things not going as planed

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
I was talking to a friend about this, he reminded me....of a hunt we went on with our muzzle loading rifles.
This hunt was about 30-40 years ago, a friend of mine and his buddy and I were out in the swamps of mid Florida with muzzle loading rifles, it was their first hunt with my friends then new 1980 datsun 4x4 truck, and hunting in the glades carrying our then fairly new muzzle loading weapons, during the muzzle loading rifle season.
there were three of us and I had a 58 caliber hawken, rifle but I decided to sit this particular bit of hunting out and wait by the truck, as Id sprained my back earlier in the day.
they had parked the truck on a seldom used dirt two track road, to glass an area, when they noticed a fairly large group of deer wading thru ankle to chest deep water and grass , in a low swampy area, between higher wooded islands in the everglades. the deer were moving towards a relatively dry island of palmetto brush that was about 500 yards distant, the area was flooded from a late season heavy rain, and they had not seen an antlered legal deer in days. after about 15 minutes of discussion they decided to walk out to the drier area after starting by having one guy drive out to a tree covered area of the road on the opposite side,of the flooded area they were looking over, as the road curved around one side , along a perimeter road access.
this idea was so they could have two guys approach from about 140 degrees apart, under the impression that deer vacating the brushy area , on seeing them approach would most likely give at least one guy a shot as they exited, the palmetto brush covered island as the far side was a small lake which they hoped would limit the deers escape direction options, to the areas they could see..
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a good deal of FLORIDA SWAMPS LOOK'S LIKE THESE pictures
typical palmetto thickets where 20 -40 yard shots are the normal range, and where some areas where use of a climbing tree stand offer's you a big advantage

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both guys who had decided to walk out to see if they could get a shot at a legal buck, and they hat gotten to about 50 yards of the island , while wading thru deep muddy water and were about 90 yards apart from each other when a very large, mud covered, wild feral Brahma bull stood up and obviously was not happy with their proximity.
one guy had a 50cal hawken the other guy had a 10ga muzzle loading single shot.
both guys at this point, realized that it might not be a real good idea to shoot the bull unless it became mandatory for self defense and it was at extreme close range and both guys, further realized that they might be better off if they got closer together, so if forced to they could at least hit the threat a decent 1-2 punch from close range.
there was a hurried , rather loud ,discussion, between them as they watched the bull, and both guys watched the bull and walked backwards to the truck, but while trying to get closer to each other in the process, and the guy with the 10 gauge expressed a great deal of doubt as to the advisability of using his load of 18 ---00 BUCK and 100 grains of 2f on a bull that looked like it might weigh 1800lbs , a load meant for 140-170 lb Florida deer at under 30 yards , the guys with the 50 hawken was loaded with a round patched ball and 90 grains of 3f.
both guys decided that it might just be best to back away....the bull was watching every move, and as they backed away he advanced and the range stayed at about 50-60 yards as the two "hunters" backed up to the higher dry ground of the areas access road with the bull following closely,

similar too this if youve never seen one (and theres several running wild loose in the glades)
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surprisingly the bull ,followed up to the point they reached the road , and were no longer walking in water and mud, as they climbed the grade up to the road surface so did the bull. both guys had decided that they were not going to fire except in self defense, they kept watch on the bull as they walked back to the truck, it seemed obvious at that point that the bull was more curious than truly aggressive, and their heart rates were returning to normal as they reached the truck, it had become almost humorous. both guys got into the truck, uncapped their rifles and breathed a sigh of relief ...and started to tell me about the crazy bull that was following them, I,d been taking a nap in the back of the truck, bed , and had not been watching them, until they got my attention jumping back into the truck , slamming the doors and talking,... thats when the bull that had followed them up onto the narrow dirt trail, semi charged or at least rapidly trotted over too the truck,and busted the side mirror off the drivers door and put a huge dent in the door, rocking the truck, my friend was very upset, but by the time he had re-armed the bull had retreated to the mud flats and water and stood out at about 400 yards, so there was not much to be done.
the ranger we saw, and talked too later in the day was sympathetic and glad they had not shot the bull as he was fairly sure that it would have gone badly for all involved, he just said thats what insurance is for!
 
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GTC4 does Grumpy.
He shared a few with me in person.
Giant Wild Bobcats for Trophys I seen.
I was in awe.

Fascinating reading Your hunting adventures.
Enjoy reading.
 
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