WTT. Used Moeller 750 Thermometer For A Good First Cast Hunting Story

[jonp]

I've read a few posts lately of guys hunting with their own cast so i thought id do this.

I have a Moeller that is used but is within 5 degrees of a new one.

I will send it free of charge to my pick of the best hunting story you had with your first castboolit. I will let this run till Halloween at midnight then i'll pick and send it.

Pictures help. Let's get these hunting stories rolling.

[whtsmoke]

Where do i start, so i was casting some nice 45/70 bullets using my Lee mold and an old hand me down Lyman pot for the up coming black bear hunt and and they were dropping right on the money. I let them cool and harden a bit more then I lubed and sized them using my own bullet lube that I made and worked real fine in my old Trap Door. So come opening day I was out in the wood real early making my way to my stand to get set for when that ole black critter would come up to the bait barrel for some food. I waiting like three to four hours before I even caught sight of the critter and he was being careful and slowly made his way to the food plot for some vittles so to speak. While he was coming I was getting ready for him, real slow like i got my rifle up in the ready position with the hammer cocked back just a waiting for a good shot. Well here was coming just slow and careful and he starts to eat of of the barrel and I must have made some noise because he stopped and turned and looked around and then he looked right up at me in that stand and dang if he didn't start laughing his tail end off rolling around on the ground couldn't figure out what was going on except maybe he never seen anyone hunting bear and dang it was cold as could be couldn't wait to put my clothes back on.

[possom813]

Unfortunately, no quality photo because it was a long time ago.

The year is irrelevant
The story is all truth
It happened some time ago
In the years of my youth

My father was a handloader
As we're by brothers
It was a fate sealed
As I became another

I learned many secrets
The ways to roll my own
But the path I followed
Was a path I wasn't shown

It started at a shop
Found in box of bargains
An old time sinker mold
That was going to work again

It cost me five dollars
Earned by mowing lawns
I cast my first lead anything
And headed to our pond

As I got a bit older
Lead bullets found me bored
The molds were more expensive
So I saved a little more

My folks thought I was crazy
Making my own to shoot
But I couldn't afford factory stuff
And this saved me a bit of loot

I went to the range every week
To experiment with my rounds
Different weights and powders
Hoping a perfect load would be found

Perfection is never easy
I learned this along the way
Every tool is different
None are quite the same

But close enough is good
At least it was for me
I wasn't striking matches
I was looking for meat

The day finally came
When I was able to get away
I took a Marlin rifle
And went hunting for the game

A 336 is almost perfect
For game in thick brush
Has to have Ballard rifling though
Or the lead might turn to mush

I went on a short walk
And the hunted found me
Lucky I had the rifle
And a few rounds of thirty thirty

Through the brush it came crashing
Mad as an old wet hen
I knew right then it was happening
A boy was becoming a man

One quick shot flew out
Shot almost from the hip
One more from the shoulder
Keeping a heavy grip

The hog went down in haste
A let loose a low growl
I took a moment to thank him
As I knelt on the ground

This wasn't the first hog I've taken
And it wouldn't be the last
But, still now, it was the largest
I've ever taken with cast

[jonp]

Haha, ok. I was thinking of actual hunting stories but tall tales and poems will work just make them good ones

[whtsmoke]

Just thought I would throw a little humor in there, we all need a good laugh these days.

[No_1]

Thanks Jonp.

I've read a few posts lately of guys hunting with their own cast so i thought id do this.

I have a Moeller that is used but is within 5 degrees of a new one.

I will send it free of charge to my pick of the best hunting story you had with your first castboolit. I will let this run till Halloween at midnight then i'll pick and send it.

Pictures help. Let's get these hunting stories rolling.

[possom813]

Haha, ok. I was thinking of actual hunting stories but tall tales and poems will work just make them good ones

That is an actual story, just told in poetry slam style.

I suck at story telling, but can turn just about anything into a poem.

