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Post by M4Madness on Dec 16, 2022 21:28:00 GMT -5
76 yards broadside and looking away from me. Scope nice and steady on his vitals. Problem was, he was 30 yards onto the neighbors property. He stayed there until dark. He lives to see another day. It sounds like your best method of attack is to get permission from the neighbor to shoot over the line. 😉 Good luck on your quest!
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 16, 2022 12:59:39 GMT -5
My best two don't even get honorable mention on here with all the giants killed. LOL!
Best archery -- 164"
Best firearm -- 168 6/8"
Best muzzleloader-- 136 6/8"
All my scores are GROSS (including abnormals). "Nets are for fish." LOL!
I have 5 Hoosier Record Buck entries, all Lawrence County in Southern Indiana.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 16, 2022 10:45:26 GMT -5
Greghopper has one over 200". Then there's the Bowtech something or other screename (who doesn't even shoot Bowtech anymore, lol) that killed a 190+ at Crane this year.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 14, 2022 10:03:10 GMT -5
I seldom read beyond the deer hunting forum, so just now seeing this. I'm sorry to see this, Woody, and you have my sincere condolences. My wife and I have had to endure the euthanasia scenario for cats more times than I can count over our 27-year marriage. The last two were each 16-years old. The last one was our ginger male Sam that, like you, I'd been giving a squirt of thyroid medicine twice a day for a couple of years. He finally started getting cancerous tumors on his back and hindquarters, along with weight loss, so we made the call. It never gets any easier. We currently have five indoor cats left, and one of those has FIV and leukemia and must be kept separated from the others.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 12, 2022 16:48:56 GMT -5
1:1 would be ideal.
I have no idea what the "true" buck to doe ratio is where I hunt, but I would guess based solely on my observations while on stand that it's two ANTLERLESS to one antlered buck.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 12, 2022 16:30:38 GMT -5
When I checked in my buck, the map showed grid squares of my county. I wasn't able to zoom in on the map, and simply chose the correct square (which covered a huge area, by the way.) I definitely did not see a way to put a pin on the exact location of the kill, so why worry? Picture it on a larger scale -- a state map and then clicking which county you killed it in. That's the same thing this map did, only on a smaller scale. You were supposed to drop a pin in one of the squares.... I did, but it just put a big red circle in the square. It didn't put a pin on the farm I was hunting or anything. Lol
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 12, 2022 6:37:25 GMT -5
When I checked in my buck, the map showed grid squares of my county. I wasn't able to zoom in on the map, and simply chose the correct square (which covered a huge area, by the way.) I definitely did not see a way to put a pin on the exact location of the kill, so why worry? Picture it on a larger scale -- a state map and then clicking which county you killed it in. That's the same thing this map did, only on a smaller scale.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 11, 2022 20:07:39 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about the loss of a deer. While some pellet manufacturers offer different weight pellets, by far most pellets weigh 50 grains each. So most likely your dad is using 100 grains, which is plenty. Has your dad checked the rifle's zero to rule that aspect out?
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 21:53:33 GMT -5
A couple of weird things:
The buck had the smallest testicles I've ever seen on a deer. At first I didn't think it had any at all, then a little digging around in the fur yielded a pair of grapes.
Second, the buck had severe hair slippage while I was loading it up. It looked normal as can be while walking in front of me, but lost huge clumps of hair every time I rolled it over or dragged around on it. I mean hair everywhere! Hooves looked fine as best I could tell -- one was chipped, but no glaring deformities as seen on EHD survivors. Liver looked great.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 21:34:52 GMT -5
A CVA Apex .45-70 that was converted into a smokeless muzzleloader by Jeff Hankins. I use 56 grains of IMR-4198 and a 200-grain .40 Hornady SST sabot, which yields somewhere around 2400 FPS. That's a great looking setup for sure. Congrats on your fine buck too! Thanks! You could pick up a cheap CVA Hunter in .45-70 and get it converted for $325 return shipped. Then no more smoke, no more mess, and no more cleaning than you do on any rifle you own. And the big plus is blazing fast speeds (3000 FPS is easily obtainable.)
