Back from the hunt
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- KirkD
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- Location: Central Ontario, Canada
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Back from the hunt
Every late autumn I am gripped with the overpowering need to get out into the bush with an old Winchester. It is not just about harvesting a Whitetail Deer for the winter’s supply of meat. It is more than that. It is about spending time with various friends I have up in Northern Ontario, it is the smell of the cedars and the fallen leaves on the forest floor, the quietness, getting away from the crazy busyness of ‘normal life’ (if you can call it normal) and getting alone in the forest with God. It is one of the highlights of my year and immensely refreshing.
This year I hunted on the farm of some good friends of both my wife and mine, a 100 acre farm close to where my wife grew up. My rifle of choice was an original Winchester Model 53 in 44 WCF caliber, also known as the famous 44-40. Very few Model 53’s were ever made, and even fewer in 44 WCF. They are essentially an ‘extra light’ version of the Model 1892, with a tapered nickel steel barrel, a button mag, and a fluted shotgun butt stock. This particular one was made in 1928, and is shown in the photo below, along with the two empty casings from my hunt and my favourite bowie knife with the Sambar stag handle, that I used to clean and skin my animal.
I had loaded my cartridges with 20 grains of IMR SR4759 under a 200 grain cast SAECO bullet for a velocity that chronographed at 1,460 fps. The bullet was soft cast out of pure wheel weights.
Before dawn I quietly disappeared into the bush and headed to the spot I had chosen the evening before ..... a low ridge of hardwoods bounded on one side by a very dense stand of cedars. The cedars are thick as hair on a dog’s back and so I figured they would act as a fence, channeling the deer along the low ridge of hardwoods. I get relaxed in the bush. In fact, after a couple hours, I was thinking of laying down against a nice, comfortable looking hump out of which a Silver Birch was growing and taking 40 winks. The thought of doing it, however, made me feel like a slacker, so I figured I would see how long I could fight off the urge. I pulled out my thermos mug of hot tea and began taking the occasional long pull. It was during one of those slow swigs, with my head tilted back and the cup pouring another belt of tea down my hatch, that I heard something rustling through the leaves coming toward me. With my gun across my lap, and the cup of tea in my right hand, I looked and there were two does standing 33 yards away staring straight at me. Dadgummit! Caught with my pants down again (figuratively speaking)! I closed the little hatch on the top of my thermos mug so I wouldn’t spill any tea, eased it down to the ground, picked up my 44-40, held the hammer under my thumb while I pulled the trigger so I could ease it back to full cock without making any ‘click’, then let go of the trigger, then the hammer, then raised the little rifle to my shoulder. There were a couple trees straight between me and the deer and I couldn’t shoot to the left of them. It was a difficult shot, crouching and leaning way over to the right to the point of almost toppling over. Both of the does were very nervous, staring straight at me, ears pricked forward and looked like they would bolt at any instant. I sighted down a narrow corridor between the trees, laid that front sight bead right on the larger doe’s chest and squeezed the trigger. The little camera in my head that goes off at the moment of firing confirmed that the front sight bead was still centered on that deer’s chest when the gun fired. In the photo below, taken from the exact spot I took the shot, you can see some orange marker tape on a sapling (the left marker tape ... the marker tape slightly to the right and higher marks the tree where the bullet stopped). The deer was standing behind the little tree with the left marker tape on it ....
What happened next had me scratching my head for the past two days. Although I was certain that the bead had been on target when I fired, the bullet passed through the large bone of the deer’s upper front right leg, then entered the inside thigh of its right back leg, broke the major bone in the back leg (the femur), then exited and continued on. What puzzled me was that, with the doe standing facing me, it was impossible for the bullet to take that path without also passing through the bulging side of the deer’s body, but there was not a mark on its body. I wracked my brain over this for the past two days and finally concluded that as the rifle fired, the very nervous, twitching deer decided to launch itself to the left, pushing away with its two right feet planted. This would have splayed its two right legs out from its body with the upper right legs moving to the left, where its chest had been, so that the bullet could both go through the right front leg, and enter the inside of the thigh of the right rear leg, which normally would have been against the deer’s body, without going through the deer’s body.
I didn’t know this as I walked toward the deer until it raised its head and looked directly at me. Although it was down, it looked like it might get up and bolt at any instant, so I took a head shot from about 20 yards away. That bullet entered the front of the skull between the eyes, went through the brain, shattered the spine and deflected down, travelling down the neck and winding up somewhere in the lungs. They were a puréed mess and I forgot to look for the bullet as I was field dressing it. Total penetration was about 26 inches. I tracked the first bullet and found that after going through the main bones of both legs, it hit the top of a little hillock, plowed a furrow and then bounced up and hit a small sapling, knocking off a small area of bark and denting the wood slightly underneath. I searched around in the thick mat of fallen leaves at the base of the sapling, but never found that bullet either.
