Another buck with cast HP

[Grendel99]

I just capped off my best deer season ever, with my 9th deer of the year! I went hunting with a friend Christmas Eve morning and sat in my favorite stand. It's a ground blind in a small oak bottom with a tiny stream going through it. I got in an hour before daylight and got settled down to wait. It was raining all night and misting rain when we got there. It was a little windy and very cloudy and didn't get enough shooting light until 20 mins later than normal. I didn't see or hear a thing except for some noisy dang crows for the first two hours stealing what little bit of corn I had left. They are pretty fun to watch though, always chasing each other around, throwing leaves around, and just being obnoxious. At almost 9 o'clock on the dot I caught movement to my left and just saw brown and a tail twitching and it was making its way towards the small shooting lane I have. It was too thick to tell exactly what it was, but I went ahead and put on my hearing protection and readied myself. Right before it got to the opening, there is one little clear spot and I trained my binoculars on that area and waited. A few seconds later I saw antlers and I recognized them! It was an older buck that I have had on camera for three years now and I call him the Crab Claw buck because of how his antlers look at the end. He's only a five point but has a good sized body on him and I knew he was at least four years old. I have trail cam pics of him since October of this year in the area but always at night, never during shooting light.

He was extremely cautious coming in. He poked his head out from behind a big cedar, but all I could see was his neck and head. I really don't like taking necks shots, so I just waited. He kept looking all around, he would look at the blind I was in, then at the stupid crows, then behind him. He started to turn around and I thought I wasn't going to get a shot. He took another step towards the shooting lane, but still not enough for a shot. He kept scanning around for a few more agonizing minutes then finally took two more steps and I had a great broad side shot. I cocked the SBH Hunter and sent a Lyman 429640 cast HP (ACWW, Lyman Super Moly Lube, Hornady GC, sized .430 with 2400 powder going a little over 1300 fps) through his lungs from 30 yards. He leaped forward and started to run slowly straight away from me, but I could tell he was hit really well. He went all of 20 yards and I could see him the whole time, then he stopped, did a back flip and he was done. Buck down! There was bits of lung on the ground at the impact site and a blood trail Ray Charles could follow! On cleaning him, I could see I clipped his shoulder on the entrance and it came out just behind the opposite shoulder. The entrance was caliber sized with the exit a good inch in size. I pulled his jawbone and he aged at 5.5 years. Here are some pics of him on the trail camera and how I found him after the shot. I've shot 5 bucks, 4 does, a big hog, and a coyote this season. Deer season ends January 1st, but I went to Colorado to visit with my sister for Christmas and New Years and I will miss the last few days. I was very excited to get this buck because I've seen him since 2011 and this was the first time I've seen a deer on camera, hunted it, and actually was able to kill it. He is not big antler wise but he has character and is an older deer. Just for those wondering, none of the meat from all these deer went to waste. I love eating it and so do several of my neighbors and friends.

Do the links to the two trail pictures work? I was having some issues with those.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvhe...pzcz8nu/WGI_0015.JPG (https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvheve5hpzcz8nu/WGI_0015.JPG)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5i54...39wec2w/WGI_0016.JPG (https://www.dropbox.com/s/5i54afvn39wec2w/WGI_0016.JPG)
http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Albatross926/photobucket-19223-1387942479809_zps4fe83c2d.jpg (http://s790.photobucket.com/user/Albatross926/media/photobucket-19223-1387942479809_zps4fe83c2d.jpg.html)

[cat223]

Thanks for the hunting story. You should write children's books. He really looks like a big boy. Congrats on a great season.

[CastingFool]

Congrats! That is one good story, fresh venison is always good.

[richhodg66]

Congrats! Wow, not too many make it to five and a half years, especially in lowcountry S.C. with such a long and generous season.

[taco650]

Congrats! Looks like a nice, big-bodied deer. His antlers seem too small for his size but that's how it goes.

[turmech]

Congratulations. And nice looking pistol. I have a very similar set up only with a red dot. I have been thinking I would prefer a scope (sadly no where around here to check one out before buying) What kind of scope is on yours? Do you like it?

[white eagle]

wow nice story and excellent deer well done
there is another story of how well hp's work just adds more proof for me
thanks for sharing and a season well done I think I want to move

[Larry Gibson]

How can this be? I thought all HPs blew up on the hide and didn't penetrate deep enough to kill deer? Especially those with a gaping HP like the 429640HP?


:kidding:

That is a great cast bullet and nice hunting rig BTW:awesome:

Excellent post and good hunting/shooting on your part.:guntootsmiley:

Larry Gibson

[tomcat388th]

Nice deer great job sharp looking pistol.
Larry I had a nosler 240 out of my 44 super redhawk just pancake on a yearling a couple of years ago. she was quartering toward me at about 45 yards. Hit her right above the knuckle/joint on the shoulder. Luckily she ran toward me and I was able to zip on through the ribs. It was just shrapnel under the skin on the entry side never made it into the chest on the first shot. I've taken this shot before with my smith 57 41 mag and a 250 grain cast performance bullet and it just plow on through and out the other side. Maybe it was just a fluke but all I do with them now is punch paper.

