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Thread: smoke deer season

  1. #1
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    Default smoke deer season

    Toted my old .45 TC Hawken I got used when I was 16 this season a good bit. Was the stuff in the 80s. Have toted it a couple times in the past few seasons but haven't killed a deer with it in 20 years or more.
    I yanked the trigger on my first attempted shot early during primitive season and just clipped hair on a small bucks back at 20 yards. Then hammered this young doe a day later at 35 yards.

    It brought back a lot of excitement so I did a refinish on the gun, nixed the crappy sling and replaced the ramrod with a new wooden one. Id seen the burned/scorched style ramrods on other sites and did mine the same.


    Then November rolled around and I managed a couple decent bucks.



    A late December doe


    Recovered maxi balls, one from buck and two out of ground after pass throughs.




    Did euros with the bucks


    Toted a couple other rifles a few times too.

    Worship the LORD, not HIS creation.

    "No self respecting turkey hunter would pay $5 for a call that makes a good sound when he can buy a custom call for $80 and get the same sound."-NWiles

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    Very cool!

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    Good stuff, T
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    Very nice.
    When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. -Tecumseh-

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  5. #5
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    That’s cool, great expansion on those maxi balls, looks like it retained most of its weight too

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    That’s all kinds of cool. When I was a kid I read a book series titled, Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen. It was about a boy whose family settled out West, and he was given a .45 Hawkens rifle for his birthday one year. I must have read those books a hundred times.

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    Quote Originally Posted by wskinner View Post
    That’s all kinds of cool. When I was a kid I read a book series titled, Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen. It was about a boy whose family settled out West, and he was given a .45 Hawkens rifle for his birthday one year. I must have read those books a hundred times.
    Great books, I had the whole series
    Houndsmen are born, not made

    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    I STAND WITH DUCK CUTTER!
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    Very cool
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    So you managed to find the balls after pass throughs?

    Wow!

    Enjoying your thread...

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    What’s the range on those ?
    .
    80-20 Genaration

  11. #11
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    Fine job, Spur. Good to see you enjoyed your season.
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    Thanks. I've never shot a deer with it past 40 yards. Longest shot this year was 35 and I didn't find that slug. The gun will group 2" consistently at 40 yards. 245 grain maxi ball with 70 grains of Pyrodex RS. I'd expect it would kill to 100 yds but best 5 shot group I could manage at 40 yds this year with my old eyes was about 3.5". The slugs I got out of the ground from those deer were on close shots. Found them about 4" in the dirt after finding a thumb size fresh hole in the ground and used a green stick to poke around till it flipped out. Not as difficult to find as you would imagine provided you paid attention to where the deer was at the shot. I failed to mention I had to do some work on the lock and that was a good learning experience. Bridle plate screws had loosened and caused flier to experience undue wear which leads to inconsistent half cock position on gun. Common issue with TCs I found. No damage to tumbler or sear thankfully as it wasn't that far gone yet. Found a new one on ebay, a little lock tight on screws and good as new. FWIW, I'd have given my left nut to have killed those bucks with that smoke pole back when I got that gun.
    Worship the LORD, not HIS creation.

    "No self respecting turkey hunter would pay $5 for a call that makes a good sound when he can buy a custom call for $80 and get the same sound."-NWiles

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    Do you deer hunt with Mr Donnie? Or near him?
    I am a nobody, that met somebody, that can save anybody.

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    If it's the Donnie I know, no but wish I could. Have hunted a few times with him though. I worked with him 20+ years and credit him for much of much of what I've learned about deer. Spent aplenty of lunch breaks drawing out maps of sign I'd found and him dissecting it all to help it make sense. He's taken a lot of P&Y SC bucks. A good a hearted and generous man as I've ever known. Would listen with genuine interest to someone tell a hunting story about killing a fork horn and never let on with an inkling of what he's done.

    More than you asked for but there it is.
    Worship the LORD, not HIS creation.

    "No self respecting turkey hunter would pay $5 for a call that makes a good sound when he can buy a custom call for $80 and get the same sound."-NWiles

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spur hunter View Post
    If it's the Donnie I know, no but wish I could. Have hunted a few times with him though. I worked with him 20+ years and credit him for much of much of what I've learned about deer. Spent aplenty of lunch breaks drawing out maps of sign I'd found and him dissecting it all to help it make sense. He's taken a lot of P&Y SC bucks. A good a hearted and generous man as I've ever known. Would listen with genuine interest to someone tell a hunting story about killing a fork horn and never let on with an inkling of what he's done.

    More than you asked for but there it is.
    Thats him. He is a great fella. Did he ever retire or is he still working?
    I am a nobody, that met somebody, that can save anybody.

  16. #16
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    Man that is awesome! Glad you had a good season with it.

    I have a .54 Renegade from that time period that I’ve pulled out a few times over the years to smoke a few. I got it shooting PRBs over 85grn of FFG with pillow ticking but the 1:48 twist is really meant for a maxi ball or other conical. A hunting buddy made the comment one time after shooting it that it was the only weapon that could kill a deer, cut a tree down and spray for mosquitos in a single shot!

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    Quote Originally Posted by quack head 11 View Post
    Thats him. He is a great fella. Did he ever retire or is he still working?
    Still working but hear he may retire this spring. 72
    Worship the LORD, not HIS creation.

    "No self respecting turkey hunter would pay $5 for a call that makes a good sound when he can buy a custom call for $80 and get the same sound."-NWiles

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by MC View Post
    Man that is awesome! Glad you had a good season with it.

    I have a .54 Renegade from that time period that I’ve pulled out a few times over the years to smoke a few. I got it shooting PRBs over 85grn of FFG with pillow ticking but the 1:48 twist is really meant for a maxi ball or other conical. A hunting buddy made the comment one time after shooting it that it was the only weapon that could kill a deer, cut a tree down and spray for mosquitos in a single shot!
    Renegade is a good one too and a .54 PRB is quite a slug as well. A .45 PRB is a 110gr and ends up like a nickle under the opposite side skin on a deer. Makes blood trailing tricky. That's why I shoot the maxi balls but my gun has the twist for it.
    Worship the LORD, not HIS creation.

    "No self respecting turkey hunter would pay $5 for a call that makes a good sound when he can buy a custom call for $80 and get the same sound."-NWiles

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