Buckskinner stories - Tales from the hunt!

OldMtnMan wrote:No, the problem is this is a good area for deer hunting. So, not only the locals grab the tags but out of state hunters do too. Then they give youths a bunch of the tags too. Not much left for the old guys,

I always thought they should throw a bone to the old hunters. We've been buying tags for decades. We can't afford to miss a hunt. It could be our last one.

Do something like.........If you're over 75 you get a guaranteed doe tag but you still have to pay for it. I'd be as happy as a pig in slop.

You know Pete, I agree with you 150%!! State of Colorado doesn't do shit for seniors or veterans unless you are 100% disabled!! And even then it isn't even a bone, more like crums.

Well, tell you what, we'll just pray you get a tag.

Ok, guys. I have a plan. Tell me what you think.

I can get a cow elk tag easily every year with no points but i still have one point now, so it's guaranteed. This would be a no go without my Lakota friend to help with the meat but that a full grown cow.

I found a website that has the weights of mule deer and elk in bone still in and boned. All this depends somewhat on the age of the animal.

A mule deer buck is 90-100lbs of boneless meat.
A mule deer doe is 50-60lbs of boneless meat.
A cow elk is 170-200lbs of boneless meat.
A elk calf is 60lbs of boneless meat.

I never thought i'd shoot a calf but i never thought i'd be hunting at almost 80 either.  So, I thought I could get the meat out for a deer. It looks like an elk calf will be easier. Plus, it will taste a whole lot better. I never was fond of muley meat. A buck might have been too much for me. The calf is like a doe.

I just bought .50 gun with a slow twist. No good for elk hunting here. The easiest way would be to get Bobby Holt bore it to a .54 slow twist. That will lighten up the barrel and make it legal.

Whatcha think?

This could be me.

Sorry Jon. Sort of took over your thread.

OldMtnMan wrote:Ok, guys. I have a plan. Tell me what you think.

I can get a cow elk tag easily every year with no points but i still have one point now, so it's guaranteed. This would be a no go without my Lakota friend to help with the meat but that a full grown cow.

I found a website that has the weights of mule deer and elk in bone still in and boned. All this depends somewhat on the age of the animal.

A mule deer buck is 90-100lbs of boneless meat.
A mule deer doe is 50-60lbs of boneless meat.
A cow elk is 170-200lbs of boneless meat.
A elk calf is 60lbs of boneless meat.

I never thought i'd shoot a calf but i never thought i'd be hunting at almost 80 either.  So, I thought I could get the meat out for a deer. It looks like an elk calf will be easier. Plus, it will taste a whole lot better. I never was fond of muley meat. A buck might have been too much for me. The calf is like a doe.

I just bought .50 gun with a slow twist. No good for elk hunting here. The easiest way would be to get Bobby Holt bore it to a .54 slow twist. That will lighten up the barrel and make it legal.

Whatcha think?

This could be me.

Pete, take some time and think about it for awhile. Then if you think you can do it...go for it.

OldMtnMan wrote:
I found a website that has the weights of mule deer and elk in bone still in and boned. All this depends somewhat on the age of the animal.

A mule deer buck is 90-100lbs of boneless meat.
A mule deer doe is 50-60lbs of boneless meat.
A cow elk is 170-200lbs of boneless meat.
A elk calf is 60lbs of boneless meat.

I just bought .50 gun with a slow twist. No good for elk hunting here. The easiest way would be to get Bobby Holt bore it to a .54 slow twist. That will lighten up the barrel and make it legal.

Whatcha think?

Those weights shown are pretty close Pete.  A good bull elk would be in the 250-300lbs of boneless meat and a  buffalo (because of the weight of robe, head and very large bones) we use to figure once boned out (boneless) you lost half the live weight.  A 2000 lb. animal gave you in the 950-975lbs of boneless meat..

This is a very interesting post Pete, something to think about (brings back some good memories). Thank you.

I never thought about weight when I was young and strong. Now it's all I think about. Weight of gun and meat.

I have a voice in my head screaming at me to get a scoped inline instead of the GPR coming tomorrow. Then I could shoulder it without breaking my back and I could actually see the sights and animal.

