It's a darn sight better than a day at work

[fatnhappy]

Yesterday was the gun season opener in NY's southern zone. It's astounding how many counties that were formerly "shotgun only" in the southern zone now allow rifle use. I never thought I'd see the day. In the morning I hunted with a shotgun on family property on the west side of Hemlock Lake (Livingston county) then spent the afternoon with a rifle on the east side (Ontario County). Go figure.
Anyways, I shot a doe yesterday with my savage 99 in .308. If you're at all familiar with the near vertical slopes in the finger lakes you'll appreciate the humor associated with seeing a deer drop DRT only to roll down slope @@@ over tea kettle and stop in the middle of a road.
I spent this morning putting her in the freezer and had to take my son to swimming merit badge this afternoon. I'm headed down to Salamanca for deer camp next weekend.

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[starmac]

I like that stopping in the middle of the road deal. lol
Nice rifle by the way, love to see them still in use.

[phonejack]

Once and only once I had one die one a steep slope 10' up from a bike trail I had parked on. Backed the bike up against the slope, gave the deer a push and it rolled down onto the bike rack. Never came close to have that happening again.

[gon2shoot]

Only time I see them roll like that is when they are goin the OTHER way.

[CastingFool]

pretty cool! congrats!

[richhodg66]

Congrats. The older I get, the more I appreciate an easy deer recovery.

Nice rifle, by the way. I love 99s and used one last year, also a .308, but it sure isn't as nice looking as that one of yours.

[rockrat]

I understand about the finger lake region reference. Wife and I were in the Ithica area, earlier last month, for the first time ever. Good looking country.

[shdwlkr]

fatnhappy
Know that area well as it is the part of NYS that I grew up in and worked in for a very long time. Worked in Rochester for a decade before moving on to a promotion in Albany, then retiring and getting out of that state over a decade ago. Miss the seasons and some things but not the way things have gone from ridicuous to totally stupid concerning way to many things. Still have some family there I get to see once in a great while but for me it will never be home again in this life.

[MtGun44]

That's great luck! I had a cow elk run and then fall down a really steep slope in Colorado and
went about 200 feet downhill and wound up wrapped around a tree. Fortunately, she
was within 30 feet of the bottom, with a small (6" wide) creek. It took block and tackle
and two friends to move her downhill 30 ft and 25 ft sideways, then butcher there on the
creek bank. Horsepacker showed up a few hours after it was done, and we
had to get off the horses going downhill to the meat.

I'll take in the middle of the road ANY DAY! What a deal.

Nice rifle, too. I have the .300 Savage which has essentially identical ballistics.

Bill

[fatnhappy]

Nice rifle, by the way. I love 99s and used one last year, also a .308, but it sure isn't as nice looking as that one of yours.

Thanks Rich, I happen to believe it was one of my better gun deals. Essentially I paid $400 for it.

It's a 99F with a 1955 serial number. The guy from whom I bought it had kept it behind his furnace since the 60s. It still had factory grease in the action. It's fairly plebian as far as accuracy is concerned. A trigger job did wonders to improve it's overall function.

The season after I bought it I lent it to my boss's son for deer season. He promptly slew 2 deer with it, including a nice buck. It doesn't hurt that he used 180 grain round nose remington corelokts. He punched a hole through the buck end to end. There after my boss engaged in a long search to find a similar rifle for himself. He wound up with a slightly older and very clean 99E in .300 savage ($900). that rifle is a tackdriver.

[novalty]

Nice rifle, and congrats on the deer! A friend of mine took his daughter on youth day this year in Maine, she got a nice looking doe within a couple hours of them getting set up. He said the deer ran a short distance after she shot and dropped right in the middle of the road. He said it was the easiest one he ever had to get, just backed his Jeep up with rear cargo rack, and loaded it a couple feet off the pavement on the rack.

[1Shirt]

Grew up in Livingston Co. About time they allowed rifle!
1Shirt!

[fatnhappy]

That'd be too easy 1shirt. Livingston is still shotgun. Ontario is rifle. heck, even Wayne County allows rifles.

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[shdwlkr]

Wow even Steuben allows rifle now!! When I left they were still a shotgun county

[fatnhappy]

88562
it snowed yesterday
what a beautiful and serene day in the woods.
88563

[Blacksmith]

With my luck I'd shoot one in the middle of the road and it would roll 1,000 feet uphill just to get to the top so it could roll down the other side.