The 10ML Harvest...

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Want to share your 10ml hunt with us? Put up a photo of that deer or game you bagged? We want to show It!!

Well there are only 3 rules:

1. You supply the digital photo or photos.
2. You MUST share your hunting story with us. (I'm not kidding!)
3. The Game must of been taken with a SAVAGE 10ML -I or ML-II and legally. (There is another area for the others, bow shotgun ect..)

E-mail us and we'll let you know what you need to know.

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By "Ron Smith " Submited Monday, Jan 3, 2005

 

Attached are pictures of the two bucks my son and I killed in Ohio this year. Nothing spectacular, but it was his first deer. Both killed with Savage ML II Stainless Laminated.

I killed this 8 Pointer 12/5/04 in the last few minutes of shooting time. We had been sitting over a food plot since 2:30 P.M. and had seen nothing but two large does that had come in behind us. Hunter said his legs were asleep and needed to move. He had been behind the gun on a bipod since we arrived. I told him to go ahead and get up and stretch out, as I did really not expect anything to show within the last few minutes. We switched spots, and I got behind the gun for the last few minutes. This buck appeared at 185 yards (lazered) with his “good” side towards me.

 

250 SST behind 43 grains of 4759 entered low in the shoulder, the buck stumbled and made a tight circle into some thick cover and we found him dead just inside the brush. This deer has an 11” G-2 on his left side, but the G-2 on his right is broken off at 7”. His G-3 on the right side is broken off also, with just a nubbin left. Buck was 3 ½ years old and weighed right at 200 lbs.

Hunter killed his 10 point buck on 12/2804, again just before quitting time. He was determined to hold out this time. Similar food plot, next county. I had seen this large deer in the brush first, pretty sure it was a buck based on size, but could not get a good look at its head. Two does came right it, and told him he had a choice to make, shoot one of the does if they presented a good shot, or he could wait on the “buck”, but I could not guarantee he would show in time to shoot. He was going to shoot one of the does, but neither one presented anything except a rear end shot. As he was waiting, the buck materialized and he made a perfect shot at 85 yards right behind the shoulder destroying both lungs. This buck was 2 ½ years old, has decent mass, and was 185 lbs.

PR 40/50 260 grain Dead Center

45 grains 5744

RW one hole ventliner

Fed. 209A

The deer tucked his tail and made a tight circle almost passing right by us. Hunter thought he had missed, and told him I didn’t think so. We had light snow, and found blood quickly. We let him go about 1 ½” hours, and found him with 80 yards of were he was hit. I was more tickled than him, and I hope it is just the beginning.

 

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By "Ray in Canada" Submited Friday, December 31, 2004 (Wow, You had a great year with the 10ML-II RAY!!!)

I took this whitetail on November 22/2004. The rut was in full swing and the bucks were running pretty good trying to find the hot does. I was sitting on a field edge hoping to catch the deer coming back to the timber at first light but not much was happening. I waited for an hour an a half but no luck. I decided to head back to the truck as I had to work later that same day. I made it almost all the way back to the truck when I turned to look back at the field and saw some deer come over a hill into a windrow. With the binos I could see a couple bucks with some does. I belly crawled a couple hundred yards through an open field to see if the big one was in this group. Well the buck I was looking for wasn't there but I decided that this buck was big enough. I only had a short time left to hunt. I watched him for about 5 minutes trying to get a good look at him as he tried to mount an unreceptive doe. He finally gave me a shot at around 140yrds. One shot with the ml-II dropped this Canadian whitetail in his tracks. The deer gross scores just over 150" B&C.

 

Here is hunt number two from Ray in Canada

I wanted to do some bear hunting this spring but was having a tough time getting off of work. I finally had a couple days off and a good friend of mine put me on this nice bear. He had a bait set up that was getting hit. He had a treestand about 50 yrds away. Well my buddy sat in the stand with the camera and I hid myself on the ground waiting for some bears to come in. Well, whis one bear came in real early circleing us trying to get our scent. After an hour or so of he finally came in. One shot with the ML-II at 50yrds and this Canadian bear dropped in his tracks. This was my first hunt with the ML-II and my first bear. With this hunt on video I couldn't be happier.

Here is hunt number Three from Ray in Canada !!! (Ray is a busy guy!)

