Darkness has set of another deer hunting season... ...50 weeks and counting till the next one!! I've not worked since before Thanksgiving so I need to get back into the real world groove again.

I had the opportunity to shoot deer everyday...but ony had three tags...and pulled the trigger on four deer. I finished a doe for a friend and harvested my three. The doe I finished for a friend was w/ the .338JDJ#2 and 180gr NBT. He hit it low through the gut and could not get another shot...so I let one fly. Jellied the lungs and heart...that bullet never ceases to amaze me...at 2500fps it's awesome!! I've reported on the other three (two doe at 238yds and 270yds w/ the 7-08 Striker) then the scrappy buck w/ the .30 Herrett.

How has everyone else's seasons been going? I see a few reports here and there...so let's get a game count! List the game, shot distance and firearm used. Since seasons are ending for some of us...let's reflect a little to pass the time until next season.

No buck for me this year.
KS season for me is over (do have an antlerless season first week of Jan) as far as a buck goes.
Kristen took two bucks (7 pt. 250 yds. MOA 6.5-284 & an antlerless 350 yards 6mm-284 XP), both one shot kills.

May get to do a doe hunt and Javelina @ Christmas with the Thor
Next year my now 11 yr. old boy will be hunting deer with his 250 SAV. AI XP-100

Then it is prep time for more LR shooting out to a mile and a Bower LR clinic (Mainly bench shooting, but some field) in the spring in North East NE schedule permitting.

deer is over in mn
the score
1 fork horn 75 yards-- 35 rem
1 doe 30 yards-- 35rem
4 yotes--243
1 rabid squirl-- 480 ruger
all shot with tc encore

I spot and stalked one forker with my 260 xp100r only saw one other one. My son got 3, 6&8 pointers and a doe, but he used a rifle He's starting to use my 44mag S&W but hasn't gotten anything yet.
I can't wait for deer season to get over with so I can get out with my calls and get some coyotes

Mike,
Good to see you posting over here some.

just the 7 point buck this year. just the lil average deer, but he had an 8" and 6" rear g2 tine. love the 14" 35rem rimmed contender n 180gr hornady. i think it's gonna be a favorite longtime user.
after that, i pretty much chilled out. the # of deer i was seeing was low, so i gave it up. i'm sure i coulda got a doe, but the feezer was full enough fer now.

ol danb was posed ta come down n hunt. sorry that didn't work out , but maybe it was for the best deer wise. it took me 6 days of huntin to get the 7 point still not sure if weather patterns or deer # in that spot were the problem.
lotta other hunters i talked to also seen less deer this season. but....one buddy n his huntin party took 3 coyotes! never seen one here when huntin though.
kinnda got us wonderin if they are startin to take a toll on the deer fawn population.

now i need to get out n try a coyote sometime.

Yep, deer season is pretty much over here. Got next weekend to ml hunt. Too much snow to get to the range. Hopefully we'll get a good January thaw and be able to get some shooting in. Come on chuck hunting.

Regular firearms season is over here in OK. We have a weekend Dec 30,31, Jan 1 for doe w/firearms.
Hunting hard now with my stick and string.
Antelope w/XP100R, 260 at 225yds in Wyoming in Oct.
105lb doe in Oct with old flintlock at 85yds
115lb , 7pnt in Nov w/Encore 6.5 Rem Mag. at 115yds
I'm working up load for the New Ruger SBHHunter in 45LC w/some 270grn Thunderheads DanB gave me for the three days of doe hunting at the end of the year.
Might even take out the 7BR XP100 if I can get some ammo reloaded and tested.

Mike

only got to hunt KY this year:
4 pt - 284 Win HS Precision
3 does' - 300 WSM HS Precision
all one shot kills.
range: 120 yds to 240 yds
all out of the same ground blind
(saw more deer this season than ever before)
nmhunter

dan, only got 2 does so far this year, both with the 44 sbhh. but still have 2 weeks of ml and 3 weeks of bow in md. plus 3 more weeks of gun season where i hunt in va. so hopefully i'll have more to add later . btw, when you mentioned the season being over, i got to thinking about the sportsman show in harrisburg in feb. do you know if handgun hunter magazine will have a booth there? that will definitely help.

we have a couple weeks of ml. season left and bow season is open ifn your tough enough !
my season looks like this...
1 doe with a cross bow
1 doe and one spike with a ml.(here in va. we are not allowed to use muzzleloading short arms to hunt with )
1 doe with my ruger m-77 .257 roberts, ...sorry but i did!
and finally i scared the crap out of a doe with my sbh 44 magnum ...jim257
(really looking at a g-2 frame with the 30-30 ai barrel for next year )

Just took my 30 Harrett for a walk in NEPA. I only had a couple days to hunt.

A friend built me a custom 7-08AI for the WV season.I felt obligated to use it and was blessed with a 10 pointer.

For this season,I shot one small moose.A button moose with my mom's permit in NH with a .375 JDJ Contender. This was the only handgun taken game this season.

My dad and I shot three deer in Connecticut but with the rifle. They don't see the wisdom in allowing handguns for deer.

