To all,

THe general big game season here in Montana just wrapped up and it was good for many and not so good for some. Last fall I had a good year as it was the first fall I used nothing but handguns to fill my big game tags. I have used handguns for years but at least one big game animal was harvested with a rifle.

This fall, I was able to do a belly crawl for 200 yards in 12" of snow down a steep hill to get a good shot on a large mule doe for the freezer. The range was relatively short, about 130 yards but it was a great stalk and the weather made it even better. She took a 180 gr Ballistic Tip though the lungs from the 338 WSM and dropped in her tracks.

That next week, I was hunting on some river bottom property for big whitetails and also had a whitetail doe tag. Nothing much moved all night and with about 30 minutes before dark, a large dry doe jumped the fence and stood quartering toward me at 90 yards.

I had my Encore in 50 A.E. with me on this hunt and she was loaded with a new load using the 440 gr Cast Performance bullet designed for the 500 S&W. It is loaded to an even 1500 fps which is a mild load but plenty for any critter on this half of the world. It also cuts very large cloverleafs at 50 yards.

Anyway, I got the big T/C lined up on the doe and settled the crosshairs on her onside shoulder joint. At the shot, she exploded in run and just as she hit the brush, I could clearly see a large red spot exactly where I had aimed.

I waited for 10 minutes and then picked up her trail. After about 70 yards I found her in a dry creek bed. After dressing her out, I still have no idea how I missed her shoulder. In fact, her shoulder bone had a lead smear on it. THe big 440 gr worked great as it virtually disintegrated her heart and obviously fully penetrated.

I usually harvest my bucks Thanksgiving weekend, at least for the last 8 years or so save last year. I take the day before and the day after off work and hunt from Tuesday night till sunday night for my buck( whitetails 99% of the time).

This year, I had several nice 4x4 bucks cross my path but none large enough to make me drop the hammer. One night, the wind was so bad, I decided there was no need to get up in my tree stand so I snuggled into some ground cover for the evening with my 338 WSM.

A storm was moving in and the deer were really moving. TO my right there were two nice deer running does in and out of the brush, one was a 120 class 4x4 and the other was a 130 class 4x5. Either would have been dead if I had gotten a shot at them in the brush, damn ground hunting.

Anyway, as I watched them, I noticed something move just to my left, I slowly turned my head and there stood a very heavy 4x4 that I guessed at 5 years old, well above my 4 year old requirement. The only problem was that his rack was very compact and his points were not all that long. He was extremely heavy though.

The buck stood exactly 8 yards in front of me. He was so close that blinking my eyes startled him to attention. The wind was perfect and even though he knew something was not right, he never winded me and after about 10 very tense minutes he turned away from me.

As he did I raised the big XP to his shoulder and jst set there with him dead to rights. being that I had four full days left to hunt, I opted to let him walk. He never left the area and gave me several other looks at his very heavy horns before it got dark.

On the way home I thought I may need kicking for letting that one walk and as it turned out, the weather got hot and windy and I did not see another good buck until I returned home sunday morning from the morning hunt and saw a nice 4x4 about 500 yards out behind the house dogging a doe.

THe buck was definately over my 4 year limit but I knew that this was not a shot for a handgun, simply because the buck was moving around so much.

I grabbed my 300 RUM in a M700 and let him have a 180 gr Ballistic Silvertip and my season was over.

I would have much preffered to take the heavy 4x4 with the handgun but you have to let the nice bucks walk to get the monsters, unfortunately, you seldon shoot the largest buck you see in a season.

This is one of the joys of hunting though. Just having the chance to have a face down with that fine buck at under 10 yards was worth all the cold mornings and nights.

Also, one night the lady landowner called saying she had a doe stuck in her fence and wondered if I could come and held. This lady is English and after 5 years of her getting to know my wife and myself, she decided to let us hunt on her property. We are the only ones at that that she allows to hunt as the English seldom look at hunting as a good thing until they see it done correctly.

