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View Full Version : Two bucks, a hog, and a bullet (pics)



Grendel99
12-05-2013, 11:13 PM
I have been having my best hunting season ever. I've shot 4 does, 4 bucks, a hog, and a coyote. One doe, one buck, and the coyote were shot with rifles but the rest were with handguns (I love to handgun hunt). I shot my first revolver deer (a doe) and revolver buck this year while using my own cast bullets, and I posted about those earlier in the season. This past weekend was a couple more firsts as well. I doubled on bucks with my revolver and shot my first big boar. I have shot a good many hogs, but just never was able to connect with a big boar until this weekend.

I went hunting Saturday morning with a friend and it was nice and cold with just a little bit of wind. I was in my ground blind in an oak bottom with a tiny little stream running through it. I got in and settled about 45 minutes before light. With the sun slowly coming up, but not enough light to see anything really, I could see an outline of a deer 30 yards in front of me eating corn. It was too dark to tell what it was but I could see through the binoculars that it did not have a rack. It seemed very nervous and was walking in circles. Then it threw its tail up, ran off, and started blowing! When it ran off, there was another deer I couldn't see, that ran away with the first one. The wind was perfect and I had been in the stand for almost 45 minutes already being perfectly still and quiet. Not sure what spooked those two deer and I thought my hunt was pretty much ruined for the morning. It was quiet until about 8 am. I'm a little embarrassed to say, but I was reading a book and didn't even hear the deer come in. I looked up and there was a buck standing 30 yards away! He was standing there, eating corn and directly facing me. He stood there for several minutes without moving, which I thought was a little strange. He stayed in the same spot for almost 10 minutes without moving except for his head and neck. He was a nice wide 6 point and I decided to take him. He finally moved a little to one side so I had a very steep quartering shot. I placed the crosshairs on his shoulder and sent a cast hollow point into him. He dropped at the shot and then kicked around and almost got back up. He was laying down but his head was up and looking around. I thought I goofed the shot and was about to put another bullet into him when his head started to slowly drop until it hit the dirt and then he was done. The bullet didn't exit and I really wanted to see how that cast HP did. I looked everywhere when we were skinning it and couldn't find it! I even cut the stomach open and went through it. I thought it fell out somehow when we were skinning or it was in the intestines somewhere. Well, I was butchering up the meat at the house the next day and while cutting up one of the hams, I found it in his knee! The bullet did really well considering it went through one shoulder, pretty much the entire length of the deer, and busted up his leg as well. The bullet was a Lyman 429640 cast of wheel weights with some tin. http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Albatross926/photobucket-917-1386214213582_zps16796b8e.jpg (http://s790.photobucket.com/user/Albatross926/media/photobucket-917-1386214213582_zps16796b8e.jpg.html)

As I was sitting there still shaking from buck fever and just enjoying the moment, I see movement to the left and a little doe comes walking into the opening. She slams on the brakes when she sees the downed buck and starts freaking out. She stomps her foot and keeps bobbing her head and then slowly walks off. I thought to myself, well the deer are still moving so maybe I will see something else if I move that buck. So I moved the buck behind my blind out of sight from the corn and while doing so, scared off the small doe who was still hanging around. Another hour goes by and I hadn't seen anything and neither had my friend, so we decided to call it a day. He sends me a text, telling me he is own his way to help drag out my buck. I start getting my stuff together and was making a decent amount of noise and was about to get out of the blind when movement caught my eye. Another deer was coming to the corn from straight back. I quickly texted my friend to not come back to my blind. It turned out it was a button buck and when I was looking at it through the binoculars I saw more movement behind him and antlers! The button buck came right into the corn without a second thought, but the buck behind him was much more cautious. He circled around and then slowly came in from the side. Something didn't look right when he was in the thick trees and when he came out into the opening I saw why. His whole main beam above his brow tine was busted off on one side. He also had a darker coat and looked older. When he turned broad side at 35 yards, I dropped him with another cast hollow point from the .44 Mag Super Blackhawk Hunter. I had two bucks down within an hour! I've never shot two deer in the same day before, much less two bucks. http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Albatross926/photobucket-11175-1385848560029_zps157b0616.jpg (http://s790.photobucket.com/user/Albatross926/media/photobucket-11175-1385848560029_zps157b0616.jpg.html)

When skinning out the first buck, both his legs and some ribs on one side were broken and starting to heal over. Looks like he was hit by a car and explains why he didn't move around much when I saw him. He also had a puncture wound in his neck (fighting?) and he had several wounds on his body. I also found several shotgun pellets in him while skinning, but they were small, like number 2 shot. The other buck's ear was slit all the way down to his head and he had these big worms in his head. They looked like big maggots, about an inch or so long and about a quarter inch thick. Never seen anything like that before. The buck must of been hurt from fighting when he broke his main beam, was probably in some serious pain.

