Muzzle Loading Day 3 - 16 DEC

We decided to try something different this morning since our normal hunting routines are not being all too successful.  I picked up Davey at 7:30 am and we headed for the golf course.  It was brutally cold.  It was 17 F outside with a 5 mph wind, making it feel like it was 11.  And once the wind picked up, it felt even colder than that.

Davey walked down Hole #1 and across to #4 to try and get out of the wind.  I walked down Hole #18, down #14, and then into #15's bowl.  Our objective was to get some meat for the freezer without freezing ourselves.  We stayed out for 1 hour and 45 minutes, and that was about 1 hour and 45 minutes too long.  We saw nothing but a fox.  And we are not allowed to take a shot at Ken's foxes.

Fox tracks, squirrel tracks, and human tracks crossing the bridge on
Hole #15 at Deer Track on 16 DEC 2016


My view looking back W down in the bowl on Hole #15


We left the course and drove into Frankfort to have breakfast at Hoops restaurant.  Then we took a break.  I picked Dave back up at 4 pm and we drove to Marshall's South Farm.  And as we pulled in, there were 6 deer feeding in the swamp, about 500 yards away.  We sat in the truck and drank a beer making up a plan on how to get us one or two.

We finally made a plan for me to try and sneak up on them using the terrain as a buffer.  Dave would sit at the square woods and keep me informed of what the deer were doing.  That was good in theory.  I crept E and then S toward the deer.  I made it to about 150 yards, on top a hill.  I took a knee and shot - Swing and a Miss.

Two deer ran off, and as I was reloading, 5 more ran past.  Then, two more came out and stopped at 200 yards.  I am zeroed at 100 yards, but I figure if I hold high, I am more than capable of making that an ethical shot with a 50 caliber muzzle loading using 150 grains of powder.  Well, I missed again.

So 9 deer run through the swamp to the S.  And a coyote runs NW toward Davey.  It circled me and stopped broadside at 100 yards.  I fired for the third time in 3 minutes.  Strike 3, I'm out.

Now there is No Way I am that bad of a shot.  Something is up.  We drove down to make sure that there was no blood - and there was not.  All clean misses.  And then we checked on the coyote.  We followed his tracks to where he stopped and then when he took off running.  My shot went directly UNDER his body - between the front and back legs.

I guess I need to check my zero.  Hopefully it is off a little bit, or I really am a poor shot.  Hey, we tried and we had a lot of fun doing it - we just did not get any deer.

The torn up ground where my bullet hit directly under the coy dog.

Rain, sleet, snow, and freezing rain are predicted for overnight.  I plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning.  Might get out tomorrow night.  Only two more days left this year!



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