Appearing in The Fouling Shot #179 Jan/Feb 2006, this article was written by John Alexander.
Part 4 of 4
Every year I return to Indiana to hunt deer on the family farm where I started hunting squirrels and rabbits over sixty years earlier. The farm has always been about half woods and the adjoining properties are also heavily wooded. While I was growing up no deer had been seen in that part of the Midwest for over fifty years. Now, in a half hour walk through the woods you are likely to see at least one whitetail disappearing into the trees. Wild turkeys and coyotes, although unheard of forty years ago, are also abundant.
When the time came for my annual deer safari to the wilds of Indiana I was still frantically trying to find the ultimate cast bullet handload for the NEF slug gun. I was sure there was still room for improvement if I could find the right combination. However, my best loads were averaging two inches at fifty yards and, although I am a little nutty about accuracy, I knew, from a practical standpoint, this was good enough for a woods rifle.
I decided to go with the 0.635" balls cast of wheel weights and quenched in water from the mold. These were a few thousandths over groove diameter, weighed 370 grains, and had a Brinell hardness of 28. The ball was loaded over 26 grains of Blue Dot, a PGS gas seal, and two 8 & G soft fiber wads. Velocity 15 feet from the muzzle was 1,240 ft/sec for the 370 grain ball. This combination substantially exceeds the energy of a 44 Magnum pistol. so I reasoned it would be adequate for deer at moderate ranges.
It takes two pretty good days to drive the 1,300 miles from Old Town to the cabin my brother, Arch. had built on the old homestead. The cabin overlooks a small lake in the woods Dad and I built over fifty years ago. It is not only a pretty place but the fish can be fed from the front porch and a metal gong, across the lake. provides a target for informal shooting. It would be a great place to hang out even if the surrounding woods weren't infested with deer and turkeys. I planned to get there a day early to recuperate and spend time checking out the woods and the permanent tree stands as well as provisioning the camp with adequate supplies of Oreos, chips, Snickers bars. drinks, and other staples to maintain our strength for the rigorous hunt ahead.
On opening day we rose at the customary ungodly hour and after stumbling around finding boots and other necessary items managed to wake up enough to enjoy the traditional breakfast of biscuits and gravy prepared by Arch's wife, Linda, as her once a year concession to the madness.
I hunted all day mostly out of the tree stands and saw several deer but only one legal buck which was too far away and mostly hidden by brush and trees. This was a real change of pace from hunting in my area of Maine where you can sometimes hunt for several days without seeing a deer but the result for the day was the same - no dead deer.
The next day we were up at the same insane hour but without the deluxe breakfast. About an hour after getting settled in my tree stand. the first deer came into sight. The sun was just climbing above the horizon. The deer was coming directly from the east and the glare made it hard to tell if it was a legal buck. As the deer circled more to the north around the stand it turned out to be a small doe. She hurried past within thirty yards of the tree stand. occasionally looking back over her shoulder as if saying in deer talk ··come on guys if you can catch me we can have some fun." Since I expected a following buck, I removed the bulky outer mitten from my left hand to be able to work the hammer and trigger in case one appeared. Yes, I am left handed.
Within a minute or two. a small fork horn appeared. He also came directly out of the rising sun and the glare again made it difficult to see him clearly. He was walking quickly in the same general direction as the doe but not following directly, obviously trying to appear cool and disinterested. He was following a trail towards an opening, fifty yards from the stand. where I had shot two deer in previous years with Arch's .357 Max TC Contender. As he approached the opening. I raised the rifle and was horrified to see only an orange glare through the scope which I assumed was caused by the rising sun. I could see the deer rapidly approaching the opening with my other eye but no amount of twisting or straining my eyes could eliminate the orange glare that blocked my view through the scope.
Needless to say, I was in a highly agitated state as the deer walked unscathed into the opening and then, still unscathed, through 1t and down into a steep ravine and out of sight. When he disappeared, I stood up and positioned myself to shoot if he emerged from the ravine where I could get a reasonable shot. Instead, he climbed out the other side of the ravine in thick brush.
Although I could see him through the scope, the intervening limbs and trees made a decent shot impossible before he disappeared unimpeded on his quest for love. Although I wasn't thinking calmly, it finally occurred to me that I had been looking in the same general direction when I saw the deer clearly through the scope coming out of the ravine, without a trace of the blinding orange glare. As I stood there puzzling over what had eliminated the glare when I had stood up to shoot across the ravine, I noticed the oversized thumb of my orange over mitten still on my right hand. Putting the gun back up in the same sitting position I had tried to shoot the buck from - there was the infernal orange glare completely blocking my view through the scope. To paraphrase Pogo, I had met the glare and it was me.