[NEKVT]

Don't have a casting thermometer but have a first cast bullet kill story so here it goes.....

1999 was our 25th anniversary and with kids in college we couldn't do too much but wanted to get away for a few days and to someplace we hadn't been to before so we chose to go to VT, specifically the extreme northern part of the state. We discovered the NE portion of the state is the least populated which suited my outdoor interests and back in the 1940's a state official visiting there first referred to the area as the North East Kingdom which had stuck. We went back for several weekends after to continue exploring the area and as the 2000 deer hunting season approached I wanted to go up and scout some big woods and found a friend to go along for a day in mid October. We went to the Bill Sladyk WMA which borders Quebec and spent most of an afternoon on the old logging roads throughout the area. Bear season was open so I took my M94 356Win loaded with the popular RCBS 35-200-FN boolit just in case. We did bump into a bear feeding on beechnuts at about 40yds but the rifle was over my shoulder and we were chatting and enjoying the autumn scenery rather than hunting so that opportunity evaporated in a flash. We walked several miles through the WMA and on returning back to the car we couldn't believe we literally saw only one deer track the whole time.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving and as soon as family obligations were completed I was on my way up to the NEK, solo this time, for the final days of the rifle deer season with the 356 and same load carried earlier. Conditions were be going to perfect as 4-5" of snow fell that day in the NEK. Leaving the motel the next morning at dark for the half hour ride to the WMA I hoped the snow would show more sign than we saw while scouting but just wanted to enjoy the three days I was able to get away hunting a new area. The road into the WMA is mostly flat so getting in on the unplowed road with a car wasn't a problem but the side road up to the staging area I wanted to start at was steep so I had to park off the side of the narrow main road and walk up to the head of the logging road into the WMA.

It was about 7:30 when I actually started down the logging road. I hadn't gone a quarter mile when I saw a 4pt that had just crossed the road right to left and headed into the woods not offering a shot but the sighting already made the long ride worthwhile. When I got to where it crossed it was clear other deer had preceded it so I figured the buck was on the trail of a couple does and I followed as well. After following the trail about a quarter mile I saw the deer had wandered randomly around the area so instead of trying to sort out the tracks I decided to sit where a blow down had fallen across another with a root ball out front breaking up my outline and the top log acting as a shooting bench as I sat on the lower one. With a 15mph west wind blowing in my face it was a perfect set up if the deer were still in the area.

About a half hour later I saw a brown patch moving against the white background about 75yds out angling slightly toward me. At first I thought it was a coyote but as it came out of the hollow I realized it was the back of a deer I saw and the lowered head with nose to the snow has a rack! With forearms resting on the "bench" and quickly lining up the crosshairs of the scout mounted Bushnell 2x scope behind the moving shoulder I fired. The buck didn't even flinch and kept coming so a second shot was taken with the same sight picture with same result. Then the buck stopped behind a tree and stood there quartering toward me with just the head, neck and front of the chest showing. The root ball was now in the way of my bench set up and as I stood to get off another shot I realized I only loaded three rounds so this is it! The hardcast boolit at almost 1950fps hit low in the chest in front of the near leg and the buck clearly flinched before taking off to my right where I lost sight of it behind a screen of brush.

Knowing it was hit I quickly got another cartridge out of my pocket and into the now empty rifle to go follow it up. When I got to where it was standing when hit there was a wide spray of blood on both sides of the track going away and I knew it wouldn't be far off. It was down about 25yds out but trying to get up and as I approached for the follow up neck shot two does jumped up about 50 yds beyond the buck and ran off. After the excitement settled I backtracked from where it was first hit to see what happened with the first two shots. The buck had come down a fresh trail in the snow most likely trailing the does and my first two shots had been deflected by beech saplings the buck ran through as I shot. The boolit had passed through the lungs in front of the heart probably severing an artery which provided the spray trail and broke the offside leg on the way out. At the time I thought the alloy used was 50/50 PB and linotype but now know it was monotype not linotype but was still effective even with the lack of expansions when placed in the vitals. The load was 41.5gr IMR4064.

