DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,328
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Hey, Bruce, what's all that green stuff? No doubt she will provide some fine vitals for you. Congratulations!
2023 Hunting Season
- Thread starter JD338
- Start date
Bruce Mc
Handloader
- Oct 26, 2005
- 1,256
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Dr., the monsoon season started a couple weeks ago. That's after a pretty severe summer draught. I finally got the pasture shredded after opening weekend. As we speak, it's under water again and rain forecast for every day through next week. This photo was before the rifle season opener. The time on the camera is off, it should be around midnight.
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- Thread starter
- #283
- Nov 4, 2004
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Bruce,
Nice doe. Congratulations.
JD338
Nice doe. Congratulations.
JD338
RL338
Handloader
- Mar 23, 2017
- 3,288
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Congrats on getting some fresh smokehouse sausage
rjm158
Handloader
- Oct 15, 2009
- 704
- 607
UPDATED
This past weekend was the opener for Missouri's rifle season. Saturday morning, I shot a doe (no pics) using my Browning BLR in 358 Win using 200 Hornady SP handloads. Shot was about 80 yards and she dropped in her tracks. This was first animal I ever got with a lever action.
Sunday morning, my wife got a doe. (75 yds) and an 8 pt buck who just had to come see what the commotion was (95 yds). She used her Tikka T3x Compact 6.5 CM loaded with 120 BTs pushed by IMR 4064. The doe ran 20 yds with heart and lungs mangled and the buck dropped straight down.
On Monday I hunted with some
family and friends on a farm in another county. I hunted a stand new to me but where my stepson shot a big 10 pt on Saturday. I had been 
there 20-30 minutes when an 8 pt walked directly under my stand. He continued walking straight away from me but then turned to his left. I shot him at an astounding 22 yds using my Tikka T3x 308 using Sierra 165 SBT handloads. The bullet entered his left side, destroyed the lower lobes of both lung, blew off the top of the heart, then exited. He staggered two steps right then fell over and that was it.
Besides the deer already mentioned, my youngest stepson also got a 10 pt Saturday evening. All in all, a great start to the season for us.
Ron
Today (11-18) I shot a doe at 131 yds using my Tikka T3x, 6.5 CM, 129 SST handload, first tine using a suppressor. Dropped her in her tracks.
This past weekend was the opener for Missouri's rifle season. Saturday morning, I shot a doe (no pics) using my Browning BLR in 358 Win using 200 Hornady SP handloads. Shot was about 80 yards and she dropped in her tracks. This was first animal I ever got with a lever action.
Sunday morning, my wife got a doe. (75 yds) and an 8 pt buck who just had to come see what the commotion was (95 yds). She used her Tikka T3x Compact 6.5 CM loaded with 120 BTs pushed by IMR 4064. The doe ran 20 yds with heart and lungs mangled and the buck dropped straight down.
On Monday I hunted with some
family and friends on a farm in another county. I hunted a stand new to me but where my stepson shot a big 10 pt on Saturday. I had been there 20-30 minutes when an 8 pt walked directly under my stand. He continued walking straight away from me but then turned to his left. I shot him at an astounding 22 yds using my Tikka T3x 308 using Sierra 165 SBT handloads. The bullet entered his left side, destroyed the lower lobes of both lung, blew off the top of the heart, then exited. He staggered two steps right then fell over and that was it.Besides the deer already mentioned, my youngest stepson also got a 10 pt Saturday evening. All in all, a great start to the season for us.
Ron
Today (11-18) I shot a doe at 131 yds using my Tikka T3x, 6.5 CM, 129 SST handload, first tine using a suppressor. Dropped her in her tracks.
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DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,328
- 6,020
MO has always been good to you, Ron. That is a great harvest of some great deer. Betcha that won't be the last deer to fall to your BLR. Those lever guns are addictive. Good thing that 8 point wasn't any farther from you or that .308 might not have been enough!
Congratulations on some excellent hunting.
Congratulations on some excellent hunting.- Thread starter
- #288
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,208
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Congratulations on a very successful season. You took some nice bucks.
JD338
JD338
salmonchaser
Handloader
- Dec 13, 2013
- 4,993
- 4,974
Well I'm not seeing the bucks I hoped for, a couple of big forks and a small 3 point tempted me last night. Then this guy stepped out. He dug around, took a nap and tempted me, but to no avail FWP had closed bear hunting in the region we hunted. 200 yards with my cell phone.
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salmonchaser
Handloader
- Dec 13, 2013
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Pictures really didn't do him justice, he was pretty big.
