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Author Topic: My First Muzzle Elk!  (Read 11172 times)

Offline Dansk

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My First Muzzle Elk!
« on: December 17, 2007, 11:50:11 PM »
I took my first elk this year during the late hunt down in southwest wa.

Thought some of you might like the story.....(?)

My most memorable big game hunt- tracking elk in the snow, with 32 inch snowshoes and a muzzleloader.  I've never hunted in the snow- it was awesome.  Maybe it's my pasty white genes, but i'd take hunting in the snow over a nice day in Sept or Oct.  What an experience.

Last day of late muzzle.  Nov 30th.  Hunting for 4 days with not much to show for it.  No sightings and lots of snowshoeing.  I was deep in some old growth and came accross a bed- new snow, prints going out, none going in, so I knew the critter was close.  Figured I spooked it out of it's bed.  So I calmed down, let things settle, and when I looked up to follow the tracks I saw the thing standing out of some brush just looking at me.  This first shot was close (maybe 30 yds?)- It was low and I blew out the leg just below the body.  Elky took off, I reloaded (very VERY calmly.. why you ask? We ran into some dude a few days earlier who put the ramrod THROUGH his hand as he was reloading after a botched first shot!  Buck fever 1, holy hand man 0) .  Anyway, started tracking the 1400 pound fanged elk beast through the snow... and it went into some T-H-I-C-K reprod.  You could see a whole 15 feet.  I stood there wondering...  "ok Master Hunter, so I'm not POSITIVE I hit it, and there were other elk tracks I could follow... it's only 8am and I really don't want to sludge through the reprod in deep powder all day chasing an elk that I would probably never see and might be accross the columbia by now."  Then the ethic bug hit me and so I decided to continue tracking my elk that by now was (in my mind) a world record monster that would take a month to pack out.  I started into the reprod... and stood there for a minute taking in the new lanes that opened up- and wouldn't you know it- the durn thing was snuggled up under the drooping bows of a 20' silver fir.  The next few seconds were textbook: slowly shouldered my TC, exhaled, squeezed off the 400 grain sabot and put one through both lungs and enough of the spine to finish the job.  I've taken deer, but this was my first kill with no buck fever whatsoever.  My buddy came up and said I was acting kinda funny.  No hi fives, no "yeah man!!", only a little smile on my face.  I told him I was happy.  I told him I've reached a level of hunting only few reach, and that I was having a Zen moment.  Zen moment my a$$- turns out, I didn't know it, but my California Cool episode was really because I was $#it out of energy and sicker than a dog.  I realized this later that night as I blew lattes out the other end from the stomach flu.  (so yeah- hi fives and some whooping/hollering DID occur about a week later when I finally got my sick a$$ out of bed.)

Anyhoos- the best part of the story was that this little guy had the decency to wander all that way just to hide and get shot in some reprod which was exactly 100' from the stinkin' road.  Lucky twice, I guess.

Only 140# at the butcher (fully dressed), but I'm told calf meat beats it all. (?)

Hope y'all enjoyed the story.

Great site!

-Dansk

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2007, 11:59:09 PM »
I'm glad the ethics bug caught you.  Dang you look familiar...wouldn't happen to be from Winthrop would you. :)

Offline Dansk

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2007, 12:11:11 AM »
Nope, sorry.  West-sider.  Hunted Winthrop off and on over the years though.  Chewuch and Perrygin mostly.

And yeah- that ethics moment sure resonates with me now.  The little guy would have died slowly only having the use of 3 legs.  I started being more conciensious after reading 'fair chase'- a book I got from the AHE program.  Didn't have the luxury of learning hunting ethics from a parent at a young age, so that AHE course taught me a lot.  Never too late I guess.

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2007, 12:17:58 AM »
You're a dead ringer for someone I grew up with, who just happens to be named Dan.
Congrats on harvesting your elk.  Thats about the perfect eating age.

Offline GoldTip

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2007, 06:48:05 AM »
Nice job, and you've been told right, that there calf is gonna be some fine eatin.
I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
If I ageed with you, then we'd both be wrong.
You are never to old to learn something stupid.

Offline DBake

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2007, 08:29:44 AM »
Dansk,

Congrats!!!

If you do not mind, I am wondering what bullet/powder combination you used?