This was the only shot, or even good view of a buck, I had had in two days of frigid waiting. and I wasn't in the best of moods. Since I had never seen the Bambi movie, the thought that my incompetence had probably allowed love to blossom for the two young deer didn't ease my frustration I was heading back to Maine in one more day and it was beginning to look like I might not find out this year if the .635 Nitro Express would kill a deer. I was so agitated, that in spite of the good hunting story this fiasco would obviously make, I immediately vowed to myself to never admit how I saved a deer's life by sticking my thumb in front of the scope.
Of course time heals the most embarrassing wounds and here I am giving a detailed account of my blunder for coast to coast distribution. In addition to the passage of time, improved luck later in the day also helped ease the regrets and made it easier to confess my bumbling performance.
Around noon, Arch who was hunting to the south of my position, froze out of his stand and decided to still hunt in my general direction. Neither of us had heard or seen anything except the two small deer, whose life the thumb of my mitten had spared. However, as if by magic, two nice bucks miraculously materialized out of nowhere perhaps moving away from Arch.
As I watched their approach, one conveniently positioned himself broadside to me in an opening. He was well beyond the fifty yards where the gun had been zeroed to group shots a couple of inches above the point of aim. Not having much time for range estimation, I aimed a couple of inches higher than what I considered the ideal spot behind his front leg.
At the shot he went down. I was surprised and quickly reloaded (quickly is a relative term with a single shot) and got ready to shoot again when the buck got back up. Instead, he kicked a couple of times and laid still. I was stunned by his instant and unexpected demise.
The ball had hit a couple of inches above the point of aim, gone through the middle of both lungs and lodged under the hide on the opposite side. Although flattened a bit, it was in one piece. Although the damage to the lungs was severe, it is not clear why the deer died almost instantly, since the bullet's path was at least eight inches below the spine. I would have expected it to run at least a short distance before succumbing. The deer was hit, and died, 90 of my steps from the tree stand or a little over 75 yards. It was about 160 pounds field dressed and would have been a small six point if one point hadn't been knocked off.
A single deceased deer is obviously the smallest of samples and his unexpected instant death may have been a fluke. However, judging from the autopsy, a sixty three caliber ball propelled by a conservative load from a twenty gauge rifled barrel does more than enough damage to promptly and humanly kill a deer at seventy five yards if hit properly. Seventy five yards probably encompasses 95 percent of opportunities for a shot in the woods we hunt.
With further load development, I believe it will be possible to find a low cost handload with the needed accuracy and flatness of trajectory to extend the practical range of a good twenty gauge rifled gun to well over 100 yards. If so, the twenty gauge slug gun will equal the effectiveness of many rifles m traditional deer hunting calibers. Low cost handloads and the mild recoil of the twenty gauge will make it practical and pleasant to confirm the accuracy of the combination, secure a solid zero, and practice to build skill and confidence.
The $2.50 per shot cost and punishing recoil of the twelve gauge with factory loads make it much harder to confirm accuracy, zero, and practice effectively without developing a flinch. either from the thought of that much money flying out the muzzle or the pain.
The excellent performance on the deer strengthens my contention that a twenty gauge is the appropriate gauge for a slug gun for deer Few twelve gauge slug gun hunters have practiced enough to become really good with their gun and load. The twin difficulties of high cost of ammunition and the painful recoil takes all the fun out of such practice and makes proficiency unlikely.
If a hunter grits their teeth and practices with a twelve gauge, there 1s a high probability the punishing recoil has bequeathed them a world class flinch which they are probably not aware of. Either way there are probably few hunters that should take a 100 yard shot at a deer with a twelve gauge slug gun. To be responsible. those with a bad flinch should probably limit their shots to archery range. Most hunters would be more effective with the milder recoiling twenty gauge.
In summary I believe it 1s possible to find handloads for the twenty gauge slug gun that have both the power and accuracy of many conventional rifles being earned in the search for deer. I admit, I would be happier carrying a high quality modern rifle that I knew had the capability of making a three hundred yard shot if a deer foolishly appeared in an open field. However, I no longer feel abused by the misguided Indiana game laws which rule out such a rifle. I know my slug gun has both the accuracy and power needed to humanly kill a deer at the ranges I am likely to see one, and I have developed quite an affection for my short, ugly, cheap little .635 Nitro Express. @
Part 4 of 4
Every year I return to Indiana to hunt deer on the family farm where I started hunting squirrels and rabbits over sixty years earlier. The farm has always been about half woods and the adjoining properties are also heavily wooded. While I was growing up no deer had been seen in that part of the Midwest for over fifty years. Now, in a half hour walk through the woods you are likely to see at least one whitetail disappearing into the trees. Wild turkeys and coyotes, although unheard of forty years ago, are also abundant.
