sandhillsoutfitters.com

Chris with his 5x5 whitetail

Well, I had a few days off and my son and partner (who is also a radiologic tech) was home to go deer hunting and invited me along. Although the 3 a.m. departure time didn’t sound great, the chance to get together and visit while doing some hunting sounded like a great idea.

We arrived on some public ground and hiked in during the pre-dawn hour through the Sandhills and were greeted with a cold, gray, dawn but some good deer activity and the rut seemed to be in full force. Chris managed to spot a nice 5×5 in some tall rushes along a lake from our vantage point high on a hill at close to 300 yards. One shot from his .300 weatherby mag. with 150 gr. Sierra Game King bullets did the job…..then the work began. We were close to 1 1/2 miles from our truck where we had a two wheel deer cart to help carry the deer out, as there are no vehicles allowed in this area. The tall grass and frozen ground made for a good workout, but we managed to get him back to the truck with no problems.

After a couple of more days of hunting Chris had located another nice buck and patterned his feeding habits. He was not moving far at all from his bedding area, which was surrounded by a lot of flat and featureless terrain. Early one morning he crawled nearly a 1/4 of a mile until he got in position to where he had last seen the buck before he laid down. Although he knew approximately where he was, no amount of glassing was revealing the deer. Chris spent the next 5 hours laying flat in a little tuft of grass, waiting and hoping, that the deer would re-appear shortly before darkness set in. The wait was worth it and the buck re-appeared standing up from his bed only to be met by another one-shot from the 300 wby mag.

Now this was 3 miles from the truck and difficult terrain for the cart, so he suggested halving the deer and carrying out on our backs……well I wasn’t so sure:)  We had no pack frames with us but if we tried to hike back out and get the cart it would probably be dark before we got back, so I reluctantly agreed…..did I mention I had 3 way by-pass surgery 6 months previous? :)  I had been doing a lot of walking and this was the 4th day of hiking the hills, so I felt I was up to the task.

Although we hiked the last bit in the dark, we made it without incident, Chris carrying the half with the head and me carrying the “other end”!  We left for home the next morning and I can say it was great getting to hunt with my son again and just share some time with him and also to see some beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the Sandhills.  I suspicion now that perhaps he had alterior motives as to me be being a pack mule for his hunt:)

After Chris left I found a nice 4×5 whitetail buck on the Sandhills Outfitters ranch and managed to dispatch him with one shot from Chris’s same 300 weatherby magnum with a frontal 300 yard shot……..however I was able to drive the atv up to him and load it, with no walking whatsoever!

Rick Hamilton of Sandhills Outfitters with a bull buffalo taken with his Pedersoli Sharps Quigley Rifle in 45-90 caliber using 457125 gov round nose 500 grain bullet with Goex 2F blackpowder and Starline brass

This could also be titled the “Guide gets to go Hunting”.  The wind was blowing around 35-40 mph and the wind chill was around minus 30 degrees F.  It was just before Christmas and the deep snow was making my stalk in the Sandhills on the bull buffalo extremely difficult.  The mature bull had gone walk-about one too many times and the proposition of hunting the offender in below zero temps appealed more strongly to me than fixing fences in same:) 

I utilized a low hill to block my view from the herd as I stalked within range. I was hoping for a 100 yard shot or closer, but the herd was extremely wary in the strong winds. I was carrying a Pedersoli Quigley Sharps Black Powder Cartrdge Rifle replica in a 45-90 caliber. My load was composed of annealed Starline Brass with some of the 500 grain solid lead roundnose Gov. bullet cast from a Lyman mold. My powder was 2F Goex, ignited with a CCI BR primer and a .30 wad. Touching metal with bare skin in these temperatures was best to be avoided, as I placed the 13 1/4 # 1874 Sharps Replica on my shooting sticks. I waited until I had a broadside shot and aimed the ladder sight just behind the long hair on his front shoulder, and slightly lower than the inexperienced would for a heart shot. The bellow of the Sharps was instantaneous with the cloud of blackpowder smoke that obscured my vision for a few seconds as I strained to see if my aim had been true.

The bull flinched slightly but otherwise gave no indication that he was indeed mortally wounded. Then he appeared to spot me and it seemed that the hunter may become the hunted!  My wife was filming the whole episode from afar and decided to keep filming as I hastily grabbed my sticks and headed for other parts, which was not easy in the snow. Fortunately the bull began to feel the effects of the 500 grain solid lead slug and began to teter before he finally went down.

Field dressing a bull buffalo in ground blizzard conditions should be experienced by all true buffalo hunters at some point in time, it really makes you have respect for the old time buffalo hunters and Native Americans.  He weighed nearly a ton and provided some great eating including the steaks which would melt in your mouth for months to come.

There is something about hunting buffalo with Black Powder Cartridge Rifles that just feels right and besides it was indeed much more fulfilling than building fence in the snow!

“From the Hills”

Rick

www.sandhillsoutfitters.com

We were honored to host Eddie Duncan of WolfPack Bowhunting this past spring for an archery bull buffalo hunt here at Sandhills Outfitters. I have over 44 years of hunting experience with everything from .22’s to archery and Sharps Rifles, on game from deer to elk. Through this time period I have met many hunters…….some I would hunt with again……some I wouldn’t:)  Eddie is one of the good ones. His motto is, “We Hunt Where You Hunt” TM,   and it fits his  down-to-earth personality that made hunting with him a pleasure.  

Eddie and WolfPack Bowhunting strive to promote a partnership between his show, the outfitters, and his viewers. This networking will ultimately benefit all including the future of hunting. They took a genuine interest in helping promote our business which I have a feeling is probably not the norm in the Outdoor TV show industry today.

We started Eddie’s hunt as the early morning sunshine began to creep into the hills. The successful hunt ended just as the sun was beginning to dip behind the hills, cresting the tops with a golden glow……my favorite time of day in the Sandhills.  Some walking, stalking, and various strategies in between culminated in a perfect one-shot harvest from Eddie’s Bowtech Bow, with the shot angled into the vitals in a slightly quartering away position, which is Eddie’s favorite for buffalo. The bull went down quickly and it was time to try out the Outdoor Edge knives which worked extremely well. I am especially impressed with the Swing Blade for ripping the hide.

The following day Mitch the cameraman elected to go after his first buffalo.  The day progressed much the same as the previous with several unsucessful stalks and finally an ambush provided an ideal set-up that resulted in an opportunity for Mitch. Unfortunately as he released the arrow from his Bow-Tech bow, the string caught on the binoculars draped around his neck and deflected the shot placement back just slightly from ideal. We maneuvered into another position where Mitch made a perfect shot and the cow went down very quickly. Being an ex-camera guy myself I enjoyed talking some shop with Mitch but confess I am much more comfortable taking pictures as opposed to having them taken of me!

My son and partner Chris, did the guiding for Mitch, while I did the honors for Eddie. As I always tell potential archery buffalo hunt clients, taking a buffalo with a bow is not an easy task and is indeed an accomplishment to be proud of.

 Besides the hunt itself you also have that great tasting buffalo meat for the grill. I recently saw a website that offered organic, native grass fed buffalo meat…….the price for 2 tenderloin steaks was over $40……..kind of helps justify a hunt to your wife;)

Looking forward to future hunts with Eddie Duncan and WolfPack Bowhunting.

Click on WolfPack Bowhunting logo above for link to Eddie’s website where you can see a pic of Eddie and Mitch’s buff in the big game pics and also see the TV commercial intro that has a short clip of Chris and I with Mitch’s buff.

“Huntin’ From the Hills”

Rick
www.sandhillsoutfitters.com