OK guys I'm back from the sixteenth annual handgun hunt at White Oak Plantation. Now as it turned out I wasn't able to get myself back. Matt and my oldest son Bob had to come down and bring me back last night. more on that later.
The hunt was held at White Oak Plantation near Tuskegee in Macon County Alabama December 8-11. This is a hunt where several manufacturers invite a few magazine writers to come down and several hunters get to join in each year for a get together for deer hunting and fellowship. The manufacturer's represented this year (I hope I don't leave out any) were:
Freedom Arms, Thompson Center, Mag-na-port, Winchester ammunition, Recon and Sure Fire.
Bob Baker of Freedom Arms was there and gave away a beautiful FA83 in .50 Wyoming that had been further enhanced by Mag-na-port and was scoped with a Bushnell 2-6 Elite donated by Bushnell.
TC was represented by Ernie French as well as Ken French and his charming wife Pam. They donated an stainless Encore handgun in 7-08 with fluted, some custom scroll work and a TC scope.
Kenny Kelly of Mag-na-port was there with a Ruger Super Black Hawk given the full Predator Deluxe customization package plus a few other options that made it special for this hunt.
This one was won by me. Dick Williams represented Sure Fire and gave away a new camo version of their flashlight to all participants.
Mickey Stokes represented Recon Outdoors.
The event began with most of us arriving Friday morning. After getting checked in and getting our room assignments we met out front and began getting acquainted. Then it was off to the range to check the zero on our guns and in a few cases to sight in guns that were to be used for the hunt.
Our first hunt was the afternoon of December 8. I was put in a shooting house over looking a green field. I hear some shooting going on around me at various times. We had spooked off a young deer that was feeding in the field when we arrived. About 4:45 PM with darkness closing in fast a doe fed out into the field. I watched her awhile to be REAL sure it was in fact a doe.
NOTE: shooting a button buck thinking it a doe carries a $200 fine and shooting a buck with less than 8 points or less than 16" spread carries a $500 fine at White Oak so you wanna be REAL sure what you're shooting when you pull the trigger. Having satisfied myself it was definitely a legal doe I took the shot at 50 yards using a SS G2 frame mounted with a 7-30 Waters barrel. The shot was taken as the doe fed directly toward me thru the neck into the chest. She folded to the shot and never even quivered.
That evening I think a total of three does were taken by folks on our hunt and one was wounded and not found. It was later determined the shot had gone low as white hair and a bit of tallow was found but little blood. The decision was made that deer wouldn't die of its wounds.
Saturday morning I was taken to a ground blind over looking a rather large field with a pond behind me a couple hundred yards. I did see a couple of does cross the field at least 300-400 yards out from me but saw nothing more. OK I did see some ducks that flew down to the pond. I belive I recall one doe was shot by one of the hunters during this morning session. Some folks saw deer but over all it was agreed this was a really slow session.
Saturday afternoon again saw me in an elevated shooting house. This time I was right off the edge of a nice pond and the green field was a huge one. I saw only one deer and while I was quite sure it was a legal doe the light was fading and it was 150 yards away. The shot was broadside and wouldn't have been that difficult but the thought of the fines IF it wasn't a doe kept me from shooting.
Dan Johnson a semi regular poster here at GBO and staff writer for Petersen's magazines shot a doe that evening at a lazered 289 yards using a G2 with 6.8 Remington using a V-Max bullet. They weren't able to locate it in the evening but went back next morning and found it with no trouble. I think at least one other was shot that evening and not recovered even after a follow up the next morning.
Sunday morning I was again in a elevated shooting house. This time I had low lying thick woods behind me that reminded me of land near a pond even tho I saw noting to indicate such a pond was back there. Out to my front, left and right were long narrow shooting lanes. I saw a deer early on the lane to my left coming right toward me. I never really saw antlers on the head but am almost certain this was a yearling spike, the kind that costs you $500 if you mistake it for a doe. Before it came close enough to be 100% certain in the early morning low light it moved to its right and into the woods. It then spooked at something and ran across that shooting lane back into woods and blew at me awhile. IT then cross the lane in front of me and then the one to my right. I never did seen any antlers on the head but am still convinced it was a yound spike.
I later saw two more deer cross my lane to my right at about 100 yards. The first was across too fast for me to see what it was for sure but both appeared to be fawns of the year. The second one I was able to see better and I'm sure it was a button buck aka $200 fine. I didn't shoot at any of the three.
Now comes the bad part of the hunt I said I'd get back to later.
The morning had been a fairly mild one compared to the much colder previous mornings. I had too many clothes on really. When I got into the truck for the ride back to the lodge I didn't remove them at first as it was expected to be a short ride. It turned out to be a LOT longer than expected as we had to get three other hunters who had been placed much further from the lodge than I was.
I got over heated and began to get really sick. The world was spinning on me and my head was throbbing. It was one of the worst dizzy spells I've ever had. It was BAD. Back at the lodge they had to almost tote me to the room. I got my boots off with help from Brian who'd been our guide for the morning and laid down. A couple hours later I was able to get up long enough to get to my medications for the condition and laid back down. I wasn't able to get up until about 6:00 PM. I had asked them to contact Matt to tell him I needed help getting home.
So when I woke about 6:00 PM I found that Matt and my oldest son Bob were on their way down to get me. Bob had to go into work last night so he drove straight on to work from there. Matt drove my truck with me in the passenger seat and then unloaded all my gear when we got here. He then had to take it to his house as I was in no shape to drive it back from there.
My day ended then a bit before midnight last night when I finally got in my own bed, still a bit woozy but a lot better than I had been. I slept until noon today and am still a bit unsteady even today.
I did manage to make it down to the meeting hall last evening for the big give away of prizes. I was very unsteady and my head throbbed but I was able to sit thru it.
The prizes were give out by first having one of the industry reps or a magazine writer draw a name from the hat. Only us hunters had names in the hat. I think there were nine of us but am a bit uncertain as I said I was really woozy. My name was drawn third from last and was pulled out by magazine writer and long time GBO member Dan Johnson. I then was allowed to draw a number from yet another hat and I drew out the number 3. We then went over to the prizes to see what we'd won. Natually all hunters won prizes but there were only three BIG ones.
I woke a Ruger Super Blackhawk given the full Mag-na-port Pedator Deluxe package plus a few extras just for this hunt. It will be shipped out to my locall FFL guy when Kenny Kelly gets it back home since I had not made any arrangements in advance to have an FFL there on file in advance. I'll get photos of it on here once it makes it's way to me.
A good time was had by all present. I got to meet both Bob Baker of Freedom Arms and Dan Johnson of Petersen's magazines. These are folks I've corresponded with via phone and the internet for years but had never before met in person.
List of names of the folks at the hunt curtesy of John Anderson Editor of Varmint Hunter Magazine.
John Anderson
Bob Baker
Fred Burson
Mark Chesnut
John Cotter
Ernie French
Ken and Pam French
Bill Graham
Dan Johnson
Kenny Kelly
Patrick Kyle
Joe La Rock
Michael Mazzatta
Fred Ray
Dave Robinson
Russell Smith
Mickey Stokes
Dick Williams
