November controlled hunt.

[WinSX3Tom]

Well fellas how was your week out?

Our group got 7 within the first 3 days. Only one shot was taken from Thursday to Sunday.

The weather really seemed to stop the deer moving through the day.

My wife got to experience her first hunt which was great for us together. She helped me gut a doe that another fella shot opening morning and she didn't get queezy one bit.

She was out there 4 days and Saturday morning got her first chance at a little buck. 10 yards from her stand, she shot just under him...

Husbands fault. He forgot to tell her that the gun was shooting flat now not 10" high like it was when she sighted it in. ( I guess that's me oops.) She took the loss with good spirit though.

So now we still have two seals and another month and a half to try and get a couple with a bow. I've got antler less she only has buck.

Hope everyone else had fun.

We did but without the snow it was damn cold out there.

 

[mick]

hey Tom...congrats to your wife for her bests efforts to fill her first controlled buck tag!

down here a little west of you I caught up with a couple of muzzleloader first weekers.. 4 hunter groups I know and both 4 hunter/tag groups were done by wednesday...which is average
there was an 18 pointer taken...ministry was down there to examine the brute...ended up being a 22 point...I have not seen the pictures yet...ya 92B coughing up another monster for the record books...ya I know the shooter and it wouldn't be off to the taxidermist for a shoulder mount unless it was
a monster..

 

[Water Wolf]

Great week last week for deer. We got 3 of 4 and yes the deer movement changed later in the week. Took my oldest boy with me Saturday and tagged a small buck he spotted and pointed out to me. Very happy kid.

 

[paddle maker]

I got my first deer ever. On Friday evening. But we saw deer every day. Great week.

 

[mick]

hey congrats paddle maker on your first deer...sure like to hear the little story that goes with that...I hope you got a picture of ya with your first..
seeing deer every day...you said it...ya thats a great week...good for you...sounds like a good spot and you know what your doin...
and hearing others shootin too adds to the excitment...nothin like it...

 

[anonymoose]

I hunted the first week and had no trouble rounding up 5 bucks for 5 guys. I was the shooter on 3 of them, and I managed to get my first deer on a stalk which was nice. I've always liked the idea of stalking slowly through the bush into the wind and blending in but never seemed to have the patience. This year it worked out - I managed to see him before he saw me and I froze. He was headed in my direction and he slowly came right in to about 40 yards. Even with hunter orange on, as long as the wind is in your favour and you don't move, it is surprising how close they will come.

I eyed up a shooting lane and made a bleat and stopped him for the shot. Of course he stopped right before it with a tree blocking his vitals. After a long pause he took one more step and I squeezed. What a great way to fill a tag but it is putting a serious cramp on my bow hunting style! Have a couple of buddies still carrying their tag who stop by for the odd hunt but I'm not spending enough time in a tree stand for my taste these days!

 

[mick]

congrats Ben on your deer huntin and a great take down on your buck...yes stalkin...with the right conditions...you need to know your huntin area and where the deer are and like...flushin bedded bucks with in feet..and also stalkin right up close to a bunch standin and watch them to shoot the biggest one...now thats rewarding..those days are gone for me...I use to go all day with lots of action..now its sittin..usually last light..work smarter ...not harder..

 

[DaveJ]

Heres my 8 pt from the 2nd week. Not the boss hog but a good deer to harvest. Big body--over 200lbs. Came into a doe call with his pants on fire. The rut was going strong this week--all bucks I saw were either with does, chasing does, or like this guy, looking for does.

 

[mick]

good shooting DaveJ ...looks like you were huntin north packin a nice rifle..barrel looks on the heavy side...what calibre...

theres a different angle of my 8 point..ya a 2 1/2 year old deer is good eatin...but still hesitant on eatin my northern deer...had caribou again last night...lol

ya you take what ya can when your freezin your azz off..and second day at 3: 00, it wasn't what i was looking for.. but dieing to kill one...ka boom he gets it...lol

 

[DaveJ]

Mick. Its a Knight Disc black powder 50 cal

 

[mick]

thanks DaveJ for pointing that out..I think I now see the ramrod under the barrel..the knight rifle goes wayyy back...lol...buddy bought one years ago when they come out...he recently converted it over 209 shotgun primer ignition..happy to know your a muzzleloader..keep up the good work..

I remember the days growin up here in 92 some guys same age packin black powder pedersoli double barrel 10 guages and the old 58 cal. buffalo rifle
oh ya the blasting shots ringing out in the valleys and country side was like a war zone.. and the holes in the deer and blood trails were massive..
todays muzzleloader is small, fast, accurate and reliable...and the technology has reached its pinnacle...success rates have increased dramatically..

 

[DaveJ]

Mick--Ive shot a few blackpowders since I started in the early 90s but have always stayed with Knight rifles. This one in particular is the one I carry most days.

Its an early DISC rifle--uses 209 shotgun primers in a plastic disc that keeps everything waterproof. What I like is it has a 22" barrel--which is far from the 28" and 30" tubes that are so common on a lot of the break action guns today. Those are great shooters but the balance is terrible. This Knight is perfectly balanced and with a 22" barrel its perfect when you hunt out of treestands like I do. Im basically a bowhunter with a blackpowder for the week--same setups same operating plans.
This gun is also one of THE most accurate blackpowders Ive shot. Even with the 22" barrel it eats up all of the 150gr Pyrodex pellets that toss a 300gr saboted Hornady XTP at just over 1900 FPS. It does a 1.5" group at 100yrs all day, and if Im shooting a good day, will do a 6" group at 200 yrds.

I would like to shoot a Sharps Calvary style black powder rifle, but they're all breechloader, either paper cartridge or brass...but I think I could convert one with a bit of work....

