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Henry Earns It's Stripes

airedale

By airedale,
in Rifle and Gun Hunting

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airedale Grand Master

airedale

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Been very slow where I Deer hunt, not having a big Deer population to begin with my area was devastated by the Gypsy Moth caterpillars, they defoliated most of the hardwoods and especially the Oaks and Beech so mast production was seriously depleted. My favorite spots have an almost sterile look and other than something just passing through there is no wildlife activity period. So I moved to some different terrain still hunting and found a small mast grove that was relatively untouched by the caterpillars and had produced acorns and beechnuts as I was seeing Squirrels everywhere. I was sure any Deer in the area would be hitting this spot sooner or later so that is where I have been hunting. Still hunting produced three sightings but no clear shots, my sits I saw plenty of Squirrels but no Deer. Up until today all of my hunting has been in the afternoons until dark, today I decided to get in early and see if my luck would change. It was raining this morning and while I hate getting wet I heeded "Fred Bear's" remark that rain is an excuse to hit the timber and get after them. Well I was not in those oaks long and I spot movement, put the binoculars up and could see a Spike Buck moving through, from the direction he was going I knew if I cut him off he would be coming through an open area presenting a shot as long as I did not spook him, and that is exactly what happened.

Now to the good part, the rifle I have been hunting with is a Henry brass frame 357 mag single shot that I picked up a couple of years ago, I did a writeup on it in the gun section of the board. The ammunition was handloads of a powder I have never used (Win 296)and bullets that were being used for the first time, (Hornady 140 XTPs), on paper everything looked good.

So at about 75 yards the Buck comes into the opening presenting a broadside shot, the little Leupold 2.5X ultra light's crosshairs settled behind the front shoulder and kerpow!, everything looked perfect! At the shot the Buck took off in a sprint, I see him tearing through the woods for a bit and then nothing. So I went to where he stood at the shot and could see blood right off the bat, a little bit of tracking and there he was piled up. Totally happy with the rifle, the same with the handload and bullet performance.

Now for a couple of more firsts, I used a new knife for the first time, a little bitty USA case stacked leather handle straight blade that performed the field dressing as well as anything I have ever used and better than most and after listening to Wolc's praises for the Buttout device I purchased it and Wolc is right on the money that thing worked like a charm.

So no I did not kill a monster but I am just a meat hunter and am totally happy with the way the hunt went and with all this new stuff working so well. At 73 years of age I am getting to what I consider bonus time and don't know how many more hunts are in the future.

Glad I got the Deer hunting over because them Squirrels are going to be catching Hell shortly.

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SpacemanSpiff Proficient

SpacemanSpiff

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31 minutes ago, airedale said:

Been very slow where I Deer hunt, not having a big Deer population to begin with my area was devastated by the Gypsy Moth caterpillars, they defoliated most of the hardwoods and especially the Oaks and Beech so mast production was seriously depleted. My favorite spots have an almost sterile look and other than something just passing through there is no wildlife activity period. So I moved to some different terrain still hunting and found a small mast grove that was relatively untouched by the caterpillars and had produced acorns and beechnuts as I was seeing Squirrels everywhere. I was sure any Deer in the area would be hitting this spot sooner or later so that is where I have been hunting. Still hunting produced three sightings but no clear shots, my sits I saw plenty of Squirrels but no Deer. Up until today all of my hunting has been in the afternoons until dark, today I decided to get in early and see if my luck would change. It was raining this morning and while I hate getting wet I heeded "Fred Bear's" remark that rain is an excuse to hit the timber and get after them. Well I was not in those oaks long and I spot movement, put the binoculars up and could see a Spike Buck moving through, from the direction he was going I knew if I cut him off he would be coming through an open area presenting a shot as long as I did not spook him, and that is exactly what happened.

Now to the good part, the rifle I have been hunting with is a Henry brass frame 357 mag single shot that I picked up a couple of years ago, I did a writeup on it in the gun section of the board. The ammunition was handloads of a powder I have never used (Win 296)and bullets that were being used for the first time, (Hornady 140 XTPs), on paper everything looked good.

So at about 75 yards the Buck comes into the opening presenting a broadside shot, the little Leupold 2.5X ultra light's crosshairs settled behind the front shoulder and kerpow!, everything looked perfect! At the shot the Buck took off in a sprint, I see him tearing through the woods for a bit and then nothing. So I went to where he stood at the shot and could see blood right off the bat, a little bit of tracking and there he was piled up. Totally happy with the rifle, the same with the handload and bullet performance.

