skatter gun

[charlie cleveland]

been here thinking about using the old 8 ga parker this evening to try a mabe kill a deer this evening. only got a couple days left andthen will have to hunt with primitive weapons.ive hunted hard this year for that record buck but only got a glimpse of him.have not taken a deer this year. seen about 50 does and yearlings but not that once in a life time deer.so with time running out im gonna set my own first record take a deer with this old 8 ga this evening.every body wish me luck. charlie

[scott kittredge]

GOOD LUCK!!! :) scott

[Fred Preston]

Charlie, Save some hamburger for the dogs.

[Dean Romig]

Well Charlie, sun's been down for a while yet and you haven't posted the pictures... but you're probably still draggin' that brute out to a road someplace, right?

Well, you can tell us about it after you've set a spell and got your wind back.

[charlie cleveland]

well fellas have been setting and resting a spell. it was raining this evening just a slow gentle rain. i got into my shooting house at 3.00 oclock this evening.but first i stepped off 40 yards an put up apiece of white tissue paper up and put tinks doe scent on it.i made 2 more scent posts the last one at 30 steps.i knew i might be huntig late so i used the 30 step marker as a marker if it got late. i would not shoot pas the 30 step marker. i finally got into the shooting house pulled off mw large hunting jacket. fellas i dont beleive ive ever put as much work and thought into one evening hunt. id even called my grandson and told him to leave his keys in his 4 wheller got me a rope to drag this deer i was going to kill. well the time draged by from 3.00 to 4.45 at this time i stuck the old 8 ga out of the window and cocked the right hand hammer.i knowed a deer was going to come into view just any time. well needless to say i waited till it was so dark you could not see my 30 step marker boy what a let down. i had never been surer in my life that i would get a deer this evening. i was to haveset mysef a record this evening whith that old parker.loks like i will have to try and break that record monday evening lord willing. ok so i un breached my gun and thenunloaded my gun .reached in my coat pocket for my flash light and droped it. boy was it dark in that shooting house by now. ok so i got on my hands and knees feeling for that little light. i must have searched for 5 minutes finally foundit so i thought it was my shells for my rifle that i had droped and found so back to the floor looking for the flash light. well after about 5 more minutes looking for that thing i decided that i would wait till the next day to get my flash light. boy it had started raining hard it was a pretty good walk to my truck i finally got there.whew... so when i got home i told my wife what i had done she laughed and saidmy flash light was on her piano. good place for that light. ha well now i dont have to go and get that flash light out of the shooting house because i never dropped the thing in the first time.... so goes the life and times of one charlie cleveland. not the end of story will resume after monday hunt. charlie

[Dean Romig]

Okay, we'll wait.

(Nuts!, I was hoping for some backstraps for supper.)

[Richard Flanders]

Great story Charlie. My trigger finger was itching just reading it! Not too unlike my last deer hunt in Michigan this fall. I was leaving the next morning and had finally figured out the very best place to set the tent blind, right in the orchard within sight of my sisters house. Had all the windows zipped open a bit and had my head on a swivel until it was too dark then packed up and went back to my brothers. My sister came for dinner that night and asked, "why didn't you shoot that deer!?".... what deer? was my reply. She told me she watched a deer eating apples 10ft from my blind and wondered why I didn't shoot it. Damn...I never heard or saw it and had my hearing protectors cranked to max. I should have been able to hear the frozen apples crunching.... It was behind me but I'm having neck problems and couldn't twist around to look that direction as much as I should have. So I flew back to Alaska the following day without a cooler packed with venison for the first time in years..... 10ft... whew...

[charlie cleveland]

good story richard love to hearabout the deer that was so close but yet so far away...just reckon how many hunts we all went on and never saw a thing.i was rattling on a hunt one time never saw a thing wnen i got home my son said why didnt i shoot that 8 point that was in front of me.i could only say i never saw him. gonna try that old 8 ga again monday evening. yall keep your fingers crossed. charlie

[calvin humburg]

Charlie,
dumb qustion but what are you shooting in your 8 slug? ch

[charlie cleveland]

calvin thats a good question. the shells im shooting are 00 buckshot. it is a 3 1/4 inch winchester shell with roll crimp best i can count 24 00 pellets to load with buffer added.i do not know the powder charge. tom armbrust loaded these for me .he said i was the only person to ever ask for buckshot loads in the 8 gauge. the loads shoot very well ive tested them at various ranges. with mydestery hoffard 8 ga fa loomis it patterns well enough out to 80 yards . it will put 7 to 11 pellets intoa deer size target at this range.i like to keep the distance shorter but i would not hesitate to shoot at this distance. the parker bro. 8 ga i will only shoot to a distance of 40 yards the barrels have been shorted to 26 inches on it. thus no choke left .hope to get to use this load this evening. charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I'll be waiting to hear of meat on the ground come morning......

DLH

[Richard Flanders]

7-11 00 pellets at 80yds?! Impressive. You could take out a whole herd of deer at that rate Charlie! I want one!

