Well, after hunting both firearm seasons and the ML season in illinois, it came down to the last hour and half of the season for me. Saturday afternoon, i finally saw a shooter buck on our lease. It has been tough in our area due to the flood and blue tongue. I was hunting on the ground next to some thick cover when a nice buck appeared in front of me. It caught me by surprise, and had to make a snap judgement whether to shoot. I was looking for a bruiser, but after my lack of seeing bucks, I made a quick decision to shoot him. His anlers were way past his ear tips, 18-20 inch spread, not sure of have many total points. Good length. He saw me about the same time i saw him. I raised the Knight 50 cal elite and placed it on my monopd. I was sitting on a few logs, leaning against a small tree. His vitals were covering by some weeds, so as he looked at me, i made the decision to neck shot him. At the pull of the trigger, my worst nightmare occurred. A hangfire----just a slit second delay--just enought to make me flinch and pull the shot. The deer ran off unscathed, waying his tail at me. I checked for blood sign and looked hard for the deer, but i knew in my heart , I had blown a 45 yd chip shot. I was shooting Blackhorn 209 with
Winchester 209 primers. I have read where several people have had trouble with Winchester and BH209. I have shot 5 bottles of powder, and had 4 hangfires. Most of them i attributed to carbon build up in the nipple. I am using the FPJ breech plug. When crunch time came, me and the primer blew it. It was a long sorrowful drive back to TN. There are a lot of what ifs that ran through my mind. Should I have waited for a better broadside shot. Should I have concentrated on follow through with the shot, thus maybe not flinching so bad on the hangfire. I remember one hangfire i encountered, shooting at an apple at 75 yds. Busted it in spite of the hangfire. But an apple is not a deer. Deer equals adrenaline. What if i had taken heed of other people's troubles with Winchester primers and got me some Federals or CCI mag. I am grateful it was a clean miss. A wounded deer is a horrible situation---I'm not into feeding the coyotes. I really like my Elite and my LRH, but I'm going to do some soul searching. Should i change to TC, or should i try the Federal or CCI primers. I will have trouble in the future trusting my Knight unless I can find an absolute cure ( if there is such an animal). I really hate to abandon BH but i need confidence in my setup. I owe the deer that much, not to mention a lot of time and expense on my part. Question for you TC owners that shoot BH. Have you had 100% success in shooting this powder and what primers do you use. There were 2 TC reps in camp with me, they were shooting 777 out of their Endeavors. They said they could fix me up with one. After the hangfire, i reloaded, then discharged the gun at the end of the day. Quess what, instant ignition. Today, i fired 3 more rounds---instant igntion. The only thing i know, God is in control of my life and that deer!!! It wasn't his time. If God allows me, I will be back next year looking for that bad boy. Any suggestions on what route i should take would be highly appreciated. As a side bar, I met Ron Shaw in Lawrenceville. A super guy. Look forward to seeing him next year. Ron, hope you get that big boy you were telling me about. Don't let your wife get him--LOL.
Winchester 209 primers. I have read where several people have had trouble with Winchester and BH209. I have shot 5 bottles of powder, and had 4 hangfires. Most of them i attributed to carbon build up in the nipple. I am using the FPJ breech plug. When crunch time came, me and the primer blew it. It was a long sorrowful drive back to TN. There are a lot of what ifs that ran through my mind. Should I have waited for a better broadside shot. Should I have concentrated on follow through with the shot, thus maybe not flinching so bad on the hangfire. I remember one hangfire i encountered, shooting at an apple at 75 yds. Busted it in spite of the hangfire. But an apple is not a deer. Deer equals adrenaline. What if i had taken heed of other people's troubles with Winchester primers and got me some Federals or CCI mag. I am grateful it was a clean miss. A wounded deer is a horrible situation---I'm not into feeding the coyotes. I really like my Elite and my LRH, but I'm going to do some soul searching. Should i change to TC, or should i try the Federal or CCI primers. I will have trouble in the future trusting my Knight unless I can find an absolute cure ( if there is such an animal). I really hate to abandon BH but i need confidence in my setup. I owe the deer that much, not to mention a lot of time and expense on my part. Question for you TC owners that shoot BH. Have you had 100% success in shooting this powder and what primers do you use. There were 2 TC reps in camp with me, they were shooting 777 out of their Endeavors. They said they could fix me up with one. After the hangfire, i reloaded, then discharged the gun at the end of the day. Quess what, instant ignition. Today, i fired 3 more rounds---instant igntion. The only thing i know, God is in control of my life and that deer!!! It wasn't his time. If God allows me, I will be back next year looking for that bad boy. Any suggestions on what route i should take would be highly appreciated. As a side bar, I met Ron Shaw in Lawrenceville. A super guy. Look forward to seeing him next year. Ron, hope you get that big boy you were telling me about. Don't let your wife get him--LOL.
