Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Hunting the Sandhills in 2011

Had a great trip up, got there about 6:30 Friday night. Full moon had just risen and was VERY bright. Made the underbrush black as sin, but the open spaces so bright I could almost read without a light. Went and got the memory cards from a couple of game cams and opened up the windows on the blind so I didn't have to make any extra noise in the morning, and head back to the truck.

I camped out of the ol' F150 for 3 days. Not the most comfortable thing to sleep in, but stayed warm through the 30 degree nights easy enough and didn't have to drive a ton of miles back and forth to the motel.

Browsed the game cam pics that evening, and was happy to see a bunch of bucks. Nothing spectacular, but one big bodied buck with fairly wide antlers - but not much mass. What seemed odd was the lack of does - the summer and fall pictures had a lot of does with very few bucks, now there's a bunch of smaller bucks and few does. Usually see a bunch of does late in the year, so it's unusual - though not unprecedented.

Then I screwed up. Set the alarm to get me into the blind about 15 minutes before hunting.. but forgot to set the correct time. So I overslept opening morning by an hour. Oops.

So.. crawl of of the sleeping bag, crawl into the insulated overalls, all the meanwhile cussing like a southern New Hampshirite who can hear the Kennedy's arguing across the state line - though quietly, cuz my truck is only a couple hundred yards from the blind. So I head thru the gate to my blind, and on the way I'm greated by a huge old barn owl sitting in a tree watching me cross the creek. Used to have a great horned owl that would be present every November, glad to have another owl around, they are just cool critters. I'll see him throughout the weekend, being harassed by crows or flying around at dusk and dawn. Then I crawl into the blind an hour after sunrise and start waiting...

5 minutes.

A fawn followed by a very nice doe appears out of the trees to my right about 25 yards away. I love how they just magically appear, not there one second and them "Poof!", they are standing there. As it turns out, this is the only mature doe I'm to see over the next 3 days, but it's opening morning and I don't know that, and I don't shoot does opening morning. Give the big bucks a chance, since I have the ol' lucky EG along.

So they walk.



The rest of the morning is quiet, except for my stomach which missed breakfast due to it's owner oversleeping. Growl..

Finally at noon, it's time to get down and answer the call of nature. It's been 3 hours since I've seen anything, but I scan carefully before opening the trap and climbing down. Naturally I take the EG with me.. just in case. As I put my foot on the ground I look up, and here goes a BRUISER of a buck running up the far hillside headed northeast. CRAP!!!! This thing wasn't gracefully leaping and prancing away, it was so big that it was gallumping up the hill! Never did get a good look at the rack, except it was much wider than the ears. The hillside isn't my land, and I don't do texas heart shots, so I just watched it go and cussed my luck.

Then, naturally, 5 minutes after that I hear gunshots to the northeast. One. 30 seconds... Two. Another 30 second... Three. Around here three shots means either a clean miss and 2 follow up shots at long range, or a wounded deer and some hail mary shots trying to bring it down. Hopefully that grand old boy isn't wandering around gut shot.

I see a little 3x3 later that afternoon on the hillside, safe from me and not interested anyway, and then a doe scooting across the hilltop at sundown. Flock of 19 turkeys show up at sundown and walk across in front of me, then fly up to roost in a tree about 100 yards north of me. Was a beautiful though windy day, and enjoyed it tremendously.

Truck time.. camp stove and heat up some Dinty Moore stew for dinner. Yum, warm food!!! Then a bit of reading the campfire on my smartphone, read a book a while, then crash.

Next morning I'm up on time, I usually don't make stupid mistakes twice. Usually. Get up into the stand about 10 minutes before legal shooting, though with a full moon up it's very bright. The turkeys fly down out of their tree about 15 minutes before sunrise, making their usual racket and start to graze across the far hillside.

