Larry A. Smail's Blog

Rain is coming!

Rain was on the way as I settled in the woods to watch a field for deer photos. It was dark, but a hint of illumination could be viewed along the eastern tree line. I had seen some nice buck at this site along with smaller ones. Most of the time I couldn’t use my camera for I was

White Baneberry

hanging onto a flintlock. Any moments would stand a chance to become known to the deer.

I could just see the shape of a deer in the darkness. the animal walked to within twenty yards of me, but the very early conditions failed to make a good visual on this animal. Later, a buck ran across the corner of the field. I never saw this buck again.                       

Around the time of 8:30 I was moving towards the jeep. My next item on the agenda was to do a little shooting. My Remington 760 just had a new scope installed since my old scope went south on me. I couldn’t adjust the crosshairs at all. The gunsmith bore-sighted the scope for me. I shot at fifty yards and the bullet was hitting nineteen inches low. I brought it up to the target.                      

I, also, shot my flintlock rifle, Old Jacob. I missed a shot that shouldn’t had been missed. At fifty yards I shot at a large sheet of paper with a deer I had roughly drawn onto it. Three shots and three round holes in the breadbasket area. I do not see, as well as I had in the past. I can’t deny that fact. The sites are hazy along those long-barreled flintlocks I use. the front site, I find, is hard to see if centered. I believe that is the reason for the misses with this rifle. I need to be conscience and try to learn to center that front site.

Old Fiscus Schoolhouse. My mother attended here in the mid-thirties.

I didn’t get around to shooting the smoothbore, Jeremiah.  I missed two deer with this flintlock, too, after passing some shots at fifteen-twenty yards or so.  The same problem exists with this sighting plane. I cheated and had a fiber optic sight placed on it. Without a rear sight I can fluctuate a slight variance on the horizontal plane.

I, also, shot my Remington 872  rifle. this .22 caliber was shooting well at around thirty yards. I may need to get a squirrel or two.      

Afterwards, I walked around the lower end of Cherry Run reminiscing of things. Many memories of this area from my life. The trout, bass and catfish I had caught. the deer and wildlife I had seen. My father and I spent much time together along this waterways.

Later, just prior to the rain I took a drive to a few areas I hadn’t been too in quite some time. More memories.