After cleaning the deer, I walked out and drove the truck up the nearest trail. My friend came in with me and we dragged the doe out and slung it up onto the hood of the truck to take it back to the farm yard. Here’s a photo of the field dressed doe on the hood of my old ’97 Suburban with almost 245,000 miles on it. ...
This year I hunted on the farm of some good friends of both my wife and mine, a 100 acre farm close to where my wife grew up. My rifle of choice was an original Winchester Model 53 in 44 WCF caliber, also known as the famous 44-40. Very few Model 53’s were ever made, and even fewer in 44 WCF. They are essentially an ‘extra light’ version of the Model 1892, with a tapered nickel steel barrel, a button mag, and a fluted shotgun butt stock. This particular one was made in 1928, and is shown in the photo below, along with the two empty casings from my hunt and my favourite bowie knife with the Sambar stag handle, that I used to clean and skin my animal.
I had loaded my cartridges with 20 grains of IMR SR4759 under a 200 grain cast SAECO bullet for a velocity that chronographed at 1,460 fps. The bullet was soft cast out of pure wheel weights.
Before dawn I quietly disappeared into the bush and headed to the spot I had chosen the evening before ..... a low ridge of hardwoods bounded on one side by a very dense stand of cedars. The cedars are thick as hair on a dog’s back and so I figured they would act as a fence, channeling the deer along the low ridge of hardwoods. I get relaxed in the bush. In fact, after a couple hours, I was thinking of laying down against a nice, comfortable looking hump out of which a Silver Birch was growing and taking 40 winks. The thought of doing it, however, made me feel like a slacker, so I figured I would see how long I could fight off the urge. I pulled out my thermos mug of hot tea and began taking the occasional long pull. It was during one of those slow swigs, with my head tilted back and the cup pouring another belt of tea down my hatch, that I heard something rustling through the leaves coming toward me. With my gun across my lap, and the cup of tea in my right hand, I looked and there were two does standing 33 yards away staring straight at me. Dadgummit! Caught with my pants down again (figuratively speaking)! I closed the little hatch on the top of my thermos mug so I wouldn’t spill any tea, eased it down to the ground, picked up my 44-40, held the hammer under my thumb while I pulled the trigger so I could ease it back to full cock without making any ‘click’, then let go of the trigger, then the hammer, then raised the little rifle to my shoulder. There were a couple trees straight between me and the deer and I couldn’t shoot to the left of them. It was a difficult shot, crouching and leaning way over to the right to the point of almost toppling over. Both of the does were very nervous, staring straight at me, ears pricked forward and looked like they would bolt at any instant. I sighted down a narrow corridor between the trees, laid that front sight bead right on the larger doe’s chest and squeezed the trigger. The little camera in my head that goes off at the moment of firing confirmed that the front sight bead was still centered on that deer’s chest when the gun fired. In the photo below, taken from the exact spot I took the shot, you can see some orange marker tape on a sapling (the left marker tape ... the marker tape slightly to the right and higher marks the tree where the bullet stopped). The deer was standing behind the little tree with the left marker tape on it ....
What happened next had me scratching my head for the past two days. Although I was certain that the bead had been on target when I fired, the bullet passed through the large bone of the deer’s upper front right leg, then entered the inside thigh of its right back leg, broke the major bone in the back leg (the femur), then exited and continued on. What puzzled me was that, with the doe standing facing me, it was impossible for the bullet to take that path without also passing through the bulging side of the deer’s body, but there was not a mark on its body. I wracked my brain over this for the past two days and finally concluded that as the rifle fired, the very nervous, twitching deer decided to launch itself to the left, pushing away with its two right feet planted. This would have splayed its two right legs out from its body with the upper right legs moving to the left, where its chest had been, so that the bullet could both go through the right front leg, and enter the inside of the thigh of the right rear leg, which normally would have been against the deer’s body, without going through the deer’s body.
I didn’t know this as I walked toward the deer until it raised its head and looked directly at me. Although it was down, it looked like it might get up and bolt at any instant, so I took a head shot from about 20 yards away. That bullet entered the front of the skull between the eyes, went through the brain, shattered the spine and deflected down, travelling down the neck and winding up somewhere in the lungs. They were a puréed mess and I forgot to look for the bullet as I was field dressing it. Total penetration was about 26 inches. I tracked the first bullet and found that after going through the main bones of both legs, it hit the top of a little hillock, plowed a furrow and then bounced up and hit a small sapling, knocking off a small area of bark and denting the wood slightly underneath. I searched around in the thick mat of fallen leaves at the base of the sapling, but never found that bullet either.