Then, movement to the left! I look over and see a buck looking up to the turkeys about 50 yards from me, but his head is behind a cedar and I can't see how big. Then he must hear me thinking because he takes 5 steps forward past the tree, and even looks away giving me a nice view of his rack. Not a monster, but definitely a shooter...

So I shoot.

180gr Partition out of 300 Savage 99EG at 50 yards does it's work on another nice buck as he drops in his tracks, kicks for 5 seconds, lets out a heartrending bleat and is silent. I let him sit for a couple of minutes, just so that if he's not passed on he's not looking at me at the last. Shot was a bit high but was angled down, went in high on one side of the chest and exited the far side taking out both lungs on it's way through.



The turkeys never batted an eye. Just kept grazing the hillside 150 yards away. Dumb birds, though I appreciate the distraction they provided.

I get him field dressed and moved into the shade to cool off, and back into the stand. The rest of that day I see a couple of small does or button bucks, not close enough to tell which - and I pass on them. Also see a forkhorn sniffing around across the fence to the south, he's safe even though I technically have permission to hunt that. And a small 4x4 chases one of the small fawns back across the hillside at sunset, but they make me and panic. Turkeys come back and sunset and fly back into their tree. I've got a turkey permit, but I'm liking these birds on my property - think I'll take a pass and let them go for next year.

Another beautiful day, and time to retire to the truck. But a serious lack of shooter does, again. Got skunked in October, not I've only seen 1 in two days.

Third morning, I'm only going to hunt until noon today so I can get home and get the deer to the processor. But I switch up guns since the EG has been fed, this time I take out the 1920 1899A SR in 303 that I had back in October. Still very curious about that 16 Co on the side of the stock...

Get to the blind, being welcomed by Mr. barn owl again. Turkeys flying out of their roost at sunrise. Life is grand, and the world is perfect today..

5 minutes after sunrise, another small doe/button buck shows up. It's tough, but I pass on this one again. As she jumps the fence to the east a small 4x4 basket buck busts out of the trees to the south and chases her. Him I'd have probably taken to put meat in the freezer, but down deep I'm glad he's safe.

Then nothing except the usual, hawks and what I think is a falcon go flying through, crows cawing, robins everywhere as they get set to migrate south. SO much better than being at work on a Monday!

Gets to 11am, and I start thinking about packing up and heading out. Have to make 2 trips to take stuff back to the truck, haul the buck out, etc. Just as I'm winding down, I look left and there's a deer sniffing at the buck I got yesterday. Big doe it looks like, though she's behind the tree and I'm not totally sure.. Wait..

It turns and takes a couple of steps out, and I see it's not a big doe. It's a spike buck, but with 30 minutes left to hunt I deem this a sign and I shouldn't pass up something that's this obvious.

Line up the buck in the 2-7x Leupold and wait.. he's twisting and turning and not giving me a broadside, facing away and looking nervous. Crud.. Finally give me a good enough angle as he turns toward me and I take a shot. The 150gr Hornady does a great job at 70 yards as it enters the neck on a front quartering shot and exits through the far front leg, dropping the spike where he stands. He kicks for 40 seconds or so, and then goes motionless. I give him a few minutes, and then go check.



Then it was time to pack up and haul deer out and do the 5 hour drive home. Had a nice surprise in that a taxidermy studio opened up in the town that I'm near, and I was able to stop by and meet a new neighbor. Turns out it's a family operation, and the family owns a ranch 3 miles west - but the son just bought up about a block sized group of lots that bump up to my land. Looks to be a VAST improvement over the folks that have been up in the one inhabitable house there over the last 20 years, and it should get much easier for me to hunt the west section of my land (too close to house to hunt without permission).

So it was a great trip, though I'd have been happier to get a couple of decent does to bring back. Never seen such a lack of does except for when the bobcats raise their young on my property, but with the turkeys roosting there I can't believe we have bobcats this year. Very unusual, but in the end it didn't matter and I had a great hunt.

Now I'm done rambling..

Love it! Another nice buck for the EG!
Thank you!

