By Robert Criss

December 13, 2017

On December 09 2017 I was hunting the final day of gun season in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I was hunting from a lone wolf climbing stand and carrying my Remington 700 in-line 50 caliber ML. The muzzle loader was loaded with 100 grains of pyrodex and 250 grain Hornady SST. This is the first time in several years I had hunted with a rifle as I usually harvest all my deer with a bow.

At 0730 I heard what sounded like a deer walking in the frozen leaves on the hillside to my left. Within a minute or two I spotted the mature doe coming down the hill. The doe stopped at approximately 60 yards broadside and I took off the safety and centered the cross-hairs of the Nikon Buck master 3x9 scope. I squeezed the trigger and could see nothing with the amount of smoke. Once the smoke cleared I raised my binoculars to see the big doe laying where she had stood.The Hornady sabot had hit through the top of both shoulders dropping her in her tracks.

While I was butchering the doe I harvest I found the Hornady sabot just underneath the hide. This was by far the best mushroomed round I have ever seen, something you would see in a Hornady commercial. The bullet had busted both shoulders shattering them both, unbelievable, I will never hunt with any other bullets. Only Hornady. See pic of bullet