Season II with my Optima V2 ML

Last Saturday ended the Muzzle loader deer season in Caldwell county here in North Carolina. I passed on a two year old seven pointer and a doe both 30 yard broadside shots.

My son and I were hunting in a trophy section of our hunting club. The buck did not meet the lower side of our requirements so I passed and the doe showed up in a food plot when I thought a big buck we had photos of might show. I had already killed two does with my bow the first week of bow season so I have been holding out for a good buck since then.

It is back to bow season for three weeks and then muzzle loader season opens up in this part of the state for two weeks. I will be back out with my Optima V2 then. In the mean time I will be getting some more practice with it and getting ready. I will bow hunt some but do not plan to fill anymore doe tags with my bow, saving them for my pistols, but would shoot a good buck if given the chance.

Has anyone else been hunting with their Optima V2 this season?

My season starts November 5th. I was originally going to try to shoot the first doe I see with my Optima for the meat, but my cameras showed a respectable buck has begun visiting our farm, so I might hold out for him.

My season starts November 5th. I was originally going to try to shoot the first doe I see with my Optima for the meat, but my cameras showed a respectable buck has begun visiting our farm, so I might hold out for him.

Sometimes trophy hunting gets in the way of meat for the freezer. I know it has for me in the last two weeks.

Good luck with your Optima.

Same to you.

I'll be taking my flintlock next weekend (October 22) after elk. My wife and I will each have bull tags and cow tags. I have always been one to take the first legal animal I come across because I can't seem to find a recipe for antlers that I really like. But, someday, I hope the first one I see is one that will put me in the books. I mounted my very first elk I ever took, just a small four point. But then I promised myself the next time I get any antlers mounted, they will be the ones that qualify for the books. Otherwise, antlers make great falconry whistles, knife handles, chew toys for the dogs, pre-measured powder measures for the black powder stuff, and even knapping tools for flint knapping! I enjoy using the antlers as tools just as much as I do looking at them on the wall!

Good luck to all, and make SURE ya post pictures!!!

Umm we cannot get the ML out till late November and only if we do not fill our general gun tag. Wolves hard winters and too many doe tags have really hammered our deer herd. But I look forward to wringing out the V2 Optima pistol in the upcoming weeks. Going to try the Whitehot pellets.

Yeah, yeah, I know. "Pics or it didn't happen", right?

YUP!!!

Ramjet-SS, I was shooting my V2 yesterday. My son was sighting in his muzzle loading rifle and I was shooting my V2.

I am using two 50 gr Whitehot pellets in my V2 and have it sighted in at 85 yards. Where we were shooting yesterday 85 yards is the max we can shoot safely.

I believe you will like the Whitehots. They shoot very well in my V2 and burn very clean.

Ramjet-SS, I was shooting my V2 yesterday. My son was sighting his muzzle loading rifle in and I was doing the same with my V2. I am shooting two 50 gr Whitehots and have it hitting dead on at 85 yards, I think you will like the whitehots.

Thank you I purchased a package and will ring it out by the weekend.

I was just using this post to learn how to add photos. This was taken last season.

I picked up a pack of WhiteHots myself this morning to try out. One of my friends shoots a ML Rifle, and was telling me how much cleaner WhiteHots were over Pyrodex or Triple 7 Pellets.
The new Blue MZ Pellets should be very close to WhiteHots (Same Patents & Formulation Percentages).

I ordered a BlackHorn 209 Breach Plug for mine today also. That should tighten up the Loose Powder groups when it gets in. I have a Six-Pak of the Blackhorn 209 Powder Tubes, so loose should not be any more trouble than Pellets to load.
Deer Season starts here in Missouri on the 12th of November.

Bob

I put the finishing touches on sighting in my Optima yesterday. About 1.5 inches high at 25 yards, 1 inch high at 50 yards and 2 inches low at 100 yards. I am happy with that because I do not plan on shooting any farther than 100 yards.

This gun is more accurate than most center fire rifles I have owned.

Our muzzle loading season opens tomorrow. I am excited about a hot spot we have stayed out of for the last two weeks after finding a lot of big buck sign there.

My son and I will be hunting together me with my Optima V2 pistol and him with his new Accura rifle.

Whish us luck.

Good luck and Roll Tide!

Roll Tide back at you PsTaN!!!!!!

My son shot this buck with his muzzleloader while hunting a stand over from where I was hunting with my Optima V2. This buck has 14 score able points was 4 1/2 years old and had a live weight of 200 pounds. Not too bad for North Carolina.

I passed a thirty yard shot on a three point and a longer shot on a doe. It is the beginning of the rut here and for now we are trophy hunting but I do plan to kill a few does with my pistols before the season is over.

Awesome buck great memories

Looks like he got as nice buck.

Good Luck on your hunting season.

I finished working with my Optima today. Not saying I will not shoot it any more before Saturday, just that it is ready.
I have went through I believe 74 primers the last couple weeks. Easier to keep track of the shots by counting primers gone from the pack. I transitioned from 230 XTP's to 250 Nosler's today. Recoil did pick up a little. I also switched over to Blackhorn 209 today. Three more days, and counting.

Bob

Good luck with your Optima this season Bob!

Good luck Bob I look forward to a successful
hunt report.

