Illinios 24 to 1

[elkman1310]

Well to say my hunt in Illinios was good. From a stand point of killing a giant it didn't happen!. I did see a giant after what I consider legal hours here in Pa. or any where else I hunt. My buddy was the only hunter to kill a 10 pt. which scored 155 1/4 . thats one hunter out of 24 guys hunting on some of the best property in Fulton and Schuyler counties. The deer were not moving before dark. My buddy ended up killing his buck on the second day of the muzzleloader season. He shot it at last light. I don't like hunting that way. But it seems all my friends in Pa. didn't fair any better. I went to our property in New York Sunday and within 2 hours killed a nice 8pt. didn't have to worry about the deer scoring 130 or bigger . I believe there is to much put on how well the deer will score compared to the whole hunting experience. We had about a inch of fresh snow and the deer were moving all day long. As far as bullets. The big Illinios buck was taken at 80 yrds with the 300gr. B.O. and 75grs of 10x he had a qrtering to shot. hit a rib going in and exited just ahead of the right hind qrter. I was really surprised of the size of the exit wound . it was elongated and about 4 inches in length when the hide was removed. The deer dropped stone dead. I killed my buck in New York with the 290gr barnes tez flat base. using 75 grs. of 10x. This gives us 2425fps. I shot this buck at 180yrds . doubled lunged him . Hit no ribs in or out . He went straight down. And died kill quickly. My gun had been loaded for over two weeks .We had cold mornings in Illinios then warmed up to almost 50. Sunday in New York the temp. was about 25. The Savage went off instantly with 10x and CCI 209 Mag primers. It has been my go to load for some time. the only change I will probably make is to go back to the 250Tez. If all my hunting is 200 yrds or less. Now coyotes are on our hunting list. take care!