Doe From Last Year Drought Is Killing The Hunt This Year

[WeldonHunter]

Here's a doe I got last year. She moved forward as I shot so some of the tenderloin was ruined but I didn't have to track her. I used the VZ24 8mm Mauser below to take her with Remington 170gr Core-Lokt ammo. This years hunt is a bit lacking but I'll get one. Part of it has been that I'm not going out as much but we've been having a drought and I'm not seeing the numbers I usually see. Tracks are fewer and I don't see the numbers when I go out at night to see what's around. I have seen as many as 30 in the back fields at one time. Now I'm lucky to see 6 to 8.

[websterz]

Nothing beats using the weapons of our enemies to put food on our tables!

[WeldonHunter]

You got that right. The first year I used this Mauser I hadn't shot it for years except earlier that year to check that it still shot straight. I pulled it off the wall and headed to the stand. If you know Mausers they have a 3 way safety. Safety Off, Safety On and Saftey On with bolt lock. I had a huge 8 point buck walk out of the woods in front of me at maybe 30 yards. He stopped and posed for me. Excellent side shot. If I wasn't there I would have swore it was staged. He even moved to show a better side view. Lined the shot up, squeezed the trigger and....squeezed the trigger and WTF. I had flipped the safety to the right instead of the left and put the gun on full on bolt safety, DOH!! By the time I figured out what had happened he was walking off into the pines. Talk about pissed. I got his ole' lady after I had cooled down when I went back out later that afternoon. Not the guns fault. It's one heck of a freezer filler.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Good luck with this years hunt, or there be no venison stew on the table for you

[WeldonHunter]

Good luck with this years hunt, or there be no venison stew on the table for you

No problem I'll get one. I've been a bit lazy about it and had other stuff going on. They're here but just not as many as have been in the past. I couldn't figure out where they've all gone. I figured they've headed up to the lake due to the drought or maybe some had died off due to lack of food. That or illegal hunting. These are good ol' boys here and most follow the hunting rules but some don't. The rules are to keep the herds healthy and keep them around. There were no deer here 70 years ago or turkeys for that matter from what I've heard. These were reintroduced as well as the turkeys. Now I did see 6 of them at the end of someone's driveway on the way to the town where I was going to pick up my guns that I still didn't get today. :(

[MN Fan]

Hey Weldon...nice kill!

I just noticed the four guns in your rack...the top one, is that a "Long Range Winner"? I have one that was handed down from my Great Grandmother. Nope, not "Grand Pa", this was actually my Great Grandmother's 12 ga. The story is they settled in Texas and my great grandfather got sick shortly after and passed away. When the kids wanted to go out and play, they had to scour the yard and shoot the rattle snakes first. She couldn't shoot his rifle accurately so she picked up this beast. From what I heard, though this shotgun wasn't necessarily shot everyday, it was carried outside nearly everyday for the next 20 years until she passed away.

[WeldonHunter]

Hey Weldon...nice kill!

I just noticed the four guns in your rack...the top one, is that a "Long Range Winner"? I have one that was handed down from my Great Grandmother. Nope, not "Grand Pa", this was actually my Great Grandmother's 12 ga. The story is they settled in Texas and my great grandfather got sick shortly after and passed away. When the kids wanted to go out and play, they had to scour the yard and shoot the rattle snakes first. She couldn't shoot his rifle accurately so she picked up this beast. From what I heard, though this shotgun wasn't necessarily shot everyday, it was carried outside nearly everyday for the next 20 years until she passed away.

I've never heard of a "Long Range Winner" but they've named guns all kind of stuff over the years. It's a 20ga. Harington and Richardson Topper M48 that's been in the family since about 1980 but I don't know for sure when it was made. It's one have to restore because it was in a damp basement for about 20 years with some others I had stored at my uncles. It's on the list.

[MN Fan]

I have to either wake up completely before I start posting or get to bed earlier, one of the two. I can see the differences now. "Long Range Winner" was sold by Sears Roebuck during the early 1900s. Mine is around 1920 or so. I am not sure who made it, researching pulls up a few different sources, but I haven't found anything confirmed.

Here is a quick photo:



Similar, but not the same.

[WeldonHunter]

Ok I thought it might be something like that. Nice looking gun, what what I can see of it, lol. I have 6 shotguns if I remember correctly. All 12ga except that one 20ga. Did you see the project gun in the shotgun section I just rehabed? It's the Stevens Savage 311 thread. I love that gun. I have a few Mossbergs and an old Stevens Savage Model 620. That H&R and the 311 as well as an old Western Field Montgomery Wards 12ga 36" barrel SB100B were in a basement and got virtually ruined. Along with some other guns. I'm slowly rehabing them. The 311 is one I'm proud of. I haven't finished it but it shoots now and is in a rack on the wall now.