Hello Folks,

Although I’ve been primarily hunting with the 66 caliber stalking rifle Steve Zihn built for me, today I hunted an area with a large open expanse. My scoped, modern muzzleloader was more appropriate. The wind was blowing a pure gale, 40+ mph and howling from the north, with some cold rain from time to time. I was in a hide facing to the west. About 4:00 pm the wind subsided and the sun came out. Within 10 minutes three deer walked into view. Quietly removing my gloves and raising my gun, I realized the glare from the setting sun made it impossible to see through the scope. I turned down the Leupold VX III 2.5-8x scope, but no help. I tried to reposition so a shadow fell on the objective lens, but couldn’t. A cloud passed over, and the image jumped out, but was too fleeting to make the shot. I looked up and noted another cloud coming, got ready, and the scope cleared with the crosshairs perfectly lined up. Stop breath, fire, and the deer took off. I mentally reviewed the very difficult shot, and knew it was a solid hit, at between 150 and 200 yards. Sure enough, a bright red blood trail led to the doe about 50 yards away. She weighed 81 lbs, field dressed, which is a fairly large deer here in Eastern Virginia.

Take care, Tom