Early flintlock doe pa

[bigben]

So one of my favorite seasons is the flintlock and muzzleloader seasons pa has.  A few years back when I got married my inlaws and wife gave me a gag gift of a tc renegade.  Anyone that has watched jeremiah johnson knows the story of bear claw chris lapp trading a squaw for a hawken gun.  So she figured if she gave me one id never trade her in.  With that rifle I actually harvested two doe both in the early season.  The year before we got married my grandfather in law passed from cancer.  Gram gave away all his guns to the grandchildren two years later.  There was a lone renegade tc flint lock in the safe at the end and I said I will take it if no one else wanted it.  Gram said take it and use it pap would like that.  So i figured they really didn't want me to trade in my wife.  LOL. 

Earlier this summer I wanted to get it ready to shoot in sidelocker events here in pa.  My first renegade has a peep sight on it and that is illegal for most events.  SO i wanted to refinish this one in a faux curly maple finish and put a full buckhorn sight on it.  I got that done earlier this summer and shot it in.  It surprised me that it shot minute of deer right out of the gate.  I never messed with the sights as I knew it was on enough.  Even out to 100 yards the ball landed within a desert plate which is good enough for irons off a bench. 

So most of the week I had seen deer but not close enough for a shot.  I had kinda given up hope and that my chance had passed but still chose to hunt the rest of the week with the flintlock.  Saturday morn I decided to hunt our north mountain cabin property.  This is the same property I hunted the squirrels on the other week.  Very steep rocky terrain.  Friday evening I sat in the same hollow I killed my 6th squirrel and didn't see any deer while sitting that evening ,but on my way back I had a group of three eating grass in our cabin shooting range.  I figured there were deer around id just hunt it sat morn at least and then maybe hunt behind the house in the evening. 

Saturday morn I got to the cabin before daylight.  I was in no hurry to get up the mountain as it seems that it takes the deer a few hours to get up on the steep from the low laying fields.  I drank some coffee and got my gear transferred from my haversack to my backpack.  I started up the mountain clippers in hand as it was daylight enough to see but not to shoot yet.  I figured id take my time going up clearing the one trail of green briar and brush. 

I got to the area I wanted to hunt which was steep rocky terrain.  I worked my way across and realized this was kinda dumb on my part.  The area is tough hunting and I figured i wouldn't see any deer anyhow.  I dropped down on a slow angle to the logging road that was below me and I wanted to work out towards where I used to hunt all the time.  A few weeks prior i was out there hunting skwirl and had not seen much in the way of deer sign.  but I figure id clear it anyhow.  I did notice this time that yearly deer trails were now opening up where weeks prior they were unused 

I got out to my rock that I usually sit on around 9 am.  I sat down and drank some coffee and ate some cookies.  It was warm out.  warm enough I was wearing a light flannel and sweat soaked my kromer.  The area had grown up since years ago when I hunted it regularly.  Right in front of me a large tree top fell and needs cut apart to see below me.  I didnt bring the right tools for that.  I stayed seated however. 

9:45 rolled around i had finished my coffee and cookies.  I pulled out my phone checking a few things and i happened to see a ear flip over my right hand down the mountain.  around 80 yards away stood a deer.  I slowly put down my phone and fished my binos out of my backpack.  I looked down and seen 3 deer working their way towards me.  Two smallish doe and a medium one.  I figured a mom and this years fawns. 

The one fawn worked its way up to me eating green briar.  after a while it looked like mom was getting worried and hurried her pace.  At this point the lead doe was beside me on the logging path about 8 yards to my right.  The larger was about 15 yards below me working her way up.  When she got behind a tree I made a move to get my gun up and lined up on the path she was on.  Set trigger pulled and waiting.  She stopped 10 yards away reached out and nipped off some green briar. 

The bead settled behind her shoulder and boom it happened so quick and organically I had not even realized I had pulled the trigger.  Immediately her legs went wobbly.  She stumbled a few yards forward and collapsed.  I Stood up and reloaded.  When i did that she got her legs under her enough to then collapse again and slide another 30 yards down the mountain.  She slid out of sight.  I heard leaves move here and there I gave it 10 minutes just to see what would happen. 

I walked over to where she was standing and found blood immediately.  I followed the trail to were she collapsed the first time.  Then it was easy to follow from there on as the slide went right to where she rested against a tree. The blood trail was pretty decent, actually amazing for a patched round ball.  Probably the shortest track job i have had for a flintlock kill lately. 

