Mea Culpa...NC Deer hunt.

Hello All:
It has been a while since I posted a short story but here it goes. I am open to all critiques and suggestions after reading this.

I have been in a deer hunting slump for almost nine years. I decided that I needed to do an out of state handgun hunt to break the curse. I recall meeting some people who run an outfitting-guide service in Eastern North Carolina. I called them up and arranged a deer hunt for five days for whitetail deer.

My choice of guns were my TC Contender with a Super 16 inch 44 magnum barrel and a Smith and Wesson PC Hunter in 44 magnum.

My original choice was my Super 16 in 4570 but something bad happened. I could not sight it properly and I believed I had blown the 2x Burris on the gun. I recall one shot being off so I made 2 clicks for a 50 yard sight in. Needless to say the shot went 8 to 10 inches to the left. I realized that something was very wrong. Also, the Super 16 4570 would “lock up” on my Armor Alloy frame for some reason.

So I switched to the 44 magnum barrel. It shot well at 100 yards and I felt confident.

The drive down to the place from Massachusetts took about 11 hours since I went through the Delmarva Peninsula.
I arrived at camp late Sunday afternoon. I got my things set up at the bunkhouse. I met other hunters. Two couples from Massachusetts and a gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Monday was a no deer day. I then chatted with the guides and made a discovery. I had treated all of my clothes with permethrin tick killer. They said deer can smell it a mile away. So that night I double washed all of my clothes in hunting detergent and baking soda.

Tuesday was a good but bittersweet day. I shot at a nice fork horn at 100 yards. I was seated in a box blind made from a porta potty. It was a bit different but I did like it in a way. The first shot scared the deer and he turned towards me. I knew that this gun could shoot nice 2-3 groups at 100 or better. I put the crosshairs on the chest for a frontal shot. Bang. The deer’s hind end jumped up and he took off to the right side of me.

The guides came by and we found at first a good blood trail but then it petered out. Needless to say I was upset.
That afternoon I did some benchrest shooting. No wonder. The gun was shooting horribly at 100 yards. Why all of a sudden it goes to blazes? The groups would shift all over the place. One or two nice shots then off by a foot! Did the 3x Burris on the 44 blow up?

Fortunately a retired police officer in camp let me borrow his Tikka bolt action rifle for the rest of the week. It was chambered in 6.5x55 Swede which was hand loaded with a 130 grain Speer HP at 2900 fps.

I missed Wednesday AM and I will admit it was a combination of buck fever and using a gun that did not quite fit me out of a box blind. Shooting from the “porta potty” is a challenge. I was thinking that an XP-100 or TC Contender-Encore with a flat forend would be ideal for such a set up.

Thursday AM I saw a nice doe at 120 yards. I was able to calm down and take the shot. A nice solid hit. The doe ran about 40 yards and spiraled into the ground. Later upon dressing it out I could not believe the damage that 6.5 did. It sheared the top half of the heart and did a lot of damage to the area where it was hit. That got me thinking about the future.

Friday was a no deer day. Hunted but not deer seen.
Again I have to thank Steve for letting me borrow his rifle. I was very happy to break my deer curse and I learned a few things from the guides who have shot more deer than I have seen.

Now for your input, please.

1. What happened to my TC Contender? - Did I blow the scope? Is the frame “stretched” and now groups horribly?

Today I plan to take the Armor Alloy frame and a new G2 frame to the range. I put on a 2-7 Burris on the 44 barrel and I will do some test firing to see what happened. I may take the 3x Burris and put it on to see if it is the frame.

2. I plan to go again next year. I should have taken four deer with my gun but due to my error I blew some opportunities. So I want to do something different. A new TC barrel for either a G2 or Encore that would be good for 200 yard shots. I am thinking of getting a good trigger/action job for both G2 and Encore frames. Then get a long range barrel for either one.

3. Much more practice. I have some lumber at the house and I intend to construct what I will label” the Southern Box Blind Shooting Rest” . I want to construct a rectangular frame with an opening 24 inches wide and about 10 inches high. I want to be able to thread a needle, so to speak, through this while at the range. That way when I go again I will be able to fill the freezer( I hope)

I am more inclined to the G2 due to the size. I like what that 6.5 bullet did to the doe. I was impressed. So I am thinking about something along the lines of a 6.5 or 7mm barrel. A nice 14-15 inch length with a good Burris or Leupold scope for future deer hunts.

What would your pick be?