Shot a doe Saturday...

[Joe Demko]

This week is Pennsylvania's early muzzleloader season for antlerless deer. In-lines are legal, unlike the later flintlock-only muzzleloader season.

I was using a Traditions in-line that takes the shotgun primers. The load was two Hodgdon Triple 7 pellets under a Thompson Center Maxi-Hunter 50 caliber 350 grain hollow point.

I shot the deer, which was facing directly towards me at a range of about 40 yards. The bullet entered at the base of the neck, penetrated the entire length of the body, and lodged under the hide in right rear leg near the ****. I recovered it during skinning. It showed a little deformation, but nothing that could be described as expansion.

This is the first deer I've ever taken with this type of gun. Other than the lack of a second shot, it was no different from hunting with a modern cartridge-bearing rifle, especially since this particular rifle wears a 4x scope. Certainly, it was radically unlike the flintlock hunting that I have associated with muzzleloaders to this point.

 

[Cougfan2]

Modern in-line BP rifles are every bit as accurate and effective as my 30-30 out to 100 yds. Happy Hunting!

 

[Joe Demko]

I'm done until buck season. I had only one antlerless tag. During buck season, I'll be using my Savage Model 99. I love that gun and look forward to taking to the woods with it each year.

 

[Cougfan2]

During buck season, I'll be using my Savage Model 99. I love that gun and look forward to taking to the woods with it each year.

A true classic! .300 Savage by any chance?

 

[Joe Demko]

You bet. The .300 Savage works beautifully on PA whitetails. I've never had to shoot a deer twice with it, nor track one. I'd be willing to hunt most anything there is to hunt in the continental US with it, though one would want to get close and carefully place the shot on the larger critters. Still, if it's been killed with a .308, it can be killed with the .300 Savage.

I'm attached to this particular rifle for several reason, the most important of which is that it was a gift from my father who knew that I had always wanted one.

 

[countertop]

Our Muzzleloader (well, Maryland's where I have an out of state license) opens up Thursday.

Hopefully I'll get one too.

 

[Bartkowski]

Are the deer where you shot it in PA having problems with some virus? In the south west part of the state, maybe more, the deer are dying from some disease that is said to be harmless to people. Just wondering, because I have been hesitant to take anything till the first frost.

 

[countertop]

that would be Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease.

Apparently it runs through deer every few years. I've heard two theories, one is that its related to the drought and the other is that it runs through the herd about every 7-8 years (about the time it takes for the entire herd to turn over) and that the deer who live through that year are disease resistant and it takes another 7-8 years for the virus to mutate.

I've heard a lot about it, but haven't seen any sick deer yet. I think its a bigger problem in the southeast.

 

[Bartkowski]

In greene county, near where my relatives live, they have been pulling a few deer out of a small lake everyone other week or so.

 

[Joe Demko]

The deer in the area where I shot it aren't known to have epizootic hemorrhagic disease.