[Grendel99]

Thanks for the comments. Not sure if the children book comment is positive or negative though? :? Can y'all see the trail cam pics in those links? He has some small antlers but you can definitely see in the trail pics that he has a big body and neck. And jaw bones don't lie. This is actually the 3rd deer this year over 4 years old. I've never shot more than one or two older deer in a season before. I shot a big 6 pt from this same stand in October who was 4.5 years old with the same gun and a Lyman 429421. Then I shot a giant doe who almost had no teeth, they were worn down so much.

I'm really liking this cast HP, there was a great blood trail and it went straight on through. I don't have very much experience with hunting with cast bullets, but will definitely keep using these. I'm going to try them on some hogs, I think they will do really well.

The scope is a Simmons Pro Hunter 2x-6x and I really like it. It's not quite as clear as my Leupold 2.5x-8x but still really nice. It has held up really well and has been on this gun for about 4 years.

[Larry Gibson]

tomcat388th

No doubt about it the wrong bullet for the wrong game will fail. Note I said wrong bullet not wrong design of bullet. Jacketed FMJs are the choice for some animals and illegal for many others with good reason. Even then there are factual encounters where the FMJs failed. Same with jacketed SP and HPs. use the wrong one for the wrong game and failure is bound to happen. That's not to say that ALL FMJs or all SP/HP jacketed bullets will fail simply because the wrong one is used and it fails. Same with cast bullets. back in my early cast bullet hunting years I have had hard cast bullets (RN, FN with large and small meplats) shatter and fail to penetrate. I have had HPs shatter and fail to penetrate. Wasn't the design of any of them that failed.......was the alloy and the guy who cast them that failed. I learned that with the right alloys a HP'd cast bullet that expands reliably but does not shatter or prematurely shed the expansion petals is a much more efficient killer of soft game than the hard cast bullet. It is the same with jacketed bullets; a properly expanding SP or HP kills much more efficiently than and FMJ. That is why FMJ's are illegal to hunt game with in all states. Many others have also discovered that better alloys and improved HP designs with cast bullets in both handgun and rifle cartridges offer greater and more efficient terminal effect on game.

Yes I was being somewhat facetious but when someone like Grendel99 cast them correctly and uses them with such success.....well what can I say other than well done to him. BTW, years ago I found the Nosler .44 240 gr HPs were only good for coyotes and jack rabbits and said so. Boy did I draw the ire of some heavy Nosler supporters for that one. But it is what it is........

Point is let's not condemn any style of bullet based on the poor results of one. Note I did say "ALL HPs are supposed to blow up" and obviously from gredel99s very good success they don't. As I've said many times, I don't condemn the use of hard (of a hard yet malleable alloy, I won't use a hard brittle one) cast SWCs or WFNs for hunting as I have used them with good success and will again if I don't have an HP cast of appropriate alloy ready to go.

Larry Gibson

[35 Whelen]

Good job and good story!
35W

[Lefty SRH]

Nice deer with a nice six gun. What scope do you have on there?

[youngda9]

How on earth is it legal for someone to shoot 5 bucks and 4 does in the same year...do explain?

I think you're only allowed 2 deer total in Michigan.

Thanks for the write-up, cool story.

[gtgeorge]

How on earth is it legal for someone to shoot 5 bucks and 4 does in the same year...do explain?

I think you're only allowed 2 deer total in Michigan.

Thanks for the write-up, cool story.
I have gotten questions like that when I have shot up to 8 bucks in a season here in GA where my license only allows 2. I go to every quota or sign in hunt that has free extra tags and could end up with as many as 11 in a season by planning my public land hunts. Not sure how it works in Michigan.

BTW, nice write up that I enjoyed reliving with you. This has been my worst year since taking deer hunting back up 7 years ago with only 6 in the freezer and season almost over. I am inspired to try to hunt exclusively with cast next year with stories like this. :Fire:

[NSP64]

I have gotten questions like that when I have shot up to 8 bucks in a season here in GA where my license only allows 2. I go to every quota or sign in hunt that has free extra tags and could end up with as many as 11 in a season by planning my public land hunts. Not sure how it works in

In Illinois you are only allowed 2 bucks per year. Period. Gun, Bow, ML, Hand grenade.

2.

[45 2.1]

In Illinois you are only allowed 2 bucks per year. Period. Gun, Bow, ML, Hand grenade.

2.

Hand grenade.... hahaha... yeah right. Actually the 2 buck limit is for bucks with antlers over 3" long (bucks) and does (antlerless which include bucks with antlers less than 3") are all you want up to the allotment for the county you're in (as long as you can pay for the tag that is). We have landowner permits, 1st and 2nd lottery and over the counter sales after that. I get landowner bow and gun plus over the counter antlerless only tags. Last Saturday in the late deer season got me a nice fat little antlerless buck (bucks without antlers) which is hanging in the barn right now. I still have one gun season and the rest of bow season left. I see a whole lot more bucks (and have turned down several now) than those very scarce does (they usually herd up with a very alert smart doe in charge).

