The strike is over!

[Blammer]

Well today is a great day in Many ways!

1. Grandparents are coming over to stay the night and bringing my neice over early.
2. Went squirrel hunting with the kids and got a Deer!
3. I get to shave!

After unsucessful hunting all day opening day Monday Nov 19, and a failed attempt the next morning for a morning hunt I took the kids out today to go squirrel hunting.

They have off school, so we planned to get up at 7am and get ready and head out.
I got the 22lr ready, and a bunch of other stuff, and after breakfast we headed out. The kids got up really easy to go hunting, easier than they do for school. :)

Got out and set up between two trees a little later than what I like but none the less we were out there. I'd say we were there at 8:15am or so. We had been settled down for about 20 min and heard some shots WAY off. 20 min later my daughter hears what she thinks was another hunter coming over the hill. Well it was a buck! For public gamelands that is GREAT! We see him, he trots down to the bottom of the valley with us and stands broad side at about 70 yds. I pull my RSRH in 44mag and tell the kids to cover their ears. I'm sitting, two handed and thum hammer back and get the cross hairs on the buck and let one fly. NOTHING! What? Ok, calm down, shot #2, still nothing, shot #3 buck still standing there looking dumb, I get into prone position, shot #4, nothing. OK, you've had your fun I think, time to show the kids how you shoot for real! Thum hammer back, get good prone position, cross hairs holding, breathing BOOM! Buck turns up the hill like he's hit, runs up the hill and does a circle and drops. Whaahooo!

This is the FIRST in many respects. First time I've been with the kids deer hunting AND we got a Deer! First time I've ever shot 5 times at a deer and still got him! I blooded my cast boolit mould I was using and it was the SHORTEST amount of time I've ever been deer hunting and got a deer! It wasn't even 10am when we had finished field dressing him.

I left a lot of details out as I'm in a hurry, have to get this deer processed and some other stuff to do.

here are some pictures.

The kids and the deer in the truck at home as I forgot my camera in the field.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8824.jpg

My RSRH and my NOE 300gr HP boolit.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8825.jpg

Kids and the dog, Maple
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8827.jpg

The boolit is this one, the NOE 300, 311gr HP GC, the second from the left on the top row

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/DSCN8129.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/DSCN7761.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/44list-1.jpg

The entrance hole was big enough I could stick two fingers in, and the exit hole was about the same. I clipped the heart and just absolutely MASSIVE damage inside. This is WAY more than enough boolit. :) I think I was using 17gr of 2400.

[DeadWoodDan]

Congrats! couldn't think of a better way to do it.

[**oneshot**]

Good buck, great story!!

[Bullet Caster]

Definitely a good outing with the kids. Great story to boot. Oh, and by the way, did ya get any squirrels? BC

[geezer56]

Say it isn't so on the beard. Don't be a quitter. I grew mine in 1974, have done without one about 3 weeks total since. Congrats on the buck. Them 44's work good don't they? I got some of the Lee 310's loaded in my 444, hope to use one this weekend on something.

[OnHoPr]

Were those great looking kids shaking their head after the fourth shot (come on dad).:lol: Who did the dragging chores? Hope you don't nick yourself four times before you get those whiskers off. Way to go dad.

[TXGunNut]

Good job! Don't shave. It's your "good luck beard" now.

[Thumbcocker]

Good deer, great story, cute kids. You are a wealthy man.

[Blammer]

I won't shave the beard, just trim it an make it look neat, no more mountain man. :)

The kids are absouletly thrilled about getting the deer. We were planning on getting some squirrels and I dragged along my pistol "JUST IN CASE". I suppose I should buy a lottery ticket today.... :)

They now think deer hunting is EASY. :)

[Dennis Eugene]

DJ, That's just great. Thanks for shareing it with us, I'm so happy for you,and with the kids too. It just can't get any better than that. Dennis

[sav300]

Good for you,hmm 5 shots at 70yards? no comment no hand gun hunting allowed here. Beard should stay.

[Blammer]

Yea, sitting position, arms extended, sorta like standing off hand but sitting. The last shot I had a really good prone rested position. :) Should have made it my first, but.... was too excited.

[OnHoPr]

If you had your back to a tree or your stomach is still in shape :roll: try two hands between both knees. That hold can be quite stable. Back when I had vision I could usually hit a cig pack three out of five at a 100 yd with that hold with a SBH. The only thing is to be careful to keep the front of the cylinder past your knees out you could get a nasty ouch. Don't ask how I know that. [smilie=1:

[doctorggg]

What a wonderful Thanksgiving story. That deer should be very tender and make great eating. I shot 2 button bucks in muzzleloader season and you could cut it with a fork. My wife and I ate tenderloin steaks last night smoothered in sweet onions, red wine with some light garlic salt. So tender you could cut it with a fork.

The boolit did its job. You should be proud of that and those 2 great looking children are proud of their father.
Congratulations and Happy Thanksgiving. Gregory

[Euan]

Good one DJ. Great to see you take the Kids with you on a hunt.
Cheers Euan.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Maybe I should quit shaving!

[Olevern]

Congratulations on the deer, always nice to get some target practice just prior to (or while) hunting. Buck fever strikes again. Fortunately, you had a very cooperative buck, not the sharpest crayon in the box, was that buck, but glad it worked out for you.

[Blammer]

Thanks everyone.

I was sitting indian style and had to shoot directly to my left, so no "legs" were available. I thought about that but was on a hill and if I would have turned to my left to get my legs in front of me, I would have promptly rolled to the right, down the hill. :) I was pretty steep. I flopped prone easy enough after I realized I was running out of ammo! :)

[Boyscout]

I quit the deer hunters association I belonged to because all they were interested in was QDM and wanted to close off large amounts of public areas to all but the same. I was teaching young boys to hunt and my idea of QDM was seeing my children have opportunities without somone saying to them "Maybe you'll get a real deer next time." Everytime you sit down to a meal all three of you will have memories that no "trophy buck" will ever provide. Congratulations.

[fatnhappy]

cute kids DJ. Congrats, we know you worked hard for that buck.


BTW, if you grew bigger targets in NC you wouldn't need 5 shots. ;)

[Blammer]

One of the bonus parts of this, is the boolit is one I designed, well I copied a 50cal boolit I wanted it to look like, Honchoed the buy and had NOE make the mould. I've been really really wanting to test this boolit on game and I finally got the chance! Boolit performance was absolutely amazing for such a heavy projectile and such a cavernous HP. To say it opened up immediatly is an understatement. I checked the ribs for fragments in the off side from the HP, there were none in the ribs. IF they were in the lungs, I don't know, all I know is that they were soup. The exit hole, was really impressive. I have some pics I'll post here.

Entrance
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8828.jpg
Exit
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8829.jpg
Entrance
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8832.jpg
Exit
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2012%20Deer/DSCN8834.jpg