Thanks for sharing! I'm green...

Windier than heck Saturday/Sunday, but Sunday night the wind died down and the skies were clear and the stars were brighter than I remember seeing them in decades. Could easily see the Milky Way, and it was actually tricky picking out a few constellations because all of a sudden I could see so many extra stars in and around them. It was absolutely gorgeous.



This is the biggest buck I had on my trailcams, I don't think he's the one I saw running up the hill. Hope he makes it to next year, because he'll be a serious wallhanger if he does.

Great story Calhoun! I was holding my breath hoping the ju-ju of that EG would work for you again! Did you have your decoy out this year?

(I note also you still don't have an empty jug in the blind with you... )

If I saw a buck like that where I hunt, I would have to clutch my chest a l� Redd Foxx- "Hold on Elizabeth, I'm coming!"

I took the decoy along, but never set him up since it was too windy. He's just a thin, 2-dimensional decoy and really flops around in serious gusts.

Great posting, Rory.

Rory, sounds like mission accomplished. Good looking deer and it's apparent you and the Savages got along just fine. Thanks for sharing, Tom.

Nice deer, nice story. Congratulation on a great hunt. Ya just gotta get away from the computer just long enough to chill out. Beautiful piece of land. Good luck with the new neighbors.

Congrats again! A respectable buck for sure and some good eats!

Rory, I can't believe theres that many deer out there!!! i haven't even seen a flag here ,i only know of thrre people who have gotten deer around here at all. I think you might just as well leave the old EG hanging right in the blind then you will always have your good luck rifle handy !!! great hunt. Don

It does get the blood pumping to see one, but the clutching my chest comes after dragging those suckers to the truck, and then lifting them into the trunk. Going through the creek with sandy banks is a real thrill. Up one step, slide back down two. Ugh.

Thanks for the story and pictures. Nice job. Sure makes me want to get out there. Sat. is only a couple days away. We don't have that population of deer in Maine.

is,nt that the best part good hunt Rory and good story telling ,glad you connected. eat hardy

Thanks for the story and pictures great to see those Savage's work!!

Congrats on a great hunt!

A buddy was telling me he just read an article, FYI, that says if you want to retain does, DON"T shoot the mature ones, shoot the young ones. The old ones make sure they stay around their home range, but if you shoot the old ones, their offspring tend to scatter after that.

Don't know if it means anything, but we've been applying that for years now, and get more tender steaks from a yearling than a mature doe.

Could be a goofy study too. Just like how many spikes actually turn into B/C bucks.... Of course how many spikes stay spikes for all their life either.

Cool that you used a 99!

Nice buck...nice story...I don't use my 99.300 alot, but have taken maybe a dozen head of deer and antelope with it, but only factory loads..either 150 core lokes or power points..bought the gun because I picked up 3 boxes of 150 power points for $5>00 at a yard sale..also bought 3 bx.of 150 Silvertips for it..once they are gone will probably sell the rifle...I was surprised you used 180 grain partitions for deer...have used them on elk, but found I have quicker kills with std. bullets especially in my Sav. .300.....

Thanks, guys.

In short, I use 180gr Partitions in that EG for the simple reason that it groups them unbelievably well with almost any powder. This gun just likes heavy bullets. I've found an accurate load for 165gr partitions, but I'm still using up the box of 180's from 3 years ago. At 1 shot per deer and a couple shots for sight-in, I've got 3 or 4 years to go.


The 1899A short rifle, on the other hand, groups every load I've tried very well. I used 150gr Hornady's in it simply because that was the box nearest to hand. Almost any 150gr will kill a deer out of a 30-30 class rifle just as well as a 170gr, so I just loaded up and went hunting.

Hey, who can argue with that logic...?????? Never had a 303, but am still kicking myself for passing a nearly new 99 in .30-30..my logic was I already had .30-30's I shot very little...dumb Those 99's are fun...I am not in the collector class you guys are, but this is a fun thread....