22 November 2010 Hunting success ...

The weather's been a bit on the cold side the last few days so I've been a  little negligent about getting out to hunt.  (Got some writig done though.)  It was -6F today but the wind was calm so I headed out into the woods again to see about filling my deer tag.  I saw three does in the first loop but does aren't in season this year (of course most of the deer I've seen are does.  I've seen two bucks since the start of the season and probably about 25 does or fawns.  I didn't have my rifle with me when I saw one buck (I was coming back from checking traps) and didn't get a shot at another one as he ran through the woods. 

I got one today but it had some challenges too.  I had four misfires before I got a round to go off.  The only thing I can think of is that the gun oil thickened enough in the below zero air that the firing pin wasn't striking the primers hard enough.  Every time the buck would take off I'd give a couple of grunts on the grunt tube and the dumb fool would circle back around.  He did it one too many times and is now hanging in the shed.  It was about a fifty yard shot in the woods.  I had to shoot between trees to put the bullet where I wanted it.  I always shoot for the heart on deer as that ruins the least meat.  (A real consideration when you're shooting a 338 Win. Mag.)  He still went about fifty yards before piling up dead.  He was spraying blood and pieces of lung and heart all the way and bounced off a couple of trees there towards the end.  I've never had one go that far after a heart shot.

Tristan, our youngest son, went hunting with friends and got a spike buck today also so we'll be firing up the canners.  I didn't get mine skinned today so it will be frozen tomorrow and a real pain to get the hide off it.  Both bucks were in prime condition with plenty of fat on them.

Tristan's deer.  I guess we can't tease him about his becoming a vegetarian now that he brought some meat home!

I got this one about an hour later.  It was west of the house on timber company land.  It was a real chore getting it home.  We had to drag it through the woods quite a ways.

Me, after a couple of hours outside on a day when the high was +4F.  The wool coat I modified is great!