Black Powder VA Whitetail ***Graphic pictures***

[Virginian]

I'm a few days late posting this thread so please forgive me. I'm finishing up my hunt tomorrow and hope to have something better to post than what I have so far. I hope you enjoy the read.

I've taken a few days off to get some black powder hunts in. I'll be posting my success and failures as I go in this thread, kind of a blog if you will... Hopefully I'll have some success to share with you as I go along.

Black powder season starts this Saturday and I wanted to get down a day early to scout around a bit. Voting is next week so I had to swing by the court house to get my absentee ballet in. I encourage each and every one of you to vote this year. It really is a monumental election this year and especially for hunters and gun owners.


Packing up for the trip and the 5 1/2 hour road trip. For medicinal purposes only!


Everything loaded and hitting the road.


I pass over this bridge in Tappahannock every year. The water level is really high after hurricane Sandy.


This year is going to be a real challenge for many reasons. The acorns are a bumper crop this year and I typically hunt the edge of soy bean or corn fields. With so many acorns, they typically stay in the woods because the food source is there. I also noted that I didn't see a single deer driving down this evening. Not one dead or alive. It's not uncommon to see dozens in the crop fields or on the side of the road from being struck by traffic. I'm unsure if hurricane Sandy has them still in hiding or if they are holed up in the woods? Time will tell. I will have another go at archery tomorrow and see.

This area that I hunt in is considered swamp land or flat land. The laws don't allow centerfire, only BP and shotgun at the appropriate times. I've hunted here with six other fellows for over 25 years. We hunt out of a 100 year house that does have electricity and plumbing, but it's still roughing it. I'll get some pics tomorrow of the our base camp. We have had a great time over the years here and there's always stories to share of years gone by.

Last year one of the guys calls me and says he has a bit of a problem. He wouldn't really tell but told me where he was at and come now! So I drive to where he is at and as I drove up I snapped this pic. I was in tears!!!! He was driving across the field where an old house used to be and there was an old well that had weeds around it, he drove right into it. AHAHAHAHAH! We will never let him live that one down.


I hope you guys and gals enjoy this thread as it unfolds.

Thanks for reading,

Eric

(to be continued)

[MrSlippyFist]

That jeep was thirsty!

[Virginian]

Ok, here's a quick update... sorry guys. I'm beat by the time I get back and eat dinner. Daylight saving just kicked in and through me for a loop as well..

I had to telework Friday and got to hunt late Friday evening. Archery season only and I sat in the stand till dark. Saw nothing... about 5 hours flat but time...


I get up the next morning with high hopes for black powder season and hit one of my honey holes. I'm in the stand at 5:30 AM and ready to roll.. 5 hours later I see nothing... I did see the mother load of what I think is coyote prints all over the place. This is seriously bad news for us...


So I grab a bite to eat and hit one of the ground blinds that I built for rainy days and read a good book. I'm in there for 7 hours and I see exactly jack and squat. I did see two feral cats stroll by. I swear I was seriously thinking of bust a cap on their ass..



So I head back to the camp with my head hanging low and nothing to show for it. I'm ready for a hot meal as it has been cold as the dickens.
Carolina BBQ with slaw, french fries and homemade baked beans with molasses.


Here's the pics of the run down camp. This place is rough....



Success tonight but I will update tomorrow. Stay tuned!

(more to come)

[Virginian]

That jeep was thirsty!

AHahahhaa! You're right!

[Virginian]

Ok, I'm a day behind on posting. I'll try to get you up to speed here tonight.

I've hunted about 20 hours and I have yet to see a dang deer. I'm getting a little tired of seeing zippy at this point. On the second day I hunted 12 hours that day and I saw nothing until dusk. I saw at about 110 yards a decent size spike come out. Very low light conditions so no pics. I pull up my rifle and go to take a shot, click... nothing. So I re-chamber and check my screw in safety on the back (my rifle has two safeties), seems OK so I try again, click... The deer is getting really nervous with all the noise at this point. I chamber again and try a 3rd time, click... The smallest buck in the forest runs back into the woods... perfect ending to a very long day.

