Author Topic: Kansas Buck  (Read 1320 times)

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Offline Warhawk

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Kansas Buck
« on: January 03, 2010, 06:51:15 PM »
2009 Kansas Deer Hunt

I wanted to use a levergun this year, The Marlin 44 with the red dot sight was tempting, but the stainless guide gun got the nod.



Using a 45/70 meant that I wasn't going to be sitting on big open fields where I might see deer a long way off. Instead I picked the thickest cover on the property.

First day, I hadn't hunted here in 5 years, but hunted here every year of the 15 or so seasons before that.  My spot that I picked didn't look so hot in the daylight. It was so grown up that I couldn't see more than 30-40 feet in any direction. Then I spooked three deer while looking for a better spot and watched their white tails flagging off into the brush.

I found a better spot, I set up on one of the main funnels into the thicket. I had a shooting lane about 20 yards wide, some fairly open brush directly across from me, and trail behind me led into a big pasture. I made myself a kind of  a  ground blind inside a cedar tree, got setup with a comfortable chair and waited.

I saw two does that night, maybe the same one twice, I let them walk hoping a buck would be trailing behind. Went back the next morning and got settled about 6:45 (shooting time was 7:18). About 7:30 a coyote came by, spotted me in all my blaze orange glory and lit the afterburners to get out of there.  He came in from the one direction that had a clear view of my in my little "blind" and got very close before he spotted me, within 20 yards.

About 8:00 I saw some movement through the heavy brush about 100 yards out, I could see that it was a deer, but couldn't see any horns.  I watched that spot for a long time and decided that the deer had gone on, just then I saw more movement. This time it passed through a small opening and I could see horns, couldn't tell how big but I got ready to shoot.

When I finally got a good look, I could see that it was a nice buck, but I still didn't have a good look at him, and not much time either before he would get out of sight. There was still brush between us, but I picked out the lightest of it and when he passed behind it, I put the crosshairs on the point of his shoulder and fired.  He made a big jump with a front leg swinging, and I heard a big crash off to my left.

The brush turned out to be just a few feet in front of him, and I don't think I hit any of it anyway. I looked around for blood but never found a drop. So I decided to see if that crash I heard was him going down. It was, I found him about 30 yards into the thicket, where he had crashed into a thorn bush.

I hope to have a few more pics later, but here he is in the truck.





The ammo was the Hornady FTX load. The remains of the bullet were under the hide on the off side. I haven't weighed it yet, but it certainly doesn't weigh anywhere near 325 grains. It did the job on his lungs though, they were literally pulp. Nothing recognizable of his lungs at all.

Here are pics of the bullet core that was recovered from the deer.





You can see the entrance hole in one of the first pics I posted, right on the point of the shoulder.  The deer was about halfway quartering toward me, and the bullet was found under the hide over the ribs, about 2 inches forward from where the hide was cut for the cape.  Looks like it retained just over 50% of the original 325 grains.  I did not see any jacket fragments, but they are undoubtedly in there somewhere.

I was finally able to get the rest of the pics ... You can see how gray he was in the face. The "skinned" patch on his side is a mystery, the hair was on the thorn tree he crashed into so my guess is that he crashed into that tree just right to "skin" that patch of hair.




Offline Skunk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2010, 07:10:56 PM »
Warhawk,

Great report and pictures. Beautiful rack on that Buck. Big Congrats to you!!
Mike

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Offline Graybeard

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2010, 02:15:22 AM »
Nice buck and a good report. He prolly outscores my best. For sure a bit more mass and width but not quite the tine length I don't think. Still I'm pretty sure yours scores better. We just don't grow them as big here in Bama as you do out in KS.


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Offline Daman

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2010, 02:53:02 AM »
Greybeard

Where about's in Bama are you located?

Daman
Live simple. Hunt Hard. Love Life.

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Offline Graybeard

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2010, 03:21:12 AM »
Calhoun County. Closest town is Jacksonville but I'm about 7 miles outside of it.


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Offline Daman

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2010, 03:45:05 AM »
Okay. I am down in South Alabama in Washington County. I just didn't know of any other Alabama folks beside Geezer.

Daman
Live simple. Hunt Hard. Love Life.

I thank God everyday for my loving wife and all the fond memories of hunting with my Papa from a child until now.

