Thumbcocker
12-14-2013, 12:58 PM
I had a successful 2013 season and thought I would share it with you all. Before season I traded into a Bisley hunter model. After going back to Ruger for thread choke issues it would shoot NOE Keiths over 22 of H110 like this90492 Our first firearm season is the weekend before Thanksgiving. I got a shot at this little 6 pointer on Saturday morning about 7:00. 90493 I stopped him about 40 yards behind me and shot him between the neck and shoulder with an Ideal Keith hollow point cast of 50/50 ww and lead pipe over 22 of H110. He ran a ways with his tail down and stopped on a ridge about 70 years away. He was wobbling but didn't fall. He wandered out of sight. I decided to give him time and wait a while. About 5 minutes later a doe came by on my right side. I stopped her at 30 yards. I got cocky and tried for a heart shot and ended up just knocking some hair off her brisket. Mrs. Thumbcocker and I looked and confirmed that it was just a haircut that caused no real harm. I sat down to a large slice of humble pie and decided to go look for the buck. I found him about 40 yards from where I had last seen him. The boolit had gotten one lung and a piece of liver before exiting. There was no blood trail. He had been a six point when I first saw him he had been a 6 point but had gotten his main beam broken off.
The next firearm season was the Thursday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. On Thursday I missed a chance on a small buck that blew through chasing a doe. We had freezing rain. 90496 Then it started snowing on Friday
90498. All I saw was 3 coyotes way out of range. The temperature dropped a lot and it was 7 degrees when I left the house. Mrs. Thumbcocker questioned my sanity but did admit that she would be happy of I got a deer. Nobody makes snarky comments with a mouthful of backstrap. I got up my tree about 6:30. I saw a small doe a few minutes after settling in and tried a shot at 60 yards with no support. Perfectly doable at the range on a nice day. Clean miss at 7 degrees with a nice north wind. I saw 3 more does heading away from me but they were very far off. A small doe snuck up on me and I didn't get a shot.
Mrs. Thumbcocker called about 10:50 to check on my welfare and mental health. I told her I would stick it out till 11:30 or so since the sun was up and the wind had stopped. right after I hung up 5 does came over the hill. I blatted at the lead doe and she stopped with her vitals behind a tree. I had the Bisley cocked and was able to rest my wrists on the rail of my tree stand. I had just hung the stand on a tree to avoid sitting in the snow so I was only about 5 feet off the ground. The longhead took two steps and I blatted at her again. She stopped and was quartering to me. I aimed for the exit hole and did my mantra frontsightfrontsightfrontsight muzzle flash. She ran up hill a little way and then down. She dropped in sight. The entrance was on the front edge of her right shoulder and exited in front of her left rib. Same load as the little buck. Got both lungs and a piece of liver on a diagonal shot.90499 By the time we got her out it was up to a balmy 17 degrees.
Winters meat made and lessons learned, Never forget the basics no matter how much you practice or how good your gun shoots.
The next firearm season was the Thursday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. On Thursday I missed a chance on a small buck that blew through chasing a doe. We had freezing rain. 90496 Then it started snowing on Friday
90498. All I saw was 3 coyotes way out of range. The temperature dropped a lot and it was 7 degrees when I left the house. Mrs. Thumbcocker questioned my sanity but did admit that she would be happy of I got a deer. Nobody makes snarky comments with a mouthful of backstrap. I got up my tree about 6:30. I saw a small doe a few minutes after settling in and tried a shot at 60 yards with no support. Perfectly doable at the range on a nice day. Clean miss at 7 degrees with a nice north wind. I saw 3 more does heading away from me but they were very far off. A small doe snuck up on me and I didn't get a shot.
Mrs. Thumbcocker called about 10:50 to check on my welfare and mental health. I told her I would stick it out till 11:30 or so since the sun was up and the wind had stopped. right after I hung up 5 does came over the hill. I blatted at the lead doe and she stopped with her vitals behind a tree. I had the Bisley cocked and was able to rest my wrists on the rail of my tree stand. I had just hung the stand on a tree to avoid sitting in the snow so I was only about 5 feet off the ground. The longhead took two steps and I blatted at her again. She stopped and was quartering to me. I aimed for the exit hole and did my mantra frontsightfrontsightfrontsight muzzle flash. She ran up hill a little way and then down. She dropped in sight. The entrance was on the front edge of her right shoulder and exited in front of her left rib. Same load as the little buck. Got both lungs and a piece of liver on a diagonal shot.90499 By the time we got her out it was up to a balmy 17 degrees.
Winters meat made and lessons learned, Never forget the basics no matter how much you practice or how good your gun shoots.