 

It was October in northern Alberta, Canada. The season for Mule Deer was under way for around a month and I finally found some time to hunt. I brought along a good buddy of mine to hunt. He had never hunted much before and had never taken any game. My goal was to put him on a nice mule buck and then find myself a big one that I had seen weeks before. At first light I spotted a herd of mule deer coming off of an alfalfa field and heading back towards the banks of the Peace River. I quickly noticed a some bucks in the group and decided to try and cut off the group of deer before they made it back to the big timber. After a mile and a half stalk we were able to get close enough for a shot. My buddy took his shot and dropped the buck in its tracks with a 30-06. I couldn't decide if I wanted to take this buck or not and I made a bad running shot with the ML-II at the other deer and had to follow up later with a second shot with the ML-II to put him down. The first shot hit low on the leg and the second was perfect, dropping the deer in his tracks. It is a hunt I will never forget.

 

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By "Blue-Dot-37.5" Submited 12 16 2004 (Nice hat blue dot!)

 

The Savage Muzzleloader ML-I does it's job again. 19.5" wide, 11 points.
The processor estimated him at 185# field dressed. This may be the buck
that I saw on
November 18th when I didn't have a gun in my hand, but I thought the tines
were a lot taller, and if it is the same deer, he was a lot fatter then!
Back then I swear that he was laughing at me because I went out in the woods
during deer season without a gun. He was only 40 yds. away with a doe and
they both just slowly ambled away. Today he was in a group of 4 bucks that
walked out @ 5:30 p.m.. The 3 smaller bucks came out first, and he brought
up the rear. I was suprised at seeing the bucks together in the middle of
December. The other 3 walked within 20 yds of me, and this one wandered off
smelling the ground and stopped about 30 yards out. He was standing still,
looking at the other 3 bucks. I didn't want to put a hole in the hide or
tear up any meat, so I shot him in the neck. CCI209M primer, 44 gr.
IMR-4759, Win AA 28 ga. oburator cup, wonder wad, MMP short sabot, 250 gr.
blem Shockwave bullet. At the shot, he dropped without taking a step and
never moved. I tried to follow the path of the bullet and found a hole in
the base of a tree that is 30' past where the buck was standing. I'll go
back and dig out what is left of the bullet. He was back trailing me - I
had walked where he was smelling not an hour earlier. I must have had some
scent on my boots from the doe that I shot 3 days ago. I have more
confidence in the Savage than I have in my slug gun!

Blue-Dot-37.5
N. Central Indiana

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By "laker" Submited 12 9 2004

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This deer was shot in Brookville In on the last day of gun season I used a stainless ml 2 with 46 gr of 4759 a knurled 245 gr barnes spitfire Fed 209a primer Leupold Qd rings and bases a Leupold 3.5- 10-50 with boone and crocket retical. The shot was 150 yds. The buck was a 9 pt 22 outside spread and 18.5 inside with great mass The rough score was 140

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By "laker" Submited 12 9 2004

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My dad went hunting last night and killed what looks to be a brother to my buck not as wide and not as much mass but a great deer and his biggest ever. He used a ml2 with 46 gr 4759 a 245 knurled barnes spitfire fed 209a primer leupold qd rings and bases and a leupold 3-9-40 scope the shot was about 35 yds shoulder shot the barnes blew through both shoulders massive damage deer did not take a step after the shot.

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By "popgun" Submited 12 9 2004

Savage 10MLII Experiences:

After a lot of range time I decided on the set-up for my 10MLII.

42 grains of VV-N110
Hornady 45Cal. 250 grain SST w/supplied sabot
Winchester 209 primer
RW Long-life One-hole vent-liner
Zeroed at 100 yards using a BSA Radiant 3x9x40 scope.

First Deer:
6 point at 70 yards at 9:00a.m. 10-20-04.
Slightly quartering away.
Shot placement was behind the lower left shoulder and the bullet exited the right side of the body cavity virtually removing the right front leg. The deer stumbled about one body length into the weeds and fell, and was recovered after waiting approx. 20 minutes.
Entry wound was about the actual size of the bullet and exit wound was extensive. No meat waste occurred because the right leg had been taken off just above the knee joint.
While cleaning this deer I noticed extensive internal damage to the heart, and the lungs were almost non-distinguishable. Two ribs were shattered on the entry hole and two more on exit, as well as the shattered right leg bone. The size of the entry hole seen from the skin side was very different from the size of the entry hole in the carcass. It appeared that the bullet exploded upon hitting the ribs, and that explosion followed through the deer.