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 21:27:09 GMT -5
What kind of muzzleloader are you using. That's a good looking rig. A CVA Apex .45-70 that was converted into a smokeless muzzleloader by Jeff Hankins. I use 56 grains of IMR-4198 and a 200-grain .40 Hornady SST sabot, which yields somewhere around 2400 FPS.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 21:24:31 GMT -5
Nice buck! I could be wrong on this but isn't that your first one for quite a while? Either way it's a great buck to break a cold streak! Yes, my last buck was the last day of firearms season 2017. I was losing that property after 23 years of hunting, so I shot an 8-pointer at last light. I then basically took the 2018-2021 seasons off, except for one quick doe for the freezer in 2018, 2019, and 2020 firearms season. I didn't even shoot a deer last year. I used to live for archery season, but haven't shot a bow in 5 years now.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 21:20:18 GMT -5
Thanks! A few minutes before, I'd watched a 4-pointer and spike come out about 50 yards to my right, cross the field, and walk along the opposing woodline smelling for an estrous doe. The wind was hard into my face, and I didn't have my face mask, so I was holding up gloved hands to shield my cheeks. I then noticed this buck coming out where the two other bucks had. I confirmed tine count with my rangefinder, and he then turned and walked down a mowed path in the field exactly 75 yards in front of me -- which was the only really clear shot I had. I found him walking in the scope, mouth bleated to stop him, and fired the smokeless beast. He ran a few steps, fell over, and started kicking. He expired in about two seconds, and I descended the tree quickly. Shot went through both lungs and the extreme top of the heart (aorta).
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 20:18:34 GMT -5
Killed a decent 11-pointer 12 minutes ago... Way to go man!!!!! I’ll stay tuned for pics!! I've used Imgur for photo hosting for quite a while, but for the last month or so, it errors out while uploading pics. I'll probably have to get Woody to post it, unless this site happens to offer hosting. I don't use Tapatalk, so I'm sure it's a moot point. It's a main frame 10-pointer with a split brow on the right. 18" inside spread, with tine lengths that aren't super impressive or anything. It's the first buck I've ever taken in muzzleloader season (started hunting in 1995.)
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 17:36:55 GMT -5
Killed a decent 11-pointer 12 minutes ago...
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 15:53:10 GMT -5
Well, for the first time in years, I packed my heavy climber in on my back and trudged up the ridge. Lol! I'm overlooking my usual hayfield, but am set up just inside the woods where the majority of the deer head to when crossing the field 400 yards in front of my usual ladder stand. It was a nightmare coming through the woods full of briars, but I didn't want to risk walking the field edge.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 14:21:21 GMT -5
Early firearms start and perfect weather = larger buck harvest Perfect deer weather to me is 40-50 degrees, sunny, and dry. Lol!
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 10, 2022 11:19:58 GMT -5
For those who know the area, driving north on Hwy 37 coming into Bloomington, there is a cut cornfield on the right just north of the Walnut Street exit. When we passed by around 10:15 AM, there was a very nice buck next to the woodline with three does. My wife thought it was a 10-pointer. There's a ground blind there year round, so hopefully someone was in it this morning. Lol!
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 9, 2022 11:37:27 GMT -5
Wonder what class in High School would do this type of study? Drama 😉 Survey completed. Thanks.
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 7, 2022 17:01:00 GMT -5
Smaller antlerless crossing at 328 yards. Heard a single shot in the distance beyond the woods to my left at 4:47 and another from the same firearm at 4:55. It certainly didn't sound like a muzzleloader, but then again, my smokeless muzzleloader doesn't sound like one either.
EDIT: Make that a third shot from the same firearm at 5:03. Maybe it takes them 8 minutes to reload. LMAO!
Again at 5:08, which was faster. Lol! Surely it is someone shooting at home and not hunting.
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