Flintlock Doe

[Darkhorse]

I shot this doe yesterday morning at 9 AM, I got home after dark. Yes there is a story here and I'll try to get it written down, sometime? We finally finished all the repairs on the house so things finally got back to normal. A little late in some cases, such as checking out my rifle and clearing shooting lanes at my stands. But I did manage to set up a new ground blind made of old privacy fence panels then brushed in with natural vegatation. I shot the doe from my shooting house down in the woods, I saw 8 deer including a good buck who didn't present a shot. But I had decided to harvest some venison early so it would'nt interfere with hunting for a good buck. So when this mature doe gave me a shot, I took it.
Yes, I did make a bad shot on her, but I was persistant on the trail and after 2 or 3 hours I found her.
I shot her with a .54 flintlock I built some 20 years ago, 80 grains of 3fg, .530 patched round ball.

 

[Nicodemus]

Congratulations! Mighty nice rifle and accoutrements too.

 

[trad bow]

Nice doe. Beautiful rifle. Congratulations on both.

 

[NCHillbilly]

A fine doe, and a beautiful rifle, too.

 

[fishfryer]

That's the way to do it.

 

[leoparddog]

Congratulations DarkHorse!

 

[Darkhorse]

Sometime before last deer season I drilled out my peep because the hole was too small and it was hard to make out what and where I was shooting. I didn't take any special care with my setup and when I drilled it I felt like it was off. That stuck in my mind.
Before I could do a good bench session Hurricane Micheal hit us dead center and did some damage, so I only had time for a quick shot or two. These shots were a little high and left but close enough for 50 yards. Or so I thought. Wednsday morning I did a good bench session and indeed the rifle was shooting left and high. The farther the target was, the higher and more to the left the shots impacted. In this case the target was 75 or so yards away in the morning shadowed forest and the shots hit way left and high. In fact the shot hit just below the spine and to the left. Why it didn't knock her down I don't know.
The body had to fill with blood for any to spill out.
So I fixed the windage but had to wait on the elevation. Instead I reduced the powder charge. 70 grains puts me dead center. 75 grains puts me just above the bull.
So that's why I made a bad shot. My fault all the way.

I made that powderhorn in 1976. I went down to the local butcher and he gave me a set of cattle horns. Those were all the horns he had.
The bag I bought from October Country. It was purchased to be a dedicated bag for the .54, I think they no longer offer it though.

 

[toolmkr20]

Congrats.

 

[Steve-ALA]

Way to go. Great deer and a beautiful proper muzzleloader. The locks even on the correct side.....

 

[Darkhorse]

The sights on my rifle were off. I resighted the next day at 60 yards. The deer was farther away than that so they impacted more to the left and higher.

 

[the Lackster]

Awesome deer congratulations