First Coyote:
Female coyote appeared at 8:15 a.m. 11-19-04 and as close as 75 yards before she turned to go into the tall weeds. I took a shoulder shot but she turned at the last split second to bite a flea and the shot placement ended up being a grazing shot on the top of her head. The ears were still attached but the wound had virtually removed the top of her skull and removed most of the brain matter. She didn’t move from point of impact.

Second Deer:
A six point appeared out of the weeded area at 5:20 p.m. 11-27-04 at about 175 yards. He proceeded towards me and stopped to feed at exactly 100 yards. He offered a perfect broadside shot so I took the time to place the shot exactly in the mid-left shoulder. The deer ducked its’ head and ran into the weeds. Since I could not see the buck fall, nor did I know how good the shot was, I backed out. I returned to recover him about two hours later. There was no blood or hair at the impact point. I looked thoroughly throughout the area, circling wider each time looking for blood on the ground and surrounding Sweet Gum trees. Neither of us searching found any signs. I located the dead deer approximately 40 yards from the point of impact. We looked around the downed deer and still observed no blood signs. I must admit the red leaves that had fallen on the ground from the Sweet Gum trees and sumac were a bit distracting. Being a dark night, and wanting to analyze the wounds to the fullest I did not field-dress the deer but took it home where I had more time and light.

"I had to shoot him...He was wearing a Colt orange cap."

 

The entry hole was only slightly larger that the 45 caliber bullet and the exit hole that was in the opposite shoulder was only slightly larger.
Underneath the skin, the damage was significant. The bullet passed through the muscle of the upper left leg, blew a three inch hole through the ribs, turned the lungs to mush, exited through two more ribs leaving another three inch hole, and proceeded through the muscle on the right front leg. The outside appearance of the wound (skin only), whether entrance or exit, does not show the actual devastation done to the ribs and internal organs.
I estimate the meat loss on this deer to be between two to four pounds.
While de-boning the meat two small fragments of the leaded portion of the bullet (22 grains total wt.) was found. The rest of the bullet may have kept its retention and exited.

The next deer, I hope to make a heart shot and not hit any meat. I will be glad to report my findings.
So far, I think this 250 SST is one heck of a killing bullet, but as far as the definition goes, it probably would still be called bullet failure.

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By "Joe" Submited 12 9 2004

 

It was opening day here in central N.Y. and it was the first chance for me to use my new 10 ML II. I got in my tree stand while it was still dark. I was overlooking a large field of tall grass with a bushhoged roadway about 25 ft. wide directly in front of me.
The morning started real slow as I did not see a deer until a doe walked right under me at 9:30. Then at 9:45 I saw horns coming through the tall grass at about 2 o clock. The way he was walking he would cross the road broadside at 120 yards. When he got to the roadway I placed the crosshairs right behind the shoulder and squeezed the accu-trigger. By the way he flinched and ran I could tell that I hit him good. That was the first time in 15 years that I didn't use black powder so I could actually see his reaction to the shot. The 43 grains of 5744 and 250 Gr. SST clipped a rib going in and broke the shoulder bone on exit. The deer ran about 60 yards then walked another 10. He stood for about a minuite took one step and dropped. As I walked up to him I noticed that he had ( points and the 10 Ml had hit right where it was aimed. You've got to love this gun.

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By Bayouman Submited 12 8 2004

Just got back from 5 days days in the great outdoors. Had a great week hunting and enjoying the beautiful mountains of Northern Pa.

Arrived at my hunting camp Sunday . Loaded up my Henry Ball 10 ML-II with a 45 grain charge of AA 5744 and a 250 Hornady SST. Put gun in my truck to await Monday morning (absent 209 primer of course ).

Arrived at my favorite tree at approx 6:15 AM and me & Loggy made our quiet climb to about 15'. At 7 AM visability was decent for shooting. It was quiet. At about 8 am I saw a deer in the heavy hemlock cover and tried to scope but it disappeared and never appeared again. Next hour heard or saw nothing.

