Hey Guys,

I spent last Sunday afternoon scouting an area on the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia that I had hunted last year. Last year in this area, I had seen several deer (including a couple of bucks) and it was covered up with scrapes. I intentionally stayed out of the area this year until now.

During last Sunday's scouting trip, I found a good rub line and a couple of scrapes, so I quickly hung a stand and left the area. I hunted the stand on Thanksgiving morning and around 10:00 a.m. this 8 point came cruising thru searching for does.



I hit him through both shoulders with a 240 grain Swift A-Frame from my 6" Freedom Arms 44 Mag. The shot took the use of his front legs away from him and he pushed himself out of sight with his rear legs. I didn't think that he would go far, and he didn't. I walked up to him and he was lying on his back with his antlers in the dirt. However, he was still breathing so I put another A-Frame through his chest cavity and this ended things quickly.

Due to the fact that I was about a mile away from the truck with no road or trail to drag him out on, I hoisted him in a nearby tree, skinned, deboned and packed him out.


Ready for transport:


On my back and ready to go.


It was a difficult pack out around the side of a mountain in wet leaves, but I tried not to complain. It had been an awesome morning to be in the woods.

This is the second deer that I have taken with my Freedom Arms .44 Mag purchased from board member and friend/mentor Ken O'Neill. It is quickly becoming a favorite.

Nice buck, congrats.

Congrats on another mountain trophy! Darrell, I do not know how you find these public land giants every year. You have my respect.I was worried your hunting spots might be on fire. That is a mighty fine buck! Maybe you can find the buck that broke him off .

Congrats.

Good show, DH! That's a fine looking buck and FA!

That's DIY to the Nth there. Congrat's on a plan coming together.

Nice deer and revolver.

Can't beat that! Obviously you were well prepared. Congrats!

Congrats on a nice buck.
That's an interesting looking holster arrangement. Does it attach direct to the pack? Homemade or commercial?

Congrats Darrell! Well done. It's not easy taking mature bucks on public land -- especially with a handgun. Nice looking FA by the way.

I really appreciate all of your kind remarks guys!



Thank you Matthew! So far, the fire is confined to the Cohutta Wilderness. The Cohutta hunt is next week, hopefully the non-wilderness areas will be open for hunting. We shall see. You've already had a great season, but I'm looking forward to seeing the upcoming pics of some great N. GA bucks taken by you and Heather! Habersham County bucks are trembling...



Thanks walkingthemup! I appreciate your interest in my holster rig. Let me take some photos of the system that I have come up with for backpack hunting and I'll get back to you...stand by.

Thanks again for your comments guys!

Darrell H

Darrell - strong work my Brother!

Mature buck, check. Public land, check. Wheelgun, check. WAY back in there, check. Elevation change, check.

Absolutely awesome!

Way to go, Darrell!

Darrell, your bucks are better as public land adds to the trophy. Please see the Bragging Board though.

Awesome job!

Well I see you didn't make me wait long! Congrats on a great N Ga buck Matthew!!

Thanks again for all of your comments guys!

DJH

Beautiful deer. It's always gratifying when "The Plan" works isn't it?

Congrats.

Very nice buck Darrell, getting it done with the revolver on public land makes it pretty sweet, & very tough, good job!

Dick

That was a very special hunt!

That's awesome, congratulations!

Very nice buck Darrell.Earned the hard way.

Way to go. Great Buck.

x2

Walkingthemup,

Thanks for your interest in my holster rig! I do quite a bit of backpack hunting. Awhile back, I had the bright idea of attaching my holster to the shoulder straps of my backpack instead of trying to make a shoulder rig for a handgun work together with my backpack. I searched the web for options and discovered the quick-detach system by Op/Tech USA.

The heart of the system is the quick disconnect connectors that stay permanently attached to the item you wish to carry, such as a camera, binoculars, or in my case...a holster. Here are the quick disconnect connectors attached to my holster:


I then attached some Op/Tech Backpack Connectors to my backpack:


Here is a photo of the holster attached to the pack:


Notice I added a third connecting point as well. This helps to keep the holster from bouncing while I'm climbing.

Once I get to where I'm going, I can quickly and easily remove the holster from the pack and connect it to an Op/Tech Shoulder Strap:


This is how I wear the holster "on stand". Hopefully, this helps explain how the system works. My holster was made by Barranti Leather.

Thanks again for all of your positive comments guys, I really do appreciate them!

Darrell H

Congrats! on a great hunt and dandy buck.
I really like your holster system also. I presently pack my FA 83 in a chest rig and then have my backpack straps on top of it. As you know it's kind of a hassle having both. Your holster set-up looks like the ideal compromise between the two.

Congrats on a nice buck. I like your holster system. I have been looking for ideas to serve my needs.

Congratulations Darrell!

Darrell, can you give us a performance report on the 240gr A-frame? Velocity? Autopsy results? How does it compare to other 240 hollow points such as the xtp? I don't want to hijack the thread, but I'd love to hear about the load.

Great hunt! All the scouting and the pack out are extra effort, but that just makes the success that much sweeter.

Awesome job, great fun and memories that you will have forever.

another fine critter under you belt.....

Boot,

The load that I use with the Freedom Arms 44 is from an older reloading manual; it is basically a case full of W296 powder. This load is safe and accurate in my gun.

The first shot hit the buck high on his left shoulder destroying the shoulder bone and exiting low on his opposite shoulder, breaking that leg bone as well. The second shot was between the front legs while he was lying on his back. That shot shattered the scapula in the right leg and I recovered the bullet just under the hide; a picture-perfect mushroom.

Sorry for the late response Boot, I've been scouting Cohutta for the past few days in preparation for the upcoming hunt.

Hope you're doing well!

Thanks again for all of your comments guys!

Darrell H

Thanks for the extra info Darrell. I've been looking at the A-frame to try, and have been wondering if they are truly that much better than the xtp. I'm doing well, albeit too busy with work. I did get 2 deer with my 44, 2 weeks ago Friday. No luck with finding the buck that's making so many rubs near my hunting spot yet. Good luck to you in the area you're scouting now! I'm looking forward to another hunting success post from the N Ga mountains. How has the cohutta wilderness fire affected the hunting up there?

Great Job Darrell. Public land is always hard to hunt. Especially wilderness areas. You were way back in also.
Nice set up also. Your revolver looks to be set up right, and the holster attachment system is a great idea.
Looking forward to more stories.

Bob

Tommy,

As I understand it the fire has been contained to the wilderness area of Cohutta. The Cohutta hunt begins Wednesday, but the Conasauga and Jack's River watersheds will be closed. I hung a stand last Sunday afternoon on some fairly good buck sign in an area outside the designated wilderness area; we shall see!

Congrats on your success so far this year, I hope you get the buck that you're hunting too! Keep us posted...

Darrell