justice4all
Member
I thought I'd let you all know how my season went, attach a photo, and review some of the gear I used.
Opening day was miserable, as it was cold, rainy, and so foggy you couldn't see more than 20 yards. I was in my new Skybox Deluxe ladder stand, 20 feet up, but rock-solid and comfortable behind the shooting rail. A couple of does came by, but I only had a buck tag, and the unit we hunt is three points or better on a side.
Tuesday was a little better; the fog had lifted, but otherwise the weather was the same. I was back in my stand, when this 8 point came trotting past my stand. He was to my left, giving me a nice broadside shot when I first saw him, but as I raised my rifle he turned directly toward me, and exposed nothing but his head and chest for me to shoot at. I quickly found him in my Leupold 2.5X scout scope. At that pont he was about 30 yards away, and I put a 160 grain Hornady Leverevolution 30-30 round from my Marlin 336 right in the middle of his brisket. He went maybe ten yards in the opposite direction, before dying within seconds.
I recovered a nicely mushroomed and largely intact bullet from near his hindquarters.
All in all, I am very pleased with the performance of the stand, the scope and XS mounting system, the rifle, and the round. I'm not a big fan of the PA antler restrictions because we don't shoot as many deer as we used to, but I have to admit, the ones we do kill are usually pretty nice.
Opening day was miserable, as it was cold, rainy, and so foggy you couldn't see more than 20 yards. I was in my new Skybox Deluxe ladder stand, 20 feet up, but rock-solid and comfortable behind the shooting rail. A couple of does came by, but I only had a buck tag, and the unit we hunt is three points or better on a side.
Tuesday was a little better; the fog had lifted, but otherwise the weather was the same. I was back in my stand, when this 8 point came trotting past my stand. He was to my left, giving me a nice broadside shot when I first saw him, but as I raised my rifle he turned directly toward me, and exposed nothing but his head and chest for me to shoot at. I quickly found him in my Leupold 2.5X scout scope. At that pont he was about 30 yards away, and I put a 160 grain Hornady Leverevolution 30-30 round from my Marlin 336 right in the middle of his brisket. He went maybe ten yards in the opposite direction, before dying within seconds.
I recovered a nicely mushroomed and largely intact bullet from near his hindquarters.
All in all, I am very pleased with the performance of the stand, the scope and XS mounting system, the rifle, and the round. I'm not a big fan of the PA antler restrictions because we don't shoot as many deer as we used to, but I have to admit, the ones we do kill are usually pretty nice.