mule deer hunting is done for me this year

[catnthehatt]

Shot on Thursday.
Range was long, and a WAAY uphill shot.

6.5WSM with 140 ggrain Game King from a Browning Single shot.

Thin antlers but good length , 24" between the beams, blah, blah.
I normally shoot smaller der than this as they taste better, but I couldn't pass up this shot as it was exactly what the rifle was built for.

This is where he tumbled down from, about 30 to 50 yards uphill from where I found him.
I'ts another 100 yards or so to the shore, and I was on a gravel bar.

NO! Ididn't shoot him from the BOAT!
A shot from a boat is iffy at best and not good form, fair play, legal, whatever you want to call it!:roll:
Cat

 

[RDS]

Nicely done...

I bet that deer will taste great regardless, because you'll still have a sweet shot on your mind...

 

[catnthehatt]

Thank you!
It helps if you give them a nice cool bath in the Athabasca before getting them aboard for the run home!

field dressed him with my banndana over my face, and drinking lots of water.
he was pretty rutted up and beat up from the fall!
Cat

 

[Jay]

I love the last pic!!! Nothing like cooling the meat quickly! he he he...

Congrats on the hunt!

Cheers
Jay

 

[BIGREDD]

Nice Rifle Cat.... nice Mule deer 8)
What color was the Bandanna :?

 

[catnthehatt]

The river is super cold this time of year, and reallyb helps.

Thanks,guys, I like the Brownings a lot.
Bandnna? Red, of course (not puke coloured! :lol: )
Cat

 

[Battle River]

Great looking pics pussyman, and a bit classier retreival unit than on my elk, as I used a Case MX 120 4x4 tractor retrieval. I like the 140 GK, a great bullet that really carries

 

[catnthehatt]

Thanks BR!
I'll tel ya what though, jet boat can't elevated a deer to gut and dress!
Of course, a Case can't "walk on water"! :mrgreen:
Cat

 

[Why not?]

Nice deer, cat, and good shooting.

Ted

 

[catnthehatt]

Thanks, all.

Ended up with 185lbs. of cut and wrapped meat, minus a shoulder and one side of ribs that got dmaged by the fall, and bullet carnage hitting bone :lol:

Not bad , the meat cutter said it smelled real sweet, so I guess the bath didn't hurt!
Cat

 

[todbartell]

thats great! nice pics



How did you find the performance of the GameKing? I shot a buck in 2003 with the 140 gr. 6.5mm BTSP and recovered both bullets, retaining 30% of its weight. Dropped the deer like a pancake though! :mrgreen:

 

[catnthehatt]

Never found the bullet Todd.

I found a little fragment of lead, but the bullet expended its energy inside so when it exited, there was a small hole.

The Game King has been my bullet of choice for about 12 years now, and I recommend it to everyone I handload for.

Some bullets work better at closer range, some farhgter away, some more accurately.
I have not yet found the combination of all that will match the Game king, and at a cheap price, also.

They are flat out accurate and flat shooting.
i know a few guys who hate them because they have messed up meat, but if you hit a deer in the shoulder with any bullet, there will be" copius amounts of carnage" to quote Big Stick!

The tsx shows promise, but I want to try some of Bulltsmith,s bonded core bullets. (Soon as he gets off his dam tractor and gets to more important things, like making bullets!)
Cat

 

[todbartell]

to be fair, my shot impacted the spine at an impact speed of like 2200 fps (240 yards out of a 260), and it bloodshot alot of meat.

the second shot was a 10 yard finisher that lodged into the far shoulder




GameKings print nice groups though!

 

[catnthehatt]

I think mine was going about 2400, according to quikload.

My friend got another moose in the same area he did last year, using my handloads of Varget behind a 175 Game King in the .308.
He recovered that bullet also, so I will weigh it on tuesday.
The bullet last year was a perfect mushroom and weighed about 135 grains IIRC.
Impact was about 125 yards..

This deer was quite a bit farther than that!
Cat

 

[sPuTnik]

This is where he tumbled down from, about 30 to 50 yards uphill from where I found him.
I'ts another 100 yards or so to the shore, and I was on a gravel bar

Good Job. ... But you should have hit him harder so he would tumble all the way down into the boat!!!!

BTW.... What ARE you doing with the boat? Trolling for the Lock Ness Monster? :shock: :lol:

 

[john-brennan]

mulie

Nice buck, great pics.

 

[dizzy dan 1]

Very Nice, hope your useing a barbless hook for trolling.Catch & Release. :lol: :wink: DAN>>>
p.s. What wieght of line you useing.

 

[catnthehatt]

This is the way we troll for those BIG Athabsca Jackfissh, Boys!
For the technical types,

speed was 1.5 MPH, with a synthetic , 5/8" samson braid , using a Magnus hitch terminal knot with no swivel.

No hooks needed , as the bait is the type that comes "pre barbed".
Some disagree with this type of hook, ut the fish can be fought and brought to hand very quickly , as long as the boat stays
"keel down"! :shock:

Hooks up can be years apart, however........
Cat