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2000 HHI Whitetail Contest

M

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
Here is my 2000 HHI Whitetail Contest winner (J.D. Jones Handgun Hunters International). I have forgotten the measurements.
I took the buck on the back of my farm here in SW Ohio in Butler County. I used my S&W Classic Deluxe in 44 mag with my cast bullet reloaded ammo. One shot kill at 30 yards. The bad luck buck I call it. It's a long story if you want it posted.
Frank
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I can't believe it as I just spent 30 minutes typing in my story and the forum logged me out while I was typing and it's lost.
Frank
 
That sucks man. I always type my long stuff in Word just to avoid the crazy world of computers biting me in the ass! I'd love to hear the story though when you have the time again!!!
 
MK111 said:
I can't believe it as I just spent 30 minutes typing in my story and the forum logged me out while I was typing and it's lost.
Frank
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. When you log in on the homepage click the little white box that says "Remember me".. If you log in at the top of the page click the little white box. It will remember your login until you click log out. It's not that the forum logged you out, it's that you were inactive for more than 30 min and your session expired. Inactive meaning didn't click anything to load a new page.
 
OK try again. I call this my Bad Luck Buck because of all the bad luck leading up the harvest.
I have long term health problems so I do things when I can. I buy 32 ft. metal extention ladders and use each 16 ft section to build ladder stands for my farm. I build a angle iron cage for the top and install a good form fitting plastic chair seat. Well I got my new stand built but couldn't get anyone to help to put it up until my friend came over with his 2 sons on Sunday the day before the opening day of 2000 deer season.
1st bad luck item of late stand installing.
I am a all day deer hunter and in my stand 1/2 before season starts and stay till dark closing time. I get in my stand opening day and grunt couple times. I am grunting at 8:30AM and I turn around and at 25 yds stands 2 smaller bucks. They stand there looking at this strange thing making grunt calls. I had just bought a friends S&W 626 Classic Deluxe 44 mag with a red dot. I slowly pull up the pistol and the red dot is totally black. The 2 bucks stand here staring at this fool messing around and get a little antsy so I figure put the center of the red dot on the chest area and you are good to go. Wrong. At the shot they turn and walk away rather fast and mill around about 75 yrds away. I wait 1 hr. and go look at the shot site and the trail they followed plus where they milled around. No blood sign. Made a perfect 25 yd miss.
2nd bad luck item turn the damn red dot on.
3rd bad luck item. After using the new stand the 1st day I figure out I placed the stand too close to the deer trail and at the top of the hill. When the deer came up the hill they are looking right at me. I moved it for the next year. So I moved on the 2nd day to my old ladder stand in the middle of the woods. No sightings all day.
4th bad luck item at about 4:30PM on the 3 rd day I heard my cattle bawling around and it sounds they have gotten out and are on the neighbors property. I gather up my stuff and exit the woods to find my cattle standing there in my pasture looking at me. I figured out later with the valley the sound traveled and it only sounded like they were on the neighbors property.
Now it's 4:45PM and about 30 minutes till quiting time so I moved to a 8 ft ladder stand on the pasture edge. I get settled in and grunted a couple time. I look to my right and here comes my buck walking stiff legged and I swear his neck hair is standing up. He keeps looking to my left and he's about 100 yds out on the neighbors property. He would walk a little and stand and just stare to my left then he would turn to leave. When he turned I gave a soft grunt and he would stop and stare again. He started and stopped walking 4 times and each time I turned him with a soft grunt until I got him on my property at 30 yds. I moved slightly on my plastic seat and he heard the slight noice and stared at me. He didn't know what I was but he didn't like what I was so he turned to leave. When his head was turned I pulled up my pistol single handed and took the shot. I figured out later he was probaly looking at my cattle through the brush and heard the grunts. Sounds good anyway.
He ran about 100 yds and entered some brush and was gone. I felt I made a good shot so I waited till legal time is up and I go to what I thought was the shot location and nothing. At the 100 yd brush enterance I found couple drops of blood. Just inside the brush there is a deer trail so I looked both ways and no blood trail. About 20 yds in there is a creek and on the other side of the creek is a steep hill. Now we all know wounded deer don't run uphill. Well this buck didn't show up for class that day as he jumped the creek and went straight up the hill. I had to hold onto small brush to go up the hill.
Half way up the hill is another deer trail and surely he followed one way or the other. I looked both way and nope. I am back to the light blood trail and he kept going up the hill. At this point it is totally dark and my small flashlight is getting dim so I called may son who lives next door. He and my nephew showed up with better lights and up the hill we go. The buck laid at the top of the hill about 20 yds from were I stopped. I had made a high lung shot and he bled out internally with few bloods drops for a blood trail.
I knew I had a nice buck so I decided to enter it in the 2000 HHI Buck Contest. I couldn't find a local scorer so J.D. Jones told me to send it in and he would score it.
After the contest was over my son called me and said the rack was back but I didn't do very well. So he read me the letter from J.D. and it goes congradulations you won 1st Place in the 2000 HHI Deer Contest. Now my son kidds around alot and are you kidding me. Nope.
Thompson Center always donates a TC Contender in the winners caliber choice. So I am a proud owner of a TC Contender 22LR Match 10 in. bull barrel with the custom serial number HHIWT2000.
Life is good even with problems. I hope you all enjoy my story. It's the truth and I am sticking to it.
Frank
 
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