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My friends and myself had an excellent deer and elk hunting spot where I use to live. Five acres on one side of the country road and 295 acres across the street 100 of those acres in hay. Deer and elk in that field every night, perfect hunting with a butcher shop under the muzzle loading shop. We did that for 18 years until I left for better pastures and cleaner water. That upset a few friends like Francisco, Bent, Big T and Uffda (hunting friends).

Then the neighbor and ex-wife leased their properties (400 acres) to a guy that raises Lamas, those animals smell ran the wild life off, no kidding. There isn't any deer or elk within 10 miles of our old hunting grounds. All of us pretty much hung it up (spoiled kids) after the Lamas arrived ....




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Where I plan to hunt it's pretty quiet. A valley with lots of timber and some open meadows. No steep climbs. Old man hunting country. I haven't been there in 5 years. It had a pretty good elk herd then. I would imagine the rifle seasons are a zoo but bow and muzzy is pretty quiet.

CO_MTNman wrote:Congratulations! My dad and I struck out on our deer hunt

Sorry to hear that. But as long as you had fun, that's what it's all about.
We've had those years too. Good fortune on your next hunt with your dad.

FrontierGander wrote:

I love that kind of wooded country you guys are hunting in, that's like upstate Pennsylvania. Lots of trees and undergrowth ....

Buck Conner wrote:

FrontierGander wrote:

I love that kind of wooded country you guys are hunting in, that's like upstate Pennsylvania. Lots of trees and undergrowth ....

Buck, I don't think there is anything I enjoy more than being out in the wilderness with my sons. The scenery, the smells of the wilderness, it is just awesome. Getting back to camp and my wife is there and makes us some great meals. When hunting, if you get an animal, that is a bonus, but really it is all about family.

Not trying to hijack anything here but I have a question.  I killed this "thing" while hunting in a swampy area down in my native Georgia many years ago.  None of my hunting/wildlife books pictured anything like this.  So what in Heaven's name did I shoot!?

 

At first glance I thought I was looking at Pete's lost cousin .... second thought it looks like something out of one of those horror movies ....

Hanshi wrote:Not trying to hijack anything here but I have a question.  I killed this "thing" while hunting in a swampy area down in my native Georgia many years ago.  None of my hunting/wildlife books pictured anything like this.  So what in Heaven's name did I shoot!?

 

Hanshi,
You shot an alien. Was there any sign of a saucer around?

OldMtnMan wrote:Do something like.........If you're over 75 you get a guaranteed doe tag but you still have to pay for it. I'd be as happy as a pig in slop.

There's that damn pig in the mix again ... that could be sloppy alright ...      

Getting back to Pete's question, Send the barrel to Bobby Hoyt and have him bore it out to .54.  He did that for a Pennsylvania Hunter (T-C) I had and it worked out very well.  He also made a 20 gauge barrel for the same gun and did a bang-up job; octagonal to round with a turtle front sight, although I had to final polish and blue it.

It also knocked a bunch of weight off of the rifle.

~Kees~

Winter Hawk wrote:Getting back to Pete's question, Send the barrel to Bobby Hoyt and have him bore it out to .54.  He did that for a Pennsylvania Hunter (T-C) I had and it worked out very well.  He also made a 20 gauge barrel for the same gun and did a bang-up job; octagonal to round with a turtle front sight, although I had to final polish and blue it.

It also knocked a bunch of weight off of the rifle.

~Kees~

Speaking of Pete....anyone heard from him lately???

OldMtnMan wrote:No, the problem is this is a good area for deer hunting. So, not only the locals grab the tags but out of state hunters do too. Then they give youths a bunch of the tags too.

Get a new birth cert., make yourself a teenager bud .... get your lic. easy now.  

Do something like.........If you're over 75 you get a guaranteed doe tag but you still have to pay for it. I'd be as happy as a pig in slop.

Hey you got a tag ...  


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Mustang65 wrote:..... At 73 I don't do to bad.

Give it another 10 years Stan and see how your doing at 83 ....

Old age can really suck with the pains caused by having done stupid things when younger ...



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At 83 I don't expect to be doing the things that I did when I was 50, 60 or 70. I've accepted that years ago. As a matter of fact I just take one day at a time, and if I make to the next, well I figure that was good.