I get back to camp and check the primer. A very light strike on it, here's a picture.


I'm burned out at this point so I go to take a shower and this bad boy was in the bathroom. A camelback cricket! I gotta start packing 5.7 heat to take a shower around here.


I get a hot meal with some eastern shore seafood. Spicy fried oysters and with some fried potatoes from the garden out back. YuM!


I take a look at my rifle and it appears that some moisture had gotten into the threads of the screw safety and was stopping the firing pin from traveling it's full stroke. Broke it down and cleaned it and we are good to go test firing a 209 primer.

(more to come)

[MrSlippyFist]

Nice pics, thanks. And that's not a camp. It's a 2.5 star lodge.

[Virginian]

I get up at o'dark thirty and head out to the fields to have another go at it.

I get settled in and within a couple hour some turkeys come trotting out making a racket. I'm excited to see any game at this point. All I have is my muzzleloader and wish I had my archery gear at this point. There's only so much stuff you can take out into the field. There were some nice beards on a couple!


After a little while a nice size spike comes out and I'm sizing him up. I would really like to fill the fridge and this hunt has been a little problematic so I commit to take him. I should mention that i almost always pass on buck unless it's 8 points but (a weak moment) I really needed to get the fridge filled for the winter. By the time I get him back to camp, all I got was this terrible pic. He weighed in at 100 lbs and this pic shows the exit wound. The other side was a good shot. Luckily, I didn't nick the stomach.


The other guys were getting antsy as well so they shot a nice doe and a puny doe. Nothing notable here but we each have some groceries to take home. Note the puny one on the left, my friend was being accused of shooting somebodies pug.


I get up this morning and I see more turkeys. This time 6 hens and they get nervous and off they go! Note the cold hard frost! Rut should be in soon.


Coming out of the field I see some more coyote tracks basically everywhere... I'm going to beat on them later on. I've never hunted them before but this explains the lack of groundhogs this season.


I head back out this evening to a field that has winter wheat planted and settle in. The wind is blowing hard and the temps are around 40 when I started. The wind chill made for a very cool hunt tonight. Here's a pick of one of three scrapes that were fresh in this field. Things are looking up!


After an hour or so I see a small buck with nubs roll out. He get spooked and doesn't last long. Meat is in the fridge so I'm looking for a good buck at this point. Anything else I take from this point forward to to Hunter's for the Hungry program.


Another doe pops out little later.


I see another small buck a couple more does as the evening wear on. Right at the end of shooting hours, a real nice 6 point (I think) runs across the field. It's too dark to take a picture and I wasn't sure of the size of the rack so he got a pass. Awesome night to see 5 deer and I also saw 2 bald eagles. Made my hole day! So Nothing from me today...

My new friend Jay saw quite a few but didn't see any takers as well. Here's a picture of three does that went beneath his stand.


My other friend shot a 6 pt with the ugliest rack I've ever seen in my life. Might of done him a favor... So only one deer harvested today by any of us.


No great wall hangers to report, no stories of a hoss that got away. Just an average hunt here in VA. I hope you've enjoyed it so far as I have only a couple days left. As I stated when I started this thread, good or bad, I'll post up the truth. :skep:

(more to come)

[Virginian]

PS: We had marinated pork chops with russet potatoes for dinner! Yum X2


(more to come)

[Virginian]

OK, so now we are up to date and I'm getting ready for bed. Here's where I'm at so far.

OK, today was a very tough day. I woke up to steady rain and temperature around 38 F degrees and wind gust 25 to 35 mph. I hunted all morning and saw nothing and returned to camp around 12:30 pm. I got a hot meat and warmed up a bit and returned to the fields around 1:30 pm.

