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my deer season starts tomorrow #209751 12/21/2020 1:43 AM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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I have had to suffer through 5 different seasons here in iowa, guys telling me about all the big bucks and pics of the ones they have shot. Finally the Late Muzzleloader season where the handgun season started in iowa is down to a wake up. Winds are going to be ripping 30mph with gusts to 40 but it will be hard not to climb back into a stand and put up with it. armed with longbow and Handgun I will be back at it.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209752 12/21/2020 2:10 AM
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Chance Weldon Offline
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Good luck out there!


Formerly TN Lone Wolf

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." - J.K. Rowling
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Chance Weldon] #209755 12/21/2020 2:37 AM
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karl Offline
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Good luck!

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: karl] #209756 12/21/2020 2:42 AM
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jamesfromjersey Offline
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get `em dave...


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: jamesfromjersey] #209763 12/21/2020 10:40 AM
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racksmasher1 Offline
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Best of luck to you

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: racksmasher1] #209788 12/22/2020 12:29 AM
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junebug Offline
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Best of luck and be careful out there.


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: junebug] #209794 12/22/2020 1:19 PM
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reflex264 Offline
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Good luck! Go get em.


"A quiet hit in the right place is better than a loud miss in the wrong place followed by 10 more shots on the run"

I was a handgun hunter, when handgun wasn't cool.....
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: reflex264] #209795 12/22/2020 1:32 PM
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Hawkeye Offline
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Good luck! That is how I'm hunting this last 18 days of our Holiday season, antlerless with firearm or any deer with archery. I carry one of my home made osage self bows, wood arrows with stone points in case a deer with antlers gets close enough to my blind and my Ruger Blackhawk Hunter 44 for any other antlerless deer.
Good luck to you. Maybe you will stick one with your longbow and another will come to see what happened and you can pop it if you have tags for that.
Keep us informed and post hero pics.

Mike


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Hawkeye] #209798 12/22/2020 4:16 PM
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Willicd76 Offline
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Can?t wait for the pics Dave.

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Willicd76] #209801 12/22/2020 8:29 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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shot a doe with my longbow last night to fill my archery tag. brown it's down during late season to fill the freezer. these deer were really spooky and she jumped the string. she was on the way out when the arrow caught up with her. hit her quartering away gut and liver with very little blood on about 35 yards follow-up last night. decided to let her have some time to die. Took up the trail with my lovely and dedicated wife Dawn this morning after sunup. The blood trail was sparse to say the least and by the grace of God alone we would find it again 20-30 yards later. .85 miles according to my phone later still warm and untouched by coyotes I thanked God for the recovery and the freezer filler. Backstraps for supper! smoked to medium rare deer roast for Christmas Eve sandwiches.

Holding out for a nice buck till end of season with my 375 Win Contender. If not another doe will fill the tag.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209802 12/22/2020 8:32 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Good Luck putting them on the ground Mike.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209803 12/22/2020 8:52 PM
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karl Offline
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Congratulations! That's a long trail.

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: karl] #209805 12/23/2020 1:22 AM
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REDHAWK1954 Offline
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Congrats


Michael Joe Moore
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: REDHAWK1954] #209807 12/23/2020 4:25 AM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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yep like a 1000 yards to far for sure. I would rather see them tip over but that crappy hit made it impossible. persistence pays off. I was taught by an old mentor of mine to never give up on a track if you had a blood trail. even if they were 20 yards apart. this guy was a local deer hunting legend and was the guy everyone who hit a deer and couldn't find it would call. he found deer that others gave up on. I have seen some pretty good trackers in my travels and he was one of the best.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209953 12/31/2020 3:07 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Buck Down!
Very happy to get a two year old 8 pointer yesterday afternoon about 5 minutes before end of shooting light. I hadn't seen a deer from my stand sites for two days after a blizzard dumped 4" of snow on us. temps ranged from 0-20 degrees but the wind between 20-40mph made it brutal. This kind of weather make hunting a lesson in survival. the few deer I did see while scouting and in my travels were feeding in picked bean fields. That was my clue to figure out where I could hunt near beans. I hunt public hunting and those of you that do the same know the frustration of public hunting and the hunting pressure that it bring into your hunt planning.
I finally figured out a place that looked like no other hunters had been there since the blizzard and about 1/2 mile in was a hayfield with ravines on both side and a privately owned bean field on the south end of it.
I picked a location in the fence line in front of some scrub brush and settled in on my three legged chair with a pair of shooting sticks.
The wind was WNW at 20 gusting to 30mph and I was facing straight north unprotected by any wind breaks. BRRR!
Of course the buck didn't come out till 5 minutes before the end of shooting light but that was enough to still see in the open setting of the hayfield edge. He was walking towards the beanfield on my tracks in the snow while i was getting ready for a shot. The classic "mat" sound stopped him facing me slight quartering. The shot broke clean and felt good but the fireball from the muzzle brake kept me from seeing the deer's reaction but I didn"t hear the meat report either.
The buck ran south to the field where he went out of sight. A short 100 yard walk found the buck laying about 10 yards into the field. Praise God! I had to walk back to the truck to get my phone that I forgot to call my son Brad to come and help.
He arrived and the fist bumps and congrats were plentiful. It's nice to have a young strong son who will still help Dad. we gutted him and with a little digging Brad found the jacket to the 200 grain fp bullet. We traced the rest of the bullet's path and could see it entered into the right ham but no exit hole out the hide.
While Quartering and boning him out so he wouldn't freeze solid over night, Brad traced down the lead core just inside the right ham under the membrane before it was going to leave the hide.
I weighed the bullet core and jacket after cleaning it up of all the goo and it shed 2 grains of weight from 200 to 198. I told Brad that it was hard to believe that it retained so much of the weight with core separation. we actually weighed it twice and then weighed a new bullet just to make sure. Yep 2 grains of bullet loss. Other than the core separation the bullet performed fantastic. held its weight and continued to penetrate deep and straight. This is the only bullet I have recovered so it is a one time evaluation of the bullet, however on the other 4 animals that I shot with it, all hogs, I have yet to recover a bullet. I guess I will have to keep killing with it to get more results.

