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- Nov 25, 2009
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Virginia's early MLer season opened November 2nd. It had been dry for a while and was windy in Patrick County, so the leaves were really noisy. I was in my stand in a laurel thicket around daylight and stayed until almost lunch time. I had scent out in hopes of enticing a cruising buck, but hadn't even seen a squirrel. I knew that there were no acorns this year for the first time in several, so it shouldn't have been a surprise. I started back towards the house into a headwind, but still careful to not make a lot of noise. Sometimes deer feed or at least cross through the small meadow behind the house....as I worked towards the opening from the woods to meadow I heard commotion and saw 2 does bound from the knob below me across the hollow towards the house. I froze and watched with binoculars just relishing the sight of a deer on this day...the larger doe began feeding, and the smaller was partially obscured by brush, but they weren't spooked. After a couple of minutes I hear more commotion below and saw a much larger deer, this one with antlers, making its way towards the does. It stopped with its head hidden, but the body size was comparatively large, and I had glimpsed respectable antlers. The does took notice and decided to depart, and headed straight towards me! I knew this was about to get real interesting in short order, but don't even recall pulling the cock back. I was focused on the buck, so don't really know where the does disappeared to, but he started quartering towards me, and stopped again with his head behind a white pine. I was in the middle of a logging road, so had no option for a rest. I took the shot offhand at about 60 yards.
I was rocked about 1/2 step backwards and tried to see through the smoke. The buck apparently had dropped like a rock, and I worked towards him without reloading. The .605" PRB entered the base of the neck in front of the right shoulder and exited behind the left. The entrance is behind my hunting bag, and those are red leaves and not blood. I moved the deer a few yards prior to taking the photo. It was no treat to drag him uphill! Since it was so warm, I had to hang/skin/bone him out quickly.
Oh, the rifle? Whilst not historically pure, its my hunting rifle. 28-1/2" Colerain Hessian Jaeger pattern barrel.62cal 1-66" twist, straight grained English walnut, Chambers early Germanic lock, Davis triggers, weighs 7-1/2#. The pull on the front trigger is such that I don't even bother with the set. It has a White lightning liner with less than .06" touch hole and ignition is reliable and quick! On this day I had a French amber flint that I swear could have started a forest fire, 120gr fffg Goex, .018" pillow ticking with mink oil from TOTW.
I was rocked about 1/2 step backwards and tried to see through the smoke. The buck apparently had dropped like a rock, and I worked towards him without reloading. The .605" PRB entered the base of the neck in front of the right shoulder and exited behind the left. The entrance is behind my hunting bag, and those are red leaves and not blood. I moved the deer a few yards prior to taking the photo. It was no treat to drag him uphill! Since it was so warm, I had to hang/skin/bone him out quickly.
Oh, the rifle? Whilst not historically pure, its my hunting rifle. 28-1/2" Colerain Hessian Jaeger pattern barrel.62cal 1-66" twist, straight grained English walnut, Chambers early Germanic lock, Davis triggers, weighs 7-1/2#. The pull on the front trigger is such that I don't even bother with the set. It has a White lightning liner with less than .06" touch hole and ignition is reliable and quick! On this day I had a French amber flint that I swear could have started a forest fire, 120gr fffg Goex, .018" pillow ticking with mink oil from TOTW.