I saw a doe come out at around 2 pm at around 330 yards and skeedaddled across the field and exited on the other side of the field. No joy here.... I saw another doe come out of the same spot at 330 yards and she spent a good 1/2 hour milling about and working her way towards me. I kept hoping that a nice buck would sniff her out, but that never happened. Meanwhile, I'm getting blasted with sleet, rain and wind gusts the entire time. My face is wind burned right now.

Here's a pic at about 100 yards.


Mean while my friend George is back in the stand that I saw all the turkey in. Sure enough, here they come. No real mature Toms. Their beards were only about 5" long. Still great seeing these awesome birds. Side note: Ben Franklin lobbied for the turkey to be the Nations bird instead of the bald eagle. They are one tough bird and to see a Tom in full strut is one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life.



Back to the doe in the field... It was fast approaching 5:00 pm and shooting light was dwindling quickly so I took a shot at 73 yards and she was dead right there. Frozen to the bone I snapped a quick pic and back to camp to call her in to DGF.


Tomorrow I head home and back to work on Friday. It's supposed to rain in the morning again and it appears like it may be a tough hunt again tomorrow. I'm unsure if I will hunt the morning and evening tomorrow. I guess it depends on how the hunt goes in the morning. Tonight we had spaghetti with Italian sausages. Sorry, no pics of dinner.

This trip is winding to an end. My hope was to share what a typical deer hunt is like here in VA and to share my success or failures as I go. If you made it this far reading, you're a better man than I!

(more to come)

[Virginian]

Some of these pics may be considered graphic and please let me know if they're in poor taste for this forum. It is not my wish to offend anyone.

Thanks for reading and I'll follow-up tomorrow.

Eric

[MrSlippyFist]

This is a hunting section of the forum, and you warned that it would be graphic. You're good.

[blueorison]

AW MAN

this is a fun thread to read!!!!

WHY WAS IT JUST POSTED FOR EACH POST?!!!! You were out like, 4 days ago... I blame a blind mod

I have not hunted deer; I mainly shoot pests like feral animals... I can't seem to get a line on hunting even hogs.. and I'm in Austin, TX.

[Virginian]

AW MAN

this is a fun thread to read!!!!

WHY WAS IT JUST POSTED FOR EACH POST?!!!! You were out like, 4 days ago... I blame a blind mod

I have not hunted deer; I mainly shoot pests like feral animals... I can't seem to get a line on hunting even hogs.. and I'm in Austin, TX.

Come to VA and you too can enjoy this 2 1/2 Star hotel! lol All jokes aside, if you want a crack at whitetail, hit me up and I'll make sure it happens. Thanks for the kind words.

Eric

[blueorison]

Eric,

in Texas, if you were campin, that 2 1/2 would be a 10 on a scale of 5.

No kidding.

I usually go for pests like hogs and feral animals, but I wouldn't mind baggin some venison! Thanks!

[Virginian]

Ok, I need to finish up this thread. On the last day of hunting I saw absolutely nothing. Sorry to disappoint... All I can say is they just weren't moving much this year. I had a great week of enjoying this beautiful state and spending time outdoors with some old friends and one new. I'll clean up my gear and stow it for next year. I hope you enjoyed this thread and got a feel what some of us do every year here in VA. As always, thanks for reading.

Eric

A few parting shots...

These vultures were hanging out on the remains of what we butchered. This pic doesn't do it justice. They're huge, like almost 2' tall.


My FJ has a lot of hard miles on her as well as I do. I was muddy as heck and she worked hard to get me to places I go.


Two shoulders and two hams will make some nice summer sausage. Back-straps will be tasty this winter.

[flyingirish04]

Do yourself a favor and cut off all that fat and sinnew now or at least before you cook it. So many people don't and then wonder why their meat tastes so gamey.

[Virginian]

Do yourself a favor and cut off all that fat and sinnew now or at least before you cook it. So many people don't and then wonder why their meat tastes so gamey.

Good point and thanks for the tip!