Big Ole KY doe down with smokepole!

[skoger]

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I hunted a field this morning till 8:45, nothing. I loaded up and went over to a ridge where I had been seeing some does overlooking Lake Cumbeland here in KY, 3-4 same place, every morning 9-9:30 am, bow hunting. The ridge is flat on top, blacktop road, full of mega houses from Ohio folks, some retired here. I have permission to hunt all the areas, seems deer love them expensive shrubs and flowers. I pulled up in a drive way, and got my gear, had my rifle laying across my left arm, walking out on a big ledge, where I could look down about 12 feet lower, was a shelf runs for 1/2 mile, just below the road, and houses, and after that shelf, straight down, about 380yds to the lake, nearly vertical. Deer burn this up, so 3 days ago, I put out a 2 gallon bucket of shelled corn there for the little darlings. I had taken about 10 steps when I stepped on a stick and I immediately heard noise, stopped with my rifle up, and right out from underneath me comes 3 big fat does, they look around, don't see me and keep going towards the corn. I make a "maah" doe bleat, and the big one turns a little, quartering away but shoulder is broadside. I put the crosshair, on the edge of the shoulder, and dropped the hammer. Of course hunting with real black powder, smoke went everywhere, but I saw her drop over the bluff and thought hoo boy! I reloaded, went to where I last saw her, and there was lung blood everywhere. I dropped on down the bank, blood waist high, both sides, pieces of lung, kept going, 200yds later, still a ton of blood, Stevie Wonder could follow this. Then no blood, no deer. I make 50yd loop, nothing, just some leaves. Then I spy a speck of white hair, she had slid down a natural rock chute drain, pushing leaves and had slid in under them when she stopped. I give her a couple of more kicks, and she slides another 30 yds eacht time. I keep dragging, another 150yds to the bottom of the bluff. I gut her, then drag her about 130yds to the lake. I call a buddy, Dale Rose and he brings his boat down, and comes and picks me and the deer up. I weighed her on hanging scales before cutting her up, completely gutted, she weighed just under 130#, had fat 1 inch thick over her whole body. I have her all worked up, all the good cuts are salted down, curing, the other 8 quart bags are for BBQ, stew etc, about #25, gonna donate them to a family I know having it rough, a bunch of kids, good Christian folks. I am currently using a TC Omega, .50, with 95grs of 2FFG, Harvester crush rib sabot/260grain copper jacketed ballistic tip. I have a 3x9Burris, with ballistic has marks, rifle is zeroed 3" high at 100 with crosshair, dead on about 150, 180-220 I use the first has mark down, dead on. This made me 8 deer with this rifle, in 5 years, have taken the time to shoot it on paper at long ranges, know the ranges where I hunt, and this bullet is just devastating. Never have recovered one, open up an penetrate to hell an back. I shot competition on a local, state and national level for several years, used a traditional ML, TC Renegade for my first 43 BP whitetails her in KY and TN. Just thought I would share!

[skoger]

I can send a pic to a smart phone, if someone would post for me!

[tufrthnails]

Congrats! Great story. Heading to the woods this weekend but we are still in General Gun down here in Florida. Deer, Hog, Yote I am not picky I just need to bag something I got a decent 8 Pt in Henderson County KY back in Nov, but havn't gotten anything here in Florida. But this is also only the 3rd trip to the woods all season.

[skoger]

Henderson has a lot more deer than we do here, but we have some hosscats', every year Wayne county, has 5 or 6 deer, 170-190 inches killed. Our bear population is coming on, buddy of mine killed a #250, I processed it and he gave me half the meat, all the fat to render down. The meat tastes a lot like black angus beef. I killed #300 blackie in Maine last year, good eating too. Another guy local killed on that went #400!

[tufrthnails]

That is very cool. We have been hearing rumors a black bear hunting season my open in the future. Numbers are getting pretty high especially in northern Florida and the ocala national forest. I see lots and lots of tracks and sign there. We have had a few come through destroying feeders and such in Steinhatchee on the leases.