ken nikiel
Member
took this guy in fulton county illinois right after first light this morning. was traveling with two does. 13 point, 225 pound brute!
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this years buck
- Thread starter ken nikiel
- Start date
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Good buck! Looks like a 5 yr old plus?
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Congratulations. That’s what I was looking for this year and didn’t see.
ken nikiel
Member
at minimum 4 i would think
ken nikiel
Member
honestly i was frustrated after 2 days of seeing marginal bucks, then this guy came limping into the plot with 2 does sunday morning. ive never seen an injured deer who was visibly limping on his right front leg run as fast as this guy did after i plugged him. ran 30 yards into woods and crashed. the bullet severed his aorta, bled out inside chest cavity. i was using my new ruger american gen2 predator in 400 legend. 1st deer taken with it.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
The picture looks like a semi-auto shotgun?
ken nikiel
Member
yes it is. it was dark n i lost blood trail so i backed out. we went back in 3 hours when sun was out and found hime 10 yards into woods in thick brush. i grabbed the wrong gun when we went out. usually we take back to shed for pics n dressing but we were pressed for-time cuz processer was closing soon.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
That's understandable! The reason that I noticed was because I've had my eye on that Ruger American Gen II Predator rifle and wanted to see it. You have a lot of deer smarts, letting him go, backing out and waiting is by far the smartest thing to do in a case like that.
I've heard quite a few hard luck deer stories, including one this year start with "I thought I had a good hit on the biggest buck I ever saw and I had a good blood trail so I went after him right away, then I jumped him 50 yards in, and I had no blood to follow after that"
Congrats again on a successful trophy hunt, there's a million hunters out there that dream about getting a 13 pointer, but they are not easy to come by.
ken nikiel
Member
here some pics of the rifle. the barrel isnt fluted like ruger shows on their web site. when i called ruger about it they said “because of the 400 legend caliber there wasnt enough metal on barrel to do the fluting”. i mounted a
leupold 3.5-10x40 cds scope. kinda wish id jumped up to a 3.5-10x50
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Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I know exactly what you're saying about the scope, 30 years ago I was used to 50mm scopes and the local gun shop owner talked me into a 40mm, I took it back after the season because it was such a small field of view and not as bright, and he gave me new price on a trade up to 50mm because he had talked me into it.
That's interesting with the non-fluted barrel, is it still 22"? The stock is interesting to say the least, I like the looks of it but the integrated moulded trigger guard takes some getting used to.
But Ruger is known to be adventurous with designing gun stocks. In 1993 I bought one of the first stainless steel Ruger M77 MarKII guns in .243, (which I will not sell for any money). This rifle is a tack driver, stocked with a now famous "boat paddle" Zytel gun stock, much ridiculed at the time, but now highly sought after, which might be the case with your rifle stock as well, highly sought after in later years...
ken nikiel
Member
yes its a 22” barrel. this thing is a tack driver also! i didnt like the splatter pattern at first but it grows on you. trigger breaks nice and crisp too. being in the communist state of illinois i had to put a sled in magazine well yo make it a single shot
. i can shoot semi auto 3”” slugs that go as far as these loads but since its a “rifle” has to be straight wall single shot. stupid politicians dont understand ballistics.
. i can shoot semi auto 3”” slugs that go as far as these loads but since its a “rifle” has to be straight wall single shot. stupid politicians dont understand ballistics.