Please take time to take a kid hunting, it will be a life long memory and blessing for both of you!

Offline Warhawk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2010, 05:41:10 AM »
Nice buck and a good report. He prolly outscores my best. For sure a bit more mass and width but not quite the tine length I don't think. Still I'm pretty sure yours scores better. We just don't grow them as big here in Bama as you do out in KS.

This is my best Kansas buck, from 2001, same place

Offline Graybeard

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2010, 10:49:52 AM »
Very nice, ya'll do grow them big out that way.

Daman, there are a lot of folks from Bama on here and in fact at least 8 to ten just from my local area alone that I'm aware of. For the most part the Bama folks aren't that heavy of posters and most don't post to the Alabama forum but on various other forums here.


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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline mirage1988

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2010, 11:47:55 AM »
Warhawk-
Nice deer!  That FTX is getting to be a popular bullet, that is the first one I have seen recovered from a deer though- did you hit the shoulder blade?
 I shoot the 325 grain FTX in my muzzleloader and I found two pieces of copper under the hide on the exit side of a good sized buck, but bullet exited. (golf ball size exit hole) Do you know how fast that bullet is going from your 45-70?
The reason I ask is because I am wondering how tough that bullet is, if it would be good on larger game too (elk, moose).

Offline Warhawk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2010, 12:06:13 PM »
I hit it right on the point of the shoulder, you can see the entrance wound in this pic ...



I was NOT impressed with the performance of this bullet, it broke up and only retained a bit over half it's weight on a DEER.  I would hate to see what it would do on the shield of a big boar.  I got several boxes of this ammo with the stainless guide gun, the rest of it will be for sale soon.

I have shot quite a few critters with the 45-70 and this was the first bullet I've ever recovered. I normally shoot a 405 Rem JSP over 53 grains of H335, a fairly stout load and a lot more power than the Hornaday loads. I once hit a big Kansas buck with that load, he was quartering toward me with his head down feeding. The bullet hit the spine and blew a chunk of it out through a hole behind the off side ribs. Best I could tell it penetrated about 24-26 inches of deer. When I butchered him, a chunk of the spine in his neck was just gone.

The Hornaday ammo is accurate in my guide gun, and it did kill the buck. But I had zero blood trail so thank goodness he dropped right away.


Offline valvesinmyhead

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2010, 05:28:49 PM »
The copper jacket separted from the core. Hum. That explains alot to me. Had a 325 FTX from my 450m hit the leg joint( bad shot) and did not go into the chest cavity. It was a quartering towards me shot and I thought the bullet would punch through. I was wrong. They are very accurate. Just stick with proper heart lung shots.
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,189554.0.html

Offline Warhawk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2010, 06:17:20 PM »
I'll just stick with a proper bullet for the job.

Wanna buy some Hornaday ammo?

Offline dukkillr

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2010, 06:24:10 PM »
Nice buck.  What part of the state were you in?

Offline Warhawk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2010, 06:34:26 PM »
Southeast, near Coffeyville. Killed the buck a mile north of the Okla border.

Offline mirage1988

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #14 on: January 05, 2010, 04:44:20 AM »
You said you were shooting thru brush- is it possible you hit brush causing the bullet to begin expanding before you even hit the deer? Might explain the fragmentation.(and the large entry hole)

Offline dukkillr

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #15 on: January 05, 2010, 05:04:07 AM »
Southeast, near Coffeyville. Killed the buck a mile north of the Okla border.

I've hunted in that area some... around Independence.  Pretty area, more rugged and rocky than the areas I normally hunt. 

Offline Warhawk

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #16 on: January 05, 2010, 08:14:52 AM »
You said you were shooting thru brush- is it possible you hit brush causing the bullet to begin expanding before you even hit the deer? Might explain the fragmentation.(and the large entry hole)

I don't think so, I waited until he stepped out from behind the brush. There were a few finger size branches still but I didn't hit any of them.

I've been reading a lot of the same type of performance from the gummy tips on other forums.


Offline buckshooter

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2010, 04:27:02 AM »
Nice buck, he has a good spread and pretty tall. 

hope this helps

buckshooter
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Offline Cajun Gal

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Re: Kansas Buck
« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2010, 05:19:46 AM »
That's a nice buck! 
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