First one of the year

[richhodg66]

Well, muzzle loader season was almost a bust, I'm living more than an hour from my hunting area and haven't been able to put much time in the woods this season. Managed to shoot this doe this evening, nothing to write home about, but at least it's venison.

Cheap Traditions inline (yeah, yeah, but I started with a sidelock Hawken and have shot more with it, getting lazy in my old age), Lyman 300 grain SWC cast of 50/50 with 2% tin in a Hornady sabot and propelled with 100 grains of Hogdon 777. This is aconsiderably more powerful load than last time I used this rifle. It didn't seem to put her down much faster, but there was a definite difference in blood trail. I wouldn't have had any problem tracking this one even under a flashlight, not that she went far, just into some thick stuff.83027

[Spruce]

Nice job. She will taste good this winter. Maybe a dutch oven in her future???

[richhodg66]

Yeah, I'm gonna cut this one up myself. Truthfully, we eat more ground than anything else, but I've started having better luck grilling venison than I used to lately. To me, venison stew is about as good as food gets, though. I actually still have quite a bit left from last year still, now that we're empty nesters, wife and I aren't eating as much. We have an antlerless weekend in October I want to try to hunt, but after that, any hunting I can get to do this year will be for antlers mainly, bad as I hate to sound that way

[RedneckRob]

Cut some up in smallish steaks, cube steak size, then roll them in corn meal and fry them in sunflower oil or corn oil. They'll have a delicate taste.

[OnHoPr]

Nice shot. Looks like a ole smoothie. Good eats. Congrats. What boolit did you use before?

[richhodg66]

I'll have to try that. I've always used regular flour and olive oil for chicken friend steaks before, corn meal sounds good.

[starmac]

Man I can taste the backstrap cut into steaks, fried like chicken fried, smothered in cream gravy, fries, lima beans and homade biscuits now. Geesh, now I'm hungry.

Venison stew meat or chili is hard to beat too.

[richhodg66]

I had always used a Hawken (Cabela's sells it under their namenow, but it's an Italian make) with the Lyman plains bullet I cast and 100 grains of Pyrodex.

I switched to 777 to avoid cleaning so much and having to worry about corrosion, but I tried to get #2 son to hunt muzzle loader and he's recoil shy, so I had been using the RCBS 225 grain SWC and 70 grains of 777. Thatw as what the rifle was zeroed for last time, the kid lost interest so I used it. One I shot with that load left ZERO blood, I mean nada. One little patch the size of a dime where she was standing and then she went into a thicket, I had myself convinced I had thrown the shot and gut shot her and didn't want to push it. Went out the next morning at dawn and found her real fast but there was not a pin prick of blood anywhere from start to finish despite having complete shoot through and a soft bullet. Weird. I shot a buck a few days later from a tree stand and didn't have an exit hole but never found a bullet either. He died quick, I saw him fall. A little more blood than the doe, but still not much.

I bought this Lyman 300 grain mold off a guy here and it casts nice bullets, they look like freight trains. Bigger meplat than what I was using. Sure did leave a good blood trail, even though I pretty well knew about what direction she went, I'd have found her anyway, but the blood made it easier. I can't remember the mold # for that bullet, I'll try to dig it out and post it. I may try a hollow point next time or some kind of WFN design.

[357maximum]

Killed her with cast....so it still counts good on you...congrats :mrgreen: .....even if you did use fake powder and a Bic disposable inline. :lol:

I would whip up an egg, then "flour" the egg coated morsels with finely crushed saltine crackers and then fry up the steaks from that propeller headed critter and smile.....ain't much finer vittles than what is lying there in your pic.


I have a month and a half of stick and string action before I get to carry one of my noise makers.

[richhodg66]

This is the fifth deer in a row with cast for me, three with this rifle, the other two with .30 calibers. I think as long as I'm using something .30 caliber or bigger, I'm only using cast from here on. I have used cast on der for a long time with muzzle loaders, but it's not much of a feat when you start with a bullet a half inch in diameter.

