First flint buck with $5 rifle

Some good Karma finally came around my way last July when I got a call while eating lunch with my family that I had just won the Michigan State Muzzleloading Assoc. raffle gun. It's a .50 cal Bedford Co. Flintlock made by Ted Thelen. I paid five dollars for six raffle tickets earlier that spring at the Kalamazoo Living History show. Fast forward to Nov. 15 opening day for firearm deer in MI. I sat all day (11 hours- sore rear end)only to get a glimpse of a deer at dusk, no shot. The next morning I got out to my stand well before light and got settled in. Shortly after shooting light, I made two or three short bleats with a doe call can. Almost immediately I could hear movement to my left. After what seemed like an eternity, (4-5 minutes)I could certainly make out a deer with antlers coming right in to my stand. I brought my gun up, pulled the flint to full cock and set the rear trigger. The buck stepped out of the brush and stopped broad-side at 40 yards and put his nose to the ground. The rifle erupted smoke and fire with not a bit of hang time. I saw the deer lurch, make 3-4 bounds straight away from me and fall over. Only 15 yards from where he stood. I didn't wait long to investigate. He was a 6 point buck, might have been an 8 if he didn't have some broken tines. A through and through shot just behind the shoulder with a .018 ticking .490rb and 75gr 3fg powder load. Thanks Ted Thelen and the MSMLRA for a great rifle. Happy hunting everyone!

Can't beat the good luck and nice Deer. :thumbsup: Larry

That'll be a memory / season you won't forget.
:thumbsup:

Man, when I read the title I thought it would be about an old gun bought at a garage sale or something. What a BEAUTY!!! I never win anything nice like that. Glad it got put right to good use! :grin:

Great shot and nice buck. :hatsoff: Always good to see a smiling youngster in the picture too.

Nice. Make sure u share all w/the MSMLRA too!

I think you should call your gun LUCKY.
Not that any skill was't involved in the harvest.
But Lucky to win it and Lucky to harvest a nice buck.
I foresee a lot of great hunts in the future.

PJC

Congratulations! :hatsoff:

Great story and great gun. I too think you should call your gun Lucky. Good to see a smiling child. :hatsoff:

Well......wow :applause:

B :hatsoff:

Congratulations! :hatsoff:

Tongue put firmly in cheek:
Well, I do got a five dollar bill here - wanna trade :wink:

That is really a nice rifle and nice buck!

Silex

I tip my hat to the international members, thanks for visiting my post. Can't wait to visit Great Britain, and would love to visit Munich and southern Germany again...such a cool forum.

Congratulations :thumbsup:

great hunt and thats a beautiful $5 rifle :thumbsup:

Set your compass south, you'll have a lot more fun! Nice looking rifle, great investment.

Nice rifle, nice shooting. Lucky, that rifle fell into the hands of someone who can appreciate it and use it. Did you have any flintlock experience, prior to winning this rifle? Anything harvested with a flintlock, is more rewarding, I think.

This would make my 4th deer with a flintlock, first buck. My first flint rifle is a TVM .54 iron Virginia that I bought for Pennsylvania's flintlock only season 2 years ago. Such a fun addicting hobby...saving up for a Chambers fowler kit next.

Nice deer and good story behind it. Best $5.00 dollars you ever spent!

Congratulations!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Congrats on agreat rifle and a good buck.Griz

Great story, beautiful rifle and awesome harvest! :thumbsup:

Excellent...I'm happy for your and your new baby. Looks like baby No.#2 enjoyed it too. You may be making another muzzleloader. :thumbsup: