I carried the 450B hunting today for the first time!
Between my work schedule, shorter days and the Christmas holiday, it was Christmas day before I had the pleasure to load up the truck with the portable range gear and head out to fire the first round and sight in the 450B. Sighting in went well with a couple of stove pipes which I contribute to the brass catcher.
100 yd - 3 shot group
Here in AR we have a Christmas Holiday three day gun hunt and the zone I hunt in is a buck's only with three points on one side zone, so when the flash of white and grayish/brown came into view I thought this was going to be meat in the freezer. I shouldered "thumper" and tried to peer over the top of my glasses so I could better utilize the optics. The deer stopped so it's head and neck were hidden behind some trees and brush which gave me second or two to compose my nerves. I steadied the cross-hairs and waited. A second or two later this older deer took a step forward and turned and looked directly at me. It was doe! She and her yearling milled around for a bit before continuing on their mission.
The weather was turning for the worse, the wind was picking up and the rain showers made it feel even colder! The doe and her yearling confirmed I was in a good spot, so I settled in for a wet, cold stay beside a tree. I forgot to put the foam sit pad in my backpack and decided the trash bag would better serve me as a moisture barrier from the cold, wet ground than the poncho in my pack.
I sat, scanning the brush in the little valley below me. The cold was starting to get to me, my breakfast was long gone and my stomach was complaining about it. I dug in my pack for one of the oranges, found it and started peeling it and savoring the aroma of the fruit. I thought about how deer might react to this new smell as I chewed on the sweet, juicy pieces. Just minutes after I finished the last slice, movement caught my attention.
I've been stomping around this area for over 40 years, I've seen foxes, skunks, opossums, armadillos, snakes, beavers, all types of birds, coyotes and even a few deer, but today I saw the first bobcat I've ever seen in the wild. It didn't seem to notice me and in fact was looking to head up the little hill directly towards me. I thought about trying to pull the dying rabbit call out from under my jacket and see what kind of reaction I'd get but I decided to let "thumper" do what it was designed to do. I flipped the safety off and centered the scope. The cold, rain and wind didn't seem to bother the bobcat, but when that massive Hornady slug tore into it's leg, it jumped and spun a few times and then sat looking at me. This was the first shot I'd taken while the 450B was not in the
Caldwell Leadsled, so I don't if I pulled the 60yd shot or the bobcat moved a bit but the shot took out the hind leg. I took aim again at the center of the chest and squeezed off another round. This round found it's target!