After some pictures I gutted her and started the drag 300 yards down through the green briar instead of the 10 or so yards up to the old logging path.  I learned real quick I'm not built for dragging deer through the mountain like that no more and was happy she wasn't a large doe. 

I feel blessed to even have the opportunity and health to hunt the mountain and i should get in better shape to continue to do it for the years to come.  For the rest of the weekend I was licking my wounds and popping green briar out of my arms. 

[bigben]

blood trail was great like i said.

[remrogers]

Congratulations!!

My first flintlock deer was a fork fork horn mule deer, taken NW of Fort Collins, Colorado. I was at the top of a steep gully that the deer had pushed up and had a lot of time to get ready. When he stopped broadside at sixty yards, I was able to drop him with a round, 50 caliber ball. Never seen a deer with so many ticks. Must have been forty or fifty of the blood suckers on him, but he tasted good.

[nastygunz]

Neat gun, great story!. I had a friend who used to buy storage lockers give me a beautiful hawken rifle that he found in one of the units.

[Hawks Feather]

I just came back to your post and realized that my comment didn't stick because the internet went down this morning. 😔  Anyway, congratulations on a nice deer that will be great eating. But MUCH more than that, thanks for a really nice write up on your hunting experience. It made me feel like I was right there.

[bigben]

It felt good to get back up and hunting on the mountain.  In the past years I have tried to get up and hunt the old stomping grounds but typically favor easier traveling down in the valley.  I was thinking about when the last deer I had shot up there was and it had to be the first year we were together and that was in 2016.  It was a small barely legal 5 pt that I tried to get my wife on but she wasn't ready to take what was a rushed shot in her opinion.  She much prefers her shooting hut overlooking the food plot to the mountains we hunted when I was a kid. 
When we move back over home it will be easier to hunt the mountain property.  Its not really bad area to hunt.  Just not as good for numbers as down in the lowlands.  Hard to compete for food with hay, beans, and corn compared to sparse oak and some green briar.  Most of the mast in our are is hickory but I noticed a good many oaks this year in the areas that showed deer sign.  And of course areas that once were open now are thick with grapevines and green briar. 

[FinsnFur]

Flint Lock Dude
I was done when it got to the dragging part. I woulda just ate it there 
Thanks for the read 

[bigben]

yea that would have been a lot to eat.  LOL.  A bud has been pushing me to start field quartering them and carrying them out that way.  I thought about it with this doe but I thought to myself its only a 300 yard drag.  I see how that turned out. 

[Okanagan]

Really enjoyed the read.  Thank you for posting it.

[Hawks Feather]

Back in the day, I loved shooting black powder and going to the national muzzleloading shoots in Friendship. (Not to shoot, but to have a good time.) I could never get over my flinch when I tried shooting a flintlock. My story is that my reactions were too quick 🙄 and when I saw the flash in the pan I reacted. So I have always limited myself to percussion.

[bigben]

Back in the day, I loved shooting black powder and going to the national muzzleloading shoots in Friendship. (Not to shoot, but to have a good time.) I could never get over my flinch when I tried shooting a flintlock. My story is that my reactions were too quick 🙄 and when I saw the flash in the pan I reacted. So I have always limited myself to percussion.

Theres a fella by the name of joel turner that has a whole system to get over it.  I have to deal with it for shooting a bow.  Mostly known as target panic.  but he calls it preignition movements.  The basic jist of it is your body will brace for any explosion to save it from potential danger.  Shooting a gun or shooting a bow falls into that category.  The whole premise on his course is to trick your mind into showing it that it will be ok and not dangerous to your health. 

its funny you see slomo video and pictures of people shooting flintlocks and pretty much every time they have their eyes closed before the pan even goes off.  its just something you need to train yourself not to do. 

[Hawks Feather]

With practice there are probably many things that can be overcome. For me, it was just easier to go percussion. But it is good to know about the Turner system in case I can help someone else.

[bigben]

well the book is cheaper then the course.  Shot IQ is the course.  amazon had the book last time I looked.  its only really 30 couple pages.  but its pretty simple.  just the mind makes it an issue

[Todd Rahm]

It's a pretty smoke pole!! I really enjoy your projects and the post you do!!! Thanks.