muzzleloading results

[jbjr]

No luck today, Followed tracks in the snow this morning, which led down trail in front of stand.

Sat all day. no deer.

Maybe tomorrow, will try stand location two

East of Faribault.

jbjr

[SartellMN]

Me too. Went out this evening. Saw nothing (expect while in the car driving home...as usual).

I suspect the full moon has something to do with it.

[Gissert]

Nothing on my morning sit, and worked slough edges in a half harvested cornfield this afternoon to no avail. I saw several driving after dark tonite, however. Lovely moonrise.

[Mark Christianson]

Two of us didnt see anything this morning. I had to come home this afternoon, and went out behind the house.

As I approached my spot, I kicked up a small six pt. No where near the size needed to try and take it. Nothing else spotted after that.

[jbjr]

No Luck this morning.

Plenty of tracks, unable to get out this morning.

Well theres always next weekend....

jbjr

[Longline]

Hunted by the East Chain area in Martin County. Seen lots of deer. Of course they were in the middle of the sections and didn't really want to move. Tough to get at. Lucked out and got 2 doe yesterday morning and one this afternoon. Still have a bunch of tags to fill.

[ironranger420]

You guys all seem to have had the same results as us. Three of us hunted Saturday and Sunday up near Orr, MN. Morning hunt none of us saw a thing. The deer were not moving. I think the cold front and snow that came in shut them down for a couple of days. I bet today (Monday) would be a great day to be out there. However, I did see a doe around 2:45 on Saturday and decided to take it. It was about 80 yards out and I hit her perfect. Right in the neck, she dropped like a ton of bricks. Never knew what hit her, a clean kill. It's amazing how small a deer looks at 80 yards out with open sights, WOW! I can't believe I made that shot. My first blackpowder harvest!!!!

[RussDaBuss]

Congrats ironranger420. I was out Saturday and Sunday. Snowed most of the day Saturday and did not see a thing! Sunday morning, sun was out but did not see a thing either. With the fresh snow Saturday and the moon at nite. I seen TONS of tracks from them moving around at nite. . Oh well, more time left!

[bigbucks]

My wife was gone all weekend, so I was on kid patrol. I got a chance to get out last night for the last 45 minutes or so. Only sat about 25 minutes & then popped a nice sized fawn at 55 yards. Shot a bit high & broke it's back, had to shoot it again in the neck from close range. One more management tag filled, one less for my neighbors & I to worry about hitting crossing the road.

[Stratosman]

My first muzzleloader hunt, Saturday, hunted in the snow till noon, two of us saw zip. Sunday morning hunting in one of my archery stands, somehow missed a doe at 60 yards standing broadside? Was kinda bummed, but there was fresh sign everywhere and the plowed corn fields were tore up from the feeding deer during the previous night. Walked to a different location and my cousins kicks up a doe and she runs about 1/4 mile through a strip of woods along the river and runs to about 40 yards of me and stops, put her down. Nice sized doe.

[setterguy]

Sounds like we were all in the same boat. Our group of about 10 saw maybe 6 deer all day on Saturday, most were running. One guy managed a nice doe. Saw one small buck thats about it. Going to try and get out this week, and again on Saturday.

[mnmuzzleloader]

Missed a 5 pointer around 9:30 shooting running deer through the timber isn't the best with a mz, Around 2:30 I had a doe appear at 20 yards and pulled up on her only to see a different buck in the heavy cover the doe came to with in 15 yards, but the buck never moved out of the heavy stuff so I passed on both. Sunday didn't see anything feel the clear weather they moved all night. give it a whirl again this week.

[MN Mike]

I sat on Saturday afternoon til dark and didn't see anything, lots of geese flying over and landing and a few ducks too.

We hunted pretty much all day Sunday and saw quite a few deer, no horns all does and fawns. Didn't shoot anything, maybe next weekend......

[jbjr]

Out Friday, Saturday and this morning.

No Luck, Tracks, Eagles, and Geese.

No more snow, Will be oyt again next Friday.

jbjr

[RussDaBuss]

Was out Saturday afternoon. Was a nice afternoon to be out, thought sure as heck something would be out and about. Did not see a thing. Heard a couple when I was walking out. They apparently are still moving at nite. Most of the snow gone around Onamia, but what was left was filled with deer tracks.... At least I know they are there

[Mark Christianson]

Went up north and saw nothing.... Again.

I have not seen a deer at our farm since opening day of rifle season. Ouch.

[Gissert]

BLB -

Now I don't feel so bad, LOL.

We really stirred up some grass sloughs on Saturay, and we did not jump one deer. My stand and still hunting was a bust yesterday too.

