October 21, 2015

I Took a Shot at 273 Yards with My Muzzleloader

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Editor’s Note: Avid hunter Frank Miskey from Lancaster, New York, has been a member of the Mossy Oak ProStaff for 5 years. “I'm still a fan of Mossy Oak Break-Up Infinity, because it’s so versatile. Regardless of the season or terrain, Break-Up Infinity seems to fit into all my hunting situations.”

When we come back home from our southern tier hunt (see Day 2), we’ll usually muzzleloader hunt during the muzzleloader season. Primarily, we’ll be hunting for does. Or, if we have a left-over buck tag, we’ll take a buck. I shoot 130 grains of Triple Seven black powder with a 240 grain XTP bullet in my Knight Revolution muzzleloader. I went to the rifle range and experimented with loads and bullets until I got the right load that was comfortable to shoot and that shot tight groups out to 250 yards.

Miskey_day3 I took an 8-point buck at 273 yards using this load in this rifle. I hadn’t planned on hunting that afternoon. I went home, got my gun and was taking a slow, easy walk through the woods when I saw something move out on the far side of the hardwoods. I froze and kept looking and looking, until I could determine that the movement I had spotted was a nice-size shooter buck. I had shot my blackpowder rifle long enough to know where the bullet should hit at that range. I aimed and squeezed the trigger. The buck went down in the same tracks in which he’d been standing. I wouldn’t advise anyone to take a shot with a muzzleloader at that range unless you’ve spent plenty of time on the bench rest testing bullets and powders, and you’ve built confidence in your ability to shoot accurately at ranges out past 250 yards. So, I knew when I squeezed the trigger on the rifle, unless something unforeseen happened, that buck was going down.

To learn more about hunting, check out John E. Phillips’ new eBook and print book, “Bowhunting Deer: Mossy Oak Pros Know Bucks and Bows.” You also can download a free Kindle app that enables you to read the book on your iPad, computer or Smartphone.

For information on making jerky from your deer to provide a protein-rich snack, you can download a free book from http://johninthewild.com/free-books.

Day 2: How to Take Bears and Deer on New York’s Public Lands

Tomorrow: Secrets on Hunting New York’s Public Lands

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