Some Musings on Whitetails

I spent a good chunk of last weekend on "doe patrol" at a coworker's farm in southwest Tennessee. Muzzleloader season was still in, and the Delta woods are certainly pretty this time of year. I saw a ton of squirrels and quite a few deer. I even managed to punch a pair of antlerless tags--one Saturday evening and one Sunday morning. I saw little, if any, rutting activity, however, aside from one tiny scrape and one tiny rub. I'm slowly but surely getting my mind around the fact that deer in this particular part of the world aren't on a Midwestern schedule when it comes to the rut. Now for a few various thoughts from the weekend:

• Text Messaging: I used to write off text messaging as a stupid waste of time, but the phone feature has its place in the deer woods. Since my wife has started hunting by herself the last couple seasons, it's a good way for us to keep in check with one another without having to make a noisy phone call. And, I'll admit, I'm a talker, especially when it comes to hunting. I can check deer reports with buddies in stands in completely different states before leaving the woods myself, if I'm so inclined. I'm still not a texting aficionado (it takes me five minutes to type 'seen anything?') but I'll at least refrain from calling it stupid.
• Kentucky Gun Season: Modern firearm season opened last weekend in my home state. Reports from my buddies at home tell me the deer movement was agonizingly, unusually slow for the opener. Though I've seen a few pictures of some solid 8- and 10-pointers here and there, I haven't heard of any Boone and Crockett beasts yet. Has one been shot? Probably. If you hear about it, let us know.
• PowerBelt Bullets: These things kill deer like lightening when placed in the correct spot, and are the most consistently accurate muzzleloader bullets I've ever used. But, I cannot get an exit wound from them, try as I might. This has never particularly bothered me, since deer I've shot with them in the past have fallen within sight for the most part, but Michelle nearly lost the 9-pointer she shot in Kentucky this season after the bullet fragmented too early. I hit both of my deer last weekend in the 10-spot with Michelle's setup and watched both animals fall, but neither bullet exited, and each of them ran 100 yards before hitting the ground. Blood trails were sparse. That's not a big deal in the wide-open, flat delta woods, but it could be problematic in a cutover (which we sometimes hunt). We're shooting the 295-grain hollowpoint ahead of two 50-grain pellets. Is it time for a change? I'll have to think on that.

Will in Tennessee