[white eagle]

some parts of my state you can shoot as many as you want.... unlimited
ya just have to look at other places than Michigan

[Lefty SRH]

How on earth is it legal for someone to shoot 5 bucks and 4 does in the same year...do explain?

I think you're only allowed 2 deer total in Michigan.

Thanks for the write-up, cool story.

Here in Alabama we are allowed two deer a day, but only 3 bucks for the season and 1 of those bucks must have a minimum of 4 pts on one side. Including bow season we run mid oct til end of january.

[Grendel99]

How on earth is it legal for someone to shoot 5 bucks and 4 does in the same year...do explain?

I think you're only allowed 2 deer total in Michigan.

Thanks for the write-up, cool story.

Here in SC, in my game zone, there are no seasonal limits. You can shoot as many bucks, with any weapon and there are no tags for bucks and no antler restriction. Which is probably why we don't have the size of bucks that some parts of the country have but we certainly have the numbers. We have doe tags but you can buy as many as you want though you are only allowed two does per day. Then there are "either sex days" where tags are not required for does. This is the first season that I have ever shot this many deer. I usually get 2-4 per season. I would not have shot this many deer if I didn't already know that I could use all the meat. None of it goes to waste.

The scope is a Simmons Pro Hunter 2x-6x EER. It's great for the money and has held up very well to hundreds and hundreds of 44 Mag's.

[taco650]

Here in SC, in my game zone, there are no seasonal limits. You can shoot as many bucks, with any weapon and there are no tags for bucks and no antler restriction. Which is probably why we don't have the size of bucks that some parts of the country have but we certainly have the numbers. We have doe tags but you can buy as many as you want though you are only allowed two does per day. Then there are "either sex days" where tags are not required for does. This is the first season that I have ever shot this many deer. I usually get 2-4 per season. I would not have shot this many deer if I didn't already know that I could use all the meat. None of it goes to waste.


With those generous bag limits, I'm wondering what the cost of an out-of-state license is??? ;-)

[TXGunNut]

Many Texas counties allow up to five deer and deer killed in WMA's during draw hunts don't count. I don't have much luck giving away game meat so I shoot two or less per year. Two deer to process is almost more than I want to do any more.
Larry has a good point about HP failures, seems selecting the right alloy/design/velocity and matching it to the game is crucial. I'll be the first to admit that I'm better served by a good solid, if I do my part I generally pick them up where they were standing when I shot them.

[OBXPilgrim]

Here in SC, in my game zone, there are no seasonal limits. You can shoot as many bucks, with any weapon and there are no tags for bucks and no antler restriction. Which is probably why we don't have the size of bucks that some parts of the country have but we certainly have the numbers. We have doe tags but you can buy as many as you want though you are only allowed two does per day. Then there are "either sex days" where tags are not required for does. This is the first season that I have ever shot this many deer. I usually get 2-4 per season. I would not have shot this many deer if I didn't already know that I could use all the meat. None of it goes to waste.

In the early 90's I hunted upper central SC (near Whitmire/Newberry) for several years with guys I work with. I killed 5 deer a year for 6 years, and never filled all my tags. If we ever went to a grocery store for anything, usually with some camo still on, we always got asked if we were deer hunting. After we told them 'yes', we were almost always told, "I hope you really thin them out or at least kill a bunch" and then they would rattle off all their friends and families that had totaled cars and been in wrecks due to deer in the roads at night.

And by the way, that was all on government land (DNR).

[hound-1]

I have a north vs south deer question. I live in Pa. we have a 6 week archery season, either sex as long as you have doe tags, and 2 week gun season. In my area the 1st week of gun is bucks only,2nd is either sex, as long as you have a doe tag. we're allowed 1 buck a year ,antler restrictions are 3 points to a side in the eastern part and 4 to a side in the western part of the state . antlerless tags are set by units , 2 tags are pretty easy in my area, and a 3rd isn't impossible .With the x-tra tags, some areas in our state are pretty deer scarce. They shortened our "doe" days from the 2 weeks of gun to the last week, and they are coming back, in my area anyway. My question is with the long seasons and # of tags of the southern states is how do you harvest that many year after year. Before the all the tags we used to see a couple hundred just driving around the farm roads, just a few miles, and it didn't take to many seasons to really knock the #s way down. What's so different. Thanks...Ed

[white eagle]

just a thought the deer may have better food supply with the longer growing seasons so they are inclined to have more offspring??

[Grendel99]

I really don't know hound-1. We do have a very long growing season and especially down near the coast where I am, we hardly ever get any prolonged freezing weather. So the deer don't have to worry very much about making it through a hard winter because there really isn't one. Our Department of Natural Resources has been reporting that our deer harvest in SC has been going down slightly over the last several years. Like I said in my original post, this was my best season ever. I've never shot this many deer before and it was quite rare for me to get this many. Like I stated previously, I generally get 2-4 deer per season. As for having more offspring, I'm not sure what is considered a big litter. I see does with 1-3 fawns but generally 2.