‘24 Iowa Whitetail

[Gravelyctry]

I’ll be down your way in a few weeks talking rattle snakes!

I’m no fan of snakes. Are you going to be at some of the local schools? My wife teaches up in Garnavillo

 

[Gellar]

I’m no fan of snakes. Are you going to be at some of the local schools? My wife teaches up in Garnavillo

I’ll be at Swiss valley nature center in Peosta. I didn’t know there was even a school in garnavillo. Is it an elementary? Do they go to Elkader or Guttenberg for high school?

 

[Gravelyctry]

Elementary K-5, and then the kids go to Guttenberg for middle school and high school.

 

[F250]

First morning, first hour I had this dude walk by at 15 yards. Never reached for my bow. Took a bunch of pics until he caught my movement or flash. No regrets....I guess. Never saw him again.

View attachment 354872

I’m weak. I don’t think I could have passed him.

 

[BenP]

I’m weak. I don’t think I could have passed him.

I couldn't have passed. If you don't shoot them when you have the chance then the dog hunters will come and run him out and they will shoot him. Can't let anything grow around here.

 

[buckbull]

I’m weak. I don’t think I could have passed him.

I shot a nice buck this year but this is the one I think about the most.

 

[stevejfarms]

It was 59 degrees here yesterday, saw some deer, but none in range. Wind is blowing about 30 today and 45. My mom gave me covid so I don’t know if I’ll go out today or not. Snow and a 35 degree temp drop Sunday evening. Looking better for next week.

 

[SaskHunter]

Hell of a season!!!

 

[Gellar]

 

[johnp]

Great! now you can use an antler less tag on him.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Opening minute today. 20 yrd, handgun. Now on to the buck tag!

 

[Gellar]

Opening minute today. 20 yrd, handgun. Now on to the buck tag!
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That will be some tender vittles! What’s your handgun setup? Show us a picture of that.

 

[Pucky Freak]

That will be some tender vittles! What’s your handgun setup? Show us a picture of that.

Ruger GP100 in .357 Mag. Weig-a-tinny rail, Vortex SPARC AR red dot, and Buffalo Bore 180 gr. maximum load.


Bullseye!

 

[BrentD]

I have always been told that a .357 will bounce off a whitetail. Guess not, eh?



The same people scoff at a .30-30 for anything bigger than squirrels.

 

[Gellar]

Ruger GP100 in .357 Mag. Weig-a-tinny rail, Vortex SPARC AR red dot, and Buffalo Bore 180 gr. maximum load.
View attachment 355063

Bullseye!
View attachment 355065

That’s awesome set up!
Do you carry a muzzleloader to in case they are a little further away?

Meanwhile, I’m at Target shopping with my wife. But…they were working on tearing down displays and I overheard the employees haveing a discussion about what they were going to do with the sheets of pegboard. One guy wanted to put them for sale, one lady wanted to throw them in the dumpster, so I stick my head around the corner and said I’d take them. They even helped me load them. 12 sheets of 8x4 pegboard to use in the shop and my hunting room for free. I take back everything bad I’ve ever said about target.

 

[schmalts]

It's crazy how the deer will shed in such a wide time frame. I have seen drops in December and bucks still with them in early April

 

[Pucky Freak]

That’s awesome set up!
Do you carry a muzzleloader to in case they are a little further away?

I’ve never touched a MZ, and I wouldn’t even know where to start.

W/ the revolver I get a 3” circle at 100 yards off the rest, which I bring w/ me to hunt. My goal is <50 yards on deer, anything further conditions have to be near perfect. Today’s shot was offhand.

 

[Gellar]

I’ve never touched a MZ, and I wouldn’t even know where to start.

W/ the revolver I get a 3” circle at 100 yards off the rest, which I bring w/ me to hunt. My goal is <50 yards on deer, anything further conditions have to be near perfect. Today’s shot was offhand.

That’s impressive.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I have always been told that a .357 will bounce off a whitetail. Guess not, eh?



The same people scoff at a .30-30 for anything bigger than squirrels.

Energy at close target impact is comparable to the .22 hornet, w/ the .357 bullet making a bigger hole. Pretty light for deer, but it’s an economical way to get a lot of painless practice in, including small game hunting w/ .38 special rounds. I’d recommend the .357 to anyone as an entry to medium-size game w/ a handgun. From there you can always size up.

The two does I have shot so far ran a considerable distance despite being dead on the hoof, w/ almost no blood trail. Both times I tracked by the animal’s footprints.

 

[Gravelyctry]

I spent about 3 hours walking around yesterday walking in some public ground nearby. I’ve tried to make it a point over the last week and a half to visit public hunting spots within an hour drive. I wish I could share some pictures that do it justice, but there’s some really neat places here in NE Iowa that weren’t wiped flat by the glaciers.

After the hiking, I went to a local farm and planned to sit along a fields edge. I got there a little late, and by the time I got to where I wanted to sit there was already a doe 8n the field. I decided to make a sneak, and had a pretty good path since it was in a bit of a valley and the NW wind was in my favor. I walked south and west to stay hidden, and then progressed up to the edge of the timber. I bear crawled to within 60 yards but couldn’t go any farther without it spotting me.

I laid there watching her, and she stopped feeding and walked further towards me and lower into the valley. I started crawling again and got to 40 yards and was waiting for her to turn broadside. She looked up straight at me, and realized something wasn’t right. She took about 4 jogging steps up the hill away from me, and stopped broadside. It was a perfect shot so I took it.

Lots of smoke, and I was pretty sure I hit her but I’m never confident with this gun. I decided to reload, and when I did I saw my rear sight was flipped partway down. I wasn’t sure if it was like that when I shot, or if I did it when I stood up. Dang it. I went to the hill where she was and started looking for blood.

I looked and looked but couldn’t find any. I started walking towards where she likely entered the woods, and found a drop of blood. Once in the woods, there was another drop where she jumped over a log. Ten more yards, and she came into view piled up on the trail. I was super happy to find her. Only problem was she was a he, and had already dropped his antlers.