Had a pretty good opening day.......
.......even though it got off to a rocky start. Got up late, went to pick up my father in law and head for Mickey D's for breakfast before hitting the field. As we're leaving his house I realize that I've left my wallet (and driver's license, and hunting license, and concealed carry permit, and money, and.....) at home.
Back to my place to grab the wallet and away we go. We stop for breakfast and get to the field late......it was already daylight. I get my father in law situated at his stand (he's 67 and recovering from a broken arm 6 weeks ago) and head to mine. I'm in the stand less than 15 mins when he radios me to tell me that his gun is jammed up tight. Marlin 336 and he rimlocked the shell on the elevator and can't get the lever to move. I get back out of my stand and walk 1/4 mile or so back to his. I stopped by my truck on the way and grabbed my Ruger M77 .308 (I was hunting with the Rossi 92). Traded my gun out for his so that he could still hunt. Dropped his Marlin off in the truck on the way back to my stand. It's officially about 7:30 or 8 AM by this point, but I sat it out until almost 10. Didn't see anything.......
Got down, got his gun fixed. Combination of very little lubricant (gun was dry) and his bum wing soft shucking the lever created the problem. Took the mag tube apart to get the stuck round out and got it put back together.
So, long story short (too late) the morning kinda sucked...........
After lunch I headed to a different stand. One I haven't hunted since opening day of bow season. I think my friend and fellow TFL member Crazy Carl hunted it one day in muzzleloader, but it's been basically untouched this year. It sits along a creek bottom right off a pond dam. There's an old turn of the 20th century home place just behind and to the left of it and a 4-5 year old strip of clear cut right behind it. Deer love to walk the border of the woods around the old home place, the creek bottom, and the clear cut thicket.
So I'd been in the stand about an hour when I look up and see horns moving through the woods around the old home place. Lo and behold the horns were attached to a deer! He walked out at about 50-60 yards from me and stood there sniffing the ground. I raised the Rossi 92 .45 Colt and squeezed the trigger. Shot right over his back...............
.
Apparently I was suffering from buck fever. He snapped his head up to attention looking for the source of the loud noise, but kept his feet planted right where they were. I'm glad that Rossi has a short lever throw because I shucked another round in right quick-like and dropped the second shot right where it needed to be. He was quartering away and the bullet entered right about the third rib on the left side and smashed through his vital area, exiting just in front of his right shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin and ran in a circle back the way he came, just as he got out of sight I heard a big CRASH in the woods
. ..........I love that sound..........
Got down out of the stand and walked to where he was standing when I shot. No blood right at the spot he was standing but two paces away it looked like someone took a 5 gallon bucket full and just paved the ground with it. At the end of a ~30 yd blood trail Ray Charles coulda followed, I found this guy:
The 260 gr. hardcast WFN .454 bullet over a healthy charge of Hodgdon Lil' Gun did it's job. His vital organs were liquefied..............