I am still hunting for deer to the end of the month with the muzzleloader. Again, have to use a rifle being in Massachusetts.

Alabama season is just getting kicked off for guns. Opened about a month and another month and a half to go.

So far 2 Does with the RSBH .44 and 1 large 6pt buck with the RSBH.

Sighted in the 7-30waters today with factory ammo, waiting on the dies and I figured I needed some brass. Went out this evening and didn't see a large enough doe to shoot. All small yearlings.

Well our season closed today at a half hour after sunset.

Nothing fell to a Handgun for me so far, but I have faith as the season reopens the 1st of the year for 8 days for Antlerless Deer. Hope to tag one with the .250 Savage SSK Contender during that season.

However we did fill 3 tags in the current season, but all 3 fell to a Ruger KM77RFP MKII in .243.

One was taken by my oldest daughter (Christy). This one was on a miserable day, windy and raining like all get out. The Button Buck fed into a clearing in some trees and Christy was able to make the shot at 222 yards with a 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip out of the Ruger .243.

Yesterday (another miserable windy, rainy day) I filled one of my Antlerless Tags with the same Gun-n-Load that Christy used. This was a big fat Doe at 184 yards.

After the shot the button buck that accompanied the Doe ran off about 40 yards and posed broadside. The Ruger was turned over to my wife Bonnie and she made her shot count, taking the button buck in the spine.

My new Son in Law (Tom), Christy and I went out this afternoon trying to get Tom a shot. Saw lots of deer but a decent shot never presented itself.

Looks like both Tom and I will be hunting in the January season.

Larry

Today was the end for us, altho today was the last day of muzzle loading season, took my TC .45 patriot. figgered it would work for 40 yards or less, didn't get to try it tho. the wind howled and the temp started at 5 degrees and was up to 20 when i had to leave to teach snowboarding lessons. Does anyone have any experience with short barreled muzzle loaders?- It's a bummer that the season is finished, mine started well....Deer season in western NY started out chilly and white, for the first day. There didn’t seem to be as many participants this year in spite of the fact that the season opened on Saturday morning to encourage those who wouldn’t have been able to have make the season opener if it occurred on Monday. The ground was white and the day remained cool all day long. I saw a few deer , but nothing that made my trigger finger itch. Sunday morning started cool, but clear, but still lacked the normal activity of both deer and hunters. The hill where I hunt was especially quiet. At around 9:00 am I made my way to a stand that was unoccupied, I had thoughts that this might be a good place to use later in the season, so I hopped up in the stand to check for squeaks lose bolts etc. There was a bolt missing that held the seat in the upright position, I made a mental note to bring a bolt with me the next time I come to the woods, but the shooting lanes were all clear, and the stand seemed to be secure. A squirrel that was cruising around burying his nuts and checking things out, came over to the tree and started up the trunk, I smiled as I looked down upon him, and thought about how small the platform would be if he was to get much closer, however he turned around and headed back down the tree and off thru the woods. I heard him scurry back under the tree and looked down to see him and there stood a buck with a forked rack, in fact it was a rather sizable buck with a reasonable rack. I debated for a moment whether to use my scoped contender or to use my short barreled revolver. I pulled the contender from the warmth of the holster under my jacket, however when I looked through the scope all that I could see was a big orange ball- the morning light was still so flat that it was impossible to see thru scope without picking up its glare. The buck was walking away from me, but directly into the morning sun. As he approached the thicker undergrowth I knew that I had to somehow alter his progress, I had a brand new grunt call –on the seat of the truck-however I have sat thru enough seminars that I had an idea of the type of noise that I wanted to produce, and there wasn’t much time before the buck would be obscured by the vegetation, so I grunted-I almost broke out laughing at the noise that I made, but it worked, the buck paused and looked my way. I still had a lot of glare and it was hard to make out the buck’s shoulder clearly, so I grunted again. This time the buck took two steps in my direction. He had moved enough so there was no longer the glare in my scope, I pulled the hammer back and fired. At the shot the buck dropped. He collapsed and lay on the ground with his head up. I watched him for a moment, the shot was a spine shot, but a bit far back. In a moment, the buck tried to mount his front feet, I reloaded and shot him again, this time through the neck. That was the end of the beginning of this years season.

11 days left here in Texas.Its been a tough season for me.I have not seen a buck all year so I filled my doe tags.I shot one with my muzzle loader at 110 yards and one with the Contender 44 mag at 65 yards.There is a late muzzle loader season in January I will try to hunt some.I did not get to hunt alot this year but I enjoyed every minute I was out there.

My season was pretty bad. Only saw three small bucks and didn't even see a doe. A bunch of folks had the same problem, I'm told. I'm looking forward to Spring turkey season and getting into a different lease for next year.

Drew a coveted elk tag here in Wyoming but did not get a chance as I could only hunt one day. Used contender as a starter pistol on my antelope hunt and never made it deer hunting. Did not help that my brother got married on the 15th of October and I was the best man. Oh well the weather's cooling down and the coyotes are furring nicely. Time to slap the 223 barrel on.