In addition to being my first cast boolit kill, this was my first hunt in VT and first buck. Seeing the four deer was exciting and this was an example of finding the does during the rut, even in a low deer density area, will give you a chance to see bucks. The friend who had gone on the scouting trip was the most surprised upon seeing the buck.

This was the rifle/scope, cartridge and boolit used in the story.



Picture of the pictures of the buck, one documenting the location with Gore Mt. the highest point in the area in the background. The drag was about 3/4 mile all downhill finalizing at the car on the road down below this point.

[jonp]

Don't have a casting thermometer but have a first cast bullet kill story so here it goes.....

1999 was our 25th anniversary and with kids in college we couldn't do too much but wanted to get away for a few days and to someplace we hadn't been to before so we chose to go to VT, specifically the extreme northern part of the state. We discovered the NE portion of the state is the least populated which suited my outdoor interests and back in the 1940's a state official visiting there first referred to the area as the North East Kingdom which had stuck. We went back for several weekends after to continue exploring the area and as the 2000 deer hunting season approached I wanted to go up and scout some big woods and found a friend to go along for a day in mid October. We went to the Bill Sladyk WMA which borders Quebec and spent most of an afternoon on the old logging roads throughout the area. Bear season was open so I took my M94 356Win loaded with the popular RCBS 35-200-FN boolit just in case. We did bump into a bear feeding on beechnuts at about 40yds but the rifle was over my shoulder and we were chatting and enjoying the autumn scenery rather than hunting so that opportunity evaporated in a flash. We walked several miles through the WMA and on returning back to the car we couldn't believe we literally saw only one deer track the whole time.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving and as soon as family obligations were completed I was on my way up to the NEK, solo this time, for the final days of the rifle deer season with the 356 and same load carried earlier. Conditions were be going to perfect as 4-5" of snow fell that day in the NEK. Leaving the motel the next morning at dark for the half hour ride to the WMA I hoped the snow would show more sign than we saw while scouting but just wanted to enjoy the three days I was able to get away hunting a new area. The road into the WMA is mostly flat so getting in on the unplowed road with a car wasn't a problem but the side road up to the staging area I wanted to start at was steep so I had to park off the side of the narrow main road and walk up to the head of the logging road into the WMA.

It was about 7:30 when I actually started down the logging road. I hadn't gone a quarter mile when I saw a 4pt that had just crossed the road right to left and headed into the woods not offering a shot but the sighting already made the long ride worthwhile. When I got to where it crossed it was clear other deer had preceded it so I figured the buck was on the trail of a couple does and I followed as well. After following the trail about a quarter mile I saw the deer had wandered randomly around the area so instead of trying to sort out the tracks I decided to sit where a blow down had fallen across another with a root ball out front breaking up my outline and the top log acting as a shooting bench as I sat on the lower one. With a 15mph west wind blowing in my face it was a perfect set up if the deer were still in the area.

About a half hour later I saw a brown patch moving against the white background about 75yds out angling slightly toward me. At first I thought it was a coyote but as it came out of the hollow I realized it was the back of a deer I saw and the lowered head with nose to the snow has a rack! With forearms resting on the "bench" and quickly lining up the crosshairs of the scout mounted Bushnell 2x scope behind the moving shoulder I fired. The buck didn't even flinch and kept coming so a second shot was taken with the same sight picture with same result. Then the buck stopped behind a tree and stood there quartering toward me with just the head, neck and front of the chest showing. The root ball was now in the way of my bench set up and as I stood to get off another shot I realized I only loaded three rounds so this is it! The hardcast boolit at almost 1950fps hit low in the chest in front of the near leg and the buck clearly flinched before taking off to my right where I lost sight of it behind a screen of brush.

