"Magic Muzzle Loader"
Ken McAfee
To September, Troy, Jean & Fred:
I just wanted to drop you a note and thank you once again for the muzzle loader you built for me. I really appreciate you having it finished for me in plenty of time for my hunt just like you promised you would. It was great coming down to pick the rifle up and meet you all. And a special thanks to Troy for taking the time to show me how to use it.
I enclosed a picture of the elk I took on the Bookcliff mountain range right on the Utah/Colorado border.
We went out early Thursday morning and sat on the cold mountain for what seemed like days. There were elk bugling all around us but none of them would venture down the hill. Mike was with me on the side of the hill and our other friend Toby was down in the valley below us bugling the elk. Just as we were about to move on, this elk walked out of the trees and started heading away from us and walking toward the water to get a drink. His head was hidden by a bush and he was so far away that I knew I wasn't capable of making the shot at that distance. I honestly believe that if he had been 100 yards away and I was able to see how big he was that I would have probably panicked and missed him clean. Our friend down in the clearing kept signaling to us that he was a great bull and I should take the shot. I thought to myself, "Fine. If these guys want me to take the shot I'll take it and miss him clean, then maybe we can move on to something that I have a reasonable chance of hitting." So I balanced the gun on the tripod, squeezed the trigger and saw nothing but smoke . . . .
By using hand signals we were able to guide our friend over to where the bull was when I shot at it. Again, it felt like it took days for him to reach the spot. Once he got to the right place Mike and I started walking over and by the time we arrived Toby had found blood. We figured that the work had just begun, but we took two more steps up the hill and found the bull piled up around a tree. It had run about 30 feet and dropped dead in its tracks. Once we all got over our shock we discovered that he was a very nice 6 x 6 with a spread of 44" and a length of just over 50". We figured he weighed about 1200 pounds and later scored him at 318 points. I shot him once through the heart and one lung with three pellets of Pyrodex and a 250 grain Thompson Shockwave sabot at 240 yards. I still cannot believe that I was able to make that shot, but I could not have done it without the help of "Team Bullberry" and the magic muzzle loader.
Thank you all again for everything you did for me and for being so good to work with. I will be calling you soon to order another arrel for that gun. I just need to decide what caliber I can't live without, but right now I am leaning toward a 240 Weatherby.
Ken McAfee |