The next day I went hunting with another friend. It was an afternoon hunt and was VERY quiet and still. It was eerie how quiet everything was. I was hoping he would get something (turned out he didn't even see anything) and I sat in a stand where the feeder wasn't working and didn't think I would see anything. I wasn't planning on shooting another deer unless it was a huge buck but would shoot a hog if one presented itself. I hadn't seen a thing, but had a deer come up behind me and down wind and busted me. I didn't even know it was there until I heard it blowing and then tear off through the brush and never saw what it was. Thirty or forty minutes before dark, movement catches my eye just to the left of the feeder. It was a hog, a decent sized one too, inching his way out to the empty feeder. I didn't think he would hang around very long seeing as there wasn't any corn and there hadn't been for several days. Soon as I saw enough to shoot, I put a 140gr Berger into his shoulder and he dropped. I was using a fireform load for the 6.5-270 JDJ Encore pistol and the shot was about 80 yards. The hog was a big chocolate brown boar that weighed 198 lbs and the bullet destroyed the shoulder on the entrance, turned his lungs to mush and exited behind the off shoulder. I was surprised the Berger made it all the way through that big hog. Obviously I didn't use cast on the hog, but it happened the next day after shooting the bucks and I wanted to share. For a size comparison, I'm 6' 6" tall. Here is the hog: http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy182/Albatross926/photobucket-13031-1385953848641_zps1e4178bc.jpg (http://s790.photobucket.com/user/Albatross926/media/photobucket-13031-1385953848641_zps1e4178bc.jpg.html)

John Allen
12-05-2013, 11:26 PM
That is one nice hog. I have to get down south and hunt some we do not have them around here in PA.

725
12-05-2013, 11:46 PM
Good for you! Very nicely done. You're going to have to buy another freezer!

missionary5155
12-06-2013, 06:18 AM
Good morning and Congradulations x 3!
That was a good mornings read and very interesting. I also am a handgun hunter as that is all ILLinois will let a cartridge shooter use. I bow hunt mostly but still enjoy a cartrige out of a revolver. That boolit sure took an interesting path through thet first buck.
Well done and keep popping them rooters. They will destroy every edible plant out in those woods.
Mike in Peru

Stephen Cohen
12-06-2013, 06:28 AM
Well done, very nice pig. I too used to have a super Blackhawk hunter, I really wish we were allowed to hunt with handguns.

44man
12-06-2013, 08:22 AM
Good hunting.
I never had luck with a feeder when archery hunting. The bigger deer hung back and let the young ones eat. This year I hung it my apple tree in the yard just to give them something.
Had it in the woods one time and counted 20 turkeys around me but we have no fall season in our county plus you can't bait them.

TheGrimReaper
12-06-2013, 12:02 PM
Awsomeness!!!

taco650
12-06-2013, 01:41 PM
Congrats! Glad to see you were able to get those bucks 'cuz it sounds like they may not have made it through the winter with their injuries. Sounds like your freezer is full!

harley45
12-06-2013, 02:40 PM
Congratulations! Nice Job1

forfun
12-06-2013, 06:32 PM
Nice hunt.

Dr. A
12-06-2013, 06:53 PM
Wow. What a hunt! Looks like you did those bucks a favor

white eagle
12-06-2013, 07:41 PM
Amen to that
wow what a hunt don't happen often that you get a chance at two
congrats and good job

Crawdaddy
12-06-2013, 11:24 PM
I thought I was having a good year. I bow to you sir! Great job.

Please tell me you didn't shoot that puppy that is in your photobucket pictures. He is cute..

Grendel99
12-07-2013, 02:04 AM
It's been a very interesting and successful year. With all the game I've shot, I have some well fed neighbors and friends! Luckily a lot of my friends like hog and deer, so none of it goes to waste. I generally don't see that much action around the feeders when it comes to deer. I mostly like using them for the hogs and occasionally get lucky with a deer. I generally either hunt trails or spots off the roads where I can put in a tiny food plot or put corn on the ground. We have lots of oaks and green natural browse, but it's so spread out it's quite difficult to hunt natural food sources. Also, the area is half swamp and there is a large river nearby so you can't really hunt over water sources because they are everywhere.

Crawdaddy, those are my 'children', I certainly would not hurt them! I have two Beagles, a male who is about 12 (not sure cuz we found him in the woods) and an 8 year old female. She's the one rolling around on top of my bed after she ran in my room to dry off from the rain!