When the time came for my annual deer safari to the wilds of Indiana I was still frantically trying to find the ultimate cast bullet handload for the NEF slug gun. I was sure there was still room for improvement if I could find the right combination. However, my best loads were averaging two inches at fifty yards and, although I am a little nutty about accuracy, I knew, from a practical standpoint, this was good enough for a woods rifle.
I decided to go with the 0.635" balls cast of wheel weights and quenched in water from the mold. These were a few thousandths over groove diameter, weighed 370 grains, and had a Brinell hardness of 28. The ball was loaded over 26 grains of Blue Dot, a PGS gas seal, and two 8 & G soft fiber wads. Velocity 15 feet from the muzzle was 1,240 ft/sec for the 370 grain ball. This combination substantially exceeds the energy of a 44 Magnum pistol. so I reasoned it would be adequate for deer at moderate ranges.
It takes two pretty good days to drive the 1,300 miles from Old Town to the cabin my brother, Arch. had built on the old homestead. The cabin overlooks a small lake in the woods Dad and I built over fifty years ago. It is not only a pretty place but the fish can be fed from the front porch and a metal gong, across the lake. provides a target for informal shooting. It would be a great place to hang out even if the surrounding woods weren't infested with deer and turkeys. I planned to get there a day early to recuperate and spend time checking out the woods and the permanent tree stands as well as provisioning the camp with adequate supplies of Oreos, chips, Snickers bars. drinks, and other staples to maintain our strength for the rigorous hunt ahead.
On opening day we rose at the customary ungodly hour and after stumbling around finding boots and other necessary items managed to wake up enough to enjoy the traditional breakfast of biscuits and gravy prepared by Arch's wife, Linda, as her once a year concession to the madness.
I hunted all day mostly out of the tree stands and saw several deer but only one legal buck which was too far away and mostly hidden by brush and trees. This was a real change of pace from hunting in my area of Maine where you can sometimes hunt for several days without seeing a deer but the result for the day was the same - no dead deer.
The next day we were up at the same insane hour but without the deluxe breakfast. About an hour after getting settled in my tree stand. the first deer came into sight. The sun was just climbing above the horizon. The deer was coming directly from the east and the glare made it hard to tell if it was a legal buck. As the deer circled more to the north around the stand it turned out to be a small doe. She hurried past within thirty yards of the tree stand. occasionally looking back over her shoulder as if saying in deer talk ··come on guys if you can catch me we can have some fun." Since I expected a following buck, I removed the bulky outer mitten from my left hand to be able to work the hammer and trigger in case one appeared. Yes, I am left handed.
Within a minute or two. a small fork horn appeared. He also came directly out of the rising sun and the glare again made it difficult to see him clearly. He was walking quickly in the same general direction as the doe but not following directly, obviously trying to appear cool and disinterested. He was following a trail towards an opening, fifty yards from the stand. where I had shot two deer in previous years with Arch's .357 Max TC Contender. As he approached the opening. I raised the rifle and was horrified to see only an orange glare through the scope which I assumed was caused by the rising sun. I could see the deer rapidly approaching the opening with my other eye but no amount of twisting or straining my eyes could eliminate the orange glare that blocked my view through the scope.
Needless to say, I was in a highly agitated state as the deer walked unscathed into the opening and then, still unscathed, through 1t and down into a steep ravine and out of sight. When he disappeared, I stood up and positioned myself to shoot if he emerged from the ravine where I could get a reasonable shot. Instead, he climbed out the other side of the ravine in thick brush.
Although I could see him through the scope, the intervening limbs and trees made a decent shot impossible before he disappeared unimpeded on his quest for love. Although I wasn't thinking calmly, it finally occurred to me that I had been looking in the same general direction when I saw the deer clearly through the scope coming out of the ravine, without a trace of the blinding orange glare. As I stood there puzzling over what had eliminated the glare when I had stood up to shoot across the ravine, I noticed the oversized thumb of my orange over mitten still on my right hand. Putting the gun back up in the same sitting position I had tried to shoot the buck from - there was the infernal orange glare completely blocking my view through the scope. To paraphrase Pogo, I had met the glare and it was me.