After cleaning the deer, I walked out and drove the truck up the nearest trail. My friend came in with me and we dragged the doe out and slung it up onto the hood of the truck to take it back to the farm yard. Here’s a photo of the field dressed doe on the hood of my old ’97 Suburban with almost 245,000 miles on it. ...
Last edited by KirkD on Mon Nov 09, 2009 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
- Buck Elliott
- Member Emeritus
- Posts: 2830
- Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:15 pm
- Location: Halfway up Sheep Mountain -- Cody, Wyoming
Re: Back from the hunt
Nothing like a well-used Suburban...
My '86 entered its debility showing 370,000+ miles.
You still have some to go.
Congrats on a fine hunt, with a fine rifle and cartridge.
Salud...
My '86 entered its debility showing 370,000+ miles.
You still have some to go.
Congrats on a fine hunt, with a fine rifle and cartridge.
Salud...
Regards
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
Re: Back from the hunt
I have been waiting for this report KD.
Well done and this has to be post of the month
If I asked for a 44-40 over here for taking deer they would wet themselves laughing.
It's bad enough having to ask but asking idiots just finnish's it off a treat
Nath.
Well done and this has to be post of the month
If I asked for a 44-40 over here for taking deer they would wet themselves laughing.
It's bad enough having to ask but asking idiots just finnish's it off a treat
Nath.
Psalm ch8.
Because I wish I could!
Because I wish I could!
Re: Back from the hunt
Great recount of a perfect hunt! Thanks and congratulations!
Professional Hunter
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http://www.TARSPORTING.com
"Worldwide Hunting Adventures"
Professional Hunters Assoc of South Africa
SCI - Life Member
NRA - Life Member
NAHC - Trophy Life Member
DWWC - Member
Re: Back from the hunt
Loved the story Kirk. Thanks. I could almost smell the cedars and feel the bite in the air.
Ed
Ed
- Old Savage
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Re: Back from the hunt
Congrats Kirk, I have enjoyed following the adventures of this pursuit these years I have been here.
Re: Back from the hunt
Way to go, Kirk. Does are strictly off limits in CA, dangit. One of these days I'm gonna have to spring for a 53, too. Maybe this weekend when we go to Reno, AND if "1886 fever" doesn't overwhelm me.
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged"....President Abraham Lincoln
Re: Back from the hunt
A+++ Well done Kirk (great gun pic. as always)
Re: Back from the hunt
Nice going Kirk.
Not your typical weather for November eh? Short sleeves and a vest. No luck yet on my deer search. Could have had a spike on Saturday but on the wrong side of the fence. I have no permission on that side and there were a few hunters around. Play by the rules or don't play at all.
How is your herd population doing? Ours is very poor this year, two hard winters and high coyote population.
Not your typical weather for November eh? Short sleeves and a vest. No luck yet on my deer search. Could have had a spike on Saturday but on the wrong side of the fence. I have no permission on that side and there were a few hunters around. Play by the rules or don't play at all.
How is your herd population doing? Ours is very poor this year, two hard winters and high coyote population.
Happiness is a comfortable stump on a sunny south facing mountain.
Re: Back from the hunt
Things i've found from hard experience when in uniform.
The radio always goes off when your just crammed the last quarter of a sandwich in your mouth.
Alarms always go off around the same time.....and people always wonder why my sandwiches are cut in half. Driving a Humvee at high speed calling reports in on a radio around half a sandwich sucks.
Half a cup of tea is better than a full, for most of the same reasons....
Always sip never chug. As you've found out why.
Always leave one hand free.
The woods are always empty when you're on watch until suddenly something's right in front of you.
The radio always goes off when your just crammed the last quarter of a sandwich in your mouth.
Alarms always go off around the same time.....and people always wonder why my sandwiches are cut in half. Driving a Humvee at high speed calling reports in on a radio around half a sandwich sucks.
Half a cup of tea is better than a full, for most of the same reasons....
Always sip never chug. As you've found out why.
Always leave one hand free.
The woods are always empty when you're on watch until suddenly something's right in front of you.
- KirkD
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Re: Back from the hunt
Well, now that you mention it, There were very few deer taken on opening day up on St. Josephs Island where I was hunting (West end of Lake Huron). I passed by the deer weighing station three different times during the weekend and the folks there were standing around doing nothing with nary a deer carcass in sight. Furthermore, I went back to the kill spot several hours later to clean up the wipes I had used when field dressing the deer and noticed that Coyotes had completely cleaned up the gut pile except for the stomach and oesophagus. A local fellow said that the place is crawling with Coyotes.iceman wrote:How is your herd population doing? Ours is very poor this year, two hard winters and high coyote population.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
Re: Back from the hunt
Same her kirk. Chatted with the local check in station Friday only 150 deer checked in after 1 full week of rifle season, black powder opened on the week end and not many shots heard. Usually after 1 week count should be in the 250 to 300 area. Guess I'll have to take up coyote hunting this winter. What to use, 30wcf, 300 savage, 356 win, or skip the levers and blast them with #4 buck from a 12ga? time will tell.
