Five For Five

After taking 4 different animals with 4 different guns back in August & September I had plans to take a Montana white tail with one of the same guns but using a different bullet. I really wanted to use a new 41 magnum 212 gr HP since I hadn't taken anything with this bullet. Last Monday me, my oldest son & his 2 youngest son's made the trip north where we bought doe tags over the counter for $75 each.
In all the years I've hunted Montana I've never been skunked but we ended up hunting on a ranch that had more rules than an IDPA match & we did get skunked. I was really disappointed with the way the ranch "manager was running the place since the owner had recently died.
Be there at noon, sign a whole bunch of papers, a bunch! Be back at 2:30 & get in a tree stand, no walking allowed, no shooting on the way in or on the way out. Stay in the tree stand until dark, no exceptions, no lead or jacketed bullets, solid copper only. No shooting of yearlings or button bucks. Make a one shot kill as much as possible, duh! I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Anyway, we saw ONE buck, no doe's & then had to go back & sign out in order to get out.
Yesterday I went back by myself & for sure I went to another place that my friend Alejandro knew about. I had my 41 magnum stoked with the powder coated 212 gr HP's & the place looked really good. As usual I also had my scoped 10.5" 357 Maximum in my Barranti NWH rig. The Maximum was loaded with a Miha 185 gr powder coated HP loaded on the toasty side, just the way Fermin likes them.
I can tell you right up front, the water in Montana is cold! We had to wade 2 different streams, twice, coming & going. That's not fun in November. Anyway the ranch was covered with pastures, big Cottonwood trees, brush, tall grass, etc. Ideal country for white tails. I got set up with my back to a big Cottonwood & watched a big 5X5 buck slip through the heavy brush with a smaller buck just behind him. Alejandro had spooked them & they were slipping away. It would have been a pretty easy shot.
He saw 5 more bucks but no doe's so we moved north 1/2 mile into some heavy brush & more Cottonwoods & spotted a large doe just about to walk into the timber we were in. We crouched down & I quickly set up my shooting rest. The doe caught our movement & I had to go for the 357 Maximum, she had went full alert. She bobbed her head up & down maybe 3 times trying to make out what we were, things were happening fast. I really wanted to use the 41 magnum but didn't think I had time to make the shot, it looked long.
I didn't know it at the time but Alejandro was videoing me as I broke the shot. The doe was facing us straight on, no time to range it until later. I held dead center & in the photo's you'll see that's exactly where it hit. The 185 HP knocked her flat, she got up for about 1 second & then back down. I ranged the big Cottonwood just in front of her later, it read 114 yds so she was about 117 yds give or take. I'll try & get the video posted tomorrow. Five animals with 5 shots with 5 different revolvers, nothing like hunting with six guns.

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Dick

Good story and shooting! Did the recoil knock your ears lopsided?[emoji16]

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Great hunt Dick
really sounds like a bummer hunting with the IRS
livin the dream

Solid!

Great story and good shootin', sixshot! I didn't see an exit hole, were you able to recover that Miha 185 gr. HP boolit? I'd love to see a picture of it, if you did recover it. Treetop

Well done! Great story, too.

I haven't had a chance to look for the bullet, I'm helping some friends with a wedding & I have to do 4 pork butts, 3 large dutch ovens full of Idaho taters & 12 dozen Cinnamon Rolls! Then I'll get to check out my deer. It didn't exit so I should find something. It hit her perfectly center at the base of the throat.

Dick

The “Meat Hammer” strikes again! 5 for 5 Congratulations!!!

fine looking whitetail country.
Good shooting!
..

Beerd beat me to it, but I will also say what beautiful country to hunt in. Sounds like the first place you "hunted" was being run by folks who don't know about or appreciate good hunting. Sixshot, you certainly have it down pat when it comes to short gun hunting.
That revolver in your first picture sure is fine. As usual good story, fantastic pictures. I am glad you recovered from your first hunt and went back and put the 357 Max to good use.

This is great cattle country, mostly Black Angus & there are many thousands of acres planted in Alfalfa, plus big pastures with plenty of grass, brush pockets, timber, fence rows, etc. Also lots of rivers & small streams. If there's better white tail country I'd have to see it.
I also saw 5 moose with one real decent bull trailing 3 cows & a young bull. The young bull had to belong to one of the cows are the big boy wouldn't have allowed him to be hanging around his girl friends.

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Dick

Nice story and well said almost like I could feel how cold that water was......good shooting with the trusty handgun.

Seeing how your handle is six shot, I guess you have minimum one more to go this year! Excellent story and Excellent shooting!!!

As a fellow 41 mag aficionado, I hope that you can get within range of one this year and try out that 212gr HP slug.

Good going and nice pictures. Too bad your Son and Grandsons didn't get any action. Maybe another time?

Way to go Sixshot! Show those youngsters how is done! Beautiful country, fantastic companions, and successful hunt!!!!! Doesmt get any better!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, we still have time & I still have a deer tag, an antelope tag & a cow elk tag. Main problem is I caught such a bad cold sitting in that "Texas phone booth" Tree stand that I had to go to the Dr. I'm so stuffed up! I still went back & got this doe but wading those streams in my hunting boots probably didn't help much. I had almost forgotten how much fun that was sitting in a stand & freezing for several hours.

Dick

Great shooting . Congrats and thanks for the writeup..

The scope is a 2.5X8 Leupold & the rest is a Bog Pod with the discontinued PSR rest on top, they are amazing rests. If you look close you will notice a little flat, black bag on top, my wife makes those for me & I have several. I rest my hands on these & can raise or lower the cross hairs with great precision by squeezing the bag with the bottom of my left hand.
The photo's show the video of my deer, the video is zoomed in but there was a very narrow window to shoot through. She goes down hard, comes up for about one second & then back down for good. You will notice from the angle that although I hit her dead center she isn't standing square so the shot angles towards the right shoulder. I hit some bone going through the brisket, get one lung & the bullet lodges up against the third rib. The recovered bullet weighs 124 grs, I couldn't be more happy with how the HP worked.
My buddy shot his deer that after noon with a 280 Ackley with a broadside hit, she ran 60-70 yds before she went down, go figure. You can see the damage to the brisket on the right side & the shank is almost completely intact, including the gas check. It expanded from .380"-.406".

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Dick