This was the only shot, or even good view of a buck, I had had in two days of frigid waiting. and I wasn't in the best of moods. Since I had never seen the Bambi movie, the thought that my incompetence had probably allowed love to blossom for the two young deer didn't ease my frustration I was heading back to Maine in one more day and it was beginning to look like I might not find out this year if the .635 Nitro Express would kill a deer. I was so agitated, that in spite of the good hunting story this fiasco would obviously make, I immediately vowed to myself to never admit how I saved a deer's life by sticking my thumb in front of the scope.
Of course time heals the most embarrassing wounds and here I am giving a detailed account of my blunder for coast to coast distribution. In addition to the passage of time, improved luck later in the day also helped ease the regrets and made it easier to confess my bumbling performance.
Around noon, Arch who was hunting to the south of my position, froze out of his stand and decided to still hunt in my general direction. Neither of us had heard or seen anything except the two small deer, whose life the thumb of my mitten had spared. However, as if by magic, two nice bucks miraculously materialized out of nowhere perhaps moving away from Arch.
As I watched their approach, one conveniently positioned himself broadside to me in an opening. He was well beyond the fifty yards where the gun had been zeroed to group shots a couple of inches above the point of aim. Not having much time for range estimation, I aimed a couple of inches higher than what I considered the ideal spot behind his front leg.
At the shot he went down. I was surprised and quickly reloaded (quickly is a relative term with a single shot) and got ready to shoot again when the buck got back up. Instead, he kicked a couple of times and laid still. I was stunned by his instant and unexpected demise.
The ball had hit a couple of inches above the point of aim, gone through the middle of both lungs and lodged under the hide on the opposite side. Although flattened a bit, it was in one piece. Although the damage to the lungs was severe, it is not clear why the deer died almost instantly, since the bullet's path was at least eight inches below the spine. I would have expected it to run at least a short distance before succumbing. The deer was hit, and died, 90 of my steps from the tree stand or a little over 75 yards. It was about 160 pounds field dressed and would have been a small six point if one point hadn't been knocked off.
A single deceased deer is obviously the smallest of samples and his unexpected instant death may have been a fluke. However, judging from the autopsy, a sixty three caliber ball propelled by a conservative load from a twenty gauge rifled barrel does more than enough damage to promptly and humanly kill a deer at seventy five yards if hit properly. Seventy five yards probably encompasses 95 percent of opportunities for a shot in the woods we hunt.
With further load development, I believe it will be possible to find a low cost handload with the needed accuracy and flatness of trajectory to extend the practical range of a good twenty gauge rifled gun to well over 100 yards. If so, the twenty gauge slug gun will equal the effectiveness of many rifles m traditional deer hunting calibers. Low cost handloads and the mild recoil of the twenty gauge will make it practical and pleasant to confirm the accuracy of the combination, secure a solid zero, and practice to build skill and confidence.
The $2.50 per shot cost and punishing recoil of the twelve gauge with factory loads make it much harder to confirm accuracy, zero, and practice effectively without developing a flinch. either from the thought of that much money flying out the muzzle or the pain.
The excellent performance on the deer strengthens my contention that a twenty gauge is the appropriate gauge for a slug gun for deer Few twelve gauge slug gun hunters have practiced enough to become really good with their gun and load. The twin difficulties of high cost of ammunition and the painful recoil takes all the fun out of such practice and makes proficiency unlikely.
If a hunter grits their teeth and practices with a twelve gauge, there 1s a high probability the punishing recoil has bequeathed them a world class flinch which they are probably not aware of. Either way there are probably few hunters that should take a 100 yard shot at a deer with a twelve gauge slug gun. To be responsible. those with a bad flinch should probably limit their shots to archery range. Most hunters would be more effective with the milder recoiling twenty gauge.
In summary I believe it 1s possible to find handloads for the twenty gauge slug gun that have both the power and accuracy of many conventional rifles being earned in the search for deer. I admit, I would be happier carrying a high quality modern rifle that I knew had the capability of making a three hundred yard shot if a deer foolishly appeared in an open field. However, I no longer feel abused by the misguided Indiana game laws which rule out such a rifle. I know my slug gun has both the accuracy and power needed to humanly kill a deer at the ranges I am likely to see one, and I have developed quite an affection for my short, ugly, cheap little .635 Nitro Express. @