A Great Couple of Days Deer Hunting

[Djones]

I took Friday off of work to hunt deer in Western Indiana. I have been seeing plenty of younger deer but I have been holding out for a mature buck or doe to take with my Ruger SuperBlackhawk 5 1/2 inch.

The Load
I have it loaded with the NOE Ranchdog 265 flatpoint gas check boolit. Alloy was 95/3/2 PbSbSn Air cooled. I loaded in new Starline brass with a CCI 300 primer and 17.5 grains of 2400. I hand lubed with a homemade 50/50 beeswax and moly grease. Gas check was Al from member 338RemUltraMag. I sized on a Lee push through sizer to 0.430".


The Holster
I had started hunting with one of my hip holsters on my belt. This holster made it too hard to hold my rifle in my left and draw my SBH with my right hand.


So on Wednesday I quickly improvised and made a chest rig. This setup was much better! Not as pretty but much more functional! After season I will finish the leather up and make it look better.


The Hunt
Friday I was hunting a levee at the end of a 30 acre gravel pit from the 1940's. The area is overgrown with briars and cedar trees. I wish I had a better picture of the location. I was planning on sitting in a ladder stand we put up at least five years ago. When I got to the stand the stand had been damaged in a recent storm, so I improvised and set at the base of a tree at the top of the levee. There was a mud deer highway where the water meets the levee upwind of my new hide. At around 11:30 I finally had some activity. Three does came through on the "highway". at one point the deer were within 5 yards. I waited until they past because I heard another deer behind them. Thinking it could have been a nice eight pointer we had been watching on trail cameras, I not so calmly waited. The fourth deer was a buck, but not the trophy I hoped for. By this time the does were about 20 yards away.

The third doe was quartering away from me and I decided to line up and take the shot. I fired and saw a new tuff of hair a little high of where I had aimed but still a good shot for a new handgun hunter.

The Deer
After waiting about an hour and fifteen minutes my Dad and I went and looked for blood. It took us a few minutes but we found some blood. I tracked her for about 200 feet through the thick briars at all times thinking the worse. I ended up finding her with a through and through perfect double lung shot. The tuff of hair was where I hit her. A little too high to give instant death or a great blood trail. The exit wound was about the size of a nickle just behind her off side shoulder.


She is one of the biggest does I have ever gotten. I grilled up the heart that night and it was delicious.

Thanks everyone here for the knowledge and advice!

[Hamish]

Now THATS the way you post! Outstanding.

[buckwheatpaul]

That was a great story....congratulations on your hunt.....you will enjoy the memories for years to come!

[Djones]

Now THATS the way you post! Outstanding.

Thanks BTW this is my first handgun and first of my own cast boolit kills.

[1Shirt]

Great post!
1Shirt!

[TXGunNut]

Good Job! Nice fat doe, that tasty-looking grilled heart will be the first of many good meals from her. Good post, really liked the pics.
I like your improvised holster rig but I generally carry my revolver on my right hip and sling my rifle muzzle-down on my left shoulder. This lets me get either into action quickly and prevents snags going thru the scrubby brush I sometimes encounter.

[44man]

VERY nice deer, congats. Nice holster but I would put a strap around the other side too.
The 265 RD is a great boolit.
I do however need to tell you something, cast boolits bounce off deer!!!!!

[357maximum]

Excellent thread...feel like I was there with ya. I also noticed you did not cook the natural "sauce" out of the heart, mmmmm good deal all around. CONGRATS

[monge]

Great hunt great shooting congrats!

[Djones]

VERY nice deer, congats. Nice holster but I would put a strap around the other side too.
The 265 RD is a great boolit.
I do however need to tell you something, cast boolits bounce off deer!!!!!

I just threw the holster on for the pic. It has three points of attachment.

[4719dave]

great job ,,, nice to see the work is worth it ,, thanks

[Djones]

Day Two

Not a cast boolit kill. I'm still waiting for the MiHec 220 grain 35 cal hunting boolit group buy to be ran. I was freezing my toes off so I decided to go get some warm coffee and some more clothes. I was sneaking through the weeds and this guy came running right to me and my 35 Remington.




I think my road trip to SD for pheasant will include a lot of jerky!


Here's another pic of the big doe from the first post

[richhodg66]

That's a nice buck! I can only hope to be so fortunate starting next weekend here.

Good job with the six gun as well. I like your chest rig. I've been messing with a Super Blackhawk 7 1/2" that I've been carrying in a cross draw with a full flap holster, but your rig looks like it would be much more convenient. Do you have a pattern you used or did you pretty much make it from scratch?

[harley45]

Nice buck sir!

[skeettx]

Well done and great posts
Thanks
Mike

[alrighty]

Congrats on both trophy's! Thank you for the pics and the details of your hunt.

[Djones]

Rich,

I made the holster from scratch. I could send you a copy of the pattern I made if you would like.

David

[taco650]

Rich,

I made the holster from scratch. I could send you a copy of the pattern I made if you would like.

David

I like the looks of your home grown set too but I have a 7.5 barrel on my SBH. Yours is a 5.5" barrel correct?

Congrats on two nice deer! That was a big doe IMO and the buck had a real nice rack.

Stuart

[Idaho Mule]

Djones, excellent!!! Thanks for the great write-up and all the pics. JW

[Roundnoser]

Great shot and great post. Man, that doe is a freezer queen!