy with me. We wait a few minutes, then he goes to look for a blood trail while I direct him to the shot area from my stand. He finds some hair and some fine mist-like drops of blood. He tells me to come down and stay to his side 15 yards away with my muzzleloader ready in case we jump it. Had there not been snow on the ground, it would have very difficult to follow this blood trail. It was intermitant at first, where it first bounded away, and just a fine mist spray of blood in spots. We keep at it, towards the edge of the property. We find a spot where it had bedded down for a while, about 100 yards away, with blood all over the area. Now the trail is getting easier to follow. Finally, after another 50 yards or so, we find the blood trail that is spread out over a wider area, like it was staggering or going side to side. 10 yards away, we find it. A nice sized doe.

Although I aimed for the center of the deer, I had shot it in the throat. I am glad it was ultimately a lethal shot, and that we were able to recover it within an hour. Still, I feel bad that it had to suffer unnecessarily like that. This is the second shot in two days that was high and to the right. I think I will need to go to the range and confirm my sights are on. The first shot on Friday was through some tree branches, so I had assumed it had been deflected. But two days in a row? I've been very lucky and fortunate this muzzleloader season.

[NYBowhunter]

4 does came in running straight to an Apple tree thats still holding fruit, shot biggest with the TC ML. Pretty huge doe. 

[Billdogge]

Down to the wire to get it done. 3c. 70 yards quartering to me. Drove Barnes through. Found bullet on the ground near where I shot him. 

[NYBowhunter]

A smaller doe that i took yesterday.

[mowin]

4 hunters, 4 deer.  Two does, two bucks. 

Great end to the season. 

[Zem18]

At 9:10am this morning I caught 5 does headed in my direction but they were a long ways out. Wasn't sure if I'd get a shot opportunity. To my surprise, they reappeared and came right into me. The biggest one came in and when her head was behind a tree, I raised the ML and squeezed off my shot. When the smoke cleared she was on the ground but kicked twice and was back up. She walked 15 yds and bedded. I knew it wasn't a great shot at that point but thought it should have been better for sure. I ended up hitting her in the liver on the first shot, missed on the second, and finished her off with the third. I practiced shooting before the season and the gun is on so it was all me.



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[BowmanMike]

Got a doe on Sunday with my wolf muzzleloader. I still hunted and was going to work my way around a swamp but only made it to the very beginning of it. I peeked over a rise down towards the swamp and saw the shape of a deer through the brush,50yds off. She looked to be on the small side,and i thought maybe it is a button buck all by himself like that. I checked it out with my binoculars and also scanned for other deer. And sure enough,there was another one looking at me.

This one looked smaller yet and kept staring in my direction. The wind was in my favor,and we all stood still for over 10 minutes. Then the 2nd deer put its head down and i saw antlers against the snow. It was a forkhorn. So that decided that the doe,which was bigger than him,was a shooter. Now i waited another couple of minutes before they finally started moving very slowly. When they were behind some trees i got my footing and the gun up and ready. Eventually the doe stepped into a somewhat open lane and i shot. 

She didn't run, just walked slowly. I was getting nervous about a bad shot,and she walked slowly towards me,tail twitching like crazy. The buck stopped at my 9 o'clock,wondering why his doe didnt run. He ran off as i reloaded. 

I had lost sight of the doe and headed in her general direction,and there she lay. 

I checked out the hit site and noticed a sapling i hit,maybe 5' in front of her. It deflected my bullet some so i hit her further back then where i aimed,but i still got lung and liver and she passed fairly quick. Lucky harvest,finally some meat for the freezer,bow season was a wash.

[Robhuntandfish]

Snuck into stand as quiet as I could along the corn.  Saw a fresh set of tracks right by the stand that looked like this morning.  Sat there about 25 minutes and at 80 yards is a deer.  Where the hell did it come from?  Did it fall out of the sky.....I can see all around no way I would have missed it coming in.  

But looks like a good sized doe and never taken a deer with the muzzleloader so let's SEND IT!  

She is looking right at me trotting away a little . I see a hole in the trees and she walked right into it and stopped before I could even "meh". Touch off the shot and down she goes. 

So I am gonna give her a few minutes and then get down from stand.  Then she gets up....so I am scrambling to reload and get down.  Walk over and she is down , then starts to get up so I shoot and finish her.  Reload again just in case. But she is done. 

Walk over and wait.....it's a buck!  Lost its horns already and looks like it was today..  damn . 

So it's early I decide I am going to track it a ways and see if I can find horns and where the hell it came from.  So I start tracking and come to a bed .  This buck was bedded within 80 yards the whole time I was there and must've finally got nervous enough to stand up. It was on the other side of a big tree and I never saw it. 

And it looks like it's been there a while and no horns.  Then I hear brush and look up and here is the biggest buck I have ever seen in the woods high tailing it at 70 yards.  I pull up the gun....it's a monster.  Without exaggeration looks like a mainframe 12, high tines everywhere .  It's running along the trees line to another field. Too much brush and no open shot unless it goes to my right, instead it runs down the hill where I can't go after it.  No kidding a damn monster.  So I walk over there and there was another bed.  That buck sat there thru 2 gunshots and me walking around before it bolted.  I was looking for dropped horns, wish I had looked up a little sooner.   Guess it's something to look forward to next year!   

Great afternoon first muzzleloader deer. Wish it had kept it's horns. Prob not a monster but def could've been a decent one.  

Sat in this stand 3 times this year and dragged 3 times.  

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Robhuntandfish