Bench-Talk

Those who know me likewise know that my life partner Ruth, is also my hunting partner. During the last 35 years together some of my passion for the out-of-doors, shooting and hunting has rubbed off on her and she dearly loves to hunt Whitetail deer. Finding the time to deer hunt is not always easy for her… after all she has to work overtime to support her retired husband (me) with all his non-self supporting  “vices” such as Benchrest, hunting, fishing and trapping $2 raccoon..:>).  This years effort for her to find the time to hunt has been no different....no time to bow hunt and only a couple of days hunting with a muzzleloader has been about it. Ruth was excited when she found out that “opening day” of modern firearm season was to fall on her weekend off but as the opener got close the weather turned much warmer and the deer activity sort’a slowed down. Opening day Ruth saw one nice 8pt chasing a doe and that is all the deer she saw. After church on Sunday she saw no deer activity and the same on Monday evening after work….then her day off things changed. Tuesday morning finds it cooler and raining….really a good morning for deer movement. So I drop her off at a stand we call the “salt house” (not to be confused with the “outhouse” stand…which is another story..:>)..).The “salt house” is an old livestock mineral feeder that has been gutted and makes a nice dry stand overlooking a small drain and the intersection of two logging roads. I wished her “luck” as she climbed out of the truck with her “trusted” M700 Classic .257 Roberts loaded with Randy’s BIB 100 grain “boolets”….she smiles say’n “I just want to stay dry and see some deer today”.  I advised Ruth that I was going to make my rounds and feed some “just weaned” calves on another part of the farm and to just call my “cell” when she wanted to “call it a day” or if she needed help with a deer.

Well it was still “grey” morning light when my cell phone rang and Ruth advised me she had shot a nice buck...When I queried “how nice?” she said that when she had determined it was a “shooter” she had no time to study just how nice he was….. well, here he is and as Stan said “Hope, You got a way to go to beat that one….. Looks like to me she can whop you in the hunting Dept.”…..I agree!... I sure am proud of my girl!....:>)

Hope Y’all enjoy the story and pic……and Randy, “thanks for them GOOD boolets”!

-H  

Wow - NICE buck, Ruth! :) Very nicely colored too - most of them around here are comparatively colorless! How about getting the hapless hubby to fill us in on the rest of your story - not that the above is 'bad', but rather that I'm greedy - I'd like to know the range, reaction, etc.; inquiring minds need to KNOW! ;) RG

Randy,

  The range was about 125 yards and the deer appeared (by the looks of the entrance and exit wound) to be quartering slightly toward the gun....POI was just behind the shoulder and a little higher than "center"....After the shot, Ruth said the deer turned back in the direction he came from and ran about 50 yards before folding up. There was little blood to be found because of all the rain. The 100 gr .257 "boolet" hit a ribs, both "coming and going", taking out both lungs and leaving a "quarter size" exit wound. The "boolet" performed well and nothing else could be expected of it....the "crafter" of these "boolets" knows his stuff!..:>) Randy, these BIB's shoot into around 1/2" in Ruth's M700 and when checking "zero" prior to the season, they grouped right on the POI from last season..this "Classic" just plain shoots them well!.......green score, about 160" and "some change"..:>)

-H

 Man, what a woman..what a buck!!!  Way to go Ruth, your big smile is worth a thousand words..CONGRATS!!!  Beware, I've showed the picture to a few of my hunting buddies and you can expect several marriage proposals coming your way.  Hope, beware of S.Dakota plated vehicles around the Carleton Ranch in the near future!!  : )  

 Another big Congrats!!    Todd & Lynn                                                                                                                                

"Hope, beware of S.Dakota plated vehicles around the Carleton Ranch in the near future!!  : )"  Yea, Yea, Yea ...I’ll be ever vigilant but I’m not to be worried Todd, there aren’t any pheasants here in Kentucky and anybody knows that South Dakota boys NEED pheasants in and around their environment to survive….;>)….which reminds me, should’nt we be see’n some pictures of the South Dakota’09 “Pheasant Wars”?

Take Care and thank Y’all for your compliments on the fruits Ruth’s hunt….:>)

-H

 Wow thats a nice Deer!

As far as Pheasant Hunting, been pretty tough here in Southern SD, The farmers are just starting to get the corn out and if you don't have a dog (I don't have a dog) you'll struggle.

 I've got about 6hrs hunting in so far and been skunked but another week will turn the tide.

Did I mention that was a great looking Deer?

 Hey Hope,

 Those S.Dak boys can be sneaky..ha!!  The Pheasant hunting is slow but steady, the farmers are way behind schedule due to the wet weather and the birds are staying in the corn.  If I had a dollar for every time that the dogs have trailed a running rooster to the corn I'd retire early!  There are alot of birds out there and the late season will be great after the harvest.  Deer season opened yesterday and the same is true with the deer hanging in the corn.  The Nyhus Curse continued as I only had doe tags this year, a beautiful, tall 4x4 heckled me for about a 1/2 hour before doing the same to my brother Loren at a mere 30 yrds, he was a beauty!

 I 'll keep you posted on the hunting season, here is a pic of my hunting buddy Bryan with a couple of roosters.

  Take care everyone!!

Todd,

Thanks for sharing the picture and forewarning me about those “sneaky” SD boys….

Sorry to hear the pheasant hunting is tough in SD…I always heard “When the hunting gets tough then the tough get hunting”….errrr, maybe that old say’in went sort’a like “When the going gets tough”….,and so on and so on….Anyway, same message…. just hang in there, it sounds like it’s gonna get better.

Now Todd, I figured by now you had gone to a gypsy or sumthin to get that dang curse exorcised but you say the Nyhus Curse continues????....well, I’ll share with Ya a sure fire way to get rid of that thing..;>)…Ya know, a "witch" I knew once told me that all a curse is made of is "negative energy and anxiety"….Well let me tell Ya,the best way to get rid of that stuff....:>)….to start with, ingest copious amounts of “Barley pop” or in your case maybe “Blackjuice” ,then (make sure to check local ordinances before proceeding!) build a fire with seasoned White Oak branches (these may be rare in SD) in the front yard and lace it with deer hair and pheasant feathers….. dance around the blaze (at a safe distance) until the fire dies out while yell’in at the top of your lungs “away with thee, away with thee” (be very careful, if living in a subdivision or “settled area” this may arouse the neighbors and have a negative effect on the ritual… really works better out in the country like where I live with no one to witness the ritual…or to call the police..:>)..) ..When the ashes cool , scoop them into a small deer skin pouch and wear it around your neck on all future hunting trips (I’ll bet next time you see “Big Mike” you will notice he is wearing one of these)…. This is a “Sure fire killer diller” method of getting rid of that “hunting” curse….or so I was told ...or maybe I read it somewhere on the internet…. I know a smile and laughter is also a good old fashion remedy for “negative energy and anxiety” (what they say that a curse is made of...) …..It's the best and works every time!......:>)

Good Hunt’in Guys..

-H