I am hoping to get my first hunting rifle this christmas, a Knight BigHorn or T/C Black Diamond.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2007, 09:06:44 AM by DBake »

Offline Slider

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2007, 08:56:56 AM »
Congrats!!! Your hooked for life..........LOL

Offline addicted

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2007, 09:02:23 AM »
awesome fricken story dansk. the snowshoeing makes it a perfect story.
"Right now, I am thinking that If my grandmother was here, she would be lecturing me about how there are poor people in Africa, that would just love to have a Ruger, I would just say "Great, granny, lets just ship all the Rugers to Africa!"


Loving life in the Great Northwest one day at a time.

It sounds like it's time to get a new gun.

Offline Amsdad

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2007, 09:15:51 AM »
Great story Dansk..Any elk is fine feed..enjoy your first muzzle elk..And I agree with you, hunting in the snow is a great experience.

Offline Muleyslyr

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2007, 09:41:52 AM »
I'm glad you decided to continue on.....you never know.  Congrats on the first Muzzy Elk.

Offline WAcoueshunter

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2007, 10:14:26 AM »
Welcome aboard Dansk!  Glad you found your way here.  And congratulations again on a great hunt and a freezer full of fine eatin'.

Offline M_ray

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #11 on: December 18, 2007, 10:46:24 AM »
I did enjoy the story :tup: Nice job and congrats! any elk with a Muzzloader is a fine trophy, looks like my first one and with a muzzy too! Thanks for bringing back those memories :)
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Offline Little Fish

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #12 on: December 18, 2007, 11:04:14 AM »
Nice story and picture. Congratulations on getting an elk. I haven't done much hunting in the snow, but it's been fun when I have.

Online MADMAX

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #13 on: December 18, 2007, 12:10:20 PM »
I love veal, good job, congrats
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Offline Chesapeake

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #14 on: December 18, 2007, 03:43:35 PM »
Not much background, but it looks like the amount of snow we had up neer Trout lake.

Congrats on the kill. Them little buggers eat great. An old man I ran into in the woods once said "Cows and calves baby, cows and calves". I had watched him kill his first bull, and went to talk to him and during the conversation asked what he had killed in the past.

A few years back my father in law killed a little bull calf. While he was reloading I walked up to the animal and the conversation went as follows:

Me: "Hey you got a bull"
Dad: "I didnt see any horns"
Me: "There aint none"

Its was one of those hunting moments I will never forget.

Offline Dansk

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #15 on: December 18, 2007, 07:24:42 PM »
Dansk,

Congrats!!!

If you do not mind, I am wondering what bullet/powder combination you used?

I am hoping to get my first hunting rifle this christmas, a Knight BigHorn or T/C Black Diamond.

Dbake-

That's a TC .54 cal System 1.  90 grains Pyrodex loose, and a 360 grain all lead Precision Rifle bullet - not sure what kind of sabot.  MMP maybe- it was supplied by PR.  Check their website.  I've tried more powder but more than 90 and I start loosing accuracy.  BE CAREFUL buyin a new inlines- it's hard to find one with an exposed breech, which is required by Wa st law.   Cabelas doesn't even sell one... and the TC Black Diamond is now a closed breech, unless you find an older model.  You must also use "original style percussion caps", so no 209 primers, which have become a standard too.  If i could redo my purchase I'd go with a Stainless hawken style shorty.

Also, your bullets must be 100% non-jacketed lead.


Offline DBake

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #16 on: December 18, 2007, 10:27:46 PM »
Dbake-

That's a TC .54 cal System 1.  90 grains Pyrodex loose, and a 360 grain all lead Precision Rifle bullet - not sure what kind of sabot.  MMP maybe- it was supplied by PR.  Check their website.  I've tried more powder but more than 90 and I start loosing accuracy.  BE CAREFUL buyin a new inlines- it's hard to find one with an exposed breech, which is required by Wa st law.   Cabelas doesn't even sell one... and the TC Black Diamond is now a closed breech, unless you find an older model.  You must also use "original style percussion caps", so no 209 primers, which have become a standard too.  If i could redo my purchase I'd go with a Stainless hawken style shorty.

Also, your bullets must be 100% non-jacketed lead.



Thanks for the reminders. I will take a closer look at the T/C BD when I am at sportsmans again, I am pretty sure it is the open breach model.

I am interested in PR bullets, but where would one start? They have 30 plus.

