4-digit Ruger #1 fills the freezer! - 12/12/15
I thought of dropping this in Deer Hunting or Hunting Rifles, but nah!!! Carrying my favorite deer rifle, my 1968 Ruger #1 S26M, was as much a part of the hunt as everything else, so figured I would drop it here in Single Shots. This rifle has enough attached to it (4-digit serial number, no warning, good wood, I think Douglas barrel, etc. etc.), to perhaps make one want to stick it in the safe to appreciate in value over time, but it was built to hunt and it handles and shoots like a dream, so we hunt!
I was lucky enough to draw AZ's Kaibab hunt this year, but my hunting partner's health wasn't good enough to go, and others had to bail on me, so when a co-worker offered to go, I decided to take him. He figured out on Saturday night he had to leave by Monday night, so I knew it would be good to get it done on Sunday if I could.
We were heading to a new area on Sunday morning, so were still on the road at first shooting light instead of out glassing. When it was just light enough to see, I spotted a couple of does feeding up on a hillside. That's all we could see, then out of nowhere this buck just appeared standing broadside at 200 yards. It was light enough for a shot, but still too dark to judge antlers very well. I stepped out of the passenger side of the truck, then slid an '06 shell down the tube as I snuck around the bed. I side-stepped the road and right there in front of me appeared a rock that made for an almost perfect platform for a semi-prone uphill shot. I've said this before, but when the hunting gods decide to line up the stars and present me with a gift, I accept it with gratitude and don't worry about how many inches of antlers are attached to it. I laid on that rock, the rifle raised as naturally as putting on a favorite hat, I found the buck - then boom!!
As we stood over that deer, we were then treated to a show of the sun coming up over some spectacular Kaibab landscape. Here's that Ruger with its fall harvest before the sun came up, then a couple after.
I was lucky enough to draw AZ's Kaibab hunt this year, but my hunting partner's health wasn't good enough to go, and others had to bail on me, so when a co-worker offered to go, I decided to take him. He figured out on Saturday night he had to leave by Monday night, so I knew it would be good to get it done on Sunday if I could.
We were heading to a new area on Sunday morning, so were still on the road at first shooting light instead of out glassing. When it was just light enough to see, I spotted a couple of does feeding up on a hillside. That's all we could see, then out of nowhere this buck just appeared standing broadside at 200 yards. It was light enough for a shot, but still too dark to judge antlers very well. I stepped out of the passenger side of the truck, then slid an '06 shell down the tube as I snuck around the bed. I side-stepped the road and right there in front of me appeared a rock that made for an almost perfect platform for a semi-prone uphill shot. I've said this before, but when the hunting gods decide to line up the stars and present me with a gift, I accept it with gratitude and don't worry about how many inches of antlers are attached to it. I laid on that rock, the rifle raised as naturally as putting on a favorite hat, I found the buck - then boom!!
As we stood over that deer, we were then treated to a show of the sun coming up over some spectacular Kaibab landscape. Here's that Ruger with its fall harvest before the sun came up, then a couple after.