Well a week ago yesterday we all got back from our hunt north of Breckenridge, TX. To be honest, RIGHT NOW the the first real chance I've had to collect my thoughts and tell about the hunt.
First, let me say that the weather was in no way whitetail hunting friendly. The high on at least a couple of days was in the high 80s and I'm thinking the lowest morning low was only 51 degrees. Those temperatures were 15-20 degress ABOVE average. But that surely beats having to deal with rain so it really wasn't THAT bad!
Tom, JJ, and I drove over in my truck for the trip with Nug and Jimmy following later that afternoon as they were flying in. The three of us shot a few times to confirm our rifles and that was that. I decided to used my laminate Savage 10ML-II/Zeiss Conquest 3.4-10X44 using a load of 44gr SR-4759/250gr Ballistic Extreme. Tom and I had all ready decided to hold out for 140 class or better so that's what we were going to try to do.
First morning of the hunt I sat in a tripod stand in a clearing between two scrub oak thickets. I didn't know it THEN but later decided what a great stand I was in. It really looked good. I saw a NICE 8-10 pt(pretty sure a 10) about 140 yards from me dogging a doe. That doe and buck ended up about 10 yds in front of me! But I waited since this was the first AM and it certainly wasn't quite as big as what I all ready have. I also saw two 6-points and another doe and a family of hogs. I returned to the SAME stand that afternoon and saw nothing. Here is a couple of pics from the stand I was in the first day:
Day 1 saw 3 of our hunters pull their triggers! Nug shot an 8 pt the first AM. Sorry I don't have a pic. Nug and Jimmy were with another guide so I wasn't with them in the field to take a pic. I know Jimmy missed at LEAST one monster. I'm thinking he was daydreaming about shooting paper at 1000yds in Virginia and the rest is history! At the close of the first day JJ shot a nice 10-pt. Of course as the story seems to always go he thought it was a little bigger before he pulled the trigger! :lol: Still I think this was his biggest buck to date which is okay in anyones book! I think he used 42gr of 4759/275 Ballistic Extreme from his NULA .50. Really a nice buck and here's a pic:
The morning of the second day I went on a spot/stalk hunt with the guide, Harry. We saw SEVERAL really nice bucks but nothing within shooting distance. That afternoon I went to sit over a wheat field. I saw two bucks, one of which was pretty close to being a shooter 8-point but I passed. I also saw three more does and another 6 point. That night Tom and I were getting a little anxious as the weather forcast for the following day was for rain and thunderstorms. Both of us started to second guess the previous two days, wishing we had shot one of the ones we had seen earlier fearing that the next day would be a bust due to the inclimate weather.
Day three Tom and I and basically lowered our expectations and what we were going to shoot. It was cloudy and I had packed my rain suit. Tom had seen some nice deer the first AM so I went back to sit in the tripod he sat in on day one. Tom went to the stand he sat in the previous day as he had seen a monster but was to early to shoot. This sand I was in was in a BEAUTIFUL area, two mosquite flats on each side of me and a oak bottom right in front.
Morning light came later than usual due to the clouds. At about 6:35AM I thought I heard something and looked to my left and there was a buck, a GOOD buck! Right then I thought to myself that I was gonna shoot this one if I got the chance. My gun was pointing to the right because that's the hardest shot for me, shooting to the left is a breeze. The buck was close, REALLY close and right then he looked up at me. He started to veer off and when he put his head down I made my move. I put the crosshairs behind the shoulder as he was quartering away and pulled the trigger. He trotted 44 yds after the shot with a bullet literally thru his heart, did a Texas two step and collapsed. I stepped off the shot and it was my shortest whitetail shot with a muzzleloader, 17yds! Here he is:
Not a big-bodied deer at all. Probably 3.5 years old. I was hoping for a 10 pointer or better but to be honest, I don't think I would have passed on this deer even on the first day. From that tripod at 17 yds he looked like he was all horns! :lol: Of course not being a big bodied deer made the rack look even bigger!
