1olhunter

An individual membership is $1500 annually and a family membership is $1850 annually. That information as well as our rules and charter are all accessible on our website. A membership gets you access to all leased land. We use an online reservation system to reserve hunt areas and report harvest. One of our leases is already enrolled in the DMAP.

There is a new hunting club in Oklahoma City. I am a member of the Red Dirt Hunting Club based here in OKC. This fall will be our first hunting season and there is a lot of optimism within the group. We have already got under contract a 6,000 acre lease in the Frederick area, a 7,300 acre lease along the Cimarron River near Freedom, and over 2000 acres near Shattuck. We are evaluating a several other leases. We expect to have approximately 400 acres leased per membership come fall. If you are interested or know someone who is please let us know, we are currently still accepting members. You can check out our website at Red Dirt Hunting Club, under the “About Us” tab you can see our charter and rules. The thing I appreciate most about this club is the openness and visibility. Every member has a voice, a vote and gets to see where every penny of their money is going. Drop me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Great post, I did the math for 21 feet (7 yards) elevation and the difference at 30 yards is .83 yards (2.49 feet). I don't know a situation in bowhunting where the ARC would make a real difference.

Because of the poor ballistics coefficient of muzzleloader bullets (compared to rifle bullets), I believe a maximum charge (150 grains) is necessary to have a sufficient velocity for a maximum trajectory. I have tested my TC Encore over my chronograph with 2 pellets (100 grains) of 777 and 3 pellets (150 grains) of 777. With 2 pellets my average velocity was 1650 fps and with 3 pellets the average velocity jumped to 2220 fps. Using the 245 grain Barnes Spitfire I can achieve consistent minute of angle groups with 100 or 150 grain of powder. I sight all my rifles in using a point blank range of +/- 3 inches from zero. With the velocity I get from 2 pellets I set my zero at 135 yards, the rifle is +3” at 85 yards and -3” at 157 yards. With three pellets of powder I get 570 fps velocity gain, this allows me to set zero at 172 yards. The rifle is then +3” at 120 yards and 3” low at 201 yards. I have gained 44 yards to my point blank range. I hunt in areas where a 200 yard or greater shot is not out of the question, I get a sense of confidence knowing that if the animal is within 200 yards all I have to do is hold steady on the center of the vitals and squeeze. The difference in bullet energy is also dramatic; from my encore the three pellet charge has the same energy at 150 yards as the 2 pellet charge does at the muzzle. With all this said, I believe a hunter first obligation is to be accurate; a well placed round with half the energy is always better than a gutshot with lots of energy. My advice is to find out what works for you and your gun and then use ballistics tables and practice to determine your maximum range.

qt The bullet on the left is a 245 grain Barnes Spitfire and the on on the right is a 250 grain Barnes Expander. I currently use the spitfire over 3 pellets of 777 (150 grains). I pulled the spitfire bullet from a 190 lb boar last November. The boar was quatering toward me when I shot. I hit him in the neck and there was a big exit wound on the offside chest about 4" long. I skinned this boar and found the bullet just under the hide at the end of the exit wound. The bullet cut him open but didn't exit just went down the hide and stopped. Bye the way the pig dropped right there.

I was drawn for a "once in a lifetime Oklahoma antelope tag" this year. I hunted near Boise City Oklahoma (panhandle) It was a fun (but short) hunt and I saw lots of game. I scouted all day the day before the season and saw three or four what I consider shooter bucks. Opening morning I went where I last saw this buck the evening before and sure enough he was still there. I snuck up to about 150 yards of him and 4 does but they were bedded down after about hour he got up and started chasing one of the does. He got out about 250 yards and presented a good shot. The hunt started at 7 and ended at 9. He measures 14" on both sides.

My encore does not shot the TC shockwave very good at all, a 6" group or worse. Go figure a TC gun that won't shoot a TC bullet. I have been hunting with the Barnes 245 grain spitfire with great results. The bullet shoots great out of the encore and the terminal performance is great. See attached picture, both of these bullets were recovered from pigs I shot. I have found pigs to be a good bullet testing medium.

After reading everyone’s opinion of how useless it is to use 150 grains I thought I would chime in with my 2 cents. I have tested my TC Encore over my chronograph with 2 pellets (100 grains) of 777 and 3 pellets (150 grains) of 777. With 2 pellets my average velocity was 1650 fps and with 3 pellets the average velocity jumped to 2220 fps, apparently my encore is actually burning the third pellet. Using the 245 grain Barnes Spitfire I can achieve consistent minute of angle groups with 100 or 150 grain of powder. I sight all my rifles in using a point blank range of +/- 3 inches from zero. With the velocity of I get from 2 pellets I set my zero at 135 yards, the rifle is +3” at 85 yards and -3” at 157 yards. With three pellets of powder I get 570 fps velocity gain, this allows me to set zero at 172 yards. The rifle is then +3” at 120 yards and 3” low at 201 yards. I have gained 44 yards to my point blank range. I hunt in areas where a 200 yard or greater shot is not out of the question, I get a sense of confidence knowing that if the animal is within 200 yards all I have to do is hold steady on the center of the vitals and squeeze. To further illustrate the difference in the powder charges, if I was to get an opportunity to shoot at a buck at 225 yards with my encore, with the 2 pellet powder charge I would have to compensate for a 22” bullet drop, whereas with the 3 pellet powder charge I would only have to compensate for a 6” bullet drop. The difference in bullet energy is also dramatic; from my encore the three pellet charge has the same energy at 150 yards as the 2 pellet charge does at the muzzle. With all this said, I believe a hunter first obligation is to be accurate; a well placed round with half the energy is always better than a gutshot with lots of energy. My advice is to find out what works for you and your gun.

Wow, I guess the antelope hunt is a once in a lifetime draw. Man the pressure is really on. I will be shooting the 270 tomorrow.

I hate to leave bfletch hanging as the only one to get drawn. I got drawn for an either sex antelope hunt in Cimmaron county in September. I have never hunted antelope before, but the hunting shows make it look fun. I was last drawn in 03 at Mcgee Creek. I killed a 124" 9 point there.

I was wondering if anyone uses shotguns for hunting pigs in thick cover. I have been successful in sneaking up within 20 yards of pigs on our lease in very thick cover. On several occasions the cover was so thick that a rifle shot was very difficult or impossible. I am planning on trying my Mossberg 835 using BB lead shot with a full or turkey full chock. I chose BB shot because the Oklahoma game laws state that is the biggest shot size permitted for hunting, regardless of game. Interested in knowing if anyone else has taken pigs with shotguns?

While deer hunting out of my treestand Saturday evening I heard several coyotes start howling right at dusk. One sounded very close so I took my predator call and squealed a couple times. Next thing I know I have a coyote running straight toward me, so I got my bow ready. He walked by at 18 yards and I shot him. Although I have killed several coyotes, he is the first predator I have called in and killed, and I did it with my bow (pretty cool). I hope to actually predator hunt some this year after bow season is over.

How long do you hang your deer? What is a good temperature range for hanging a deer? Does hanging a deer significantly increase the tenderness of the meat? I live in Oklahoma and usually I bone out my deer and have the meat on blocks of ice in an ice chest within hours of harvesting. I killed a buck on Saturday evening (December 2nd), after gutting him I put a bag of ice in his chest cavity to expedite the cooling process and hung him in the back yard. Saturday and Sunday night the temperature dropped to about 28 degrees and the daytime high was about 40 degrees. The bag of ice is still intact and the meat is very cold but not frozen. I have the carcass shaded by a tarp. The projected temperatures for the rest of the week are for lows in the upper 20s and highs in the low 40s. How long would you let the deer hang?

Re: muzzloading I shoot 150 grains of 777 (3 pellets) with a Barnes 245 grain expander bullet in my encore. I have chronographed this load at 2250 fps and my groups are about 1.5 inches at 100 yards. I have the encore sighted in 2 inches high at 100 yards which according to the ballistics tables zeroed at 160 yards and 3.7 inches low at 200 yards. Where I hunt there are clearcuts where a long shot is possible. I have killed a buck at 160 yards with this load and the bullet completely passed through and the buck only traveled 10 yards before expiring. I have nothing against shooting 100 grains of powder. There seems to be a big reduction in felt recoil when dropping down to 100 grains. But there is also a loss of 400-500 fps in velocity with the reduced load. Shooting a 100 grains of 777 with the 245 grain Barnes at 1750 fps means that I have to sight in 4 inches high at 100 yards for a 160 yard zero and the bullet will be nearly 7 inches low at 200 yards. I might suggest that if the recoil becomes a problem use a 100 grains of powder instead of 150 grains and limit your shots to 150 yards or less. I hope this helps, good luck.

Re: stack of ham Glenn, Michelle you’re unbelievable, that is a mess of pork. Keep posting, I really enjoy your pictures. What part of Texas do you hunt? This year I started hunting a lease down by the Marrietta Oklahoma that has a lot of pigs on it. Although I had killed a few pigs while deer hunting, I had never actually hunted pigs until this year. I have taken five this year and it is sure a lot of fun. Do you have any favorite pork recipes you would like to share? I have been grinding mine up and making breakfast sausage. My wife buys Cains Sausage Seasoning from a butcher, 8 oz is suppose to season 25 lbs of pork but I mix it with only 20 lbs. My family and friends seem to like it allot. Anyway keep up the good work and keep posting.