Muzzleloader results?

[Dirtyb25]

No comment.

OK, I must comment.

You need to get some scruples in regards to ethical shots dude.

So you think you cleanly missed all those deer? I'd bet you hit some of them. I cant even believe you just posted that report of the shots you took. Thats flat out ridiculous.

Of your 6 shots, 3 of them should never ever have been taken. Even with a scoped rifle.

Nice try at defending yourself. Thats just sad if you ask me.

Even the best hunters miss, I almost crapped my pants when I saw Larry Weishuhn miss the same buck four times, before finally downing it on his fifth shot, with what looked to be a shot right in the back above the guts.

But,I agree that you should definitely know what shots to take. The running straight away "Texas heart shot", just isn't a good idea.

Realistically though,even though not a lot of people will say it, a lot of meat hunters don't have the same set of ethics as sports hunters do. If you don't agree with me, all you have to do is go to any butcher shop that processes deer, and look at where a lot of the deer are hit. My cousin is a butcher in Fargo, and he's got deer after deer after deer that have been shot in the hind quarters,then the guts, then the head or neck. Doesn't make it right, just the way it is. Hopefully people learn from your post, and try to take a shot with a higher likelihood of a clean kill.

I'd almost bet you're right on not being missed clean either, opening muzzle weekend I found a nice eight, and a big doe that had both expired during rifle season, and never been found.

In fresh virgin white snow, I found very little blood on the deer I shot, It would interest me to find out just how many deer are "missed" each year, only to go out and die less than 50 yards from where they were shot.

[kr8r.tom]

in the farm zone with driving every patch of woods and in some areas thats the only way they can hunt because theres no actual "woods" it's slough,crp drainage ditches and woodlots. so what you get is nothing but running shots and 10 guys blasting at the deer, when it hits the ground it's been hit a half dozen times. those are the hunters that are opposed to banning party hunting/cross tagging otherwise they wouldn't get their deer, and they need alot of them because 5 deer equal 1 the only thing they save on is grinding of hamburger. so when you say ethical shots we are usually thinking of the way it pertains to how hunting is in the area we personally hunt, in some parts of the state running shots are common.

[DuckDog]

Sorry not going to rip on another hunter. Too many people do that already. Sorry for the post

[MUSKYMAN1011]

Sorry, but a 100 Yard running shot with Muzzle loader is not that big of a deal!

I've seen it done more than once!

[bigbucks]

Gotta say I get pretty disgusted with the cheap shots guys take at others on here at times.

Not saying I would maybe take all of those shots hat were described myself, but I would have at one time. Hunting is a learning experience & condescending attacks on other hunters have no place in this forum or anywhere else as far as I'm concerned.

I do agree with the poster who said the area you hunt in affects the type of shot that's generally considered acceptable. Most of those shots described would be taken by an awfully high percentage of the gun hunters in farm country.

I do agree many deer get shot at, are hit & lost that people think they've missed or in some cases think they've hit, but just can't find any sign of a hit.

[SM1]

Good post bigbucks, I totally agree.

There are certainly different styles of hunting for the many different landscapes in MN. I hunted with slugs for 15 years and I would say, at least in my area, most are meat hunters. The types of shots mentioned above are common.

[mr_jman]

Just to clarify.... The only areas I have available to hunt are fencelines, abandoned groves, CRP land, and draniage ditches. Getting shots at standing deer broadside are very few and far between at best. About 90% of the shots available in that area are at running deer kicked out of the spots I just mentioned. One benefit to these areas is that you can watch the deer run across open fields for (upto) a mile or more. If a deer is hit and wounded it is fairly easy to determine where that deer is heading with only so much good cover around.

This was my first season muzzleloading and the previous 8 seasons I have done shotgun...(shooting a 9 point buck, 8 point buck, a spike buck, and a doe) None of the deer, including this one, have been gut shot or hind quarter shot. My dad got into muzzleloading a few years back after doing the shotgun seasons for many years. I decided to give muzzleloading a try this year so I could hunt with him again!

The first two shots were taken at a doe at about 100 yards. The first shot I felt missed as the doe slowly walked about 15 yards and then stood broadside long enough for me to reload and take a second shot. I felt I may have shot low as she took off running. After that shot I walked across the field and searched the area over looking for blood. It was nearly dark so I went home. The next morning I returned to the spot and looked again, also looking for tracks as to where the deer was heading. After folowing what tracks I could find and seeing no blood I figured I has missed.