Knowing it was hit I quickly got another cartridge out of my pocket and into the now empty rifle to go follow it up. When I got to where it was standing when hit there was a wide spray of blood on both sides of the track going away and I knew it wouldn't be far off. It was down about 25yds out but trying to get up and as I approached for the follow up neck shot two does jumped up about 50 yds beyond the buck and ran off. After the excitement settled I backtracked from where it was first hit to see what happened with the first two shots. The buck had come down a fresh trail in the snow most likely trailing the does and my first two shots had been deflected by beech saplings the buck ran through as I shot. The boolit had passed through the lungs in front of the heart probably severing an artery which provided the spray trail and broke the offside leg on the way out. At the time I thought the alloy used was 50/50 PB and linotype but now know it was monotype not linotype but was still effective even with the lack of expansions when placed in the vitals. The load was 41.5gr IMR4064.

In addition to being my first cast boolit kill, this was my first hunt in VT and first buck. Seeing the four deer was exciting and this was an example of finding the does during the rut, even in a low deer density area, will give you a chance to see bucks. The friend who had gone on the scouting trip was the most surprised upon seeing the buck.

This was the rifle/scope, cartridge and boolit used in the story.



Picture of the pictures of the buck, one documenting the location with Gore Mt. the highest point in the area in the background. The drag was about 3/4 mile all downhill finalizing at the car on the road down below this point.

Lol, quite familer with the area as i had a house in Averill for several years and mowed lawns at the customs in Norton where my girlfriend worked for a broker. Walked from Norton Pond to Holland Pond several times. Now my place is way south in Island Pond. I climbed Gore several times. Boy does that look like deer season at home. All thats missing is Johnson wool plaid.
BTW: I was living there in 1999.

[NEKVT]

Johnson Wool items. Don't think I had them on that hunt but got them shortly after.

[jonp]

Anymore stories?

[Smoke4320]

Ok lets set the stage and this goes way back. First my Father never taught me to hunt or fish.
My mother was a german child during WW2 and the house and neighborhood were bombed repeatedly so she wanted us to have NOTHING to do with guns growing up.
At 21 a friend of mine talked me into going deer hunting with him on his land.
I purchased a TC hawken 45 cal black powder gun and a lee mold. Taught myself how to cast for it and produced about 50 bullets to practice and hunt with.
Borrowed a climbing stand (angle iron and plywood)
hunting morning comes and we arrive at the land at about 5AM
They park the truck get out and say to me head straight ahead about 200 yds find the creek and pick out a place to climb ( keep in mind first its dark and 2nd I have never been here before) I was clueless on deer hunting ..
So proceeding to pick out a place I find the creek, pickout a tree and proceed to climb.. all is well I THINK
just at daylight appears the realization that I am about 30 feet up the tree and afraid of heights, kind of gets to me. Shifting my weight some and hear the wood of the stand start to crack. I immediately turn to grab the tree and the stand splits in half and the rifle falls to the ground. Try to bear hug my way down, get maybe ½ way and the arms can’t take it any more so I push off and fall to the ground. Unhurt I pickup the gun and clean off the leaves around the tree so I can use the tree for cover IF I see a deer anywhere.
Lo and behold 1/2 hr later a cowhorn spike makes its way parallel to the creek about 30 yrds from me
I fire off a shot and clip the deers spine. NOT where I was aiming
bucks back legs are now useless but trying to escape on front legs only.
I reload and fire again aiming at heart area and totally miss. So run over and cut its throat.
Drag the deer back to the truck, lean my muzzleloader against the truck bumper and wait for my friend to show me how to clean the deer.
Sun comes up good and as I am looking over at my muzzleloader I see the stock is cracked from the brass shim/wedge in the front all the way back to the brass buttplate. No wonder I was shooting high.
That was about 1979 and it sparked a long and successful hunting life for me

[jonp]

Winner has been notified. Thanks, folks