Can someone transfer the photos to the post for Me?


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209955 12/31/2020 5:07 PM
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Last edited by jamesfromjersey; 12/31/2020 5:09 PM.

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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: jamesfromjersey] #209956 12/31/2020 5:45 PM
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junebug Offline
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Well done!


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: junebug] #209958 12/31/2020 8:50 PM
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Nice Buck.


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Sawfish] #209960 12/31/2020 11:21 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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thanks James for putting the photos in the post!


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209961 01/01/2021 12:10 AM
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Brenden Offline
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Good shooting and a nice buck. Congratulations!

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Brenden] #209963 01/01/2021 1:00 AM
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Ernie Offline
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Excellent!
Way to be smart and willing to suffer to get that buck!


Ernie the Un-Tactical
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Ernie] #209967 01/01/2021 2:01 PM
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Bob Roach Offline
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Hunting when it is cold with a hard wind is brutal. I am glad it all worked out to a successful conclusion.
We managed to recover one of my cast 310 grain 44's from a 135 yard deer my brother harvested a few years ago. Every other handgun deer we have had a pass through on.
Great write-up on your adventure, and a nice deer for the freezer.

Bob R


See You At The Range
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209971 01/01/2021 7:31 PM
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jamesfromjersey Offline
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 Originally Posted By: gunslingerdad
thanks James for putting the photos in the post!

Your photos deserve to be seen.... You hangunned a fine buck Dave


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Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Brenden] #209975 01/01/2021 9:25 PM
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Willicd76 Offline
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Great shooting as always Dave.

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Willicd76] #209984 01/02/2021 2:06 AM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Thank you Guys, as always the feedback from fellow handgun hunters means more than guys that don't.

Chuck I will see you in 14 days or so for some hog hunting. do you want me to bring you anything down. I am bringing my savage striker to have you install a brake on it.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #209993 01/02/2021 5:03 PM
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Chance Weldon Offline
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Great buck!


Formerly TN Lone Wolf

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." - J.K. Rowling
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Chance Weldon] #210004 01/03/2021 5:05 AM
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popo Offline
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Nice deer and congrats.

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: jamesfromjersey] #210008 01/03/2021 2:34 PM
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Zee Offline
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Well done!


"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Zee] #210088 01/11/2021 2:30 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Another handgun deer, photo posted on the bragging board, this one shot by my lovely wife Dawn. I was on a protection detail this last week and Dawn and my son Brad were still grinding out the last few opportunities to fill tags during our late season. She was able to shoot this button buck at about 15 yards with her Ruger gp-100 357mag with a Burris FF3. This is her second deer with a handgun in three years. freezer fillers are the main goal this time of year as a lot of hunting pressure on our public hunting makes deer sightings during hunting hours rare. As we are found of saying in our house "Any deer is a good deer".
Very proud of her for sticking with it with the short gun.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #210092 01/11/2021 4:32 PM
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junebug Offline
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Congratulations to your wife are also in order. A big well done to her!


junebug
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #210093 01/11/2021 5:19 PM
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karl Offline
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Congratulations to your wife! Nice to have some meet in the freezer.

Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: karl] #210098 01/12/2021 12:04 AM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Thanks, grilled up some backstraps tonight for supper. Once again, that is the reason that we hunt.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: gunslingerdad] #210107 01/12/2021 4:36 AM
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Chance Weldon Offline
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Congrats! I just put a tenderloin on the grill tonight, too. Had a new recipe to try.


Formerly TN Lone Wolf

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." - J.K. Rowling
Re: my deer season starts tomorrow [Re: Chance Weldon] #210118 01/12/2021 8:19 PM
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gunslingerdad Offline OP
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Thank you sir for adding the photo. I appreciate it.
Hard to beat backstraps as long as they are slightly seasoned and grilled to a medium rare. Served hot or cold for leftovers it doesn't matter.


still Dave Thomas, just an alias so the gov't dont find me
;\)

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