Originally Posted by Stanton Hillis
Originally Posted by coosa
I shot a bunch of squirrels with it, my first buck, and my first gobbler with it.

I'll bet many would love to hear about the first buck and the first gobbler with that .410. I know I would!

Stan, the 410 was a borrowed SxS and I never got anything but squirrels with it. The deer and turkeys were taken with the model 37 20 gauge.

I got the deer on a dog drive when I was 10. This was late December in 1964, and most men in the area had never killed a deer at all. It was a community hunt and anyone could come and draw for a stand. I remember pulling a number out of hat, but then my father had the next stand so there must have been some cheating involved.

But it was just luck that the dogs ran a big buck by me. I will never forget seeing him suddenly appear about 25 yards away on a dead run and somehow I hit him. His head was still visible over some broomsedge so I quickly reloaded and shot him again. Folks said they were sure I had a repeater because the 2nd shot was so quick, but I knew how to reload in a hurry.

There were about 50 men on the drive and they covered me with blood because it was my first deer. There were only 2 killed on the hunt, and everyone wanted some meat, but the rules were that I got the head, the hide, and the left hind quarter. I still have the antlers.

This is a picture of an old picture, but all I have. I'll have to tell the turkey story later.

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