WV Hitman
Well-Known Member
I really got tired of taking so many deer with all my long range handguns. Did 65 this year with .375/.284, .325 WSM, 6.5/.284, .338 Mag JDJ Encore, .308 HS, .250 Sav. AI. on crop damage permits. Even got deer #2700 with handguns. But, I wanted more of a challenge. I'd seen a few decent bucks (not huge) on my farm while bow hunting ( do that when I can't hunt anything with my handguns)
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Plus, I'm a big experimenter with bullets. Two years ago I bought some Win. Platinum Tip HPs in .45 & .500 cal. My reading seems to say they are the old and excellent Black Talons with a color change. I did some groundhogs with my .500 Taurus Raging Bull and FA .454 Casull. The results were severe and very ugly, typical old Black Talon damage.
The first day of buck season was slow in the morning. A few does and fawns. The evening was not great either until mid afternoon. This 6 point stepped out at 127 yards by himself. I was in my blind and had a good rest. I turned the Bushnell Elite 2-6X up to 6 and held center shoulder. He dropped. The hit was double shoulder. The exit was 1 1/2", but the internal damage was3+". I'd seen bigger deer, but I was happy with the FAs performance.
Day #2 was a repeat. Dead morning. No action by 3 PM. At 4 PM does and fawns started filtering in my big 400 yard long field. Finally got to 17!, but no buck. Then, at 4:30 Mr. Big (for my area) showed. He fed lazily along with the does. No sign of rut activity. I let him separate from the does and get broadside. I pulled the trigger on the .454 at 139 yards. He ran about 30 yards and dropped. He was a decent 10 point for my area of the state (no monsters). The bullet hit a little lower on the shoulder, shredded the top of the heart and had a 1 1/2" exit with 3 1/2" of internal tissue destruction
. There was a heavy blood trail leading to him. The Platinum Tip is a keeper. The FA .454 got a rest from it's turkey killing (around 30 now), but the Platinum Tip is too volatile for turkeys.
Guess next year I'll see what a 400 gr. .500 Platinum Tip does to deer. Probably will be X rated.
Plus, I'm a big experimenter with bullets. Two years ago I bought some Win. Platinum Tip HPs in .45 & .500 cal. My reading seems to say they are the old and excellent Black Talons with a color change. I did some groundhogs with my .500 Taurus Raging Bull and FA .454 Casull. The results were severe and very ugly, typical old Black Talon damage.
The first day of buck season was slow in the morning. A few does and fawns. The evening was not great either until mid afternoon. This 6 point stepped out at 127 yards by himself. I was in my blind and had a good rest. I turned the Bushnell Elite 2-6X up to 6 and held center shoulder. He dropped. The hit was double shoulder. The exit was 1 1/2", but the internal damage was3+". I'd seen bigger deer, but I was happy with the FAs performance.
Day #2 was a repeat. Dead morning. No action by 3 PM. At 4 PM does and fawns started filtering in my big 400 yard long field. Finally got to 17!, but no buck. Then, at 4:30 Mr. Big (for my area) showed. He fed lazily along with the does. No sign of rut activity. I let him separate from the does and get broadside. I pulled the trigger on the .454 at 139 yards. He ran about 30 yards and dropped. He was a decent 10 point for my area of the state (no monsters). The bullet hit a little lower on the shoulder, shredded the top of the heart and had a 1 1/2" exit with 3 1/2" of internal tissue destruction
Guess next year I'll see what a 400 gr. .500 Platinum Tip does to deer. Probably will be X rated.
