Darkhorse
Handloader
- Mar 14, 2014
- 823
- 185
Our season in Middle Georgia came in last Saturday a week ago but I finally got in the woods Friday morning. This year will be different. The bone on bone left hip and the spinal stenosis have really slowed me down. I can't climb a ladder so mostly I'll be hunting on the ground from pop up blinds. I rigged up a way to load my Polaris into the truck bed by using the winch and ramps. It won't come off unless I get one down.
A couple of weeks ago I put up a trail camera over a crossing on our woods road. When I checked it there was a good bit of traffic so I decided to put up a blind. To get the sun at my back and the prevailing winds blowing into my face, I had to put the blind beyond the crossing. Thereby breaking one of my hard rules of walking in where I leave a scent trail. To make it worse this road is never mowed and has waist high weeds.
I decided to hunt with a flintlock for a doe. I would take a nice buck but I really wanted a doe this hunt. So I overslept and then had to load the rifle, plus my difficulty in walking put me in the stand close to 7:45 and trail photo's had most deer crossing about 7:15. Good start.
But I was hunting with a American Longrifle that I had built many years before and those hours spent in the footsteps of long dead hunters and heros are priceless. So I didn't care that I was late, I was just glad to be there.
I was looking for the high shoulder shot. I needed to put the animal down right there. The less blood trailing and dragging the better.
About 9 I saw a deer moving in the woods. A doe. It walked to the edge of the road and stopped but bushes covered the shoulder, I could wait. It finally started walking into the open when I noticed 2 long spikes I had not seen earlier because of the shadows. Just in time as I was about to shoot. He got into the road about 40 yards away and began to feed on acorns.
Then I noticed another deer slipping towards the road. A doe. I got a good look at the head this time and got ready. But this one stopped about 10 yards from the road and just stood there with trees blocking the body. That spike was staring at her. Then I noticed he started really checking out that road. I had sprayed my boots and clothes with Scentkiller but I don't think it worked. There was absolutely no wind to move my scent. In those conditions scent will sorta pool out and spread from your stand. Obviously that doe had smelled something (me). The spike was now alerted to something, but not enough to really get spooked. He just kept walking back and forth smelling the ground, the weeds, and looking at the blind.
Standoff. This went on for at least 20 minutes. In that time the doe not once gave me a shot even though I was at full cock on a shooting stick. Finally the buck walked to the doe and they both faded away without giving me any chance for a shot. A few minutes later I noticed movement to my right and it was huge doe walking steadily to the south too fast for a shot.
Was I disappointed? Not in the least. I had just had a standoff with a doe and small buck just 2 steps away from the shot I needed. I was in the woods with acorns falling cradling a Longrifle in the early fall. To me that is just too cool! Even though I'm in the mid 60's I still get those old feelings.
Hunting deer will be tough this year. I may not get anything because of needing that perfect shot. It will be easier when I put the longrifle aside get a rifle with some good glass for aiming. But I still want one with the old flintlock first.
2 shots at 40 yards offhand. The sights are regulated for 100 yards. Was shooting a little left which I fixed promptly. I made that powder horn when I was 18 and just getting into shooting black powder. I got it from the local butcher and made it from scratch. That's the only powder horn I've carried in all these years.
A couple of weeks ago I put up a trail camera over a crossing on our woods road. When I checked it there was a good bit of traffic so I decided to put up a blind. To get the sun at my back and the prevailing winds blowing into my face, I had to put the blind beyond the crossing. Thereby breaking one of my hard rules of walking in where I leave a scent trail. To make it worse this road is never mowed and has waist high weeds.
I decided to hunt with a flintlock for a doe. I would take a nice buck but I really wanted a doe this hunt. So I overslept and then had to load the rifle, plus my difficulty in walking put me in the stand close to 7:45 and trail photo's had most deer crossing about 7:15. Good start.
But I was hunting with a American Longrifle that I had built many years before and those hours spent in the footsteps of long dead hunters and heros are priceless. So I didn't care that I was late, I was just glad to be there.
I was looking for the high shoulder shot. I needed to put the animal down right there. The less blood trailing and dragging the better.
About 9 I saw a deer moving in the woods. A doe. It walked to the edge of the road and stopped but bushes covered the shoulder, I could wait. It finally started walking into the open when I noticed 2 long spikes I had not seen earlier because of the shadows. Just in time as I was about to shoot. He got into the road about 40 yards away and began to feed on acorns.
Then I noticed another deer slipping towards the road. A doe. I got a good look at the head this time and got ready. But this one stopped about 10 yards from the road and just stood there with trees blocking the body. That spike was staring at her. Then I noticed he started really checking out that road. I had sprayed my boots and clothes with Scentkiller but I don't think it worked. There was absolutely no wind to move my scent. In those conditions scent will sorta pool out and spread from your stand. Obviously that doe had smelled something (me). The spike was now alerted to something, but not enough to really get spooked. He just kept walking back and forth smelling the ground, the weeds, and looking at the blind.
Standoff. This went on for at least 20 minutes. In that time the doe not once gave me a shot even though I was at full cock on a shooting stick. Finally the buck walked to the doe and they both faded away without giving me any chance for a shot. A few minutes later I noticed movement to my right and it was huge doe walking steadily to the south too fast for a shot.
Was I disappointed? Not in the least. I had just had a standoff with a doe and small buck just 2 steps away from the shot I needed. I was in the woods with acorns falling cradling a Longrifle in the early fall. To me that is just too cool! Even though I'm in the mid 60's I still get those old feelings.
Hunting deer will be tough this year. I may not get anything because of needing that perfect shot. It will be easier when I put the longrifle aside get a rifle with some good glass for aiming. But I still want one with the old flintlock first.
2 shots at 40 yards offhand. The sights are regulated for 100 yards. Was shooting a little left which I fixed promptly. I made that powder horn when I was 18 and just getting into shooting black powder. I got it from the local butcher and made it from scratch. That's the only powder horn I've carried in all these years.
