Early Muzzle Loader Season Reports.

Saturday starts the early muzzle loader season. Who's going, what are you shooting and whats your plan ? Don't forget to wear orange as also the archers. While archers are permitted to remove orange once on stand and display a orange band 15' from them, the muzzle loader hunter does not have that option. Good luck and be safe.

Will be out bowhunting.  Maybe hoping some of the few small gamers left of a muzzleloader hunter will move some deer my way.  Weather is looking horrible in these parts.  35-40mph Friday night into Saturday.  Great for still hunting on the wet ground but very bad for filming. 

I'm going fishin' somewhere. Rain amount will determine where.

gonna shoot her

ORIGINAL: SilverKype

ORIGINAL: DarDys

ORIGINAL: SilverKype

I'm going fishin' somewhere. Rain amount will determine where.

Oh no, the 11th commandmnet is: Archery hunting is sooooooooooooo hard that one needs every day (and more days too) in order to even have a chance a harvesting (kill, whatever) that wiley whitetail.  Get your butt up a tree somewhere.

Just kidding.  Good luck whichever you choose to do.  Finding good water might be a trick.

hahahah. 






Be quiet.  

 
Okay.

No early muz for me either.  Don't need a second doe unless I make it through the rut w/o a buck.  Rather hunt the late season w/ my flintlock than sit in the wind and rain tomorrow.

Dawn will find me in a tree on private property (with permission). Any archers I may "bother" would be tresspassing.

I like the EML because the weather is good and the deer aren't being chased. Isn't that the same reason archers enjoy hunting in mid-Oct?

I would like to see more opportunity for muzzleloaders, such as maybe a 1 or 2 day buck season. While I like nostalgia and all, I would also be in favor of including inlines in the late season. The vast majority of gun hunters are done by the first week. I don't see a few guys with inlines overrunning any hunting areas in the late season.

JMO.w_w.

Don't get me wrong.  I really like the early muz season.  The timing is good as mid-Oct is generally pretty slow in buck action...at least in my experience.  Gives me an opportunity to meat hunt with a little more challenge than rifle season, but better chance of success than archery.

I still won't support inlines in the late season though.  While I am a supporter of some progressive PA game laws, that's one I'd like to see untouched.  The flintlock season is for those who prefer to go up against the elements and seasoned hardened deer.  All the while in relative solitude.  Take the solitude away by allowing more effective weapons and the enjoyment the season affords some folks diminishes.

ORIGINAL: BloodyHand

I dont forsee that any of yinz are doing sheet right now. My 70 year old uncle got mad because I'm blowing off squirrel hunting today.

Don't bet on that

Archery hunted a few hours in the morning and cut my evening hunt short becuase of the dangerous conditions.  Saw two does.  No muzzleloader hunters about near me.   

ORIGINAL: S-10

Hunted morning and evening but skipped the midday sit. Grandson and I had doe under us both sits but no bucks. Some of those gusts were a bit spooky.

Give you alot of credit taking the grandson out on a day like this. Someday he will relize what a great guy his grandfather is if he dosen't already .

Well I woke up at 4:30 and saw the weather and really thought about going back to bed. Instead I jumped in the truck and headed South.

The owners of the property always give me the combination to the large enclosed treestand, but rarely do I ever use it. This was the perfect day for it.

I climbed in a half hour or so before dawn and waited.

About the time Bloody Hand was posting abot the poor conditions, a small flock of turkeys came out (all jakes) came out and pecked around for a while. I glanced down another trail and here comes a deer. Many years I see more buck than does here so I carefully looked for antlers. There were none. She turned broadside at 50 yards and I lit 42 grains of 5744. At the shot, it almost ran into a turkey. I waited for a while after the shot. I was concerned that if I jumped it it would be gone. Besides, I still had a cup of coffee left. As I reloaded, another doe came by and provided an open shot broadside at about 50 yards. It ran away in an instant as I opened the door of the blind.

I walked to where I seen the deer last and was happy to find that it had expired about 6 feet from the two track. The 250 gr. Hornady cutting a quarter sized hole through it's heart.

Not exactly the most difficult hunt. My 1B anterless hunting was over in under 2 hours. The deer was in the freezer yesterday and I had my first fresh venison since the last day of firearm season last year.

Now to 2G (land of no deer )for the rest of the season with 2 DMAPs in hand. It sounds like the fishing is good there, so I may not hunt too much. Backstrap and Tenderloins will be on hte menu whether I hunt or not.w_w.

P.S. No archery hunters were bothered or even sighted during my hunt.

It's a smokeless powder made by Accurate Arms.  It is most commonly used in big bore handguns and rifles. 

I shoot a Savage ML10.  5744 is probably the most common powder used in them.

Ah ha.  I thought it sounded like smokeless powder.  My next question was going to be about your gun, but already answered that.  I had heard Savage makes a smokeless powder rated muzzleloader.  Just didn't know anyone who actually tried it out.

Congrats guys...