About 9:30 I heard a slight leaf crunch directly behind me. I slowly turned and saw a nice buck about 75 yards directly behind me lower on ridge. Usually never see deer in this area. In the next 5 minutes I started making a slow move to get into a position for a shot. The buck was feeding slowly and appeared very cautious so each move I made had to be when he wasnt on lookout.

Finally, I got my Henry Ball 10 ML in a position that I could scope buck and pick a shot. He made a move between 2 hemlocks and stopped. I placed crosshairs on frt shoulder area (no time to be choosy) and squeezed one off. He went down like a Ton Of Bricks (no addl. emphasis needed ). Rear legs made one or 2 kicks and that was it.

Bullet enter high in frt shoulder area due to anglin down mountain shot and crushed spine and traveled into lungs takin alot of backbone and ribs enroute. Lungs were one hell of a glob of pulverized meat, bone/lung material and other.......to gross to describe. Never found bullet(likely was within mass of lung glob removed) but it took out heavy bone, few ribs and traveled on into the lung area and did more impressive damage. I have no complaints on whut I saw this 250 SST did for sure.

Balance of week I saw a spike, a 4 pt, 3 small button bucks and 2 very tiny does. Passed on all the buttons which 2 walked directly under my tree stand and passed on the little does.Was thinkin of Late Flintlock Season. Yesterday saw 14 turkeys which feeded around me for an hour. Man were they ever fun to watch. Where were they durin turkey season.

One tag left for Late Flintlock season. I cant wait.

Buck weighed in at butcher at 158 LBS which is decent for a Northern PA Buck.

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By BOBinIN Submited 12 8 2004

I have to share this with you, it happens so rarely... Yesterday was the opener for Muzzleloader season here in Indiana. My son Matt and I took our ML II's to an area where we have seen some good ones in years past. At 8:10 a medium sized doe stepped into the open at 70 yards. I went for the high shoulder shot and dropped her in her tracks. Less than an hour later I saw a deer through an opening in the brush. A quick look through the scope and my heart raced. With him standing in the tall brush I could only see the top 1/3 of his body and a tree was blocking the vitals, "please take a step"...He took a step...BOOM.
The shot was offhand at 75 yards and took out the spine, blowing bone into his lungs. He went down and out. He has 10 well balanced points, good mass and tine length. I rough measured him at 167 5/8 gross with 3 1/2 inches of deductions for a net of 164 1/8. With a minimum requirement of 140 points, he'll make the Indiana Record Book with no problems.
What made this "once in a lifetime" moment extra special was to be able to share it with my son. It's also nice that he's 1/2 my age and did most of the pulling to get them out of the woods.

Date Taken: 12-4-04 Opener of Indiana Muzzleloader Season
Hunter: BOBinIN
Distance: 75 yards through brush
Shot placement: Spine shot, dropped dead
Number of Points: 10
Green Score: 167 5/8 Gross minus 3 1/2 deductions equal 164 1/8 Net. (My best ever)

 

 

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By Randy Dunn Submited 12 8 2004

The deer around here went nocturnal during bow season. The corn was cut but never got plowed under. There is a park nearby also. So the pattern is, they come out in the evening, eat all night and return to the park at dawn. So although there are lots of deer out here, they’ve got a good safe place to hide. That’s why I’ve been setting up in the corner of our land watching the areas near the park. With all the doe in there, sooner or later a buck would stir up the doe and end up in one of my fields, just had to pick the right field to watch. So that evening I was watching the hill in the park, next to our land (about 350 yards away) and saw deer running back and forth and new something was up. (they usually just walk down the hill and out into the corn stubble) all at once about a dozen deer ran down the hill into our field and into a low spot so that I couldn’t see them. I started scanning the rise in the field back and forth through the scope waiting for them to cross towards me up out of the dip in the field and figure out what was in the group.
The first thing I noticed was the horns moving, then they got bigger, and bigger, then I realized what kind of deer I had. He was walking toward my house so I had to peg him before my shot became unsafe. That part of the field is 200 yards wide he was on an angle and hadn’t crossed the center yet, and was slowly getting taller and giving me a perfect side shot as he walked into the wind. As soon as I had enough shoulder I leaned into the tree I was sitting by, picked my spot, let out my breath and squeezed. It was so cool to see him drop in the scope. Then the adrenalin kicked in. I quickly reloaded, (dropping stuff all over the place) and put the scope back on the spot he was and waited a few moments incase he got back up (he dropped out of sight). After the longest time in the world passed (about 120 seconds) I slowly moved out into the field until I could see him. Wow what a sight. There was another buck in the group that was running back the way they came as soon as they saw me, no idea how big, saw horns, didn’t matter. I was up all night reliving that shot in my head. Squeeze, Bang, He dropped. Wow. I love this gun!

