Black Powder Hunting 2008...

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Hobby Climber

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For the past 12 years (this year being the 12th), I've been going Black Powder hunting for deer. Its near the town of West Lorne along the shores of Lake Erie, about 2hrs from my home.

Haven't always gone for the full week of the hunt but I have managed to harvest 7 deer it the past 11 years.

The first deer I shot was the largest so far. It tipped the scale just over 254lbs and had 10 points on its head gear! This deer bolted out of the heavy bush and ran accross a field. At 64yrds out, it winded me and slowed down enough for me to make the shot. It happened so fast the I didn't have time to develop, "Buck Feaver"...(get the shakes).

The rifle used was a Thompson Center Hawken percussion cap using a maxi hunter projectile w/100gr of ffg black powder. All I saw after I pulled the trigger was the deer junp with an arched back and a lot of smoke!!!

Once the smoke cleared, I viewed this deer with my binoculars and waited for the doggers to finish pushing the bush in case more ran out of the bush. I reloaded quickly but no more deer came out.

From that point on, I was hooked on black powder hunting and have been attending this area ever since with the same good people who fist invited me.


This year the weather dosn't look very good but were gonna give it a shot just the same. You just never know what the deer will be doing.

The deer are smart, in some cases if you don't see the deer, they will just stay sitting there as you walk by them! Usually they just fun far ahead of the doggers and try to circle back around them to avoid leaving the bush.

I'm so looking forward to this comming week. I don't hang around with the guys in the group doring the year so it kinda a mini reunion each season.

I'll likely go up very early Monday morning to set up but once I'm back the following weekend, I'll let you guys know if we filled any of our tags.

If I remember to bring my camera, I'll try to remember to take some pic!


Below is a pic of one of the gals who now hunts with us holding her first Buck she shot earlier that day. Her husban got her into hunting and this was her first year. Enjoy


Later,


HC
 

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A black powder gun has just as much punch as a high powered modern rifle -----but you only have one shot ,usually . To me it's much more sporting to get within say a hundred yards than to sit back at 4-500 with an 8 power scope on a bench with a 7mm mag .
 
Well, you could always try to rope the deer, like the other guy did. That'd tip the scales a bit.:lol:
 
Where I used to hunt the country was pretty open for the most part. Getting within 200 yards was a rarity.
 
We had a guy here take a deer with a spear. He was a doctor, and he just hung out in the tree until the deer came under him.
 
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  • #8
I saw a show once shere they filmed a fellow spearing a black bear. Cool concept but looked a little in humane for my tast.

*
I now own an in-line CVA Optima Pro 50cal that shoots a sabot at around 2000 fps using Tripple Seven Magnum pellets. This no longer gives the deer a sporting chance!

Now I don't have an issue using this BP-rifle to filling the freezer but I do miss the traditional side of the sport. Thats why I want to go fully traditional and buy a Flintlock muzzle loader! Toying around with getting a Thompson Center Flintlock "build it yourself" kit gun for starters. Not that impressed with the fit & finish of the store bought ready made guns! Haven't decided yet!

How cool would that be to take a deer with a Flintlock! Snap, woosh, wait for it...wait for it............BOOOM!!! Cough, cough, choke! ;)


***
If anyone has a "Flintlock" kicking around they no longer need or want, I'd be very interested $$$! Feel free to PM me & we'll go from there!

BTW, there is NO legal issues with me beinging a Flintlock rifle accross the border from Michigan USA into Ontario Canada and they don't have to be registered over here either!

Hammer/Percussion-Cap guns do but NOT Flintlocks, they are exempt!!!

All I would have to do is declair it at the Canadian Customs and maybe pay a little duty, thats all!
***


One more day and I'll be bush bound for bamby! 8)



HC
 
Bob, the extreme lock time on a flinter happens with poorly designed pans or bad prep of the touchhole, Really they should only be fractionally slower than a caplock....Way cool old technology.
 
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  • #10
Bob, Way cool old technology.
__________________________________________________


Yes they are cool!!!


I've owned a few flinters over the years but have never really been hapy with the the fit & finish of some of the pan & lock designs.

There use to be a place in Midland Michigan called "Ye Old Black Powder Shop" that sold everything you needed to make your own gun..."Lock, Stock & Barrel.! Hence the term,;)! They are now out of buisness. :cry:

I'm the type of guy who will go to a gun shop and ask to see a few different rifles and start to shoulder them. Could care less about the price tag or the name or any other sales BS. I'm looking to see how it fits me when I shoulder it with my eyes closed. When I open my eyes, I expect to see a good lined up site picture. If not I'll give it back to the sales guy because it dosen't fit me.

Hope that makes sence.

There are a few places that will still build you a custom gun to your specs but I'm not comfortable paying that kinda money up front site unseen!

About the best flinter I've owned was a Harpers Ferry 58cal. Loved this rifle but hated the hammer part. Looked like it went with a different lock. Was a medium size pan wich I liked and was able to clover leaf at 50 yards with it.

Should have keept it but I traded it along with one of my bows for a Scott Freighter Cannoe I needed for moose hunting.

Peter Soli(sp) is one of the few gun makers that make a fairly decent commercial BP guns. Picked up one of their 12ga. SxS percussion shot guns. Very nice.

I switch out the No.#11 size nipples for the larger musket cap nipples to get better ignition. Never had a miss fire since, what a differance!


So, who here is a traditional black powder shooter???

If ya never fired a muzzle loader before...don't be afraid...once you go black (powder that is), ya never go back! :P

:thumb:


HC
 
Bob, I have a traditional caplock and a couple of cap and ball revolvers.-No Flintlock. I never got heavily into BP because I love archery... and you have to choose in CO -you can't really hunt both. (Stupid rules-I CAN bowhunt during a firearms season if I draw a tag or use a muzzleloader but if I draw a ML tag I can't use a bow--even though ML season happens in the middle of the Archery season.
 
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  • #12
That sucks Justin!



In Ontario, BP season is every other week starting the first full week of November. This giving you 4 seperat week long hunts.

Bow season starts Oct.01 until Dec.31 with the exception of the 4 one week long of BP olny huts.

BTW, the BP olny weeks I mentioned are a "Controlled Hunt" and different from the regular deer hunts. You must apply in a lottory but everyone get a tag because there are to many deer in these (controlled hunt) areas.

In Ontario, when you buy a deer licence, your only allowed to harvest a buck unless you apply to get an antlerless tag by lottory. You must specify when you apply for your antlerless application what you will be useing, bow, rifle BP.

What ever season (bow,gun,BP) you applied for is the only one you can take a antlerless deer in. If you fill your tag, your done for the year unless you buy another tag (if available).

Say you were sucsesfull in getting an antlerless deer tag for bow season and you didn't get anything. You can still be used this licence in rifle season but now you can only shoot a buck with it. You cannot hunt in the controlled hunt unless youve applied for the validation tag to hunt this BP only (spacific week) season.

There are more confusing rules that go along with all this but you get the idea. Its not all that bad and give a hunter ample opportunity to hunt using their prefered weapon of choice!

HC
 
We have a 16.5 day BP season, same as the rifle, but about 2 weeks later. I shoot a 45 cal. Pennsylvania style flintlock, with a 40", 7/8 octagonal barrel, that I built from a Dixie Gun Works kit out of Union City TN. My first shot of the year is always my best, since I have forgotten about the flash in the pan right in front of the face. After that I occasionally flinch pretty good. Haven't got anything with it yet, but I keep trying.
 
In Ohio the tag is good for any type hunting ,archery comes in first followed by shotgun . During shotgun you can use a black powder firearm .Last of the year usually after 1 Jan is primative ,you can use anything ,bow,crossbow ,blackpowder or a Louisville slugger if you like .

I can't hit lake Erie from a rowboat with a bow and never could do real well with a shotgun shooting punkin balls but did pretty good with the old 58 cal Zoave .Replica of the Remingtom US model 1842 I believe . That thing will knock down a moose and to think during the cival war they shot each other with those blunderbusts .:O
 
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  • #15
A good friend of mine had a Zoauve once. I have to tell ya, this big chunk of wood and metal is every bit as accurat and a lot of modern rifles with open sites.

We melted lead & made our own conical rounds.

Your right about this thing taking out a moose, Bullwinkle would never stand a chance once hit with a 58cal 500+gr of lead!!!



*** I'm leaving to go hunting in the morning. Was gonna take off at 4am but an urgent matter came up! My youngest daughter requested I stand with here at the road as she waits for her school bus. She says this way it would be one less day she would miss when I'm gone.

Of course I agreed, how could I say no to that logic!!! :love:


This will likely be my last post until I get back next weekend.


Till then,


HC
 
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  • #18
OK, First off let me say that the following pic are of dead deer so...NWS?


I'm home from deer hunting, we got 11 deer hanging and I shot 3 of them
!
I saw 26 deer this week, missed one and took 3, (party hunting).

Saw 8 Turkeys and 2 massive buck throughout the week that would not offer anyone a decent shot,:X.


*
The first one I shot was running out of a sun-flower field and was double lung shot while bounding before it reached the bush. (Small Doe, 101-lbs).

The second deer I shot was shot came right to me. There were two running in the gully to Mike & I but one spotted us and and ran east. The other larger doe was still running at us & jumped the fence 35 yards in front of me. It stopped dead, spun around 180 and jumped back over the fence. I shot it in mid air in the rear right leg and it expired 60 yards back in the gully. (Big Doe, 170-lbs).

The third deer I shot was running through the bush we were pushing. I cought some movement about 120 yards ahead of me. It stoped for a moment and darted for the sun-flower field then stoped broadside to to me about 100 yards up. One shot through both lungs & top of the heart dropped it within 20 yards from where it was hit. (Small button buck, 92-lbs).

*

There was a light dusting of snow on the ground On opening day but we got hit with 5-6 inches of snow on Thursday. The wind was blowing so hard that none of us ventured outside to look for deer that day, to friggin cold!!!

The snow was a good thing becasue for the rest of the week you could see the deer better in the bush with their brown coats against the white snow!!! Hard to believe there is that much snow only 2 hrs north from the Detroit-Windsor Border in Ontario.

Out of 14 hunters this year, we were able to harvest 11 deer. This season everyone hunted hard and as a team and all had a good time with lots of memories to bring home... and of course, a few that will have to stay at deer camp!


The last picture is of my pal Dennis with a respectable 10 point buck he took with his Great Plains 45cal caplock BP rifle. Its weight was 176-lbs on the hoof. This buck also won him the pot for shooting the largest deer of the week. He beat by only 6-lbs., the luckey bugger!

BTW, at the start of the hunt, everyone kicked in $5 into a pot & who ever shoots the largets deer by weight, (on the hoof) wins the pot. Also, for each shot taken at a deer & missed, its an additional $2 owed to the pot for the guy who pulled the trigger. There was a lot of shooting at running deer so by the end of the hunt, the pot was between $150 - $160.
Congrats Dennis,:).



Enjoy the pic below,;).

HC
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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
Almost forgot...


Jeff,
I have a few nice tri-color bucks tails for you to tie some flys with!

HC
 
Congrats Bob. Is party hunting legal there? I think most people in the U.S just assume that it is not.-though it is still common. CO specifically forbids it.... But back when I was in Botswana it was specifically accommodated in the law-who did the shooting did not matter provided the license holder was present.
 
Sounds like the 'party hunting is forbidden' law would be mighty tough to enforce unless the game warden was standing there watching you pull the trigger. :/:
 
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  • #22
Party hunting is allowed in Ontario.


There are rules you must follow though:
-Must be able to communicate with each other, everyone must have the proper licence, someone (in the field) must have an unused tag on their person etc etc.

Keep in mind that this was a ``Controlled`` deer hunt using Black Powder guns only! Other hunts have different rules.

In 1997, when I first started hunting with black powder guns, everyone used a traditional muzzle loader with side hammer. Now 75% of the guys I hunt with have switched to the new In-line rifles, (myself included).

The difference between the old style percussion guns & the new in-lines is night & day. Almost seems unfair to the deer when using in-lines IMHO!

Next year what I`m thinking of doing is going back to a traditional muzzle loader, this time using a Flintlock!!! (Snap,Flash,Boom). Oh Yeah,:D!

But next year is a full year away so plenty of time to find a flinter until then!

*


So who else went (or is going) hunting this year,

...lets see some of your Pics!!! ;)


HC
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Party hunting --My dad started hunting in Colorado in 1962 .The very first year he met a guy that lived near Lyman Colorado which is prarie desert ,about like western Kansas .He made the trip every year to Wolcott with an old stock truck and a Sharps 50-95 buffalo gun ,meat hunter .

The season was 2 weeks ,hunters choice two deer limit .Old Leon only went after big old muley timber bucks and 90 percent were head shots with that old cannon . Come saturday of the first week he tallied his take and went back to Lyman and rounded up enough licenses to fill the amount of deer .At that time every land owner got a free license issued by the state .

He came back ,loaded his deer on off he went .Those deer were his meat supply for the year .To be quite honest it was actually ours more or less also .I grew up eating venison .
 
Party hunting not allowed here. You may have people help you but if they are carrying a gun, they are supposed to have a license and a tag. Most landowners will insist on this because they don't want any trouble with the game warden. I haven't hunted in years, this BP thing sounds pretty cool.
 
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