09-22-2008, 11:26 PM
Michigan came up with a new season this year, A five day season in september for antlerless deer only.
this seemed to me to be a perfect oppertunity for a hand gun owner to take to the woods and not have to shoot at fleeting deer during rifle season.
so I did......
I started off my hunt at gander mountain, talking to a sails rep about wich round he would recomend for my 357 mag this year. same this year as with every other year for the last 15, I figured I would end up with a new $20 box of rounds I will have to shoot off next year... LOL but its a ritual I dont realy mind.
The round featured this year was Fusion's 158 grain hallowpoint
[center][url "http://www.fusionammo.com/products/handgun.aspx"]![[Image: HandgunCartridge.jpg]](http://www.fusionammo.com/images/products/HandgunCartridge.jpg)
[/url][/center]
[left]He picked up one of the last three boxes remaining on the shelf and handed it to me... Fancy box for sure.. pretty colors too... But would it shoot worth a lick?[/left]
Opening morning I did not get out of bed till noon, and hence I did not make it out in to the woods at all that day.[angelic]
second day I made it out only to find fog as thick as peanut butter... "ya I know, you eat what you like and I will eat what I like"
lots of turkeys, no beards on any of them....
I started in my dads spot from last year, thought I might get as lucky as he did opening morning,, I sat there till about 11 am, the chair I was sitting in creeked and groaned every time I moved... Nope, I cant sit still in the woods for 5 minutes unless I am sleepin.[angelic]
many turkey came up on me, I went to raise my gun to see if I could do it with out making a noise, nope, those birds herd me and off they went in to every direction...
so I decided come bow season I will replace the chair with a better one... but for this day I would have to move. so I did, I went to my brothers spot and sat there on top of a 4 foot diamiter tree for about an hour when I decided I could not take much more of that either.... so off to another spot I went...
finding a crossing in the feild I ducked in to the tree line and found a fallen tree to sit on, It looked like it had been visited by many a coon. and yes the coon had left many a pressent too...[:p] so from here on in I will refer to this tree as the "coonass tree".[sly] When you hear me mention it you will know the spot I am reffering to....
I sat there for maybe 15 minutes before seeing my first subject of harvest. I had been scowering the feild with my bynocs watching for a crossing, I could see butterflies fluttering from rag weed to rag weed some 300 yards across the 30 acres in front of me now the fog had finaly burned off.
Yet after all that intence picking up my glasses and putting them down this antlerless deer had managed to cross the feild and get with in 60 feet of be before I saw it, what was even more suprizing was the deer could not see me. I am sure it knew something was there because it kept bobbing and looking in my drection, I kept still long enough for it to look in another direction before attempting to move.
each movement drew the deer's attention back to me and I would again have to freeze to re-conceal my pressents. Finaly I had drawn my 357 mag from its holster but had to wait one more time for it to look away so I could take a draw on it.
once my bead was taken I let fire of the double action revolver in to the chest, or so I thought because the deer took off running, its head held streight out from its shoulders like an arrow and moving in to the tree line.
I dreaded chasing it across property lines so I had to fire once again, and with a hand gun no less? Its a small deer so my target is sugniffently smaller to begin with.
In turning and picking out a dead tree as target where I figured my dinner would cross in front of, I waited till just the moment when I thought I should fire as the deer pass in front of my target, Yes I had hit my target, the round whent right though the 8 inch dead pine in to the ground behind it leaving a splintered gaping hole in the pine, I shoved the tree over with my sholder because I did not want any one thinking hunters were back there target praticing on trees and loose the privilage of hunting there again.
It was my hope that I would hit the deer in the head and stop it in its tracks. but alass my jugement was a bit slow, I hit the deer in the neck 5 inches behind its head stopping it in its tracks spinning it around 180 degrees. From the way it was possistioned you would have thought it was comming the other way down the trail....
first shot ya I had to work for it, second shot was a gift from god. Walking over I saw the first round had gone all the way though the chest.
After it had fallen I could see the spot on it that was not pressent from the other side of the deer when I shot. For being this years deer, it looked vary healthy, and suprizing enuff, it had some weight to it, a good 75-80 pounds. In another couple months I am sure it would have been in the 100lb class and mistaken for a yearling after its spot had vanished.
During the feild dressing it would reveal both lungs were gone. heart in tact and the liver would be taisty...
after processing I ended up with 35 pounds of boneless tender vittles.. I have processed much older deer and ended up with less product when finished processing. Ya the time it takes for those guys to get it to me and how bad they shot it up makes a lot of differance too...
one thing for sure is if your going to hunt deer in september you need to be prepaired to process your deer right away... no driving a couple hundred miles back home after a week of hunting and waiting a day or two. pretty much the same in october. worm days demands the need for fast processing.
I did take a fallen pic if anyone request to see it, but because it had a spot I did not want to upset anyone. It is the first deer I had taken with my hand gun, so I am happy for that part. With being able to take 7 deer this year I figured it was first come first served.... "[:p] get real, I havent shot 7 deer in 7 years let alone shoot 7 deer in one year"
all said and done I do like the early season this year. I managed to take a deer with my hand gun, something that had been difficult because I cant walk the woods like I could years ago. It was also pleasurable in that for the first time in my life I was the only one in the woods deer hunting... Not having to worry about strays flying this way and that... I do aprecieate the fact they started the season on a thursday and ran though monday... it gave hunters an oppertunity for a nice 3 or 4 day hunt depending what days they wanted to take off work and hunt around home...
hope to see it again next year.... a nice little 5 day hunt for hand guns....
