Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Hunting 2012-2013

Tony, you don't have to track them far when you hit 'em like this:
(.50 Savage Muzzleloader)


Or this: (she was facing me at about 20 yds, she folded straight down) Both deer were taken 20 minutes apart.

Yep, that do look permanent!

And mushrooms sprkplug

And shup is your gun off that much at 20 yrds to shoot both deer in the neck

Nah, it's actually pretty accurate. First one was at 20 yds, It looks like a neck shot, but the bullet entered below the spine/neck junction and made a mess of the lungs, ending up somewhere on the far side of the diaphram. Her legs folded up and she went straight down. The 2nd one busted me at about the same distance and I couldn't get a shot. It didn't seem really spooked, it just didn't like something. I had a grunt call, so I grunted a few times, and it circled around, coming back for a look, but a LOT more cautious. It stopped behind a tree at about 80 yds, and sorta of peered around it. All I could see was it's left shoulder and it's neck/head. Thanks to Todd, I got a Primos trigger stick (bipod style) and that really helps steady the gun when I'm standing.

From a bench, it's shot groups that were in the 1/4" high x 5/8" wide range @ 100 Yds if I concentrate. .50 cal Savage Muzzleloader, 43.5g IMR-4759, MMP Short black sabot, 250g SST or T/C Shockwave, CCI 209M Primer. Right around 2300 fps MV.

The .45 cal Savage (a rebarreled .50 cal) is shooting about the same accuracy, but a LOT flatter since it's shooting a 195g Barnes "X" bullet at around 2900+ fps. 68.0g H-4198, Harvestor Blue sabot, same CCI primer.

Sad day for me earlier this week...the close of the 2012 MN bow hunting season. It was a good year for my little piece of land. We never put a big boy on the ground but saw a couple of dandies both on stand and on the cameras. After years of timber improvements, tree plantings, and food plots, it looks like it's starting to work. Can't wait for the ground to thaw and spring planting!

As a side note...I wont miss those minus degree days in the tree.

A friend and I limited on Gadwalls in 45 minutes Tuesday morning. We both shot pretty good, averaging 50% on shells shot vs. ducks in the bag. 12 birds

Scott,

I started a good average with my new Browning Maxus. Pulled the trigger 4 times and 4 geese have dropped. Buddies are waiting to give me a hard time when I finally miss with it, which will happen. They are going to have to wait for next season since the goose season went out a couple of days ago in Northern IL. Unless the snow geese come back north pass the farm and we give them ago.

Saw a bunch of snows down in Arkansas near Stuttgart, AR on the way here. Couple of thousand in the field and wave upon wave of geese in the sky winging towards them.

I'll be getting back home right before the Nusance Canada Goose season opens. Hoping to whack and stack 'em.

We had some of the Gadwalls for dinner tonight. The recipe will be in the next issue of Pond Boss. It'll work with any duck, and it's really, really easy to make.

Recipe doesn't include the old joke about "cook in brandy - throw out the duck and drink the gravy"?
Just kidding Scott - see 'ya in a few days!!
G/

Or smoke with hickory throw out the duck and chew on the wood lol

Actually they were really, really good. Not as good as the duck dinner that I had at San Remo Restaurant in Sulphur Springs on Wed night, but durn close!

George just reminded me of that joke I heard it this past season about deer loin.. Still kinda gets a chuckle outta me one because people have no idea how good wild game can be.. Also when I bring it into work the guys who don't like are lined up at the tables like they haven't ate in weeks..

Esshup, Had a guy bring in some duck to work a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was duck but know one else in our costruction trailer knew. We told them it was Filet Mignon and everyone thought it to be true based on the taste. Mind you this was reheated duck. Matter of fact we had a hard time cinvincing them it "was" duck. I took some home that night cause we were butchering a deer that evening and I told those guys the same. Anyhow best duck Ive ever had. And too easy.

R&R, post the recipe if you can. I'd like to try it.

I can tell you a similar story about my dad eating Muskrat meatloaf.....

I had to read that just when getting breakfast ready.

I had too read that twice.. That sounds disgusting and ill have to take your word on the taste..

Long story short after eating it he didn't know the difference between that and beef hamburger.

I couldn't bring myself to eat Rat especially a giant rat.. Now if I was tricked I could prolly eat most things on earth but mentally I'm limited lol..

When it comes to eating wild game, you've got your glamour animals....deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, various fowl.....then you have those animals that don't quite measure up to the romantic, urbanized idea of "eating off the land":

Muskrat, raccoon, young possums, suckers and carp, turtles......my grand parents didn't bother trying to differentiate, it was food and that's all that mattered. As a boy I ate most of it too. By the time I was old enough to believe I should care about such things, times weren't as harsh as they once were, and life was different. But I still have a few family members who continue the practice, and although my grandparents are long gone, their 9 children get together once a year to remember those days by preparing a wild game "feast".....and while I never cared for everything on the menu, some of the more unusual items are pretty doggone tasty.

My dad grew up eating all that stuff.. It must not of been prepared well because he says it wasn't too good.. He still eats more squirrel and rabbit than anyone I've ever met lol..

esshup, I meant it when I said easy. Basically cut it into about 1" cubes hit it with a Jaccard soak it in buttermilk for about 4 hours. put it on a skewer with a chunk of bacon in between each piece liberally coat with some Cavenders seasoning grill just enough to where the bacon is edible and thats it. Delicious.

Shot this Saturday morning, actually trying to call up coyotes. Got it at about 100 yards, 110 gn V-Max bullet, entry wound tiny and no exit, 6.8 SPC. I love hunting surprises!

Deer season ended Sunday with me killing nothing. However, 5 bucks were taken on my land by 14 year olds. Heck, that's OK. The kids had a ball. Funny, we saw very few does.

Two of the deer were big, older, spikes. The others were misshaped, but still legal, 5 to 7 points. I'm glad that they are out of the gene pool.

In Texas, a buck has to be either a spike or a minimum of 13 inches wide between the antlers.