Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wind: ENE, light & variable
temp.: l 55 , h. 82
moon: 1 day past quarter moon
major feed: 5:35 am, 6:00 pm
pressure: 30.08
humidity: avg. 50% 42 min. 61max.
rain: 0 today
AM Hunt:
As it cracked daylight I could see the neighbors stand was vacant and I had it to myself.
About 45minutes after daylight I heard a deer blowing off in rattlesnake flat. The wind was not blowing that way so i figured it could not be blowing at me. It was almost an hour later before I had any more activity. All of the sudden I heard something hit the palmettos over my left shoulder. About that time I spotted a deer hopping head high thru the tall bushes and palmettos......a buck! I thru the glasses on him and realized he was a big buck with some substantial horns.
I had the camera running but things were happening so fast I did not have time to try to get the camera on him for the shot. The buck was obviously looking for a deer he had lost and was looping back the direction he had come from. It was shoot and shoot quick or miss the opportunity all together. Not being one to miss an opportunity I shot fast and skipped the video.
One well placed shot to the shoulder with a T/C Shockwave and the buck was on the ground where he stood.
He turned out to be my best buck of the year, a great 7pt., although he did have a broken brow tine.
I drug the buck out and got him loaded and headed for camp. I ran into my huntin buddy Steve O on his 4wheeler. I pulled up and and Steve said "whud ya shoot?" I knew he was only about a mile from me that morning and would have heard the shot. I replied, did you hear a shot? "yeah, I heard a shot...did you shoot?" I said, you know I did hear a shot and kind of glanced back at the bed of my truck. Steve jumped off his 4wheeler, "Damn you Stephens, did you shoot another one?" About then he reached my truck and saw the buck's horns......".Damn, what a buck!" and just shook his head.
I was just just a little catch up between friends after he killed a big 8pt I was hunting and had been getting on my trail camera. a couple weekends earlier.
It has been quite a season! Probably my best ever, (5) bucks with a bow and (2) with a muzzleloader and all the bow kills I was able to get on video. That's no small feat. Being the hunter and camera man is quite a challenge. Also, I let at least 3 small bucks go, along with a handful of does. Usually, I take a couple does each year with my bow but by the time I got an opportunity this year I had already shot several bucks and could not handle any more meat.
I usually don't hunt much here in Florida after the muzzleload season as I head for Illinois for a two week bow hunt and then back for the second firearm season and that kills the whole month of November and the first week of December. After that is over I'm about hunted out. I am pretty into filming my hunts this year so if it works out I might put some more time in the stand here during the general gun season but I will hunt with either a bow or muzzleloader.
Hopefully, I'll have a few more exciting tales to share. I'll post some of the videos as I can get them edited but no idea how long it will take to get to that.
Larry S.
If you are looking for some advise on a muzzleload bullet, do yourself a favor and give the T/C Shockwave a try. I promise you, you won't be disappointed! I have been shooting them for 6 or 7 years and they are devestating on a deer. I have never lost a deer I knew I hit and most never took another step. The ones that did, left a blood trail as good as any I ever shot with my .30-06! Personally, I shoot the 200gr. but I think more people shoot the 250's.
Here's a linq and info on them:
