Buck down with 123 SST

[BluntForceTrauma]

Beautiful!

John

[81police]

big daddy down! NICE!

[6.5flinger]

Congrats on a great buck. Looking forward to what you find regarding penetration and if you recover the bullet please post pics. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with the 129 gr sst blowing up on a youth hunter this year on a cull buck here in KY. The young man made a perfect 80 yard shot and the deer ran off. Fortunately the same young man was able to harvest the same buck two months later during our late muzzleloader season. When I field dressed the buck you could clearly see the healed over external wound from the sst and 3 broken ribs inside the chest cavity, however, the bullet never got through the broken ribs and into the organs. Still don't understand why the bullet blew up since we have harvested several deer with this bullet and there was nothing but clear skies between the boy and the deer at the time of the shot. Again, congrats on a dandy buck!!!

[LRRPF52]

Congrats on a great buck. Looking forward to what you find regarding penetration and if you recover the bullet please post pics. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with the 129 gr sst blowing up on a youth hunter this year on a cull buck here in KY. The young man made a perfect 80 yard shot and the deer ran off. Fortunately the same young man was able to harvest the same buck two months later during our late muzzleloader season. When I field dressed the buck you could clearly see the healed over external wound from the sst and 3 broken ribs inside the chest cavity, however, the bullet never got through the broken ribs and into the organs. Still don't understand why the bullet blew up since we have harvested several deer with this bullet and there was nothing but clear skies between the boy and the deer at the time of the shot. Again, congrats on a dandy buck!!!

Some animals are just tougher than others, having very dense muscle and connective tissue from better genes and possibly a better diet, combined with a lot of exercise. I have a theory that animals in mountainous terrain are much tougher than animals living in relatively flat areas, since high angle inclines build strength and intestinal fortitude in creatures.

As I have been reading the experiences of the guy down in New Zealand who has hunted game with a very wide assortment of calibers, I was surprised to see what he said about the 6.5x55, since it has been used for well over a century to successfully hunt and consistently harvest even large game in Scandinavia, Central Europe, Alaska, and Africa.

What barrel length was the 129gr SST fired from, or more importantly, what muzzle velocity was it running at?

[waveslayer]

Nice buck! Have you used CFE223 yet? Or just XBR?

[Flyby]

Very nice buck! Looking forward to your son's video.

[PA_Allen]

Nice buck! Have you used CFE223 yet? Or just XBR?

I have not had a chance to try CFE223 yet, but I would really like to. I had several pounds of 8208 on hand before the hoarding craze hit last year , so I just stuck with that for now. I got 500 of the 123 SST's last year with the forum group buy, and just decided to make a single good load with the 123 SST's and 8208 and only use that in the 16" carbine for a year or so. I've been very pleased with the combination so far. Unfortunately I like to experiment and tinker, so I may be shooting something else out of my Grendel this next year.
I get 2430 fps out if my 16" with the 123 gr SST and 28 gr of 8208. I could probably get 50-75 fps more by running CFE, but I'll leave that experiment for another day.
Best,
PA

[sneaky one]

Nice harvest PA- Take the deer as per. Stack them . Do you think I tinker?

CFe is the best option, so far- Have a few on targets and a few friends trying a many things here & there.

I have shot the cfe, on the heavies, and the dreaded lighter pills- they are all good!

[customcutter]

It was strange to me as well when I first moved here from TN. The rut in NW Alabama usually starts about Jan 1 and peaks around the second week in January. In some areas in south Alabama the rut does not occur until early February! What's odd is that just a few miles north in TN the rut will peak around Thanksgiving.

- PA

I've talked to several people over the years about the difference in the rutting dates. I was always told by the game wardens and biologists that it has more to do with were the breeding stock were imported from. Most of the deer herds in Fl, Ga, and Al were almost decimated, and breeding stock were captured and imported to replenish the deer. YMMV

[PA_Allen]

I've talked to several people over the years about the difference in the rutting dates. I was always told by the game wardens and biologists that it has more to do with were the breeding stock were imported from. Most of the deer herds in Fl, Ga, and Al were almost decimated, and breeding stock were captured and imported to replenish the deer. YMMV

That's the same explanation I've heard. I was told that most of the deer in this part of AL were restocked years ago with deer from south Alabama, hence the late rut. Conversely the deer north of here in middle TN were restocked with "Michigan" i.e. Northern deer. Makes sense but as you said YMMV.

All I know is from years of experience and from reproductive studies, the peak buck chasing activity is around the 2nd week in Jan. and most of the fawns are conceived in the mid to late Jan. timeframe. Makes for some great late season hunting.
Best,
PA

[customcutter]

I used to hunt a lease just east of Eufala, Al in Ga. The rut was always around mid to late November there.

[sneaky one]

I have seen here in midsouth MN , Big bucks with Antlers still on @ end of april,,, plus mating w/ the does! Usual horn drop is this week.

We noticed up north 5 yrs. ago--an in between sized deer, not a fawn class-not a 1.5 yr. old either. Very dark tinted fur on neck-back areas.

There must be a transfer of =lost wandering deer that just keep walking. Or why would they, or is it on purpose, that the states share deer-via a transfer? Or not?

Something is odd in the deer class lately here too. Our rut is a mess to try and figure out. Seems like Aug., & Oct. are the best...

[kottke_35]

That is an awesome deer! Congrats on a great year of deer hunting.

[customcutter]

A lot of areas will have 2 or more ruts. If the doe to buck ratio is too far out, then all of the does won't be bred during the first rut and they will come back in eustrus the following month.

[hm2 clark]

Customcutter, I suspect you were hunting the Gerogetown area. That rut was in full swing the 2nd week of Nov this year. Here on the Florida Cracker Trail, the rut peaks sometimes between April and January. I have seen rutting going on 6 months and 3 miles apart. So like most I hunt when I can and hope I hit the rut.