I called De on the radio, told her I shot a nice buck and to swing by the house and get the ATV and a camera. After the photos I field dressed the buck and it took 3 of us to get him on the back of the ATV. The meat is in the freezer. He’ll go on the wall. Might make book too. He’s got a strange arrangement (left side) that might cost me some deductions in score but who the heck cares. There are several buck out back that are bigger. Muzzleloader season is coming, I’ve still got room in the freezer and friends that would like some too. Still rather of had my daughter of got him.

When I get him scored I'll post it here.

Load data, 45gr VV N110, MMP Sabot, 250 gr SST

Aprox 150 -160 yard shot.

Green Score: 155 5/8 Gross. NYSBBC.

Randy Dunn

 

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By Mike3132 Submitted Feb. 2003

(Click image for a bigger version)

It was the third day of Shotgun season here in Indiana. The weather was very cold; a snowy white frost covered the ground and gave away every little movement. My homemade ladder stand with a hand painted camo swivel boat seat attached made it easy to me to cover all the trails leading across the 150 yard shooting lane cut through the woods. About 8 AM three does crept out about 125 yards moving slowly towards me. The biggest one in front, stopped, squatted and pissed, then looked back behind her. I knew there was a buck back there.

Out stepped a nice 10 pointer. I got my gun up but they were straight at me, not a shot I wanted. The does went into the woods with the buck right behind them, leaving me with no shot. Ten minutes later the buck appeared at the end of the shooting lane just for a second and then was gone again. A few minutes later a small spike buck came into view at the end of the shooting lane, soon he too disappeared. Minutes later the spike came out again about 100 yards and started towards me. At about 50 yards he went back into the woods again and I figured he would come out again just to my right on a trail there. As I expected a few minutes later I heard him coming and watched him walk up to the lane to my right, behind me and stop. I had the wind on him so I swiveled around just to see if I could shoot left handed if I needed too.

I put the Savage 10 ML up and looked through the 3X9 Leupold with my left eye; yeah I could if needed. The spike started sniffing the air and looking towards me, I thought maybe he had winded me. All of a sudden I heard some crunching noises behind me, when I looked around there was the big 10 pointer going broadside in front of me. I hurriedly swiveled around and slipped the Savage up on the rifle rest made from a tree limb.

The buck heard me moving and stopped, giving me a perfect 40-yard, broadside shot. I put the crosshairs right behind the shoulder and squeezed off the shot. The 180-grain Knight Red Hot pushed by 60 grains of Lil Gun using the double sabot loading method blew a hole through both ribs. The buck just walked a few yards and stopped with his rump towards me. There was blood streaming out the exit hole about the size of your little finger, just like water coming out a hose. He walked another 10 yards and stopped, stood there a few seconds and his hind legs started shaking. He fell over. YEAH! He was in full rut, neck swelled and lean. He weighed around 180 lb. The load I used chronographed at 2800 fps. When I gutted him, his lungs were in big clumps like Jell-O. I was pleased with my harvest and the performance of the Savage 10 ML. Looking forward to 2003 deer season.

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By Gordon j Rakoska Submitted Feb. 2003 (note: Gordon still needs to tell us more about this hunt, How about it Gordon?)

No time for story right now. It was the day after Thanksgiving at 10:25am from 62 paces using 47 grains of Vit N110 behind a MMP & Hornady 250 grain XTP on my own land in Wiscoy, NY. Not a pass through.

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The New York State Big Buck Club Record Holder

Dan Andera and his 2002 13 point Buck
NYS BBC scored 172 and 4/8 "
Taken with a Savage 10ML-II. Nice Buck Dan!