This past year has been a write off for me and hunting... I passed on a Texas bobcat/javalina hunt in March cause of the virus... I passed on Kral`s Maine black bear hunt that I had a feeling would be successful, and it was, but thank God and cfish for a North Carolina doe.. So last month I took a ride to my friends ranch in Tioga, Pennsylvania to see if I could correctly place a bullet.... Tuesday had me riding in a 4-wheeler over a large area and seeing plently of animals including boar, fallow, sika, huge non-typical whitetail, red stag, bison and elk but nothing seemed to get my blood moving so we called it a day... Next morning had the guide and I walking to another section of the ranch cause the all terrain was being worked on. This area is much more uneven with large hilltops and flats throughout.... As I made my way through a tall grass section.... what jumps up from his bed but a pretty big buck. One look at his rack was all that was needed to pull my Freedom 41 from its chest holster. It was automatic.. He ran a bit and stopped seemingly undecided whether to climb the hill or not so I backed up against a large tree to break up my outline when this big deer slowly makes his way in my direction. Up came the scoped 41 into a stiff isosceles position when the deer noticed my movement and stopped about 40 yards in a straight face on position.. With the hammer cocked I tried to slow the tiny circles the crosshair was making and slowly SQUEEZED the trigger.. John Taffin`s handload of a case full of AA#9 sent the 210gr XTP out the muzzle at 1700+FPS to hit the buck hard... Real hard.. His front legs lifted slightly while his momentum sent him crashing to the ground... After a second or two he struggled to gain his footing so I drew my iron sight FA`s 44 and sent a 250gr Partition through both lungs... It took a moment to take in the size of his rack to realize this was truly a once in a lifetime whitetail.... Yes... I paid for this but no more then what I would have paid for a Texas ranch whitetail minus the airfare...PS- I give HIGH marks to the 210 XTP bullet that penetrated a little over three feet of deer yet retained much of its weight and expanded perfectly.... *** Added a pic of what a 250gr Partition does on a broadside double lung shot..

James, you scored on one fine trophy buck! Those antlers are what dreams are made of - congrats!

That's a real dandy!

Congratulations! What a buck!

What a stud of a deer!
Good for you on focusing on the fundamentals in a time of stress!
Very happy for you!

Holy cow! I mean buck! Congrats on a monster of a buck. I think I'm running that same load out of my FA in 41 mag, but not getting quite that velocity out of my 7 1/2 inch barrel.

Beautiful buck James!

That?s a Buck of a lifetime, congratulations James

That's a buck most folks can only dream about. CONGRATULATIONS on taking a monster. Looks like the good old XTP performed pretty flawlessly again.

Congrats James - great buck!

WOW just WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Huge congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Sir on a FINE buck and with a 41 magnum to boot!

That's a great Buck James!! nicely done on keeping it together in the heat of battle. Putting that bad boy on the wall will remind you of your hunt forever.
BTW, I am going to throw this out there - Who cares that you had to pay for the hunt.. Not everyone has property that they can hunt or has public hunting at their disposal. Hunt when you can and where you can. keep the fire burning and enjoy the hunt and the meat it provides.
Off my soapbox. Sorry for the rant.
Keep at it James , I love your adventures.

WOW!!! Well done!!!

That?s a big buck!

Congratulations James! That is a great deer! You are the MAN!

Many hunters would have blown a pop up opportunity like that, especially offhand with a scoped revolver. Way to go James on a lifetime buck.

Hey guys.... Thank you and thank you again...

Congratulation. Terrific Buck!

James,

You really set the bar high now...what next buddy! lol!

What a great trophy buck! Congratulations.

Gregg

Pretty sure I'd have passed out after seeing his antlers if I was in your boots! Absolutely fantastic buck!

Way to go Sir!

Nice job James, congratulations on an awesome buck.

Well done James!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats James.

That's a beast! Congrats!

I?m definitely not a fan of tall fences, BUT, that?s a beautiful deer.

That is one great buck!!! Congratulations.

Dang James, what a beauty. Congratulations my friend. Very happy for you.

That might indeed be the buck of a lifetime.

CONGRATULATIONS JAMES!!!

Good shooting J.J.

Congrats on a once in a lifetime buck.

Wow, congrats on an awesome buck. I love antlers with lots of junk.

CONGRATULATIONS!🎈🎉🎊🍾💯 OUTSTANDING BUCK!