Now for a couple of more firsts, I used a new knife for the first time, a little bitty USA case stacked leather handle straight blade that performed the field dressing as well as anything I have ever used and better than most and after listening to Wolc's praises for the Buttout device I purchased it and Wolc is right on the money that thing worked like a charm.

So no I did not kill a monster but I am just a meat hunter and am totally happy with the way the hunt went and with all this new stuff working so well. At 73 years of age I am getting to what I consider bonus time and don't know how many more hunts are in the future.

Glad I got the Deer hunting over because them Squirrels are going to be catching Hell shortly.

2021-11-15_094548.png

2021-11-15_094730.png

Awesome write up. I love the rifle looks like a lot of fun. One of my favorite calibers. Great deer and congratulations 

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airedale Grand Master

airedale

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3 hours ago, grampy said:

And it's not too often us "older" hunters get to have some "firsts"!!!

It is the motivation that gets me out there grampy, in recent years Deer hunting has not been that important to me. I have gone for several years without even hitting the timber once for Deer, I still have some meat left from last year. Nothing will get get me more psyched to hit the woods than some new equipment and or firearms, I have to see how they perform first hand. The last four years has got me out there evaluating a Marlin 94 44mag, the Savage 99A in 250 Savage, the TC Encore in 25-06 and this year the Henry SS in 357 mag.

Al

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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

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14 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:


Its in Cherry Creek


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I did have two consecutive failures with my butt out a few years ago which also caused me to chuck it for a while.  The keys to it working  are:  put it in the upper hole on a doe,  after insertion, turn it 1.5 to 2 times before pulling it out, clean the residue off of it prior to using it on a second deer, do not use it as a grinder stuffer.  
 

Hopefully, readers will learn from some of the mistakes I made and not have to make them themselves.

It has worked perfectly for me for the last 5 years or so, but that first year was rough.  It even worked good this year after I reshaped the tip a little after a grinder accident last year.  Definitely one of the better $5 I spent on hunting equipment.

 

 

F94DE3FD-51B2-4EB9-BDAD-E65D4B967709.jpeg

Edited by wolc123
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airedale Grand Master

airedale

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The instructions on how to use this gizmo shows several methods, I field dressed this Deer the same way I always do by gutting first and removing the butt last.

Once I gutted the Deer I flipped him over on his stomach spread eagle to drain any blood. Went to the rear and inserted the Butt Out flush to the stop on the tool. I gave it a twist until I felt it grab and then made cut around the outside, gave a little more twist and pulled everything out, about as easy as it gets. I am sold.

Al

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moog5050 Mentor

moog5050

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On 11/15/2021 at 12:12 PM, The_Real_TCIII said:

Thats a sweet little knife! I wish I had the same results with the butt-out. I made a mess with it three times then flung it into the woods

I like the butt out tool too.   It really works.  You only need to spin it around once.    Are you helicoptering the thing tacks?

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Nytracker Mentor

Nytracker

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Congreats on a nice buck with the lever 357. Im still looking to get a 44 or 41 mag . What scope model is that .

Dont know about the butt out tool ... seems like a good idea .

Love me a great case knife .

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As you can see I have a few . Far right I found on a gut pile need a sheath for it . Far left was my grandfathers.20211126_112154.thumb.jpg.7966298ef9dc1d13af851b6223ec7258.jpg

One on the left is my dads. One on the right is my newest one . I used my dad's for a long time  sharpened it to a razor all the time . Used up a quarter of the blade . Now its a safe queen .

I have way to many knives as I sit here looking at all the ones I have in 2 shoe boxes . Still have more stashed in various  places around the house.  Wife and kids know better than to ever touch my knives .

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airedale Grand Master

airedale

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1 hour ago, Nytracker said:

What scope model is that .

The scope is a Leupold 2.5X ultra light, a very minimalistic scope and exactly what I like using on my short range Deer hunting rifles. It does everything I need with total reliability and dependability.

Nice Case knife collection you have, back when I was a young feller most of the hunters had some make of stacked leather hunting knife hanging from their belt including my Dad. Don't see that style being used much today. I did not have one in my collection which gave me the excuse to buy one LOL!

Al

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