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We've had sunday hunting for two seasons now . Last sunday and today were the first times I did it in VA . Hunted sunday in a couple other states years ago . Anyway I got out in a new stand site at about 6:15AM this morning . Carried along my refinished circa 1967 Marlin 444 with a nice old Leupold Vari XII 3-9 on top . The gun had 4 rounds of RCBS 44-240GC SWC pushed with 52 grains of H322 in the magazine . Also had my circa 1899 Parker EH 10 gauge #3 frame with 32" IM/IM barrels loaded with #3 buck in the right barrel and 00 Buck in the left barrel .
Had a doe come by at about 07:30 closely followed by a spike and for some strange reason I didn't try to kill either of them . Watched and listened awhile and ate a snack then I "accidently" dozed off for about 20-30 minutes . Woke up about 09:45 and started thinking about getting my stuff together and coming down . I pulled up my scent candle and had it put away when I heard something about 60-75 yards behind me and saw a rather fat doe . I was thinking I might blast her when I saw movement behind her a second doe , then rather quickly I saw another deer with antlers .
They were directly behind me , but the Trophy Whitetail stands I've been using for about 25 years are good for standing turning around etc . Got the gun up and cranked the scope up the buck was better then I anticipated so I waited about 30 seconds for him to step out from behind some brush . When he did I let fly with a home cast RCBS 44-240GC SWC pushed with 52 grains of H322 and set off with a CCI200 primer . At the crack of the rifle he dropped on his chin and headed straight down the hill in my direction and stopped about 20 yards from me . Blood was pouring out the side , so I didn't think he was gonna get away from me , but I have this thing about not wanting them to suffer even though I like shooting them and I put a second in his neck . He flipped over and ended up 10 yards from the base of the tree I was perched in !
That pic was taken from my treestand .
He's a 3 1/2 possibly 4 1/2 year old deer . A friend that hunts the adjacent piece of property told me about this deer three weeks ago . If the left beam wasn't broken in front of the G3 tine I might have gotten him mounted he has a 20"+ outside spread . That's the widest whitetail I've taken to date . Also the first deer I've taken on a sunday !
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
Many times I've intentionally gone out and first thing I do is drift off to sleep, or at least semi-sleep, while I listen to things. It keeps me quiet, lets the 'dumb' deer wander by (who are usually smaller ones anyway), and then about the time it's been quiet for awhile, the bigger deer start coming by and it's time to wake up...
I wish we could hunt with the 444 Marlin here; the power isn't needed vs a 44 Magnum, but the higher velocity does extend the practical (non-hold-over) range a bit.
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
octagon wrote:Nice job 6 pt. that buck might be a good candidate for a European mount, they look great, don't cost a lot.
I think I'm gonna skin the head out the rest of the way Monday or Tuesday , then use the bandsaw to cut it down to the skull cap wash with bleach let it dry and bold it on a decent piece of walnut . Done several others that way and the best thing is it's free !
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
AJMD429 wrote:Many times I've intentionally gone out and first thing I do is drift off to sleep, or at least semi-sleep, while I listen to things. It keeps me quiet, lets the 'dumb' deer wander by (who are usually smaller ones anyway), and then about the time it's been quiet for awhile, the bigger deer start coming by and it's time to wake up...
I wish we could hunt with the 444 Marlin here; the power isn't needed vs a 44 Magnum, but the higher velocity does extend the practical (non-hold-over) range a bit.
"Generally" when I carry a 444 I hunt somewhere I'm pretty sure the longest shot will be no more then 125-150 yards . In the past I've wacked a few deer out past 125 yards with 44 MAG carbines and they did the job well enough . But I would almost always prefer having more then I needed rather then not enough and needing it
What I need is to find a place to hunt around here where I can regularly get shots in excess of 300 yards then maybe I could put my 26 Nosler to the job it was conceived !
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
