My first 38-55 deer

[Texas by God]

Good old Texas opening weekend. 80 degrees this afternoon so I wore shorts and tennis shoes. After sweating in the blind for a bit this afternoon and seeing nothing, I decided to still hunt for a while. After studying a doe in the road with binoculars, I needed to sit down to make a good shot. Well, all that made her decide to move on- so I did as well. A beautiful gray fox ran away as I tried to open a gate silently( unsuccessful).
Nearing the rock bluffs of the river, I noticed the back of a deer down in a low spot. It looked like it was foraging, but I couldn't tell much more than that.
So I crawled on my belly, thinking of God's words to the serpent in Eden- " Upon thy belly, though shalt go"- for about 50 yards( felt like a mile). When I thought I'd gone far enough, I sat up and found it again. After seeing that it was a cull spike, I started settling in for the shot. Luckily for me, he started walking diagonally to the west. I whistled once, but he kept walking. At about 50 yards, I sent a Lee 250gr fn behind his shoulder.
No response. He just kept walking and about 40yds more he laid down and kicked a couple times. Both lungs and half of the heart were gone as the .377" bullet passed through. This was right beside the cemetery on the ranch( lots of Confederate veterans there).
It was a good hunt except for picking the Cholla needles and grass burrs out of my knees and elbows!
Apologies for the sorry pic. My new phone is supposedly on its way.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20221107/d7c8b62bbe4dae92f188a43400072e38.jpg

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[danmat]

Congrats, on a nice stalk and a good read.

[marshall623]

Congrats , great story . I've had a couple of deer do that just keep walking thing while they are literally dead on their feet .

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[pworley1]

Enjoyed your story. Congratulations.

[Pereira]

Nice, I enjoyed the story. Congrats.
I've had a 38-55 Cowboy now for two years and have yet to get anything with it.
Got an ole grave sight on this property I hunt that's from the mid 1800's,
maybe I should go sit up there with it.

RP

[Iwsbull]

Congrats on your success, always enjoy the stories.

[Muskyhunter1]

Congrats for sure.

Can I ask you your load and was the bullet sporting a gas check?

Thanks

[ChristopherO]

A fine hunt, well written to take us along on your excursion. Hopefully many more will be forthcoming for our viewing pleasure.

[thadfz]

Great write up!

Congrats on a successful hunt…

[Texas by God]

Thank you all so much for the kind words.
The load is in Winchester brass with 24grs of IMR 4198 and the bullet is the Lee 379250F.
I had to retro fit a short blade front sight to it to get my aim/impact true without having the Redfield rear sight "way up there". But in the bright sun yesterday I smoked the front sight for a better sight picture.
This was my dad's 94 30-30. After owning it for a couple of years, I sent it to JES to rebore to 38-55. At the time, I had 3 30-30s and this 94 was the least accurate of the three. I like it even better than before.
Dad passed this past summer at 92, so using his gun and wearing his cap made me smile.

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[725]

Well done, TBG.

[gwpercle]

AWESOME ....
Congratulations and thanks for sharing ... I enjoyed the story !

Put some of the juice from an aloe-vera plant , cut a leaf and split it open ... rub on knees and elbows after getting the cholla needles out ... very soothing and healing ... it works best if the juice/jell is from a living plant ... not drug store bottle .
:drinks:
Gary

[CastingFool]

Great story, but having been hunting in Michigan since 1974, 80 degrees just ain't deer hunting weather. Lol

[GregLaROCHE]

Congratulations! Great story too. Thanks!

[sloughfoot]

What an amazing story I felt like I was right there with you. Job well done

[Bazoo]

Thanks for sharing. Pretty nice story and with your dads rifle too.

[dverna]

Nice tribute to your dad

[Midohhntr]

Well done! Same boolit I use..

[atr]

hey buddy,,,well done!

[Jedman]

Great job with the belly crawl ! I really like it when I can get close to game someway sneaky. Glad to here you got one with the 38-55 now you can get one with your 44-40. Great hunt !

Jedman

[T-Bird]

Well done, the reference to your dad and his cap and gun, was really nice to me!

[missionary5155]

Howdy Tex and Congratulations ! Slinking along like a Comanche will get the job done. Well done !
Good enjoyable write up.
Jes has turned many half shooting 30-30's into fine tack drivers.

[versa-06]

Wish I had my dad's cap, but I do have his rifle, Feels good after you take the first of many game animals with it!! & we sit & think & remember the past. Sure feels GOOD!

[koger]

Awesome Thomas, great job on the stalk and making more memories with your dads rifle.

[mdatlanta]

Thank you all so much for the kind words.
The load is in Winchester brass with 24grs of IMR 4198 and the bullet is the Lee 379250F.
I had to retro fit a short blade front sight to it to get my aim/impact true without having the Redfield rear sight "way up there". But in the bright sun yesterday I smoked the front sight for a better sight picture.
This was my dad's 94 30-30. After owning it for a couple of years, I sent it to JES to rebore to 38-55. At the time, I had 3 30-30s and this 94 was the least accurate of the three. I like it even better than before.
Dad passed this past summer at 92, so using his gun and wearing his cap made me smile.

Nice story and a great tribute to up your Dad.