The WVA Gun Opener

[6pt-sika]

Nope I didn’t kill anything with a Parker today but I had a Grade 1 10 gauge 2 frame with factory 26” barrels up the tree with me along with my little Mannlicher Schoenauer MC in 6.5x54 MS . Had a four point walk up to about twenty five yards of me and when I started walking away I let him have it and flip that was at 07:05 AM . Sat there a bit longer and a doe angled up behind me so I let her have it at about forty five yards . Shot both with my handloads but killed the buck with a Nosler 140 grain Ballistic Tip and the doe with a Nosler 140 grain AccBond . That makes six deer I’ve killed with that rifle and each one using a different 140 grain bullet . All with the same sight in .

A8201B68-35AD-4B08-A650-F2DAAF303242.jpeg

54EBB58F-599B-4DC1-B9AA-0DB7BD0082D3.jpeg

9899533A-C68C-404D-A10F-2AD8826EAAC8.jpeg

559BB6B1-3E2E-4EEB-A2F2-7148EE4B5D57.jpeg

199A73E0-DBF8-449B-91C1-77754469A6CB.jpeg

36680FAA-6B2D-4583-A7C8-B78F6C84283A.jpeg

3332082F-00F9-4E98-9420-CE5399CD29A9.jpeg

24742FE6-35BA-4DA0-B350-6A6259961367.jpeg

6FBFF179-AA27-4931-A5D5-99F00208F076.jpeg

232A7973-6AFC-4BA1-AD9F-130E9EA44E76.jpeg

[6pt-sika]

I’ve still got another buck tag I could fill , but the winds blowing pretty hard and it’s supposed to rain all day so you can figure out where this is going LOL’s ! My intent now is to pretty much get everything loaded up today , hook the trailer up , strap my treestand down on the ATV and strap the ATV down on the trailer . Then Wednesday morning put my cooler with food in the back and my duffle bag in the front and homeward bound , it’s a 3 1/2 hour trip . But being the day before Gobble Bird Day it may take longer . Never deer hunted WVA before , it was enjoyable to say the least .

[6pt-sika]

I’m fortunate in that my cousin offered his cabin and thirty plus acres for me to hunt . I call it a cabin but it’s actually a house someone built maybe twenty five years ago . So it’s quite comfortable to say the least .

[Bill in Oregon]

Well, I would call that a good hunt! Always wanted a 6.5X54 Mannlicher. Closest I ever came was a Hembrug Model 1895 in 6.5X53R, but the bore was gone ...

[6pt-sika]

Well, I would call that a good hunt! Always wanted a 6.5X54 Mannlicher. Closest I ever came was a Hembrug Model 1895 in 6.5X53R, but the bore was gone ...

Some would say I shoulda held out for a bigger buck , but I’m satisfied . I mean heck the original game plan was 2 1/2 days so one can’t be to picky when on a limited schedule so to speak . Those two are already off the carcass and in freezer bags , be nice to fill the other tag but if I did I’d have to bring him back whole and I don’t really like hauling them around like that anymore . Especially driving down the interstate with all the tree huggers gawking at you .

[Drawdown]

Good hunt and report! Man, that Full Stock MS is a rifle I lust over! Never even seen one around here, but if I ever do hopefully it'll be in my possession!

[6pt-sika]

Good hunt and report! Man, that Full Stock MS is a rifle I lust over! Never even seen one around here, but if I ever do hopefully it'll be in my possession!

Don’t mean to brag but I have eight Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines , 243 , pair of 6.5x54’s , 270 , 7x57 , 308 , 06 and a 8x56 MS . I’ve killed deer with all of them except the 8x56 .

[JBowen]

Well done, sir!

JBowen

[gamekeeper]

Beautiful rifle and a successful hunt .

[Drawdown]

Good hunt and report! Man, that Full Stock MS is a rifle I lust over! Never even seen one around here, but if I ever do hopefully it'll be in my possession!

Don’t mean to brag but I have eight Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines , 243 , pair of 6.5x54’s , 270 , 308 , 06 and a 8x56 MS . I’ve killed deer with all of them except the 8x56 .

6pt, you definitely need thin that herd! How much for the extra 6.5x54? But if they're a loving couple, they probably don't get along with the 06 or 308, so I might be willing to help out?

[6pt-sika]

Got just about everything loaded up except for one cooler and a duffel bag that I’ll get in the AM !

