After an in the dark hike into a clear cut, we sat & glassed for 2 hours and nothing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> We jumped onto an old skid trail & found tons of fresh sign. Worked our way over to the other side of the hill & jumped two does. Played with them for a while and worked to the bottom of this large hill we were on. In the edges near a small creek we jumped a buck that ran deeper into the forest. I stayed on the creek bank & my buddy circled into the woods. Sure enough, the deer did a 180 & came back, he stopped and starred at me. He looked like a little spike & I almost didn't shoot him. I decided to take him (as I had a muzzle loader "ANY deer tag"), pulled back the hammer and "CLICK" nothing. I pulled the hammer back and placed the front site back on his shoulder and Phooom, I was engulfed in beautiful white smoke & lost sight of the deer. When the smoke cleared I saw the buck running erratically away & began a hasty reload. I watched the buck turn left into a small opening in the woods & waited for my buddy to catch up to me. We walked to where the deer was when I shot him (a whopping 31 paces <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) There was bright red frothy blood on the ground, we tracked him for about 70 yds & found a nice 2-3 year old forkie (it turns out that he was standing in a hole when I shot him, that made him look smaller). So I "Suffered", ground shrink in reverse <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
There was a thru & thru .530 size hole behind each shoulder and thru the lungs. Two perfectly round holes in the hide.
Gun: 54 cal Hawkin, shooting 224 grain round balls over 90 grains of Triple 7.
Now for elk season <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Mark
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