The first big one

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MrTom

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I've been shooting one sort of black powder gun or another since the late 1960's and began hunting a Thompson Renegade percussion gun in 1974. I hunted the regular deer season that year and in Minnesota back then I could chose the hunting dates within the month of November. My birthday is the 28th so I took that week long block as my hunting time. We had real winters back then and I was a little more rugged back then and I loved to camp in snow, so I cleared a spot on the 120 acres of private land I had to hunt and pitched a 6 man Timberline tent the first week of November and even hung an extra large camo rain fly from a returned tent I found at the original Herter's store in Waseca Minnesota over the top of the entire 6 man. I was able to tack the fly down tight to the ground all the way around the tent and ended up with a really warm hide-out. A few days before the season I took a big cooler out filled with things to eat, water, stove with extra gas and a heater and stashed them in the hut, as I called it. A second run got the sleeping gear. I was set.

The morning of my first day I woke up to a howling blizzard around 5am. When I went to bed the world was still brown. When I woke up there was a foot of snow and the wind was in the 30-40 mph bracket and for all purposes the air was white with blowing snow even though the sun was poking thru. And cold, about 22 below zero. I put the heat on in the tent and made some coffee figuring I'd just relax until it got somewhat light then go out and see what the woods looked like. At about 630 I took a walk on the down-wind side of the woods which was also the up-hill side of the woods. My camp was on the east side and slightly midway on the slope of the land so I was going to be hunting straight into the NW wind and downhill. I got to the highest point at the far corner of the parcel and started still-hunting following the ridge along the property line-fence until I got to the opposite line fence to the west. I hung around there for about an hour in case something was wandering around and then slowly began to amble back towards the heated tent. Half way back and slightly on the down-hill side of where I'd already been in coming over I cut a track and thought, OK. I followed the track slowly as it meandered thru some raspberry brambles and went up a small hill, also covered in raspberry. I chose to go around the second berry patch and watch ahead for any movement when I thought something was out of sorts. I stopped and glassed a big laydown tree and saw what appeared to be limbs. It was. On a ten point head.

The deer was hunkered down against the log peering right smack into the wind with me slightly uphill and downwind from him. Maybe 15 yards, it was blowing that hard. Now....where to put that 435 grain buffalo bullet run thru the pipe with a 110 grain charge of black stuff. Basically I could see head and neck. I opted for the shot right at where the neck /shoulder junction was "just" visible thru the gnarl and hit the set trigger, then touched it off. Smoke....all blowing right back in my face. I couldn't see squat for 10 seconds and when things cleared, there he was....standing there looking straight at me for another ten seconds and then he just fell over. The bullet had gone right where I aimed but must have glanced off a stick or something and slid to the side of the spine and followed it for about 15 inches before blowing thru the far side of the neck and thru the esophagus and trachea under the spine and then to parts unknown.

At that point I sort of forgot about the cold and sat down for a few minutes to make sure things were as they seemed to be then went over and took a look at what was then the biggest deer I had ever collected. True 10 point, 5 to a side. And a huge body. Like in HUGE body. I struggled between the cold and his size to get him dressed out. I figured I'd flip him to drain while I walked back to drop off the gun and get some heat and maybe a bite to eat before walking out to the landowners house and call a buddy for some help. I called. And called, No help. About then the owners kid comes satcheing in from college for the weekend and he's all over going out there to help....with a tractor and a trailer so the dragging was thankfully minimal. After tagging. hauling, packing up gear and getting started for the check station I had burned up about 6 hours and was home about nine hours later after about 600 people stopped at the check point to gawk at the critter. On the DNR scales it was weighed at 273 pounds. I'm convinced I'd still be there dragging had I not had help.

Over the years after that brute fell I have shot several deer with the Renegade, then retired it. None of the deer have ever stood up to the brute though in size. I couldn't afford a head or shoulder mount so I settled for a nice rack mount even though the wife hated the thing. One day while moving into a new home she came in the house holding my rack....in four pieces, claiming it fell out of her hands. The rack gone and the pictures I had went through a flood so all I have today is the memory but that will go to the grave with me. I've since shot deer with every kind of gun imaginable but the smokers are where its at and I've shot three times as many deer with them as any other kind of weapon. Gotta love the smoke. Gotta.
 
:applause: Great story Tom. Nothing better then hunting deer with a smokepole in snow!!
 
Awesome story! Got cold just reading it! One of my favorite things about colorado muzzleloader seasons is the normally warm weather haha
 
Back all those years ago I loved to be in the deer stand archery hunting when the fog was thick or a very light mist/drizzle was falling. During the firearms season I always enjoy a light snow falling if there's no wind. There has always been something just really settling about those kinds of weather to hunt in. I like still hunting as much as stand hunting and will spend about 1/3 of each day doing so. I shoot most of my deer doing so. I don't cover much ground really but feel that by constantly having a different perspective of the woods puts me in touch with way more deer. I love to walk standing corn too. Challenging but super effective. I can't begin to count how many deer I have killed that were sleeping in the woods or corn and I walked right up on them.

Unfortunately here in Minnesota our climate has changed to the warmer side of things. We still get some cool/cold weather and we might see snow during the late regular season. I've opened the last three years in a simple sweatshirt and long-sleeved T. The late muzzy season has been relaxed a lot this year so I plan to get another tag for it if I don't fill one of the two during regular season. Last fall we were three for three on the opener and filled two more as the season rolled along. I got a big nine on the second Saturday of the first season with the Optima pistol. I'd shot does with it the two prior years and I just wanted one legit buck with it and got it. The other guys who hunt my hill with me tote shotguns and blow things apart.....I like having one sure shot and making it work. Like I said, gotta love the smoke. Black powder burners are just better hunters all around.
 
Great story Tom thanks for sharing. Felt Like I was there.

I know what ya mean about hunting in the cold with snow on the ground too. I really love my time in the blind. Love to get in there before dawn so I can enjoy watching the woods "Wake up". Shame a lot pf people never get to experience that like we do. Being out there all day is the only time a year I can really just let my mind relax. My brother calls it "Getting your Mind Medicine". Love that phrase! :yeah:
 
I hang a thistle seed feeder and a sunflower feeder on limbs that are out of the way of shooting and the chickadees, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers and cardinals I get at the stand are something else. I have feeders within 15 feet of the desk I am typing at....love to watch the birds.

Mind medicine....that's a cool phrase. Thanks for sharing it.
 
Very COOL ( no pun intended) story. I love hunting in the snow every 1 in 10 years it happens around here.
 

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