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #17 on: December 18, 2007, 10:41:13 PM »
kinda should put your questions over here in the guns and ammo.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,9.0.html

its good info and all. im even hoping to hop into a muzzle loader eventually.
"Right now, I am thinking that If my grandmother was here, she would be lecturing me about how there are poor people in Africa, that would just love to have a Ruger, I would just say "Great, granny, lets just ship all the Rugers to Africa!"


Loving life in the Great Northwest one day at a time.

It sounds like it's time to get a new gun.

Offline robb92

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2007, 12:03:37 AM »
Congrats on a fine first elk!!!
"ITS NOT WHAT THE WISE MAN SAYS BUT WHAT THE WISE MAN DOES IN HIS LIFE THAT MATTERS"


Offline saylean

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2007, 01:15:35 AM »
 :hunter: :guns:

Thanks for the story and pic...I love snow hunting too.. ;)

Cheers~

Offline Bobm

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2007, 04:18:30 PM »
Congrats on the elk and never forget any and every elk is trophy.

Good job!

Offline Thorny a$$

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #21 on: December 24, 2007, 11:46:28 AM »
Dansk
Excellent persistence out there. You did well . Hat's off to a fine way to end the big game season!
but be careful firing those sabots out there during muzzle-loader season...

Offline DJR

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2008, 05:58:03 AM »
but be careful firing those sabots out there during muzzle-loader season...

Are Sabots not legal in Washington? Quick look at the game laws didn't resolve my confusion.

DJR

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2008, 10:39:01 AM »
Yes they are legal in WA.
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Offline 50CalJim

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #24 on: January 07, 2008, 11:03:04 AM »
Just be sure that the bullet inside the Sabot is all lead & your good to go. :hunter:

Offline DJR

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #25 on: January 08, 2008, 06:32:45 AM »

Whew! That's good news, particularly after my son and I just bought six boxes of the now discontinued 375 gr. Buffalo Bullets which our rifles seem to prefer. From the above comment I was wondering if things had changed.

Let me add congratulations to Dansk also. Enjoy the eating, it doesn't get any better than that.

DJR

-------------

As an aside and I don't want to derail this thread, here is a picture of a Buffalo Bullet retreived from a spike my son shot:




Offline Wahoo

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2008, 11:21:20 AM »
After reading this post I am now confused about what is legal to shoot. Per the following rule copied out of game regs:

(c) A muzzleloading firearm used for
all other big game must fire a single,
non-jacketed lead projectile of
nominal 50 caliber or larger, or fire a
single, non-jacketed lead projectile of
at least 170 grains. Lead bullets with
polymer tips are legal.

Wouldn't the bullet in the picture above be considered jacketed? Please correct me if I am wrong because I have always wanted to shoot those but thought they were illegal.

Thanks, Wahoo

Offline Geno

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2008, 11:48:04 AM »
A bullet with a copper jacket is illegal, the "jacket" in the pic is the plastic seal that makes it a "sabot". 

Offline 50CalJim

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #28 on: January 08, 2008, 12:15:22 PM »
I'm assuming that you think that the Sabot "The plastic" is a Jacket. There's an artical that I read about a yr ago on PrecisionBullet.com that went into detail about this & explained everything in detail.Basically the Sabot is not considered a Jacket. A jacket is the outer layer of the bullet such as a  lead bullet with a copper outer layer.I'm guessing the outer copper layer keeps the bullet from expanding until later down range kind of like a bullet from a rifle. It's such a simple thing but somehow they've made it confusing.Go figure!

Offline Wahoo

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #29 on: January 08, 2008, 12:20:13 PM »
50CalJim Wrote -
I'm assuming that you think that the Sabot "The plastic" is a Jacket

That is exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for clearing everthing up and now it does make sense.

Wahoo

Offline Geno

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #30 on: January 08, 2008, 02:23:42 PM »
A sabot (pronounced "sah-boh") refers to a device named for a shoe used in a firearm or cannon to fire a projectile or bullet that is smaller than the bore diameter.


Actually the "sabot" is the plastic jacket or shoe, whatever you choose to call it. The copper "jacket" on a bullet is just that...a copper jacket. It helps control the expansion of the bullet after impacting your target.

Offline Ray

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Re: My First Muzzle Elk!
« Reply #31 on: January 08, 2008, 02:27:47 PM »
I shot a bunch of 20mm sabots in the army. That was fun stuff.

 


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