Happiness is a comfortable stump on a sunny south facing mountain.
- Sixgun
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Re: Back from the hunt
Thats a mighty fine feeling tagging a deer the way it was done long ago. Nice shootin' They claim the 44-40 has killed more deer than any other cartridge and you just added to the total. --------------------------Sixgun
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Re: Back from the hunt
Great hunting Kirk. Alot of good meat with a fine old Winchester, can't beat it. No meat here yet, rifle season opens this weekend,I'll be back at it again.
JerryB II Corinthians 3:17, Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
JOSHUA 24:15
JOSHUA 24:15
Re: Back from the hunt
Kirk good shooting meat in the larder is result of a good hunter and using a vintage rifle makes it all the better. danny
Re: Back from the hunt
Some how the venison just taste better when harvested with an old Winchester. My grandson came for a visit this weedend and we had our favorite breakfast, backstrap, eggs, bisquits and gravy.
there is no such thing as a miss if you still have ammo
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Re: Back from the hunt
Kirk, Great post, Great pics, Congrats!
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Re: Back from the hunt
Great job Kirk !!
Use the shotgun and the #4 Buck....makes it more sporting
Nice choice of vehicles and color !! I know what you mean with the Suburban.......Love my '97 with 160K on the odometer.
Thanks, Tom
Use the shotgun and the #4 Buck....makes it more sporting
Nice choice of vehicles and color !! I know what you mean with the Suburban.......Love my '97 with 160K on the odometer.
Thanks, Tom
War sees no color, sex, or ethnic background - wars only see blood shed by our heroes for our freedoms.
I Am An American! Fighting for our Country and our way of life.
Fourth Generation Veteran and Proud !!
I Am An American! Fighting for our Country and our way of life.
Fourth Generation Veteran and Proud !!
Re: Back from the hunt
Great hunt and great story!
But I have to ask...
"I passed by the deer weighing station ..."
...?
(Don't have those in Texas...
...yet).
But I have to ask...
"I passed by the deer weighing station ..."
...?
(Don't have those in Texas...
...yet).
Re: Back from the hunt
I am not sure about Ontario where Kirk is from, but in Quebec (my province) you must register any big game taken. Once the animal is down, remove tag from license attach to the animal. within 24 hours of leaving the woods, stop at a checking station and regfister your animal. A few simple questions when, where (using a topomap), weapon type ie firearm, bow, muzzleloader etc. If a female did she have milk.
This help decide seasons, trends in population ie increasing ,decreasing etc in the different zones.
This help decide seasons, trends in population ie increasing ,decreasing etc in the different zones.
Happiness is a comfortable stump on a sunny south facing mountain.
- KirkD
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Re: Back from the hunt
20Cows, I think the weighing stations are to gather stats. Don't k ow for sure though; I've never stopped in to have my deer weighed.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
- AJMD429
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Re: Back from the hunt
You can't kill nuthin with that there gun - it don't have a laser sight, or a scope, even, and it isn't even close to a 'super-short-magnum'.KirkD wrote:
BESIDES - the bluing's all wore off...! Can't kill nuthin with it until you get a shiny re-blue job on it.
Re-bore it for .270 WSM or maybe .460 S&W, whilst you're at it...
Good gun + good country + good vehicle + good deer + good shot = good TIME...!
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"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
Re: Back from the hunt
Now that's almost getting personal.If a female did she have milk.
Re: Back from the hunt
Well.... that was a great hunt'n story.....
made with a great ole gun....in a classic cartridge...
nice pic too! ...as always
made with a great ole gun....in a classic cartridge...
nice pic too! ...as always
LETS GO SHOOT'N BOYS
Re: Back from the hunt
Great story. I am impressed with the penetration of that 44-40!
Re: Back from the hunt
Perfect recount of a great hunt. I love that you have given the 53 new life in the field and that you were successful in your quest. Looks to be a beautiful place. sure you enjoyed your time with God in the woods. Thanks for the post!!!
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
- Buck Elliott
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- Location: Halfway up Sheep Mountain -- Cody, Wyoming
Re: Back from the hunt
I always thought the .44 WCF was the original super-short magnum...
Regards
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
Buck
Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable, that which your life becomes...
- Ysabel Kid
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Re: Back from the hunt
Well told and photo'd, as always Kirk! Thanks for sharing this hunting story and congratulations!
Now my wife's '01 Suburban with 80,000 miles and change doesn't seem too old!!!
Now my wife's '01 Suburban with 80,000 miles and change doesn't seem too old!!!