Another flintlock buck!

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mauser06
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Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby mauser06 » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:38 pm

Some of you know, this year hasn't been great for me just in terms of time spent hunting..I went through the house buying process during archery season and during rifle season I was packing and moving.

I took a few days off during our late Pennsylvania flintlock season. Many of you know it's my favorite season and favorite weapon to hunt with.

Today I went down "home" and met up with my buddy. We've hunted the late season together for over 10 years now. He doesn't flintlock hunt but he enjoys pushing and we both use it as a way to hunt and scout at the same time.

We met at the farm and I said "I'm pretty sure we aren't the smartest guys around.. hunting in this weather!".

It was like 8 degrees with 10-15mph winds.

The last 2 days I've taken 2 doe..I was only after a buck.

We decided to head to a farm that's been good to us the last 2 years in rifle season. It's big..but we felt we knew it well enough to do alright.

I headed into the ditch I was going to watch. My buddy headed around. Basically he was going to hop from ditch to ditch and hope they bounced my way.

I realized that I wasn't going to last long in the wind. Every few minutes I was going from sitting to standing and I was moving way to much.

After about a half hour I went from standing to sitting. I was caught completely off guard as deer we're walking quickly right at me.

When I flintlock hunt, I try to setup so I have 50yd shots or less.

This spot was no exception and by the time I saw the deer, the lead doe was 15yds away. I quickly realized she had 2 shooter bucks behind her!

She locks up tight about 10 yards from me. When she does, the wider buck locks up. He's facing me and directly behind a tree. Another buck was standing 25yds away broadside.

Being greedy, I figured the wider buck had to go left or right and I'd send it to him.

Well, the doe realizes something is way wrong. She busts out hard. The wide buck takes off REAL hard. The other buck takes off, but as they often do, he makes the fatal mistake of stopping about 50 yards out.

The shot was a little thick..but I felt confident..I settled the sights and touched her off.

After I shot, deer exploded everywhere. I thought he looked hit hard and he ran straight away from me.

I watched a couple buck cross the ditch but lost sight of them. Wasn't sure if mine was there or not.. Later more buck came by..along with does and a coyote. It was crazy.

I swab the bore, clean the lock and reload.

My buddy gets over to me and I head to inspect the shot.

I find kicked up leaves and hard tracks. I find he crashed into lots of small trees and logs. Just didn't seem right for a normal deer.

I circled the small thicker patch and scanned the open woods. Nothing. No blood..no deer. Nothing.

I told my buddy I wasn't sure..there's a lot of fresh tracks right in that small area..the shot felt good but I just didn't know and didn't find what I expected.

We circled above and came back in. I found 2 tiny hairs that could have been from anything. We follow the tracks again. We agree that he's crashing into a lot of stuff...

We take the tracks to the bottom of the ditch. There is a wet weather run off in the bottom and the banks are fairly high and vertical. I could see the tracks going up the other side.

I was maybe 75yds from the shot. Not a speck of anything. I was done. I was pretty confident I missed.

My buddy said "where did they go after they crossed the ditch?". I pointed and as I'm doing so, I realized he was piled up 30 yards up the other side!

My buddy argued that was a deer taking a nap and I needed to shoot it. I grabbed my binos and I could see his head was on it's side. I was confident he was dead.

I carefully snuck up to be safe.


I really had no idea what size buck he was. Everything happened so fast and I was caught off guard. I verified both buck were legal with "3 points above the brow tine"..I knew the one was a tad wider...but I didn't think either we're anything great.

I was beyond thrilled to see his rack grow as I inched closer. I really didn't think he was near that size and I really gave up and thought for sure I missed...

Not sure where I hit. It was COLD. Far too cold to pull CSI. Lol. His entire body and chest cavities were full of blood. Just never made it to the ground..or the cold and snow made seeing it impossible..which is very possible.

He's no monster..but he is my best buck to date.

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That's the biggest chest measurement I've ever taken from a deer. Our Game Commission sells those tapes and they are supposed to be pretty accurate. Somewhere around 275lbs on the hoof. 235lbs gutted. Don't know how close it is...but I know he was a tank.

Nearly all the deer we're exactly where I figured they'd be. There is a small standing corn field and the ditch right next to it was completely sheltered from the wind. My buddy said that as he came through there were beds absolutely everywhere.

That buck ends my season. The last 2 days I've taken 2 doe. 3 deer in 3 days with a flintlock.

My biggest buck to date and with a flintlock I built...

Another good season in the books!


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Stanley
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:45 pm

:clap:
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Dewey
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:52 pm

Great buck. Congrats. 8-)
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jmaas07
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby jmaas07 » Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:06 pm

Congrats man, awesome buck!
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SouthpawSwitchback
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby SouthpawSwitchback » Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:49 pm

Beautiful buck! Congrats on you killin streak :D
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Boogieman1
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:05 pm

:clap: Great buck, happy for you!
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
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Lockdown
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:17 pm

Wow talk about running hot! Nice buck to boot!
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Ack
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Ack » Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:54 pm

Great buck...congrats! :clap:
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Wannabelikedan
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Wannabelikedan » Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:53 pm

Beautiful musket buck and congratulations on prevailing in late season :clap:
Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible.... Learning is making it possible for yourself.
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JakeB
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby JakeB » Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:56 pm

Congrats!
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Motivated
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Motivated » Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:02 pm

Well done! :clap:
Work hard, stay humble, be kind.
Buckshot20
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby Buckshot20 » Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:12 pm

Awesome way to finish the season. Nice buck. Congrats
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oldrank
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby oldrank » Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:13 pm

Great job man !!! Funny how a season can change in a blink.
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muddy
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby muddy » Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:39 am

cool kill, literally and figuratively. Post up some close up pics of that gunsome time
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BradC36
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Re: Another flintlock buck!

Unread postby BradC36 » Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:50 am

Crazy way to end a season!


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