Author Topic: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken  (Read 4704 times)

FrontierMuzzleloading

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2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« on: October 03, 2014, 09:36:52 PM »
First off guys, I am not super happy about posting this. When I first saw the deer, it was BIG in the woods, facing me directly. I don't know how many of you have ever hunted thick pine forests and have had deer standing under 50 yards from you. For though that have been in this situation, deer look a lot better than from a distance.

Continued story from the Aerolite field test post:


[size=18]I[/size] took to the high ground and made a large circle of the area in hopes of cutting the deer off. There ended up being Three deer spread out through that bowl that had four different " fingers" leading through the mountain we were on.

I ran into them! I was getting ready to drop down into one of those fingers that runs between the mountain when I looked to my left and spotted a big eared muley doe to the my left at 35 yards. I cocked the hammer, set the hair trigger, took a couple deep breathes and then took aim and squeezed the trigger and that .58cal Hawken belched a beautiful cloud of white Goex smoke into the early morning breeze!

My Hawken was loaded with the same exact load I've been practicing for months now.
100 grains Goex 2f
.570" round ball that I cast my self
.020" patch
Mink Oil patch lube
Remington #11 percussion cap

Once I spotted the deer, I slowly got a hold of my breath, talked myself through the process and carefully pulled my trigger while pulling back on the lock to quietly set the lock into full cock position without it having to make that distinct CLICK. I took my time setting the trigger as quietly as I could as well and then slowly dropped to one knee, took aim on the deers chest and squeezed the trigger.

Once the white cloud slowly blew away in the morning breeze, I saw the deer twitching 35 yards ahead of me. I got up and reloaded, taking my time and watching the deer to make sure it wasn't going to get up and run while I was distracted with reloading my Hawken.

In the end the deer turned out to be a very young antlerless male. Perfectly legal to shoot mind you but the ground shrinkage killed me. Had I had a broad side shot, I would have seen the size of it and let it pass.

I am not one to just walk away from a deer I shot just because it wasn't the size I had been expecting to take. Meat is meat and there's no way in $#*! I was going to disgrace the animal and leave it after I took its life.

A very young deer but it will be welcomed at the dinner table throughout the winter months.


When we got home, my brother and I were cutting it into steaks, burger and roasts. He was cutting the rear leg up and said, Why the $#*! is the rear leg bone busted? Then he laughed and said, You won't believe what I found!


The balls I cast weigh between 277 - 278.8 grains. When I weighed this recovered ball, it was 272.2 grains! Not bad for going through all but 4 ribs lengthwise and through the leg bone! Well over 2 feet of penetration.


A great season for us in the 2014 books! I know I shot a young'n but the best thing to do is enjoy the memories and especially the gift the little deer gave us.

navygunner

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2014, 11:45:51 PM »
Well spoken and I'm sure the eating will be just fine. Congrats,

NG

Offline alyce-james

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2014, 11:49:31 PM »
Good afternoon FM; Sir, one deer hunt in Iowa I shot a very large doe. The .54 caliber round ball entered just behind the upper right front leg, no exit wound. The ball broke one upper part of a rib, turned the liver completely into confetti and lodged in the middle upper left rear leg, found when sizing the deer to fit my frying pan. The ball we found would be a sister to the one you found. That winter went well, deer, ducks and turkey in the freezer. Not to mention fish. Thanks for bring back old times. AJ.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 11:57:15 PM by alyce-james »
"Candy is Dandy but Liquor is Quicker". by Poet Ogden Nash 1931.

Offline Don Steele

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2014, 01:24:49 PM »
Well Spoken Sir.
Congratulations on accomplishing what you set out to do. Not every animal taken is "one for the books", but EVERY one deserves the respect you show for yours.
Once again, congratulations...!!
Look at the world with a smilin' eye and laugh at the devil as his train rolls by...(Alison Krauss)

Offline Daryl

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2014, 08:13:49 PM »
Well done - it's happened to most of us, although much more often with bears.  Nice to see so little damage to the meat - eat right up to the hole.

Any animal with a muzzleloader is well taken. Bravo!
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

KennyC

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2014, 04:09:46 AM »
Sir  well  written post. I enjoyed it. I also enjoy shooting big deer. But really enjoy eating a small one. LOL.

Offline Dphariss

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Re: 2014 doe hunt with my Hawken
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2014, 09:16:35 PM »
Check the length of their nose. Yearlings and over have longer noses. Its an easy mistake to make until one has looked at a lot of deer and shot a fawn or two by mistake. I shot two with two shots within a couple of minutes about 3 years ago. Young WT bucks. They were good sized but still smaller than a grown doe. They filled the tags and that was the mission. Fun hunt had to sneak through about 600 yards of wet snow covered brush to close on them. Kept the rifle dry until I laid it on one to field dress the other. The pan touched the wet snow, I had left my gun cover in the pickup since I knew there would no time for it at the ranges involved and the game that inhabited the creek bottom.
Though small they eat good...

Dan
« Last Edit: October 08, 2014, 09:26:56 PM by Dphariss »
He who dares not offend cannot be honest. Thomas Paine