[signature]
this seemed to me to be a perfect oppertunity for a hand gun owner to take to the woods and not have to shoot at fleeting deer during rifle season.
so I did......
I started off my hunt at gander mountain, talking to a sails rep about wich round he would recomend for my 357 mag this year. same this year as with every other year for the last 15, I figured I would end up with a new $20 box of rounds I will have to shoot off next year... LOL but its a ritual I dont realy mind.
The round featured this year was Fusion's 158 grain hallowpoint
[center][url "http://www.fusionammo.com/products/handgun.aspx"]
[/url][/center][left]He picked up one of the last three boxes remaining on the shelf and handed it to me... Fancy box for sure.. pretty colors too... But would it shoot worth a lick?[/left]
Opening morning I did not get out of bed till noon, and hence I did not make it out in to the woods at all that day.[angelic]
second day I made it out only to find fog as thick as peanut butter... "ya I know, you eat what you like and I will eat what I like"
lots of turkeys, no beards on any of them....
I started in my dads spot from last year, thought I might get as lucky as he did opening morning,, I sat there till about 11 am, the chair I was sitting in creeked and groaned every time I moved... Nope, I cant sit still in the woods for 5 minutes unless I am sleepin.[angelic]
many turkey came up on me, I went to raise my gun to see if I could do it with out making a noise, nope, those birds herd me and off they went in to every direction...
so I decided come bow season I will replace the chair with a better one... but for this day I would have to move. so I did, I went to my brothers spot and sat there on top of a 4 foot diamiter tree for about an hour when I decided I could not take much more of that either.... so off to another spot I went...
finding a crossing in the feild I ducked in to the tree line and found a fallen tree to sit on, It looked like it had been visited by many a coon. and yes the coon had left many a pressent too...[:p] so from here on in I will refer to this tree as the "coonass tree".[sly] When you hear me mention it you will know the spot I am reffering to....
I sat there for maybe 15 minutes before seeing my first subject of harvest. I had been scowering the feild with my bynocs watching for a crossing, I could see butterflies fluttering from rag weed to rag weed some 300 yards across the 30 acres in front of me now the fog had finaly burned off.
Yet after all that intence picking up my glasses and putting them down this antlerless deer had managed to cross the feild and get with in 60 feet of be before I saw it, what was even more suprizing was the deer could not see me. I am sure it knew something was there because it kept bobbing and looking in my drection, I kept still long enough for it to look in another direction before attempting to move.
each movement drew the deer's attention back to me and I would again have to freeze to re-conceal my pressents. Finaly I had drawn my 357 mag from its holster but had to wait one more time for it to look away so I could take a draw on it.
once my bead was taken I let fire of the double action revolver in to the chest, or so I thought because the deer took off running, its head held streight out from its shoulders like an arrow and moving in to the tree line.
I dreaded chasing it across property lines so I had to fire once again, and with a hand gun no less? Its a small deer so my target is sugniffently smaller to begin with.
In turning and picking out a dead tree as target where I figured my dinner would cross in front of, I waited till just the moment when I thought I should fire as the deer pass in front of my target, Yes I had hit my target, the round whent right though the 8 inch dead pine in to the ground behind it leaving a splintered gaping hole in the pine, I shoved the tree over with my sholder because I did not want any one thinking hunters were back there target praticing on trees and loose the privilage of hunting there again.
It was my hope that I would hit the deer in the head and stop it in its tracks. but alass my jugement was a bit slow, I hit the deer in the neck 5 inches behind its head stopping it in its tracks spinning it around 180 degrees. From the way it was possistioned you would have thought it was comming the other way down the trail....
first shot ya I had to work for it, second shot was a gift from god. Walking over I saw the first round had gone all the way though the chest.
After it had fallen I could see the spot on it that was not pressent from the other side of the deer when I shot. For being this years deer, it looked vary healthy, and suprizing enuff, it had some weight to it, a good 75-80 pounds. In another couple months I am sure it would have been in the 100lb class and mistaken for a yearling after its spot had vanished.
During the feild dressing it would reveal both lungs were gone. heart in tact and the liver would be taisty...
after processing I ended up with 35 pounds of boneless tender vittles.. I have processed much older deer and ended up with less product when finished processing. Ya the time it takes for those guys to get it to me and how bad they shot it up makes a lot of differance too...
one thing for sure is if your going to hunt deer in september you need to be prepaired to process your deer right away... no driving a couple hundred miles back home after a week of hunting and waiting a day or two. pretty much the same in october. worm days demands the need for fast processing.
I did take a fallen pic if anyone request to see it, but because it had a spot I did not want to upset anyone. It is the first deer I had taken with my hand gun, so I am happy for that part. With being able to take 7 deer this year I figured it was first come first served.... "[:p] get real, I havent shot 7 deer in 7 years let alone shoot 7 deer in one year"
all said and done I do like the early season this year. I managed to take a deer with my hand gun, something that had been difficult because I cant walk the woods like I could years ago. It was also pleasurable in that for the first time in my life I was the only one in the woods deer hunting... Not having to worry about strays flying this way and that... I do aprecieate the fact they started the season on a thursday and ran though monday... it gave hunters an oppertunity for a nice 3 or 4 day hunt depending what days they wanted to take off work and hunt around home...
hope to see it again next year.... a nice little 5 day hunt for hand guns....
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