Deer

Deer season here in NJ is coming to a close. I shot a deer last weekend with my muzzleloader, a Thompson/Center Encore 209x50 Magnum. Now, I've got lots of guns, and I've got my favorites. But the Encore is awesome. I bought it from a local gun shop that is now out of business, and it is the Zander's Sporting Goods "special model"- Stainless steel with walnut stock & forend. I've got it topped with a Leupold 3x9 scope, and TC monoblock rings (which they don't seem to make any more.

This gun can shoot - I'm loading it with 150 grains of Hodgdon Triple 7 (three 50 grain pellets) and the TC 250 grain Shock Waves. I'm getting groups within an inch at 100 yards with it. It hits hard, but in the one case it didn't go through-and-through, the core separated from the jacket and fragmented, but not until after it went through the chest cavity and took out three ribs on the far side to lodge under the skin. Easily recovered when skinning.

I also use a Nosler .44 caliber (0.429") 300 grain hollowpoint with the TC sabot (and 150 grains of 777). I don't think they make these anymore, I bought a big box a few years ago and have plenty left. This round has never failed to shoot through a deer, and I've never had a deer do anything but drop in it's tracks when hit by this one. One bullet I recovered went through a deer at 80 yards and punched 1/2 way through a dead tree laying on the ground 20 yards behind it. I dug at it a little bit with my knife every year for five years before the tree rotted enough for me to dig it out. Even after taking out a shoulder blade on the deer and going 1/2 way through an 8" log, it held together and had great expansion.

I really like the 777 pellets - 777 has no sulphur, so it cleans up easily and causes a lot less corrosion. I still like the smell of good ol' black powder though...

Did I say I like this gun? I'd definitely give it a score of 11 out of 10, and the muzzleloader barrel is the only barrel I have for it. More on that later...

Next time, I'll tell you about the "Jersey rifle" I put together, and why I don't shoot it at all anymore, even during shotgun deer seasons.