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11 point but very symmetrical 10 point, 11th point is a small sticker out of the right base about 35mm.
My daughter took these pics for me...
Grounded her for this shot! Deer looks good though...
Opening of IL Firearm Season 1:
Friday all day was one frustrating day!
Morning: I get everything set and load up the ATV, load the Savage and take off. Park the ATV and walk the rest of the way in. I settle into the blind, get it all set and then assemble my break down rod, check to see that the load is firmly on the charge and I am ready!
7:05 am, shots heard south, across the ditch from me. Knowing the lay of the land and who is hunting over there I prepare for deer to cross the ditch and come out of the grown over spoil bank and into my field. There are lots of major crossing trails in this section of the ditch.
Sure enough 10 minutes later a big buck with big mass on his antlers steps out of the trees and wild undergrowth of the spoil bank. He takes one look around and starts trotting across the field north (my left to right, I am east of him). I have to grunt at him 3 times to get him to stop. At this point I am not counting points; big mass has already sold me on him. He stops broad side; I settle the cross hairs on him? oops! Safety! I pull the trigger phffft? misfire! What! I check the load with the rod it has moved up the barrel? I repack, re-prime, and re-target, POP!
Now it hits me I saw something fly out of the barrel on the phffft. I check the load, yes, something is still in there. I get out my light to see if I can see the vent hole? nothing. The sabot is still in there and the buck is still looking around! I snap three more primers to get the sabot out. I dump the powder out of the barrel. I then proceed to the Underclocked method of loading? first speed loader, half the powder ends up in the barrel and the other half ends up on the ground. Buck is still there but getting restless? I grunt again and he looks around. I dump the other half out of the barrel. Buck starts to walk off! I get out my second speed loader and proceed to accidentally dump that onto the ground. Buck is now running away! I begin to laugh as I get out my third and final speed loader. At this point I am thinking I might as well dump you on the ground too! I load up and just watch the nice buck exit the field 800 yards from my position.
Afternoon: At lunch I fire the gun to put in a fresh load, I did put up a target to check accuracy and it would have been all right, but I scope myself in the process. What a day! I go to my afternoon stand. I scare 4 does out of where I park the ATV. I load the Savage and then walk into the stand; start up the ladder and up shoots a doe not 10 yards from me in the thick undergrowth growing up in this old pasture. Then up shoots a big buck! No chance to get the Savage off my shoulder even though I try. After the big buck disappears into the woods behind me I get half way up the ladder stand and then up pops a small 6-point. I consider popping him and then I remember I de-primed the gun? I could not have shot anything! So I climb the rest of the way into the stand.
Now I have to reframe all the events of the day so I will not get stressed out! I have learned a lot of things I would not have learned otherwise. We learn more from our failures than our successes? and I have learned a lot today!
Later in the day I see 3 more bucks. The first is the same little 6 I scared earlier but I pass on him, the second is another nice buck that is moving so fast at the edge of the overgrown field I can?t get on him, get him to stop, or find an opening to shoot through. The third is not on our property. A frustrating day that got more frustrating when my Trooper wouldn?t start. I finally got it started and headed home, it is either a fuel pump going bad or the connection was bad. All I know is when I jiggled the connection it started.
Saturday AM: I get everything loaded? moment of truth? Yes! The Trooper started. I head out to the property and determine I am going to sit my afternoon stand. I start and load up the ATV, as I get ready to take off it dies and will not start. I am parked as far away from my stand as you can get and still be on the property, it is going to take me at least a half an hour to walk it if I move quickly and I have just 50 minutes until shooting light. I get there in 30 minutes but am now a sweat ball.
At this point I decide if it has horns it is dead! Who knows if I will even make it back out to hunt with a problem with both pieces of transport.
Shooting light comes and goes. At 6:40 am I see a deer out in the neighbor?s corn field north of me. I can?t tell what it is exactly but it seems to hold its head and move like it is a buck. At 7:10 am I hear shots from the north. A few minutes later I see what has to be a buck making a bee line from the ditch about 500 yds away from me northwest across the neighbor?s field. He disappears from view behind a line of trees that are 240 yds away from me but on my side of the property line. I continue to glass that tree line knowing he is heading this way. I finally spot him coming through the overgrown 5 acre patch I am sitting on? lot?s of small trees are in the way and he is quickly moving through what might have been free lanes to shoot through. He is just moving to fast but generally heading at me the whole time. He passes the tree that is 112 yds away, now he is heading straight at me and not stopping or slowing down at all.
He finally reaches an opening 25 yards from me and stops dead! He is now on high alert, his radar like ears are pointed right at me. I have only a slightly angled head on shot. I settle the crosshairs onto the base of his neck where it should penetrate and intersect with his lungs. I pray briefly that my XTP will not find a branch and then fire. BOOM? flop. Dead right there!
My load of 65gn of IMR 4198, 300gn XTP, Harvester short sabot, and Fed 209A primer lit! I took him right where I was aiming, no exit at all. After field dressing I looked for the XTP but never found it. Wound channel made it to the stomach though.
There was more adventure getting him out but this tale is already to long. The processor scales had him at 180 lbs dressed out. Not a bad opener for IL considering all the lessons I learned along the way.
