Mule Deer With An Original 1894 Takedown 32-40

[shrapnel]

Chasing these critters around with old guns and iron sights makes the hunt more worthwhile. I spent the morning spotting for deer and seeing a few. I did get within range of a nice 4 point, but he took off at the last second and went around a hill.

I followed where he went, got distracted and had to go back in search of him. I found this buck bedded and snuck up on him from the downwind side to about 100 yards. I stuck the rifle over the ridge, he caught the movement and stood up. I shot him through the heart and liver with a 180 grain grease groove round nose bullet...

http://i.imgur.com/i3rPo5Z.jpg (https://imgur.com/i3rPo5Z)

http://i.imgur.com/McElPfC.jpg (https://imgur.com/McElPfC)

[brewer12345]

Sweet!

[tigweldit]

Nice buck. Beautiful rifle. Smile on your face. That picture tells it all. Congratulations.

[trails4u]

Nice fat Muley..... Good eatin', and an even better hunt! Good on you, brother!

[rondog]

Very sweet, congrats! And he looks heavy.....

I love hunting, but getting me in and getting them out is nearly impossible for me. I have to enjoy hunting through the photos and stories of others.

[augercreek]

Nice buck you have there! My father in law had a 94 oct barrel in 32-40. Never had a box of shells run thru it. Wish I had it !

[Bazoo]

Neat, thanks for sharing and congratulations.

[richhodg66]

That's awesome! Congrats. Great rifle in a neat cartridge and that's a fine animal.

[Hogtamer]

NIce shooting brother!

[smithnframe]

Very nice weapon and mule deer! Are you the Shrapnel Mike Venturino talks about?

[shrapnel]

Very nice weapon and mule deer! Are you the Shrapnel Mike Venturino talks about?

Yup, Mike has made a lot of money writing about my mistakes...

[tadpole]

That's great. Rifle is as beautiful as the country.

Well, almost.

[hockeynick39]

Nice!!

[Beerd]

Healthy looking muley, hope the drag wasn't too far.
..

[skeettx]

Wonderful report
Thank you for sharing
Mike

[Texas by God]

I'll confess to jealousy here.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[shrapnel]

I do like the old guns. My best deer with a 45-70 and cast bullets...

http://i.imgur.com/Nr8ZgSS.jpg (https://imgur.com/Nr8ZgSS)

[WebMonkey]

Very nice!

[willicd76]

Excellent way to do it!

[Thumbcocker]

I so want to party with you. Nice deer and good write up.

[Shawlerbrook]

Fantastic !! I shot a whitetail with my 1906 vintage Win 1894SRC in 25 35 a couple years ago and I swear that was the best tasting venison I ever brought home.

[rking22]

Another nice shot with a fine rifle, and cartridge! That is some beautiful country, so different from our Tennessee big woods. Collecting fine older rifles is nice, hunting with them is the icing on the cake. ��

[Tripplebeards]

I’m jealous!

[JDL]

Good deer and nice rifle. Did you use black powder or smokeless?

[steve004]

Very enjoyable to read. Super enjoyable to see the photos. Thanks for posting!

[ChristopherO]

I’m jealous!

That is a great question. Also, how did the round nose bullet perform? I am going to start casting some 35 caliber round nose boolits and am intrigued to hunt with them in the future. Very glad for your success, Shrapnel. Beautiful rifle and buck.

[longcruise]

Congratulations! You did so many things right!

[ole_270]

The older I get the more I enjoy hunting with these old guns and cartridges. My rifle isn't that old, but the 38-55 chambering is. Works great at woods ranges.

[Prodigal Son]

Bad *** I'm hunting with the Remington 141 35 Remington Express RCBS 200 gr RFN GC Tomorrow hope does as good as yours did. Nice buck and rifle and cartridge!

[shrapnel]

Good deer and nice rifle. Did you use black powder or smokeless?


That is a great question. Also, how did the round nose bullet perform? I am going to start casting some 35 caliber round nose boolits and am intrigued to hunt with them in the future. Very glad for your success, Shrapnel. Beautiful rifle and buck.

Here is the cartridge and the bullet. It worked great, but a cast bullet is always about bullet placement. Those that think the old black powder cartridges are like the "Hammer of Thor" need to realize, they aren't unless spine shot or where the main skeletal support is broken down. Cast bullets and black powder cartridges are mostly hole punchers. They can and will penetrate unbelievable amounts of meat and bone, but without a mechanical breakdown, animals can travel quite a ways with a hole punched through them.

The load is only 16 grains of 5744 powder under that 180 grain round nose bullet. It does kill quite well when hits the vitals like this...

http://i.imgur.com/TquVGFD.jpg (https://imgur.com/TquVGFD)

http://i.imgur.com/woHEBlX.jpg (https://imgur.com/woHEBlX)

[fivegunner]

That is Cool, Thanks' for posting:D

[sixshot]

Shrapnel is a relatively new poster here on castboolits forum but if you frequent 24 hrcampfire & want to discuss vintage rifles, handguns, Custers Last Stand, reloading, etc you'll find that many up in Montana will tell you he pretty much walks on water, so listen when he speaks! Edited to say, if the water is hard!

Dick

[superior]

Well Done! I don’t hunt from blinds with a wiz bang, high tech rifle. I prefer to sneak up on them with cowboy guns ; especially with my own hand made cast ammo. Awesome buck and rifle!

[ACC]

Anyone who says you have to have the latest and greatest new ultra magnum cartridge just ain't hunting. The old work horses still take game every season. The 32/40, 38/55, 32 Winchester special. In fact I took a deer three or four years ago with a .32 S&W long although I don't recommend it.

My Grandfather was a Baptist preacher here in South Texas. A member of his congregation gave him and old Marlin lever gun in .32 Winchester Special. It also came with an old bullet mold. The owner was getting at that time a new 7mm magnum and didn't think the old Marlin was any good anymore.

Well that was when I was about 8 years old(I'm 65 now) and every year my Grandpa made meat with that old "Useless" under powered rifle. My Grandfather cast the bullets, smeared Lyman lube on them, fired five at 100 yards(The rifle had a Williams peep sight on it) and he could keep five shots inside 2 inches at 100 yards. He shot with both eyes open.

I guess most people, my brother included, just doesn't understand that here in South Texas most shots on deer averages 75 yards.

Of course my Grandfather would say a short prayer, "God you know what me and my family need. I promise if you make my aim true I would take no more that I need. Amen"

ACC

[Iowa Fox]

Thanks for sharing with us I love those old Winny's. Gorgeous countryside also.