Nice deer you have there. Any deer black powder is a trophy. I have a 22pt non-typical that was the #1 Ontario record for about a month!!! Its my life trophy rack, so I dont hunt horns too much anymore, but I love to see them. I shoot deer for the freezer so a fat doe is great, although with just one tag anymore, the bigger body of a young buck gives you a better harvest and they eat excellent.

Is that a Thompson you're shooting?? Nice guns.

 

[mick]

good for you DaveJ being a diehard owner with your Knight rifles!!!...oh good it shoots 209 shotgun primers ..
I can't comment on shooting a knight rifle...I have perfected 5 different muzzleloader rifles including a couple carbines...in 88 my first muzzleloader a carbine was a new T/C renegade hunter...thats the short heavy ocatagon barrel..I killed my first buck at a 100 yds a month later..now that rifle was top heavy...and the load was the ancient 350 grain maxi ball with 110 grains of loose FFG powder that killed my deer.. over a dozen years back I set-up a CVA wolf and scoped that rifle for my girlfriend.. that carbine was light & easy to swing and killed out to over a 100 yds..a nice little rifle ...I also set-up a small traditions buck hunter pro scoped and shot a number of loads..including your XTP hornady 300 grainers ..it killin a big busted up 8 ..filled a few more tags with that one..all shooting 209 primers..GF yelped and moved up to a T/C triumph so yep another scoped rifle to set-up...she did really well..touching holes off the bench at 100yds and killing a young buck out in the middle of a big field...lol ...so I played with the Blackhorn 209 propellant and fine tuned the wolf with that and killed a couple deer myself with that... I also killed with full bore power belts with the traditions...but that bullet cost me one nice buck..you would get the high flyer and where did it go mystery..lol..I know others that said the same thing...but they still sell them off the shelf...

I am done chasing the next best thing years ago....so yes thats a T/C.. bone collector triumph model... it was a toss up either that or the T/C pro hunter...I picked the triumph in 2009..it was .5 lighter at 6.5 lbs came in camo and was sale priced...it has a nice crisp trigger set at 3.2 lbs, a nice feature is the 1/5 turn and pull out the breech plug for easier cleaning...Like you I shoot a magnum charge 150 grain 3 pellets..I seat a 250 grain shockwave with a crushed rib sabot... muzzle velocity is over 2000 fps...best thing is crazy accurate ...with the leupold 3-9X40 slam scope with the Sabot ballistic Recticle shooting accurate on paper to 200 yds...My longest kill was under 150 yds...hornady SSTs 250 grain bullets I also use is the same bullet as the shockwaves...just a different colour polymer tip that increases velocity improving accuracy..

thats great DaveJ you got a big trophy buck antlers on the wall..sounds like a 6X6 with lots of extras..there was one taken similiar..first hunt this season..still waiting to see the pictures...I have shot 8s and 2 tens..but nothing really old...the big bodied bucks are great for filling the freezer.. now working on a setup with a new Remington 700 CDL rifle I bought on a clearance Sail. Its the big 300 RUM calibre. Ya should be good medicine for big Ont. spring black bear. I called a remington service agent in the states and he quoted me "thats way to much rifle for hunting"...no way..after what I seen back in the spring...crazy big..

 

[DaveJ]

Mick--those TC are sweet..my friend has an older Encore Pro Hunter style. Killer accurate.
I like the 300gr XTPs in my gun. Tried the 240s and it just didnt like them. Seems like each gun has a recipe that it likes. Like you, I stopped chasing the newest and shiniest best thing of the year. I have my stable of shooters that I know and trust. I still handload for all my rifles cause I like to, but dang theres some good across-the-counter ammo now.

As far as big calibre stuff...Jack Parkinson and I were talking about big calibre stuff for deer...he said "you can't kill 'em too much" Nuff said!!

 

[GPS]

"JackParkinson" your dating yourself. Had a lot of good talks and bought a lot of items from Jack.

 

[mick]

I can barely remember buying ammo & accessories from parkinsons on warncliffe...the old Aylmer gun shop is were I bought my first guns...
Jack is right about big...and its gotta go magnum fast packin tons of energy so it hits so hard it shocks them to death and they drop right on the spot...

nothing wrong with those XTPs...I had some good action with those... they peel back like a flower...

i think way back and the biggest obstacle was the sabots...others had the same issues with alot of the plastic sabots you get with the bullets...loading melting breaking up...thats where the power belts shined for a bit..anyway...I remember I got a hold of these crushed rib sabots from harvester muzzloading in the states and life got easier killing deer...I have been throwing the T/C and hornady sabots right in the garbage for a long time...lol

 

[DaveJ]

"JackParkinson" your dating yourself. Had a lot of good talks and bought a lot of items from Jack.

I grew up in he hunting world with Jack Parkinsons, George Woods. Canadian Tire was across the road from Jacks shop on Wharncliffe Rd and you could buy/order guns back then. So we'd go to CT and get a price on a gun, then go to Jacks and try and beat down his price. He'd get pissed off at us cause we were kids. Bought a lot of stuff from him over the years. Once he got to know you he was a wealth of info--if you caught him on a good day!!

 

[Reel Therapy]

A little late but thought I would share the one I got during the rifle season. It was a slower week then normal but we managed to get 3 for the camp. I got this one on Fri morning at 168 yards with the big 7mm. The spread was over 20" be st part was the wife said I could put it on wall beside my Elk

 

[paddle maker]

hey congrats paddle maker on your first deer...sure like to hear the little story that goes with that...I hope you got a picture of ya with your first..
seeing deer every day...you said it...ya thats a great week...good for you...sounds like a good spot and you know what your doin...
and hearing others shootin too adds to the excitment...nothin like it...

 

[paddle maker]