My daughter took these pics for me...
Grounded her for this shot! Deer looks good though...
Opening of IL Firearm Season 1:
Friday all day was one frustrating day!
Morning: I get everything set and load up the ATV, load the Savage and take off. Park the ATV and walk the rest of the way in. I settle into the blind, get it all set and then assemble my break down rod, check to see that the load is firmly on the charge and I am ready!
7:05 am, shots heard south, across the ditch from me. Knowing the lay of the land and who is hunting over there I prepare for deer to cross the ditch and come out of the grown over spoil bank and into my field. There are lots of major crossing trails in this section of the ditch.
Sure enough 10 minutes later a big buck with big mass on his antlers steps out of the trees and wild undergrowth of the spoil bank. He takes one look around and starts trotting across the field north (my left to right, I am east of him). I have to grunt at him 3 times to get him to stop. At this point I am not counting points; big mass has already sold me on him. He stops broad side; I settle the cross hairs on him? oops! Safety! I pull the trigger phffft? misfire! What! I check the load with the rod it has moved up the barrel? I repack, re-prime, and re-target, POP!
Now it hits me I saw something fly out of the barrel on the phffft. I check the load, yes, something is still in there. I get out my light to see if I can see the vent hole? nothing. The sabot is still in there and the buck is still looking around! I snap three more primers to get the sabot out. I dump the powder out of the barrel. I then proceed to the Underclocked method of loading? first speed loader, half the powder ends up in the barrel and the other half ends up on the ground. Buck is still there but getting restless? I grunt again and he looks around. I dump the other half out of the barrel. Buck starts to walk off! I get out my second speed loader and proceed to accidentally dump that onto the ground. Buck is now running away! I begin to laugh as I get out my third and final speed loader. At this point I am thinking I might as well dump you on the ground too! I load up and just watch the nice buck exit the field 800 yards from my position.
Afternoon: At lunch I fire the gun to put in a fresh load, I did put up a target to check accuracy and it would have been all right, but I scope myself in the process. What a day! I go to my afternoon stand. I scare 4 does out of where I park the ATV. I load the Savage and then walk into the stand; start up the ladder and up shoots a doe not 10 yards from me in the thick undergrowth growing up in this old pasture. Then up shoots a big buck! No chance to get the Savage off my shoulder even though I try. After the big buck disappears into the woods behind me I get half way up the ladder stand and then up pops a small 6-point. I consider popping him and then I remember I de-primed the gun? I could not have shot anything! So I climb the rest of the way into the stand.
Now I have to reframe all the events of the day so I will not get stressed out! I have learned a lot of things I would not have learned otherwise. We learn more from our failures than our successes? and I have learned a lot today!
Later in the day I see 3 more bucks. The first is the same little 6 I scared earlier but I pass on him, the second is another nice buck that is moving so fast at the edge of the overgrown field I can?t get on him, get him to stop, or find an opening to shoot through. The third is not on our property. A frustrating day that got more frustrating when my Trooper wouldn?t start. I finally got it started and headed home, it is either a fuel pump going bad or the connection was bad. All I know is when I jiggled the connection it started.
Saturday AM: I get everything loaded? moment of truth? Yes! The Trooper started. I head out to the property and determine I am going to sit my afternoon stand. I start and load up the ATV, as I get ready to take off it dies and will not start. I am parked as far away from my stand as you can get and still be on the property, it is going to take me at least a half an hour to walk it if I move quickly and I have just 50 minutes until shooting light. I get there in 30 minutes but am now a sweat ball.
At this point I decide if it has horns it is dead! Who knows if I will even make it back out to hunt with a problem with both pieces of transport.
Shooting light comes and goes. At 6:40 am I see a deer out in the neighbor?s corn field north of me. I can?t tell what it is exactly but it seems to hold its head and move like it is a buck. At 7:10 am I hear shots from the north. A few minutes later I see what has to be a buck making a bee line from the ditch about 500 yds away from me northwest across the neighbor?s field. He disappears from view behind a line of trees that are 240 yds away from me but on my side of the property line. I continue to glass that tree line knowing he is heading this way. I finally spot him coming through the overgrown 5 acre patch I am sitting on? lot?s of small trees are in the way and he is quickly moving through what might have been free lanes to shoot through. He is just moving to fast but generally heading at me the whole time. He passes the tree that is 112 yds away, now he is heading straight at me and not stopping or slowing down at all.
He finally reaches an opening 25 yards from me and stops dead! He is now on high alert, his radar like ears are pointed right at me. I have only a slightly angled head on shot. I settle the crosshairs onto the base of his neck where it should penetrate and intersect with his lungs. I pray briefly that my XTP will not find a branch and then fire. BOOM? flop. Dead right there!
My load of 65gn of IMR 4198, 300gn XTP, Harvester short sabot, and Fed 209A primer lit! I took him right where I was aiming, no exit at all. After field dressing I looked for the XTP but never found it. Wound channel made it to the stomach though.
There was more adventure getting him out but this tale is already to long. The processor scales had him at 180 lbs dressed out. Not a bad opener for IL considering all the lessons I learned along the way.