4F6733F7-E244-4F36-93C6-DC60934AB235.jpeg

[6pt-sika]

I’m sitting in my cousins I guess you’d call it a breakfast nook , tapping on my PC . The view isn’t bad !

718D21C5-C4A3-4EB8-BBE8-3C8BD8D4007C.jpeg

BAC925E3-98DE-49DC-BF80-1C6D15A27515.jpeg

ED5F8C01-7624-4D4A-BBCC-441380BD751A.jpeg

[Griff]

Congrats on the successful hunt!

[wvfarrier]

It sounded like WW3 on my farm in Mon county the last couple days

[GunnyMack]

Shame your Parker didn't have a chance to get in on the fun!
Well done and a full freezer to boot!

[6pt-sika]

It sounded like WW3 on my farm in Mon county the last couple days

I was in a valley of sorts in Randolph county when I shot the doe at 08:15 I’d heard six shots of which two were mine .

[6pt-sika]

Shame your Parker didn't have a chance to get in on the fun!
Well done and a full freezer to boot!

I’ve got until March 26th in Virginia Regular Gun season goes out the first Saturday in January then there’s antlerless gun season in my county until 3/26/24 .

[GunnyMack]

Your season runs longer than ours! We end first or second week in February.
We can shoot 2 at a time everyday of the season, been like that for about 10 years. I'm convinced the herd is low due to that, blue tongue hasn't helped either!

[6pt-sika]

Your season runs longer than ours! We end first or second week in February.
We can shoot 2 at a time everyday of the season, been like that for about 10 years. I'm convinced the herd is low due to that, blue tongue hasn't helped either!

Regular gun season in Virginia east of the Blue Ridge has been over six weeks as long as I can remmember . Now what with early antlerless , archery , ML , hun and late antlerless the season in my county runs from start of September to the end of March that’s seven months

[6pt-sika]

Locked up the cabin at 06:30 this morning got out to 250 topped off and got a bag of ice . It was foggy going over the mountains but I took my time (not something I’m known for lols) . Stopped once for a nature call . 250 to Staunton was calm , 64 from Staunton to Charlottesville was a bit congested , but the final leg from Charlottesville to Orange was normal . Don’t know if I’ll do it again , but if I do I’ll have something rigged up to go in my reciever hitch to hang , skin and cut up

[FLINT]

congrats man! couple good looking deer there.

I don't think it would have been too much of a problem if you carried the deer home on your trailer. Especially not through western va. Rockingham where I live is the reddest county in the state, and augusta isn't too far behind. Of course charlottesville on the other side of the mountain is another story....... you may actually have been attacked by a roving band of priuses wearing coexist stickers

yeah, west of the blue ridge our rifle season is only two weeks long

they are supposedly trying to reduce the deer herd though because chronic wasting is in shenandoah county just north of us, so we now have either sex full season and we can now kill two per day like the east side has been able to do forever, but they still don't lengthen our rifle season.

[6pt-sika]

congrats man! couple good looking deer there.

I don't think it would have been too much of a problem if you carried the deer home on your trailer. Especially not through western va. Rockingham where I live is the reddest county in the state, and augusta isn't too far behind. Of course charlottesville on the other side of the mountain is another story....... you may actually have been attacked by a roving band of priuses wearing coexist stickers

yeah, west of the blue ridge our rifle season is only two weeks long

they are supposedly trying to reduce the deer herd though because chronic wasting is in shenandoah county just north of us, so we now have either sex full season and we can now kill two per day like the east side has been able to do forever, but they still don't lengthen our rifle season.

I brought one home froze solid in the open back of a pickup back around 2003 I think . Hunted them Poconos in PA with friends , killed a decent 8 the first day and hung it high in a tree behind the cabin . The temp was about 8 degrees and of course solid quick , stayed up there four more days and the easiest was to bring it to VA as is . Coming south on 81 I got all kinda strange looks from Minivan occupants . One thing for cutting up right away and bagging the stuff up all I had to do yesterday was transfer from the cooler to the freezer !

[6pt-sika]

Found a piece box of Nosler 6.5mm 140 gr Partitions . Gonna see if I can get a passable load quick then possibly have six or seven rounds to try and bowl one over with that bullet . Kinda hate buying a box as the darn things are $60 a box of 50 now plus shipping and tax of course . I enjoy that little carbine quite a bit .