The third shot taken at the doe from the back side is the one I most likely should not have taken. Everyone learns from mistakes I guess. When I shot at that deer it was only about 30 yards out. Don't ask me how I missed but everyone does at some point. I watched the deer run out to about 250 yards and she stood broadside and then walked over a small hill in the field. I also walked out and followed her general path. Had she died behind that hill she would easily have been spotted from the road. I also checked the road for tracks but didn't locate any.

Shots three and four were at running deer my dad and I kicked out of a grove. Keep in mind the deer in my area have been pushed and shot at, and pused and shot at again and again. These deer are very nervouse and don't hold tight to what little cover they have. When the deer ran out of the grove my first instinct is to take a shot. The deer may have been 100 yards out but that isn't out of range across an open field. Had I hit the deer we would've seen it go down. We were able to get a second shot at these same deer a few miles away as we set up on a fenceline they were heading for. Luckily they headed for us but I again missed at the doe running. We were able to see these deer for several miles and never felt that we would lose any deer we would've hit.

I consider myself to be an ethical hunter and the doe I shot was hit and dropped on the spot. Every deer I have shot was hit in the vitals or in the neck from the front. If I had wounded this doe, I would've tracked her to the grove where she would've obviously gone and waited for her to bleed out.

Had any of these deer been large bucks I think almost every hunter would've taken these same shots knowing they may never get another shot at them. My dad and I were focused on getting one for the freezer and maybe some of those shots were tough and low percentage, but in my area shots like those are anything but uncommon.

I don't want to start a war or make anyone mad at me for taking what shots I took..... I learned from this season, just as I do in all hunting and angling seasons I partake in. I still consider myself a novice deer hunter and a beginner at muzzleloading.

Hope everyone has a good and safe hunt as the season comes to a close.

[bassNspear]

This weekend is gonna be near 30 BnS.

Dont be a quitter man!!!!

dude, its spearing time!

[Gofishleech]

Gotta say I get pretty disgusted with the cheap shots guys take at others on here at times.

My thoughts also,,,,,,and from Pro staff!!

[Dirtyb25]

[bigbucks]

Shot a "monster" button buck Saturday night just before dark. It stopped to smell the gut pile from the doe my buddy shot out of the same stand on Thursday night. Had a landowner that said he'd like a fawn, told him I'd see what I could do... I was surprised we saw any deer as nasty as that wind was Saturday night.

[bassNspear]

congrats on the button buck. Have any photos.

My uncle went out saturday and shot 2 does with a friend of his.

[BLACKJACK]

Gotta say I get pretty disgusted with the cheap shots guys take at others on here at times.

Not saying I would maybe take all of those shots hat were described myself, but I would have at one time. Hunting is a learning experience & condescending attacks on other hunters have no place in this forum or anywhere else as far as I'm concerned.

So how are people supposed to learn if you don't question their shot? Maybe all they've done is hunt with older hunters that consider long running shots at deer the norm and don't realize that you can sit on stand and wait for that one kill shot at x yards? Maybe they haven't seen deer running around with shot off legs?

It does seem that the 'if you can see brown you can shoot at it' mentality that infects slug hunters has moved over to muzzleloader hunters, be darned how many deer you have to shoot (and wound) before you get your deer. What ever happened to the 'take one shot and out' philosophy?

[bigbucks]

Personally I don't have a problem with people questioning a shot. I don't think it was being questioned, it was being blasted. You know what I mean, there's a friendly way to ask questions & give somebody something to think about that might work & then there's attacking them where they aren't about to listen to you no matter how valid your point may be.

[CHODE]

Valid or not, to each his own!!

I am a safe ethical hunter, and guess what? I missed two different deer during muzzeloader before finnaly taking a large dressed out 145 pound doe! Does that make me a slob because I missed twice? Heck no its all part of the hunt!

Do I take running shots with my muzzy? No but I dont care if someone does. Everyone has their methods and theories!

Also yes I am pro-party hunting! Born and raised hunting in groups! I wouldnt have it any other way.

[bigbucks]

Thanks, no I actually didn't take any pics yet. I wasn't in that big of a hurry to do anything with it in this weather. I figured it would probably keep okay...

[jerkin'm]

Spent two mornings over the weekend w/ the smokepole..saw huge herds of does and fawns and one possible shooter buck that didn't present himself good enough for a shot or certain "rack id"...My brother in law did shoot a nice doe with his bow. His first deer, so he was pretty excited...

[Mark Christianson]

Were you up in OTC Jerky??

[jerkin'm]

Yeah...That snow on Sunday was quite a treat..

[bassNspear]

oh im sure, how much did you get!

[jerkin'm]

Around a foot..

[bassNspear]

wow, thats not alot of fun to hunt in ither?