I tried something new this year. I bought a muzzleloader deer tag because I liked the late muzzleloader season offered in my area.
I settled for mostly blind hunting due to an injury and making it easier to take my son out. I spent a lot of half days (some mornings and some evenings) freezing in the blind without much opportunity. Despite seeing bigger bucks on trail camera I couldn't for the life of me cross paths with one where and when I could legally shoot it. I decided I'd be willing to take a smaller buck provided I could do it with my pistol. The season ends in a few days which helped the decision.
Yesterday I finally got my chance and bagged a spike. It was a first of a few types. First deer from a blind, first with a muzzleloader and first with a handgun. He was certainly no trophy buck like I'd hoped for but I'll remember the hunt for a long time!
Shot at about 18 yards with a CVA Optima V1 pistol shooting a patched roundball over 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. (I know this load doesn't take advantage of the gun's capabilities but regs limited me to open sights and I had a rifle for longer shots.) It resulted in a pass through that broke one shoulder and clobbered the heart. I was impressed by the efficacy of the patched roundball.
I settled for mostly blind hunting due to an injury and making it easier to take my son out. I spent a lot of half days (some mornings and some evenings) freezing in the blind without much opportunity. Despite seeing bigger bucks on trail camera I couldn't for the life of me cross paths with one where and when I could legally shoot it. I decided I'd be willing to take a smaller buck provided I could do it with my pistol. The season ends in a few days which helped the decision.
Yesterday I finally got my chance and bagged a spike. It was a first of a few types. First deer from a blind, first with a muzzleloader and first with a handgun. He was certainly no trophy buck like I'd hoped for but I'll remember the hunt for a long time!
Shot at about 18 yards with a CVA Optima V1 pistol shooting a patched roundball over 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. (I know this load doesn't take advantage of the gun's capabilities but regs limited me to open sights and I had a rifle for longer shots.) It resulted in a pass through that broke one shoulder and clobbered the heart. I was impressed by the efficacy of the patched roundball.