- Thread starter
- #291
- Nov 4, 2004
- 25,208
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He looks big.
JD338
JD338
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,328
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Tragic that the season was closed. He does appear quite respectfully legit.
Congratulations to you and your family for a very successful season. That is quite a line-up of bucks.
Seeing that guy must have relieved the monotony of looking and watching for deer. Hopefully you will a decent buck soon.
salmonchaser
Handloader
- Dec 13, 2013
- 4,993
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8MMX57JS
Beginner
- Apr 14, 2022
- 56
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Tagged out on this mulie buck with irons. The old mauser still working away.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,328
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And an excellent buck he is! Congratulations! And over irons, yet!
I've been elk hunting in Oregon the past few days. Got a depredation permit which allowed me to take one cow elk. Often a cow elk hunt is fairly easy. This was one of the more grueling hunting days I've done, at least in the past 10 years or so. Steep and rocky ridges to climb, and the ground was so saturated with water from recent snow melt and rain that each step was a struggle. We put in almost five miles that day, all off-trail, and climbed two steep ridges to get to the elk.
Chukar flushed on one stalk, and the elk left quickly. So, onto plan B. The elk that we stalked on plan B left the area while we were moving in behind a ridge.
Then suddenly two groups of elk came over the ridge and clustered together 900 yards or so away... We set about closing that distance. Although the NRA calls me a "Long Range High Master" in competition, I'm not real keen on taking long-range shots at wild game. So, I wanted to get closer. After a long stalk, including at least 100 yards of crawling, we ended up at about 400 yards from the elk. I picked one out that didn't have another elk standing behind it, held on the front of her chest because of the strong sidewind, and on top of her back because of the drop at 400 yards. Zach ranged her at 405 yards. Steadied the crosshairs in my 6x Leupold and squeezed the trigger. We heard a loud "thwap" from the bullet striking! It had broken what some refer to as the "elbow" of her left front leg, entered low in the chest and hit the heart!
Now, it's good to know that elk are tenacious of life. With one leg useless and a bullet hole through her heart, this cow elk staggered a bit, then decided to leave the area! She went over a ridge and we went after her, then I finished her at much shorter range. I knelt beside her and thanked her for giving my family that good meat. She turned out to be a rather large dry cow, perfect for meat.
We de-boned her on the spot and loaded her into our packs, then hiked a mile down to the road.
This was NOT an easy hunt, I was literally exhausted afterwards. Fortunately I had two strong 38 year old guys with me who carried the bulk of the meat down the ridge. I carried the backstraps and tenderloins, heavy enough for 66 year old me.
We hunted some more in the general area for the next couple of days, but I never got another shot opportunity. What a great way to spend the weekend.
405 yards, Remington 700 CDL, 30-06 with handloaded 178 grain Hornady ELD-X bullets at 2790 fps via Ramshot Hunter, and a 6x Leupold scope. This rifle has been very successful for me over the years.
I thank our member "Filmjunkie" for helping me so much during this hunt. I couldn't have done it without him and his buddy Zach. I'd have looked at those elk well over a thousand yards away and far above us and said "nope, that's not happening." With their help, it did indeed happen.
Regards, Guy
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,755
- 5,848
Elkman - it was a good hunt. I didn't know why it was so difficult for me to hike those ridges that day, and then the next two days chasing aoudad around...
Found out rather rudely just a few weeks later, when I had a heart attack... My heart hadn't been working right on the Oregon hunt in January, it was more than being 30 years older than my hunting partners & guides that trip - and more than being a bit overweight. I didn't know about the heart problem, but that sure explained it. I had the heart attack in February, while bird hunting with my son. Thank goodness he was with me, I often bird hunt alone. He's an EMT and got me back to the Jeep and then home and to the hospital. Whew! I've made a strong recovery and am hiking regularly. Dropped a little weight, not enough. Much stronger and with much better endurance now than on that January hunt for sure.
Regards, Guy
Found out rather rudely just a few weeks later, when I had a heart attack... My heart hadn't been working right on the Oregon hunt in January, it was more than being 30 years older than my hunting partners & guides that trip - and more than being a bit overweight. I didn't know about the heart problem, but that sure explained it. I had the heart attack in February, while bird hunting with my son. Thank goodness he was with me, I often bird hunt alone. He's an EMT and got me back to the Jeep and then home and to the hospital. Whew! I've made a strong recovery and am hiking regularly. Dropped a little weight, not enough. Much stronger and with much better endurance now than on that January hunt for sure.
Regards, Guy
