The Savage roared today

[simonkenton]

 I had decided not to hunt this year, with my broken knee I can barely walk. I just got off crutches 3 weeks ago.
But, I saw an 8 pointer at the bottom of the driveway yesterday, on my way into town. I thought, "It could be deer season. Hmmm...."
I drove right to the feed and seed store, and asked if it was deer season. He said, "Yes, it lasts until Dec 8."
I bought a license for $30, and went back to shoot that buck. But when I got back it was gone.
So, I decided to hunt today anyway. My permanent tree stand is only 100 yards from the house, any further, no way I could walk that far.
Also no way to get into the stand. I can walk, but not well.
So I put a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket at the bottom of the tree, and covered it with a black T shirt, and sat on a folded up towel on the bucket.
I have a Savage muzzleloader, shooting smokeless powder.
In a half hour, up came a big 8 pointer. I shot him right in the lungs, and he ran 100 yards down the mountain. Very thick brush up here.
I went down to check him out, I saw that it was the biggest deer I have ever shot, and I have shot over 75. I asked myself, What do I do now? No way I could get that deer out, up the steep, brushy mountainside. Hell I couldn't even get a fawn out, with my knee. I gutted the deer and took the heart and liver back for the dogs and cats, boy do they love venison!
Thank God, my neighbor was home, and a guy was helping him work on his house. He is a big deer hunter, gets several every year up in Buffalo, and one or two here in North Carolina.
When Frank saw my buck he was insistent that I mount the head. I told him that I don't want to do that, I offered the head to Frank but he didn't want it. It has an inside spread of 14 inches. It isn't the biggest deer in the world, but it is damn big to me.
Took Frank and Paul 30 minutes to haul that deer up that mountain, they had to stop and rest 6 times.
Field dressed at 150 pounds.
I skinned the deer and quartered it this afternoon. My knee is screaming at me, I will need some gin and tonic therapy tonight for the football game.
I put all the meat in a giant cooler. I put 5 pounds of ice on the bottom, add a bunch of meat, add five more pounds of ice, etc, total 20 pounds of ice. Then I mix a whole cardboard 2 pound can of salt in water, and cover the meat with the salt water. I leave that cooler on the porch, and can cut steaks in 3 or 4 days, or more, when it is convenient.
The hams are just enormous, look like they are from an elk. I bet they are 20 pounds each, huge backstraps, and nice inside straps, too.

I got off easy on the deer hunting this year:
Preseason scouting: O minutes
Stand prep: 1 minute, to put black t shirt on orange bucket
Rifle range work: 5 minutes, three practice shots from porch yesterday
Driving time to lease: 0 minutes, but five minutes gimp-walk to stand
Time sitting in stand: 32 minutes

Sorry I can't post photos from my camera. I spent three hours loading photos of deer skins several months ago, only half of the photos popped up on Photobucket, I mean, only one half of each photo popped up, go figure, and, it bogged down my computer big time. Frank took lots of photos, maybe he can put them on the computer.

[smokepolehall]

Congrats on getting yer Buck.

[AndyHass]

Congrats, from my understanding that sounds like a pretty big buck for North Carolina. 

Good eatin!

[Redhawk1]

Way to go, I know how you feel when you got an injury. I had two shoulder surgeries in a row and I had to use a crossbow for bow season.

[simonkenton]

Andy it actually was a 339 yard shot, 3 feet longer than yours!
Just kidding. I own 49 acres of NC mountaintop wilderness, and the farthest shot is 70 yards, where that stand is, and that is because I spent hours, two years ago with a chain saw, clearing shooting lanes. Very thick brush up here.
I wouldn't take a shot at over 200 if I were offered one, because that is the farthest I have fired my rifle. I do get 3 inch groups at that range but the slug is really starting to drop fast at that distance.
It is a big deer by the Southeast standards. Most of the deer I killed were in central Georgia. The typical deer was a 90 pound field dressed spike. Small deer with small racks down here. At least, in Georgia, there were lots of deer, and you could shoot 9 a year, which I did.
Up here, very very few deer, I have killed 3 in 11 years.
I do have a clear view of a meadow, 500 yards away, across the French Broad River, every day a half dozen deer come out and graze there. It is owned by a rich guy from Miami who doesn't allow hunting.
All I need is a Barrett .50 with a 500 yard zero. Drop the deer, then I need a boat to cross the river, climb 1/4 mile up the steep  mountainside to the meadow....
Maybe not.