I have a line on some deer working a patch near here, so I will try and get access for that next Saturday morning.

[Wayne Sieber]

At least I don't feel so bad now knowing most everyone else saw exactly what I saw this weekend with the muzzleloader - Jack T. Squat

Hunted all day Saturday AND Sunday at two different areas and never saw a thing, except of course enough squirrels to fill up the back of my pickup!!!

FD

[Ely Lake Expert]

I don't have a muzzleloader, but I can tell ya how my dad did. Yesterday Woke up late, (he has to drive 3/4 mile down a road before he walks to his stand) driving down the road he had a 10 pointer cross from the open area on the left side to the thick swamp on the right side fifty feet in front of him. The rest of the day 4 does no shooting. He is going again this weekend and I may go grouse hunting too.

Ryan

[Ruttin' Buck]

I hit the woods early on Saturday. I trail cammed a nice wide 8 point I had standing 9 yards in front of me in the bow stand a few weeks back...too dark to identify (and shoot) until he got down to big swamp where the additional light allowed me a glimpse of the rack. The pictures from the trail cam guaranteed that he is a nice one. It was time to go back and look for him...

I was setup atop a hill at 6:15AM, set out a line of 8 scent cans for the cross wind to work on while I waited in the dark for the legal shooting time. At 7:00 I began bleating every 5-8 minutes...he showed up at 7:30. 90 yards out in mature woods. I set my sights in the first opening and waited....

He is a smart one. Typical big buck. Circled downwind to look for his girlfriend. He picked up on one of the first scent cans and charged up a hill stiff legged and head up lookin' for love...I was never offered anything remotely clean for a shot as he circled 80-100 yards out in the mature woods.

I quietly prepared a ground blind spot amidst a deadfall closer to his normal route for the afternoon hunt and left.

Now, I've passed on some deer this year just to get to the ML season. I only opted to fill a bonus tag so that I'd have all my options open for this first time hunt for me.

So the afternoon comes and I setup by about 2:45. 15 minutes later three does walk by 10 yards behind me. The first was jumpy and this alerted the other two. She'd spotted my face and didn't like the estrus in the air. My only saving grace was that I was downwind. But before I could ease my gun around they began a trot up the next hill. I took the opportunity to stand up and find a hole through the downfall I sat beneath. Typical whitetails...most deer when they spook but they're not sure why, they stop about 100 yards out and look back...they did just that and I took one of them at 80 yards.

New experience for me. I wasn't used to trying to decide which of 3 deer I had shot at after the smoke cleared. I also was a little bit nervous about picking a spot to shoot 80 yards out in a dense woods without optics. Finally, I couldn't believe that that 50 cal. powerbelt didn't expand at all. She went 80 yards with a perfect 50 cal hole in each lung.

Overall it was a great experience. Still doesn't beat a good bow kill, but it beats 'cheating' with my rifle! Now, to go back and find buckzilla. With the way my season's going so far I might need to change my username....

[bigbucks]

Buckblaster, nice job on the deer, good luck with the big boy.

Your experience of the hole not being much with Powerbelts mirrors mine & that of a buddy's. We're both shooting Noslers this year. I shot a small one with a Nosler this year, but it hit the backbone, so there wasn't any interior blowup to compare to. Needless to say it didn't run though... It went about 18", straight down.

Did the Powerbelt even go all the way through the deer? the three deer we've shot cumulatively have not had pass throughs with them.

[Ruttin' Buck]

Big bucks - it punched a 50 cal. hole straight thru her. It touched off on a rib on the way out. I was pushing it with 130 grains of Pyrodex. The exit was almost an exact replica of the entrance. It still did the job really well...a half inch hole through both lungs produced a blood trail after about 30 yards. But in my experience, I've seen quality sharp broadheads produce a better trail than this.

Also, during the firearms season I tote a 7mil Rem mag so I'm used to the hydrostatic shock of 3500fps turning the lungs into mush. Just something new for me to get used to.

My dad is trying the hollow point version of the 235 grn powerbelt. Hopefully he'll bag one this weekend so we can compare notes.

Good luck to you ML'ers still out there. I'm leaving after work today to sit in solitude and in hopes of finishing off the season with a BANG!!

[Stratosman]

I am keeping it more primitive, using a patch and ball in a .54 caliber cap lock thompson center. It sure puts the hurt to em though. The one I shot was 50 yards and didn't even have time to move her legs before she died. Right throught the wheelhouse and the blood sprayed out the exit about 10 feet also. This is my first year at blackpowder and I was impressed by the knockown power it generated.