I have passed on small bucks and does so far waiting on one of several shooters we have on camera.

Redhawk1954 things are about the same here. I had a Basket Rack buck in sight Saturday evening late, and a Spike or Fork Sunday morning about 8 am. With the Full Moon they are not moving well so far.

Bob

Bob I passed a 35 yard shot on a young 8 point this morning. I am hunting on the other side of this.property this afternoon. We have three different shooters on camera there. I hopened to get one of them this afternoon. My shot would be about 75 yards which is fairly long for me. Good luck to you.

I passed on three does yesterday morning still looking for a good buck but I do not plan to hold out for ever,

I passed on a three point and a doe this morning. I plan to trophy hunt one more week and after that I will take any mature doe I can get a good shot at.

We had a doe with twins in the pasture about 80 yards from the house this morning. We have been watching them in the pasture for months. We ran them off when we headed out. I had a buck come down the valley, then took the trail up hill this morning. No shot, I only had him in sight a couple seconds. About 5 minutes later I had a small doe come down the same trail. She took a different fork in the trail and came on down the valley past my stand at about 30 yards.
This evening I had a big doe cross on the hillside across from my stand at about 75 yards out at the closest.
No buck this evening.
Another nice day tomorrow, just windy.

Bob

Bob, you continue to see deer something good should come alone soon. My concern for me is that after the rut I may not be able to buy a shot at a deer but I keep thinking about all those shooters we have on camera this year which at last count is ten so I keep on waiting for one of them to make a mistake.

I dropped a two year old eight point buck this morning at 30 yards with my Optima V2. His weight was 168 pounds so he was either a great two year old or a poor three year old. He was not one of the big deer we have on camera but he was big enough for today. I still have one buck tag to us on a bigger buck. I was hunting a small piece of property that I go to when ever I am too tired to climb hills and trees hunting from a pop up blind. I will add photos tomorrow when I have more time. Feeling pretty good about my season now.

A excellent job. How did the Optima and bullet perform DRT ? Short dash then DRT?

He fell right there but I had to shoot him one more time in the neck to finish the job.

Love those Optima V2 ML and that new Blackhorn Powder is fantastic. Great job on the buck hope you get another opportunity.

Great job! Looks like your persistence finally paid off.

I finally had time to upload a couple of photos. It has been very busy between work, hunting and family visits.

Nice pics

Congrats!

Good shooting, he"s a dandy!

Great Job. He is a nice one.
We are finally getting some nice hunting weather here in Missouri. We had 4 or 5 days of high wind ontop of the Super Full Moon to contend with.

Bob

good shooting, sir. Congrats

I have not seen much since last Thursday's kill but I did pass on a doe and a spike monday. I was hunting in Caldwell county and doe season is not in there until a couple of weeks from now and the buck was too young. I did get to watch him work a scrape. Gun season is in now so I am switching to my contender 223 with Barnes 55 gr tsx bullets.

Sounds like you've had a great season with lots of encounters so far! Congrats RedHawk, nice buck!

Passed on a six point thus morning and a deer whose sex was undetermined. Hopping for something bigger tomorrow. My son who is out of buck tags watched a three year old eight point work a scrape. I should have been in that stand.

I hunted several times since Thanksgiving without seeing anything until yesterday afternoon.

At 5:05 pm yesterday afternoon a cow horn spike stepped out of the cut over into the hay field I was watching from my popup blind. He spent about eight minutes within sixty yards of me relaxed and eating. I was hunting club land and we do not allow shooting bucks younger than three years old so he got a pass but I did get to practice using my shooting sticks to line up the shot with my Optima V2.

Right at the end of legal shooting time a big doe with a young deer came across the field and started to feed in the same spot in the field. I have been buck hunting this spot and decided not to shoot, After feeding for several minutes they moved on and I left. I hope to hunt this spot again one afternoon next week.

Yesterday afternoon I returned to my popup blind at the hay field where I passed on three deer last week. I had not been in the blind more than 15 minutes when five does crossed the field stopping several times. I had my Optima V2 and my shooting stick so I had a good steady rest and the shoots were only about sixty yards.

I did not know if I really wanted to end my hunt that quick and not give myself time to see one of four shooter bucks we have on camera there, I finally decided that if they got within 50 yards I would shoot the largest when they made my decision for me by looping into the cut over.

I hunted until dark without seeing anything else. Trophy hunting again left me empty handed. Sometimes I wish we did not have any trail cameras because it is hard to take the doe in hand for the buck in the brush.

Congrats! ! Awesome

I have a couple tree rubs on approximately 6 inch diameter cedar trees behind my house in the woods. They have been scraped up for a few years now. I need to put a camera on them next year and see who is keeping them scraped up. I am starting to think that is the only way I will get a look at him. He seems to be on permanent Night Shift. I guess he read the memo "Dark Means Dark"

Bob, you have a new season approaching while our season here is coming to a close fast. Good Luck!

I took my first handgun deer this year using my V2. Mine is 44 mag. I want the ML just another one on the list!

You will like the ML. It groups just as tight as my 44 mag rifle and tighter than my 44 revolvers.

44MagOptimaV2, I see you are from Georgia. What part of Georgia. I lived in Augusta for nine years back in the 70s and 80s and hunted on Briar Creek Hunting Club.