Fenring
12-07-2013, 05:20 AM
Outstanding!

44man
12-07-2013, 09:54 AM
A dog lover will be my favorite man EVER.
My wife complains about hair and a dog is just a dog but when she goes shopping she buys more stuffed toys. We have three large baskets of toys in the family room now.

Adam10mm
12-07-2013, 11:29 AM
Eight deer in one season? I need to move to SC. Here in MI we can only take one in archery and one in firearm season. Two deer max.

Larry Gibson
12-07-2013, 12:51 PM
Outstanding! Hard to argue with success. I too use the 429640HP on my .44s. Everyone says how HPs blow up "on the shoulder" but that sure hasn't been my experience. I use COWWs + 2% tin and the add lead for a 50/50 alloy giving much better expansion and still all the penetration needed. Would have done well on the hog also. Great hunting and thanks for the info and pictures.

Larry Gibson

89807

Crawdaddy
12-07-2013, 02:15 PM
I knew you wouldn't hurt them, just my poor attempt at humor. I love dogs myself. I have two wonderful GSP's.

Congrats again.

Got-R-Did
12-08-2013, 12:04 AM
Just one Buck per year here in KY, but in certain zones you can buy all the $10 bonus Doe tags over the counter that you wish.
I think some southern states have a one deer per day limit for the entire 100+ day season (Alabama?) but not sure about more than one Buck.
Well Done, Sir! Handgun Hunting is one of my passions.
Cheers,
Got-R-Did.

Grendel99
12-08-2013, 12:08 AM
No problem Crawdaddy, but you're right. When looking through my photobucket pics, all the animals on there are dead except my dogs!

Generally, I only get 2-4 deer per season. Last year, I was only able to kill one. I love deer and hog meat, but can only eat so much but I know a lot of people who love it too and don't hunt. So it's never a problem finding someone to take it. In my game zone, you can shoot two does per day and unlimited bucks. There are no tags for bucks and no limit on either for the season.

Larry Gibson, I have no doubt that load would have worked really well on that hog. The stand I was in when I shot the hog generally has longer shots, so I took along the Encore. My next batch of 429640's will be with 50/50 pure lead and wheel weights. Waiting for the mold to get back from Lyman. My female beagle got a hold of the hollow point plug and buried it in the backyard after a casting session! I was letting the mold cool off in the garage and thought she wouldn't be able to get it. Well, the t-shirt the mold was sitting on had a corner hanging over the work bench. She pulled the t-shirt, and the mold, off the table and they dropped on the hard concrete floor. The mold looks fine, but the hollow point plug was missing and my beagle looked VERY guilty. I called up Lyman and explained to the lady what happened (as she laughed the whole time) and I sent the mold off. Apparently they have to be fitted, so off it went. I found the HP plug two weeks later after my dog decided to dig it back up and play with it. If I didn't love this dog so much.....

Adam10mm
12-08-2013, 01:34 AM
Generally, I only get 2-4 deer per season. Last year, I was only able to kill one. I love deer and hog meat, but can only eat so much but I know a lot of people who love it too and don't hunt. So it's never a problem finding someone to take it. In my game zone, you can shoot two does per day and unlimited bucks. There are no tags for bucks and no limit on either for the season.
That is outstanding! Just blows my mind compared to what I'm used to here from hunting in WI and MI all my life.

taco650
12-08-2013, 02:01 PM
It's pretty good in GA. In my area you can take two bucks and six does. A lot of the hunter's I've talked to would rather have does just because they like the meat. I don't hunt because I lost my hunter safety card years ago (from OR, which GA requires to get a license) and the fact that there is very little public hunting land so you've got to know someone. We've only lived here 2.5 years so... I get to enjoy hunting vicariously through reading these posts. Keep 'em coming!

Grendel99
12-08-2013, 04:16 PM
We certainly have the the numbers of deer here in SC, but especially near the coast where I am, the quality and size is on the small end. Near the middle of the state and the north west side, the get much bigger but still not like the big deer in Michigan and the midwest. An average doe is about 80 pounds whole (not field dressed) and a BIG buck is about 150 lbs whole. The buck I shot that got hit by the car only weighed 102 lbs whole. I used to hunt in a club in the middle of the state and a decent buck there went 190-210 lbs. If a buck makes the Boone and Crockett book, it's big state news. To get in the state record book, a buck has to be 130 inches or more. I'm not complaining though! I love hunting here and it's easier dragging an 80 lb doe out to the truck than a 200 lber!

Ramjet-SS
12-08-2013, 07:07 PM
Great season and that HP cast does some real good work on the game animals. Of course you gotta hit me first and that looks to be no problem for you. Congratulations.