Author Topic: My Iowa Adventure  (Read 2337 times)

Offline Osprey

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My Iowa Adventure
« on: December 15, 2021, 01:53:52 AM »
Well I'm all back and unpacked and settled after a grand week of hunting in Iowa.  Hit it perfect this time.  Great weather for trip out, got cold while I was there for the first week of gun season and then had good weather coming home (tornadoes stayed south of me and snow stayed north en route).  Had fun visiting some good friends whose farm I hunted, and man oh man he has that place set up right.  Corn stubble, thick cover, stands, blinds and food plots all over.  Worst hunt I only saw 20 does, most mornings and evenings had a half dozen smaller bucks in front of me feeding and sparring.  Passed a big, broken up 8 point one morning at 10 yards, passed a really nice 140ish 10 pt that we thought needed another year or two another evening.  He had one old buck with all sorts of extra brow tines and stickers we were after, big bodied, old buck .  I saw him twice mid week but couldn't get a shot, just too far one morning and no shot angle one evening before he vanished in the corn.  Finally, last night of the 5 day season, he stepped out into a turnip patch.  Buck fed to 80 yards, thrashed a few corn stalks like he was making a rub, then turned broadside.  Checked my watch, one minute left in legal shooting light for the season.  Now or never, lined up the sights and touched off my .58.  Smoke filled the air and the blind and I had no idea of the result. 

Walked down the field edge, grabbed my pal out of his blind and we started looking.  Found blood pretty quick and the deer soon after, only went 75 yards or so from the shot.  Wow those deer out there are big.  Mass on the antlers is exceptional, hard to get a picture that really shows it all and the extra little points and stickers. 

What a week.  Also got to see some neat stuff I never see in Maryland.  Turkeys everywhere, flocks of them.  Several days saw a momma bobcat with twin kittens, really cool.  One day they stepped out in the field and 7 hen turkeys actually charged them, putting and carrying on, and drove the bobcats out of the field!

Rifle specs - .58 P Berry rifle by me, 38" Colerain Oct/Rnd barrel, 90g FFF goex, pre lubed pillow ticking patch with .570 ball.





"Any gun built is incomplete until it takes game!"

Offline john bohan

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2021, 02:04:07 AM »
He's your once in a lifetime, congratulations.

Offline MuskratMike

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2021, 02:06:33 AM »
Now that my friend is one fine buck. Thank you so much for sharing the story with us.
"Muskrat" Mike McGuire
Keep your eyes on the skyline, your flint sharp and powder dry.

Offline wattlebuster

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2021, 02:49:57 AM »
Good buck. Congrats to you ;D
Nothing beats the feel of a handmade southern iron mounted flintlock on a cold frosty morning

Offline ScottH

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2021, 03:21:21 AM »
Very nice buck, looks like an older deer. Congrats!

Online Austin

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2021, 03:37:32 AM »
Good one!
Eat Beef

Offline flinchrocket

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2021, 03:44:46 AM »
Those corn fed bucks really get big. Thanks for the story, glad you hooked up with one.

Offline BarryE

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #7 on: December 15, 2021, 04:00:25 AM »
Great hunt, outstanding trophy!

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2021, 04:31:30 AM »
He looks like a cow with antlers!  Very cool.  Congrats!  Thats the same load I shoot out of one of my 54s with a 38in Colerain barrel.  Oops.  Just realized I shoot 2F and you shoot 3F.

Offline snapper

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2021, 04:37:43 AM »
Hopefully you had a tractor and loader bucket to lend you a hand.

Nice buck!

Fleener
My taste are simple:  I am easily satisfied with the best.  Winston Churchill

Offline acorn20

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2021, 05:04:20 AM »
Great looking buck.  Congrats!
Dan Akers

Offline Osprey

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #11 on: December 15, 2021, 02:28:08 PM »
Yeah, we had a tractor on hand, but took a side by side with a small flat trailer back to haul him out.  Would hate to drag one of those bucks too far, our little 80lb sika deer here in the salt marshes are much nicer for that.   ;)

Pretty sure the deer was 5.5 years old, Joe had several years of shed antlers from him.  Even as a small 2 year old he had all that trash and extra brow tines.

Worst thing about Iowa is now all the years of waiting and preference points to be able to get a tag and go back.   :(
"Any gun built is incomplete until it takes game!"

Online alacran

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #12 on: December 15, 2021, 04:04:04 PM »
Nice buck, congratulations. Sure are some impressive whitetails in the Midwest.
A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.  Frederick Douglass

Offline Sparkitoff

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #13 on: December 15, 2021, 05:27:05 PM »
Awesome buck, rifle and adventure!

Offline old george

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #14 on: December 15, 2021, 06:19:09 PM »
That buck made the adventure well worth the effort. Congrats.

george
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Offline Daryl

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #15 on: December 15, 2021, 09:50:24 PM »
Well done, Osprey. A good sized buck.
Daryl

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Offline Bill in Md

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #16 on: December 15, 2021, 11:41:08 PM »
Cherish your accomplishment!!!....Well done!!!!
The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.

Offline drewsbow

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #17 on: December 16, 2021, 12:27:57 AM »
congrats

Offline Percy

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #18 on: December 16, 2021, 01:10:13 AM »
Last minute big buck, doesn't get any better than that. Thanks for sharing.

Offline elkhart

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #19 on: December 16, 2021, 01:25:49 AM »
Congrats! Sounds like a fantastic hunt

Offline thelongrifle

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #20 on: December 16, 2021, 04:03:54 PM »
Congratulations

Offline mwal

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #21 on: December 18, 2021, 01:22:19 AM »
Congratulations on a fine buck!!
Mwal

Offline smylee grouch

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #22 on: December 18, 2021, 03:04:30 AM »
Nice deer Osprey, did you get the chance to weigh him? Looks over 200#.

Offline Osprey

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #23 on: December 18, 2021, 03:08:00 AM »
We didn't think to put him on the scale, but I'm sure he was over 200.  Glad I didn't kill him a mile deep on public land!
"Any gun built is incomplete until it takes game!"

Offline Herb

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Re: My Iowa Adventure
« Reply #24 on: December 18, 2021, 07:29:36 AM »
Looks like about 220 to me, based on other Iowa and North Dakota bucks.
Herb