We found a place to set up camp right above the river. In a few hours, camp was set.
I remounted the MVA scope with mil dots, and checked the sighting on the rifle. The 700 grain Montana Bullet Works slug over 120 grains of Goex Express FG powder was still pretty close at 100 yards. A slight change in windage and I was good to go.
The MBW 50 slug is one the left, compared to a .45 cal. 457125 slug on the right.
We had seen some small bucks go by our camp in pickups or on 4-wheelers, but nothing big. I spent a day getting oriented since I had never hunted the area before. The Sharps didn't bounce around much on the 4-wheeler since the rifle rack mounts are soft rubber and have straps to hold it down, but the entire quad (and the rifle) traveled many miles on forest service roads and unimproved trails. Would the MVA scope and mounts hold the zero? I would find out.
Eventually, I found a nice little 4 X 4 mulie, traveling with a smaller 3 X 4, (8 and 7 pointer to you Eastern guys) with about 6-7 does. When I first spotted them, they were going down the steep ridge I was on and crossing the creek at the bottom. I ranged the opposite side of the steep draw in an open spot at 250 yards. I grabbed the sticks and set up, hoping the buck would cross the opening since they were now climbing the slope, where I could see them going and and out of the timber.
As the deer fed up the opposite slope, I waited for a clear shot on the bigger buck. He would stop and feed for a few seconds, and then move. I had to be aware of deer behind him, since I did not want the slug to shoot through and hit another deer.
Finally, I had a clear shot. I estimated the range at about 230 yards, since he was somewhat closer to me compared to the opening I had ranged. With the mil- dots on the MVA scope at ranges over 175 yards, I aim off the bottom dot and hold over. This gives me flexibility to shoot at different ranges without adjusting the sights.
The deer was feeding with his head to the left, quartering away. I tried to put the slug far back in the ribs, planning to have the slug exit the opposite shoulder. At the shot, I could not hear the bullet hit, which is something I noticed about this bullet during previous hunting trips. The shot felt good, but did not knock the deer down. He kicked and went into a clump of firs.
The rest of the deer came out and began running up the slope and further to the left. The 4 X 4 did not come out.
It took me 45 minutes to go down the slope, cross the creek, and climb up the opposite side. I actually went above where I last saw the buck and worked downward, as if he was still alive I did not want him to go further up the hill, since I would have to travel further with him to get him out.
Entering the firs I saw blood and a slide mark in the snow, about 20 yards from where I had shot the buck. At the bottom of the slide mark was my buck, dead.
The hill was to steep to gut him on, so I kicked/rolled him to the bottom, gutted him, and then got him across the creek. I was able to get the 4-wheeler pretty close, and with the help of the 50' winch and some rope, I got him to the quad. Getting a deer out in one piece is rare and this one worked out real well.
I missed where I wanted the slug to go by only about 2 inches. I hit a bit further back so the slug exited just behind the opposite shoulder instead of through it. The slug hit the back of the left lung, and a good chunk of the right one, before exiting the off-side. Classic performance as I have seen before, about 1" entry hole, 1.5" holes through the lungs, and about a 1.5 inch exit. There was very little edible meet lost. We had the tenderloins that night-very nice eating.
The rest of my hunt was spent scouting for and then hunting for elk. I had spotted a good 6 point the night before opener and watched him until dark. I was in place the next morning at least an hour before daylight, in a spot where I thought he and the raghorn he was with would feed out at daylight. This would give me about a 200 yard shot.
Right a daylight a guy came down the ridge I was on, and proceeded to tell me that he had 2 guys on the opposite ridge to the left, 2 on the ridge to the right, and four guys coming up the bottom. I told him that I had been there for over an hour waiting for daylight, and he said "Well, maybe we will push something to you" and off he went. That is what can happen when hunting National Forest public land. There was no way for the guy to "recall" his hunting partners spread out all over, and the guy was nice about it, it was just one of those things.
About an hour and a half later, I heard five shots below me, followed by another shot 45 minutes later. You could tell they were "airing it out" with cross canyon shots. I later saw them packing out the 6 point, or one that looked just like it. They were still packing it out the next day, since they had shot the elk in the bottom, rather than what I wanted to do and let the elk feed out on the ridge where he would be easier to pack out.
Anyway, that was opening morning for elk. I did see several other bulls during the next few days, but all were a long ways away in places I could not get to for a shot. My buddy Travis and my brother-in-law Jim both got bulls and each took a day to get out after boning them out. Both bulls were shot at 300 plus yards with scoped high powered rifles.
Once back at my borther-in-laws, we boned out and cut and wrapped my deer and froze it for my trip home.
All in all it was a very good trip, very relaxing for me. The rifle and scope preformed well, and I have an ice chest of boned out mule deer steaks and chops with some jerky meat as well. I learned some new country, had a great time, took a big game animal with a single shot with a quick, clean kill, using my Shiloh 50 cal.
Manny
I have driven the entire length from Nampa/Boise to Ketchum over Dollar Hide Mtn.Beautiful country and a nice buck,I liken the taking of a mature animal with a Sharps rifle(Shilo) to one of the greatest feats in hunting,not easily done.