I haven't bowhunted seriously for about ten years now and doubt I could draw my longbow enough for serious practice anymore. I bowfish quite a bit, but that's a much lighter bow and a different enough game that it really isn't the same. In Kansas, archery is the only way you can deer hunt during the rut and November is such a good time to be in the woods, I need to take it up again sometime.

[Afro408]

Nice bit of venison, there mate. :)

[Grendel99]

Nice job! Did it look like the bullet expanded much? I would think it would with that alloy. You said you had a good blood trail, did it start where she was at the shot? I've just started using cast to hunt and with a Lyman Keith SWC out of a 44 mag I hardly get a blood trail. I couldn't find any blood for the first 10 yards or more.

[richhodg66]

I didn't get a real good fix on the exact spot she was one, but I picked up the blood real fast and had no problem finding her. The hole in the picture is the exit and after cutting her up, it seems to have done more damage than previous ones with lighter .44 SWCs. I normally try to shoot them a little farther back, I was off this time and it tore up more meat and also took out the heart which I usually like to save to eat.

I really don't know what the velocity of this load is, you might be able to do it in a handgun, but I sure wouldn't look forward to that kind of recoil with a bullet that heavy.

[RugerFan]

I switched to 777 to avoid cleaning so much and having to worry about corrosion,

Have you tried Blackhorn 209? I started with Pyrodex, then 777, and just the other tried shot some Blackhorn 209 out of my T/C Encore. Man what a difference. No cleaning between shots and its not water soluble. Oh and nice job on the doe!

[richhodg66]

I haven't, but I'm hearing good things about it. I may give it a try when I buy powder again.

I actually like my sidelock and it's a much higher quality rifle, but I'm pretty busy nowadays and have more limited hunting time and the inline really is easier. Despite being a super cheapo rifle, it's decently accurate and is absolutely reliable with the musket caps I use. It's also very simple and rugged, so I'll continue to use it until I retire for good and can hunt and fish full time, LOL.

[missionary5155]

Good morning and Congradulations !
Another corn cruncher eliminated and not by a vehicle any of us were driving.
You should consider seriously strings and sticks again. In ILLinois muzzleloaders or shotguns and archery were the only options. I shot alot of deer with RB. It got to the place where it was too easy in the river bottoms I hunt. So out came the recurves and I could not have been happier. Three months of stalking and crawling about the bottoms watching sunups and sundowns from all angles. Yep you really need to get those arms and shoulders manipulated again.
Mike in Peru

[NLS1]

Yummy. Makes me hungry. Great job.

Dan

[bruce drake]

Good Job Rich!!!!

First day to the new rifle club for me today so wish me luck as well with the evil paper targets!

Bruce

[richhodg66]

Bruce, I still haven't gotten into a range in Topeka, still going to my old one out west, but it's good since I'm back over that way a lot anyway. I do need one closer though.

How's retirement life treating you?

[bruce drake]

Good and busy bringing the Indiana American Legion Headquarters and its 375 posts into the modern age of advertising! I usually work 6 days a week since most legion meetings are in the evenings or on weekends. At the 90 day review, I got picked up off the probation line and got a small raise as well. I got to brief Sports Marketing at the National Convention in Houston in July. Going to the Legion's National College for "upandcomers" at the end of the month as well.

Finished advertising contracts and commercials with the Indianapolis Colts and the local NBC affiliate (WTHR-13) as well. The State's Finance Committee about had a cow when I told them what the contracts cost but they sure are happy about the 600 new Legionnaires since August!

And on a better note...I got to shoot the newly rechambered 8mm-06 Mauser, P14 in 303 Brit, 8mm Turkish Mauser and my AR15 in 300Blackout today on my day off! All in lead of course! ;)

Bruce

[bruce drake]

84021
30 rounds of 300 Blackout at a rapid pace today :)
100 yards on a SR-21 (200yd target scaled for 100 yards) reduced range target printed on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.
150gr (Lyman 311414) cast lead with 16gr of H110
finally getting to the range - priceless.