Hello from the Great State of Georgia,
Opening morning of rifle season was a beautiful morning and as I walked toward the job, a coworker and I both agreed that a bad day hunting was much better than a good day at work. We worked all day and did not get to hunt at all. The next morning, I was in my stand well before daylight and was watching 2 well used trails going to a huge thicket right next to some white oaks up the hill from a creek. I have hunted this stand sparingly for many years but with thousands of HUGE acorns on the ground I knew the deer would be coming thru to feed before laying up in the thicket.There were a few scrapes around and the rut was picking up. Shortly after daylight I grunted softly and hit the ol bleat call. Immediately I heard something suspicious and grunted again. The buck came in standing tall and looking for some action. At about 70 yards he held up, then turned to get downwind to all the deer talk he was hearing. However, he never heard the hammer cock and had no idea he was being looked at through a rifle scope. I aimed and gently squeezed off the shot which found its way straight through his heart. He dropped and never made a move.
I have also taken 2 does with the 45/70 this year and both were dropped where they stood. The first was about 80 yards through the woods in which I made the shot thru a narrow window and went in thru the ribs and out thru the backside of the shoulder. The next was a 30 yard shot through the ribs at a steep angle and right through the heart. Short blood trail, 3 feet straight down.
Some people ask why I shoot such a huge gun. Once again I have answered the question with a performance based answer. This is among the most accurate rifles I have ever owned. Having the ability to precisely place a big bore bullet makes it a sound choice for a big game rifle. Reloading has allowed me to find the exact recipe that does some amazing things, like consistantly shoot groups under an inch and half inch groups are fairly common. Most importantly is the fact that it gives me the utmost confidence that every animal I shoot at will be dispatched humanely without having to chase it. These 3 deer make the new total deer taken with this rifle as of now at 8. I know it will continue to serve me well and have no need to change a single thing about it. As for the technical data; Handi SB2 wood with a Armsport 3X9X40 shooting handloaded 350 gr jacketed soft points pushed at 1930 fps with Varget powder. For me this has proven to be all that I could ask for out of a simple, plain jane ol boat paddle gun. Good luck and God bless to all.
