Baker's Branch

  We did it a different way “back in the day.” I’m talking about muzzleloading for deer. You’ll notice (some of you) that I just made a verb out of a noun. Don’t try that at home, kids. It’ll affect your ACT scores. Yeah, we’re taking a trip down Memory Lane, again, but with a purpose; a tip that hopefully will affect your modern game in a positive way. Here it is: Do not, absolutely do not, approach a downed deer with an unloaded muzzleloader. Deer downed with a bullet driven by the less powerful black powder employed by the ancients, get up and run away, often, even with hits that prove, later, to be mortal wounds. Ask me how I know. I am an ancient. Hits with modern smokeless powder almost always prove to be accompanied with total bullet penetration. Not so with the ancient black powder said to have been invented by the Chinese to accommodate their love of fireworks. Leave it to the evil white man to see its potential use as a propellant for chunks of lead fired down tubes of st...