[charlie cleveland]

well fellas all i killed this evening was 3 hours. i think this old parker may be jinked every time i carry this old hunk of iron all i kill is time. but fellas i aint giving up til the fat lady sings.wish me luck agin for me and this old boat anchor shore need it. charlie

[calvin humburg]

Charlie,
5 steps backwards on the way to your stand should take the whoie off your gun, be careful don't trip. I collect metallic cartridges and some shotgun shells would you sell me one of your buckshot loads. If anybody has any old metallics they want to get rid of i'm intrested really like the old stuff. Thanks ch

[charlie cleveland]

calvin i also collect odd and end things. be glad to let you havea buckshot load. pm me ok. well fellas im setting herewhen i should have already been in the woods.but these old bones dontmove as fast as they use to.the old parker 8 ga has its share of old age signs but it always gets up andgoes on. me and this old gun go to geather like .....i will take those 5 steps backward and get this hex off me. thanks for the advice. im gonna see someting this evening.listen for.... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

boom meat on the ground... i tookthose 5 steps backwards and took the jinx off this old 8 ga parker its a bonified deer slayer as of this evening. i got into my stand at 4.00 pm and set till 5.15 and out walked 2 does with there fawns.they were at 70 yards to far for a shot. i watched them for 5 miutes hoping they would come a little closer. all of a sudden they through up there heads and looked mighty nervous. i thought they were going to run then out came 2 more does and a 8 point buck. that buck never came into the range of the old parker.but all at once one of the does that had no fawn started walking toward me she was at about 50 yards was not coming any closer.i thought shes a little to far then something said you this may be your last chance. so i cocked the right hammer she heard the hammer cock but didnt move till i fired the gun. good cllean kill. the old 8 ga had done its job and in the morning i will finnish mine.skinning ha.will let every one know how many buckshot holes tommorrow night... dont believe i could got a deer if someone hadnt helped get the jinx oo the old gun..till then charlie

[Dave Suponski]

Charlie Congratulations! I have been following this thread with baited breath..Now are some pictures too much to ask for? :bowdown:

[charlie cleveland]

will try to post some tommorrow. till then charlie

[Dean Romig]

Great day charlie - Great day!!
Congratulations on putting the venison in the freezer!!

[Richard Flanders]

Congrats Charlie... I can see I'm going to have to try that 5 step thing!

[calvin humburg]

Charlie,
Glad u got a deer! My youngen got his 1st deer this year doe. Your buckshot kill has this whole new idea rolling around in my spacious head, wonder if you could shoot black and buck out of a 129 year old twist barrel? AND what would the load b. Did 1 ger her in the lungs, head. share the glory details. ch

[Bill Murphy]

What kind of load do you put together? How many and what size? RMC brass?

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Good Work! Not many guys can say they've shot any live game with an 8 gauge Parker and that's for sure.

DLH

[scott kittredge]

nice ! this should be the best tasting deer ever :) scott

[calvin humburg]

I bean thinking an once and 1/8 of shot is just that no matter what size. ch

[charlie cleveland]

deer taken care of in the ice water soaking.been cold here for miss. but today warmed up seen a few mosquitoes out. thanksfellas for all the incouragement i got on this hunt.was a dream come true i had been wanting to kill a deer with the 8 ga parker for a while. i know i stated i would post pictures i dont know what i did wrong but no pictures.maybe i can get my daughter to post them in a coupla days. there was 8 pellets in deer. 3 of them were in heart and lung area. 4 of them in thestomack area. 1 in the back leg. the gun has 26 inch barrels that are stub twist with no choke.the shell used was loaded by tom armbrust. it was a 3 1/4 in winchester hull. powder used i do not know. 24 00 buck in shell withspecial wad. also had buffer in the load with buckshot. shell was roll crimped.this load patterns very well with a gun with choke in it. you 10 ga boys get your guns out and load you up some oo buck or even some 000 buck and get after them deer . bound to be some more 8 ga fellas out there too get them closet queens out and put them to work. ha. calvin your old twist or damascus barrel gun will do ok with the buckshot loads 1 1/4of weight in arond 8 pound guns in heavyier guns the loads could be increased.. thanks fellas again your all a bunch of swell guys. boy if i only had one of those 40 in barrelsparker s with 4 inch chambers. charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Charlie,

Email me the pics and I'll post them for you no problem.


Destry

[Harry Collins]

I've always wanted an 8 gauge, but two things have stopped me. One is money and the other is that in Kentucky the only thing you can legally take with an 8 gauge is a clay pigeon.

Harry

[charlie cleveland]

harry i always wanted and old 8 guage from my youth up i read the stories and listened to tells of the mighty 8. finall a fellow by the name market hunter let me have his old 8 guage loomis. i am also a man of limited funds. was onlyby market hunters good grace was i able to afford this gun. be pantient a 8 ga could come your way. they are a hoot to shoot. charlie

[charlie cleveland]

well ive about figgured out how to post pictures with help of my daghter.maybe tommorrow nite she will help me post them. destrey if i not able to post them i will send them to you ... almost let the hammer down this evening on a fat young doe. ha charlie