Tom and Harry show up at about 9:30AM and of course Tom couldn't wait either. He shot a nice 10 point, probably his largest deer to date. Toms deer was a good bit heavier than my deer and was probably 4.5 years old. Here is a pic of both of our deer:
First, let me say that the weather was in no way whitetail hunting friendly. The high on at least a couple of days was in the high 80s and I'm thinking the lowest morning low was only 51 degrees. Those temperatures were 15-20 degress ABOVE average. But that surely beats having to deal with rain so it really wasn't THAT bad!
Tom, JJ, and I drove over in my truck for the trip with Nug and Jimmy following later that afternoon as they were flying in. The three of us shot a few times to confirm our rifles and that was that. I decided to used my laminate Savage 10ML-II/Zeiss Conquest 3.4-10X44 using a load of 44gr SR-4759/250gr Ballistic Extreme. Tom and I had all ready decided to hold out for 140 class or better so that's what we were going to try to do.
First morning of the hunt I sat in a tripod stand in a clearing between two scrub oak thickets. I didn't know it THEN but later decided what a great stand I was in. It really looked good. I saw a NICE 8-10 pt(pretty sure a 10) about 140 yards from me dogging a doe. That doe and buck ended up about 10 yds in front of me! But I waited since this was the first AM and it certainly wasn't quite as big as what I all ready have. I also saw two 6-points and another doe and a family of hogs. I returned to the SAME stand that afternoon and saw nothing. Here is a couple of pics from the stand I was in the first day:
Day 1 saw 3 of our hunters pull their triggers! Nug shot an 8 pt the first AM. Sorry I don't have a pic. Nug and Jimmy were with another guide so I wasn't with them in the field to take a pic. I know Jimmy missed at LEAST one monster. I'm thinking he was daydreaming about shooting paper at 1000yds in Virginia and the rest is history! At the close of the first day JJ shot a nice 10-pt. Of course as the story seems to always go he thought it was a little bigger before he pulled the trigger! :lol: Still I think this was his biggest buck to date which is okay in anyones book! I think he used 42gr of 4759/275 Ballistic Extreme from his NULA .50. Really a nice buck and here's a pic:
The morning of the second day I went on a spot/stalk hunt with the guide, Harry. We saw SEVERAL really nice bucks but nothing within shooting distance. That afternoon I went to sit over a wheat field. I saw two bucks, one of which was pretty close to being a shooter 8-point but I passed. I also saw three more does and another 6 point. That night Tom and I were getting a little anxious as the weather forcast for the following day was for rain and thunderstorms. Both of us started to second guess the previous two days, wishing we had shot one of the ones we had seen earlier fearing that the next day would be a bust due to the inclimate weather.
Day three Tom and I and basically lowered our expectations and what we were going to shoot. It was cloudy and I had packed my rain suit. Tom had seen some nice deer the first AM so I went back to sit in the tripod he sat in on day one. Tom went to the stand he sat in the previous day as he had seen a monster but was to early to shoot. This sand I was in was in a BEAUTIFUL area, two mosquite flats on each side of me and a oak bottom right in front.
Morning light came later than usual due to the clouds. At about 6:35AM I thought I heard something and looked to my left and there was a buck, a GOOD buck! Right then I thought to myself that I was gonna shoot this one if I got the chance. My gun was pointing to the right because that's the hardest shot for me, shooting to the left is a breeze. The buck was close, REALLY close and right then he looked up at me. He started to veer off and when he put his head down I made my move. I put the crosshairs behind the shoulder as he was quartering away and pulled the trigger. He trotted 44 yds after the shot with a bullet literally thru his heart, did a Texas two step and collapsed. I stepped off the shot and it was my shortest whitetail shot with a muzzleloader, 17yds! Here he is:
Not a big-bodied deer at all. Probably 3.5 years old. I was hoping for a 10 pointer or better but to be honest, I don't think I would have passed on this deer even on the first day. From that tripod at 17 yds he looked like he was all horns! :lol: Of course not being a big bodied deer made the rack look even bigger!
Tom and Harry show up at about 9:30AM and of course Tom couldn't wait either. He shot a nice 10 point, probably his largest deer to date. Toms deer was a good bit heavier than my deer and was probably 4.5 years old. Here is a pic of both of our deer:
rayer: 
