Opening Day in NY

[DBinNY]

Well guys, it's been a while since I posted anything. I have been keeping up with the reading though. Thought I'd share the nicest buck I've ever killed with you. This buck came along very shortly after sunrise (legal shooting hours in NY) on opening day. It was probably a 50 yard shot with the 195 BX (10/50 4759/H4198) Fed 209. The gun is a rem-pac .45 cal conversion that I put together myself with coaching from board members. I manage to avoid passing out upon spotting him coming and executed the shot. He was walking broadside and I hit him in the lung/liver area. He sort of trotted then slowed to an uncomfortable walk for about 40 yards, stopped and piled up. Obviously a complete pass through. I managed to not jump out of the tree. This deer is 4 1/2 years old and bucks of that age are not exactly common in my neighborhood.




Here's one for body size perspective. I did not weigh him but I'd estimate him at about 600 lbs after my buddy and I tried to drag him. We abandoned that folly and went for the 3-wheeler.



Here's the gun when I was in the process of putting it together. The stock is a Boyd's Prairie Hunter and the barrel Pacnor's sendero contour. I pillar bedded it. It has the Savage plug. Luke's plug was just a dream at the time. No complaints though, it is a very good shooter.

[rambler]

Wow, great deer and good job on the gun. Happy Thanksgiving!!

[Deleted]

Awesome deer, congrats! I believe the largest bodied deer ever harvested was around 544lbs, if you truly believe that this deer was around 600lbs you should probably have it checked for the record books! That would be an awesome story to tell the grandkids!

[deadeer]

Hahaha. Great job DB. Thought you fell off the face of the earth like wilms. He must be lost in the woods too. Congrats.

[Deleted]

Great buck DB....those BX's do the job for sure...I would have sworn that buck weighed 1000 lbs after trying to drag him...he's a bigg...un.
Zen

[Dave W]

Nice buck Dan!!

[DBinNY]

Thanks guys and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Rambler - That gun is merely a reflection of the vast knowledge shared by our board members. I just followed their lead (Richard, Hillbill, DaveD, Luke etc. all helped in some way). All you need to do around here is ask for help and the members fall over each other to do so. I started by building one with the factory stock for practice. Pillar bedded it and the works. It came out great and that one is also a laser. I wanted to build a pretty one to and this gun is the result. Also did a couple more for buddies.

RR - I was just yankin' your chain with that weight estimate. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 dressed is more realistic.

deadeer - Wilm's county went to centerfire rifle so he only uses his ML for the late ML season. He used to be my hero leaping tall buildings in single bounds and shooting those 325gr bullets at 2500 fps (ouch). Maybe the concussions were getting to him. Now he shoots boy scout loads at flattops in the late season. In my county, we can't use CFs but I don't feel handicapped using these outstanding MLs.

Zen - It was definitely a job for the 3-wheeler. I also enjoy reading your mule deer stories. Congrats to you and RR on those hunts. I'm glad you can drive to some of those.

DaveW- Thanks and very few of our bucks survive to 4.5 years around here so this one was a real blessing. Lots of corn, soybeans and alfalfa to feed on so the potential is there.

[BuckDoeHunter]

Congrats! Nice Buck

[schunter]

Congrats on a great harvest!

[doggzoe]

Congrats on a nice 8. I would take that any day.
Don

[jims]

I have dragged deer up my hills that certainly felt like they weighed at least a ton going up, usually less than 10 % of that though. Ground shrinkage later. Nice write up and hunt.

[wilmsmeyer]

Nice deer DB,

You pretty much nailed it in your comments to Deadeer. Shot a big 8 pt Friday with my 30-30 at 60 yds and a big doe Tuesday at 30 yds. 2 very short death runs, both easy heart shots. Had it been 5 years ago, the load would have been the one you referenced and the whole front of the deer would be lost. The 7mm mag is ready to go for the "bean field" stands but I have yet to get my arse out of the hardwoods and I only have one doe tag left before ML tags come back into play much later.

Glad you got a nice one.

Side note: The 8 pt I shot had a little hole leaking puss on the point of the shoulder. When skinning and rendering yesterday, this hole led under the spine and into the off shoulder. There was a 4" piece of carbon arrow in the offside back strap and a Montec broad head in the off side shoulder. This guy was moving along like he was just fine. It's amazing what these deer can go thru and still make it through life. I did have to discard the shoulders on him and half of one back strap so I guess I should have smashed him with over 4000 ft lbs energy and 325 gr of hell and it would not have mattered. This is the second deer that we've killed where the shaft unscrewed itself from the broad head while the deer carried it. We were able to screw the broad head back into the insert, 4 full revolutions...so it was not stripped out. Can not figure how that is possible but that's what happened. Maybe the guy didn't have it fully screwed into the insert???

This years ML load (Savage stock 50 cal) will be a LBT 370 hard cast and 30 gr 4759 in a Harv BCR. Chronies at 1,480 fps and shoots MOA out to 200. Sighted dead on at 100 yds, it is 18" low at 200 but groups very well. Being .451, this bullet can be pushed down with one hand making field reloading very nice. I wouldn't want to be a deer inside 150 yds at any angle with this set up.

[deadeer]

Wilms, glad you have had a successful season also. Amazing what those deer can withstand! Bionic deer.

[DBinNY]

Thank you everybody. Congratulations on your deer Wilms. Deer are indeed amazing animals with the punishment they can overcome when poorly hit. I've got several over the years that had arrow wounds or whatever as you describe. None of them, however, can overcome a good shot through the boiler with most anything reasonable. These muzzle loaders add tremendously to the confidence to make those shots. Light years ahead of the old smooth bore shotguns we used to use. Killed a lot of deer with them but seems that you were always hoping you'd hit where you were aiming. No doubts with the muzzle loaders. Good sight picture, bang, dead deer in short order. Count on it.

Jims, have you ever noticed that deer almost always run down a hill that you have to drag them back up when they do their death run? I always try for lung shots when possible so I don't pound the snot out of the shoulders. I don't think it hurts anything to bleed them out a bit either. I can deal with the short death runs. I remember one that I shot with the ML2 300gr xtp that ran toward the logging road. I was actually cheering him along to make it. He almost did. No complaints on that one!

By the way, I've already sampled some of the burger meat (I do it straight up, add nothing, clean it up very good, run it through twice) and it is excellent. Had burgers on the grill and spaghetti and meatballs which the wife made. As good as any venison I've had. Relaxed animal, boiler room shot and well cared for = good eating. I just froze the boned steak meat today after aging it for a week in the fridge.

[moto357]

That's a beauty for sure! Where in NY are you? Since you're saying ML season I'm guessing you are somewhere south? I'm in the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid area.

[DBinNY]

You are correct moto357. I'm a little west of Syracuse and hunt about 10 miles south of where I live. It's in the Eastern Finger Lakes. Heavily agricultural and all private land. It's a different world from your vast mountainous wilderness. I went to Paul Smith's so I'm familiar with your country.

[moto357]

I'm just a couple miles up the road from Paul Smith's on Jones Pond Rd in Rainbow Lake. I take my kids swimming there all the time in their pool during the winter. Years ago I would go with my dad and brother down to a town called Salamanca to hunt but haven't been in quite a while. Hunting was good but it can be crowded, even on leased property