Any Blackpowder Success?

[jerkin'm]

Gave it one last shot on Sunday afternoon and "smoked" my biggest buck yet...No record breaker but a nice heavy racked 8 pointer..Lots of deer moving on Sunday after a couple cold days and nights..Any one else?

[UNDBowhunter]

I shot my buck on Dec. 1 while hunting in the big 1st snowfall of the year. It was a decent buck for my first with my muzzleloader. It was a 10 point frame but one of the G2's was broke (so it was a 9 pointer). It had just shy of a 20" inside spread with a 8 inch G2, and 7" g3's. Shot distance was 45 yards, and only went 25 yards after impact (that was nice.... since it was snowing so hard)!!!!!!

[DonBo]

Congrats to both you guys, and anyone else who's had sucess in this weather. Where's the pictures?

[Moose-Hunter]

I saw deer every time out. Just no shooters up until the last minute, of the last day. As the light faded, a very large bodied 8 pointer showed up. His rack was wide and tall.

I had done my homework!! And he had done his by arriving just a bit after legal shooting hours. Less than an hour earlier, he would have been an easy 60 yard chip shot for the Encore. My hope is that he has "had his way" with more than his fair share of the local doe population.

My access to this specific area is done for the year. To round out the season, I'll be down on the farm, sportin' stick and string with hopes to finally put some venison in the freezer.

All things considered, my first year with the smokepole was still somewhat of a success. Although I came home empty handed, I learned quite a bit about my new firearm, late season deer movement and that my knees are still in bad shape!

[slick814]

After freezing for a couple hours in the stand on Saturday morning (-20 in Aitkin where I was.. brrr ), I had a chance a a nice sized doe on my walk back to my in-laws' house. She was giving me a nice broadside shot at about 35 yds. Only problem is that the neighbors' house was directly behind her. There was no way I was taking the shot from the ground, considering the backdrop. All I could do was hope she circled back around, but no such luck.

Of course, on my way home there were 11 deer in the field next to the in-laws' property, with a nice 8 pointer in the middle... but the gun was unloaded, I was on the highway, and we don't have permission to hunt that land, so I just smiled & said wait "'til next year."

Luckily, my family had a good rifle season, with 4 hunters taking 4 shots and downing 4 deer. 2 really big does (150+lbs each), one decent doe (about 90 lbs), and one huge 10-pointer that went about 230lbs, and was scored 3 weeks after it was shot at an even 150... not a bad hunting season. I'm hopeful of getting my first smokestick deer next year. Maybe with some of what I've learned about late season movements, my rifle of choice, and knowing a new area better, I'll have more success next year.

Congrats to those who got one!

[bigbucks]

Had a good time, made it out a total of 6 times. Saw deer 2 of the first 3, screwed up on an easy chance at a fawn the first morning, didn't wind up shooting. Didn't really matter, but it turned out to be my only really good chance of the season. Spooked one deer while walking back to the truck on an evening hunt for my only sighting in the last 3 hunts. Pretty slow smokepole season for me. Maybe get in a couple more bow hunts, but that's about it. Can't complain shot my firt WI deer this year with the bow & got a few in MN, although they were all shotgun or rifle this year.

[Stratosman]

Hey Pat send me the pictures man! I love seeing dead deer. Congratulations to all that had sucess. I shot one the opening day. Only made it out a couple more times after that. Passed up a small doe the last Sunday of the season. Hope to get out with the bow again here shortly.

[mskyfshntchr]

Last Wednesday, I went out hunting with a buddy to try and fill our buck tags. He was walking along the field edge and I cut up through towards the ridge top. The woods were extremely loud because of the ice we had gotten 3 days before. The only saving grace was I had still hunted the woods as it was snowing/icing on Saturday. I started walking in the woods and before I hit my old tracks I had kicked a nice buck and doe from the area. I then figured it was going to be an exploratory hunt to find where the deer were feeding since the nasty weather. When I hit my old tracks I was able to walk quietly. A wood edge, creek bottom and field all meet at the top of this ridge- a nice funnel area. I hear a crunch from down the hill and look and then there is a buck looking at me from 15 yards. All I could see was his head and nice rack. He ducked behind a tree and I got ready to shoot but he backed up a few steps, but didn't run away. He didn't know what I was. I grunted a few times to let him know I was a deer. I waited about 10 minutes and he came back up the hill. When he lifted his head-I shot and off he ran!! WHAT? I was only 15 yards away!!! I watched him run across the creek and stop. It looked like he was wavering some-like I had hit him. So, I reloaded my muzzleloader as quickly as possible and took another shot at him. He ran off and I reloaded again. My buddy showed up who was hunting on the other edge of the woods. We went towards the edge of the hill and were starting to walk down the hill to track the deer when I looked down and there was a dead buck laying there!!!!!! There were two of them!! And I didn't know it!!!!! So, we go across the creek and see if I had hit the other one. We found blood and off we went tracking. Got to a neighbors fence and it was almost dark. So, we went back to the other deer. Got that back to the house and hung up. Got permission to go look for the deer and had a couple of other friends come help. 50 yards from where we had stopped earlier was the other one!!! I got them both!!!

The one on the left in the picture is the 1st deer.

And now I owe my buddy my buck tag in the future, if he needs it.

[Wanderer]

Congrats! It doesn't happen like that every day!

I missed an 8, passed a 6, and saw one of the 10's I was hoping for in a field (his summer home range) out of my hunt area. He was out there with a doe last Saturday at 2:45 pm. We were on our way to a friends Hold em tourney.

I spent the last of the season with the fam and working around the house on the things that needed to get done last month.

There's a little bow time left yet.........

[Stratosman]

Here is the deer jerkn'm shot with the smokepole. Nice deer man!

[jerkin'm]

Wow, great story and nice bucks...Quite a feat with the muzzle loader for sure..Thanks for posting the pic Stratosman...The buck I shot had a near twin buck with him when I shot him as well..There was no way I could have taken both however..

[Froggy4371]

Well I will admit that I had a great last day of the smoke pole season. We were hunting with friends on sunday and there were 12 of us. We had 9 tags to fill. We could shoot either a buck or doe for all of them. After the first push of the morning we had 3 tags left to fill. A friend of mine shot a small buck on the run and never put a hole in the hide. He some how shot it in one ear and out the other. Just amazed me. I got a nice doe, then another doe came by with a busted back leg so I shot her, then another doe with blood on it's back so I shot her. I was not going to let these deer go to waste. The one with blood on it we figure the neighbors shot at earlier in the morning cause they shot and knew they hit one but could not find it. Nothing wrong with the meat. My uncle got his first deer with a smokepole. A very nice 8 pt. that I would guess would score about 120.