I ran out the door with the wire cutters and arrived at her place as she meeted me at the gate. She was very upset and she took me to the doe which was so exhausted that her head was just laying on the ground with her hind end swinging in the barbed wire fence.

I approached her form behind and cut the wire that was holding her belly off the ground. As her hind legs landed on the ground, she stood on her front legs.

Then something happened that I as a sportsman, hunter and human will never forget. She simply turned her head and neck and rested her head on my knee. I was a little startled at first as I was expecting her to bolt but she just stood there resting against my leg. She even let me pet her neck for about 20 seconds with not even a twitch from her.

The wire was still under her belly and I wanted to see how much cutting it had done. The Colt was on my hip just in case I had to put her down because of wire cuts and I would have used my whitetail doe tag on her is I had to but this was a rescue misson at least I was hoping.

I gently grabbed the wire and pulled it away from her belly. As the wire cleared, the doe bolted away to join here fawn about 75 yards away. As she ran away, I could easily see that here belly was not bloodied at all and only here rear was scratched up with no danger really to her health.

When I turned around, the lady asked why I did not shoot her since she knew I had a doe tag to fill.

My comment to her is one I'm sure all of us feel to be true. I said, my job as a sprotsman is to protect the game I hunt whenever I can, in whatever means I can. Had it been a huge buck I would have done the same thing, watched run away if it was healthy enough to do so.

From the reaction in her fae, I know we as hunters have one very strong supporter in that lady and I was lucky for the opportunity to help that doe and our sport.

All in all, I did not shoot a huge buck, in fact, it was relatively small for the class of bucks I have taken over the last 10 years or so, but this may have been my best season yet as a hunter and I am greatful for that.

Ther may be those out there thinking "what a sissy", but there are also alot of hunters out there that know exactly what I mean.

Anyway, lets here the hunting stories, preferably handgun stories but any will be interesting to read.

Good Hunting and Shooting!!!

50

Mine was.... rainy. And when not raining, hot! NY deer in late November don't want to move much when it's 60� out.
Where I am, when you SEE deer, it was a good year. I guess it was a good year. I saw a few, and passed up an easy shot on one. Also bagged a coyote in the mix. Good friend shot his first deer, which was also his first game taken of any type. So I guess it was a really good year of sorts.

my deer hunt only lasted 10min into legal shooting hours got a 180lb 8point with a encore chambered in 257jdj with 120gr gamekings only went about 10-15 yards. it was i think in the 40's that early and a light mist. ive only used handgun for many years since shotgun is my only other choice besides black powder.i did get black powder so may try it in late season for a doe. jason

Fifty & bigbore50ak,
Congrats on your hunt! I filled my tag on my cow elk (earlier post) and Kansas' season opened yesterday. Went out this morning and had a shot at a doe at distances between 220 & 250 yards over 15 minute period and passed on her hoping she will come out again when my daughter is with me. Being seated with a rest it would have been an easy shot with the Patriot XP, but it was just as enjoyable to just watch her feed. Good luck to the rest of you who are still hunting.
Ernie

congrats. on a great season. NM and Ky were a sucess. your whitetail hunting sounds pretty good up there. The story on dealing with the landowner was great.
tc

50, that's a heck of a story!! You know-- i betcha you'll be able to hunt that woman's property for the rest of your life-- even if she buys a condo in the city-- HA,Ha!

[ 12-07-2003, 10:39: Message edited by: sscoyote ]

sscoyote,

Best and worst thing about that ladies land is that its the hardest ground to hunt I have ever had the chance to hunt. The brush is extremely thick and even in a tree stand, your range of view is less then 20 yards.

The best thing about it is that a rifle is actually a disadvantage because the action is so close. This is a perfect spot for traditional handgun hunting.

There have been dozens of times I have seen mature bucks crusing through the brush only to catch a glimpse of their horn and then they are gone.

It is truely a challange to get a mature buck off that land.

Hopefully you are right about being able to hunt there always, it is a great challange. Nothing quite like having a trophy big game animal step out of the brush 10 yards from you, and usually behind you I have found.

Great fun.

Good Shooting!!!

50