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Black Powder Whitetail Hunt with the Desperado 12GA Pistol

It was a whitetail hunt like no other — one that featured a black powder 12-gauge pistol, elusive whitetail deer, 100-degree days spent in a ground blind, and one hungry mountain lion. 

When American Gun Craft came out with a new 12-gauge black powder pistol, we knew that another hunt was in order. We used its predecessor, the Diablo, on a Florida gator hunt, and that was both challenging and fun. It was now time to raise the bar and get a whitetail with the new pistol, called the Desperado. 

American Gun Craft Desperado

The Desperado is better suited for hunting applications than the Diablo. While the pistol will eventually be offered in other configurations, we used the 8-inch version for the hunt. For ammunition, we tested FFFG powder with lead balls, FFFG powder with AGC’s new sabot slugs, and “White Hots” .50 caliber pellets with the sabot slugs.  We found the pellet and sabot combo to be the most accurate and convenient. No need to carry and measure powder out in the field, just drop in a pellet, load a sabot and you’re good to go.

The ranch that we were hunting is more than 7,000 acres, so to help us choose the best location to hunt, we purchased five Tactacam Reveal cellular trail cameras and placed them in areas we thought were best suited for good ground blind concealment. The cell cams were extremely convenient as the pictures were sent directly to our phones twice a day, late morning, and evening – no need for us to fetch and download memory cards. 

After a few weeks of reviewing pictures, we selected our location and set up a ground blind.  We chose to go with the Xenek Ascent for its easy setup and takedown, and camera friendliness.  Its window configurations and a feature that allows tripod legs to sit outside of the blind yet remain concealed were ideal for filming. 

We also looked to increase our odds by using an attractant.  We like to find and test out-of-the-ordinary products, so we used a product called Dynalik. It is both an attractant and a mineral feed.   What makes it unusual is how it bubbles and foams up and produces a berry smell.  It did attract deer, but unfortunately, it only lasted for a week or so when it was supposed to last for a few months. It turns out the location we chose was too sandy, which affected the chemical reaction when combining the water with the powder. We would consider trying it again in better soil conditions to see if the attractant lasts longer. 

All that was left was to sit and wait, and boy did we wait. The weather was not cooperating at all. It was unseasonably hot, and by hot, I mean 100-degree days – not the best conditions for deer or the hunter. I would not wish to sit in a blacked-out blind for several hours in 100-degree weather on my worst enemy. Even early mornings were hot, but we endured it for several days with nothing appearing that was worth shooting; no mature does or mature cull bucks. Just a few young bucks here and there. The bucks and does we wanted were showing up on camera, but not during legal hunting hours. 

All was not lost, though, as we did see on one of our other cameras, some mature does come in during hunting hours. So, we decided to change locations. Great decision, because as luck would have it, a group of four does came in. Now all I had to do was make a good shot, and we could all go back to our nice, air-conditioned homes. Well, easier said than done as the does were very antsy and looked like they were about to bolt at any moment. You could tell they felt like something was not quite right; perhaps it was that new structure covered in brush that was not there yesterday.  With the does being antsy and me wanting desperately to no longer sit in a blind (aka sauna) for days, the pressure was on. I could hear the camera man’s thoughts, and they went something like this: “don’t you miss that (expletive) deer.” Well, I took the shot, and of course, I missed – nerves got the best of me, and I rushed the shot.   

Now we sat and waited again, and again nothing showed up. It was time for plan B.  Ditch the ground blind and act on a tip given to us on a tree stand in a great location with good deer showing up on the camera.   

Being out in the open like that would mean we would have to take further measures on concealing our presence – time to buy more gear. We were not taking any chances. We wanted to cover all the bases to make sure we were as invisible as possible. For scent control, we used an ozone system made by OZ called the ScentLok Rolling Chamber. We used it to deodorize all our clothing, including hats and face coverings. We also used their NFuse Ozone Sprayer for a quick field spray before the hunt. For face coverings, we used a product by Bunkerhead. They call it the Bunkerhead Head Concealment System. We had come across them at a trade show once and thought their product was innovative and straightforward. We got the mesh fabric version, which was perfect for the heat.   

It was much more pleasant up in the tree blind, but again the deer were sparse. We got busted a few times, which did not help. After a couple of days though, another opportunity presented itself.  A nice mature doe decided to pay us a visit.  Again, she was also antsy. I had a small unobstructed area where I could take a shot, and she was leery of stepping into the area that we came to name “The Octagon.”  

It is like she knew something was up, smart doe. Slowly she approached, frequently stopping to look around. Her behavior was causing me to feel the pressure again, more so than last time. I absolutely could not afford to miss this shot. I kept telling myself to calm down, relax, and breathe. Take the gun up slowly, very slowly, and just take the shot when the time is right. Next thing you know, I pull the trigger, and all I see through the smoke is a doe leaping in the air with what looks like a shot wound, but I am not quite sure. Jeremy reassured me that I did hit the target this time and points to a blood trail on the ground. 

We waited for a bit but not too long as it was evening and the doe had run into some thick woods. We did not want to lose light while looking for her. The blood trail was thick. She was easy to track until we came upon a puddle and then nothing; the trail just stopped. We kept going back to the puddle and resuming the search for a trail in various directions but again, nothing. It was like a UFO just beamed her straight up into the sky. It was now dark, and we had been looking for over an hour with no luck. It was time to call it a night and resume tomorrow with more resources to help with the search. 

The next morning, we secured a group of guys and a dog to begin the search again.  About 45 minutes into it, I hear three thrilling words: “I found her!” I ran to the voice, and there she was, pushed up against a tree, covered in leaves, 100+ yards from where the blood trail had stopped. I had never seen that before, but right away someone said: “It’s a mountain lion, a mountain lion did that.” You could see paw marks in the sand and around the deer in a semi-circle. There was a one-foot-wide bare area of sand where leaves used to be. You could tell that something had swept up the leaves onto the deer to cover it. The doe’s hams were partially eaten, so the lion had a bit of a meal before it abandoned the carcass. I just stood there, bewildered, while the guys inspected the scene. I thought to myself, “We were out here last night, walking the area while a mountain was most likely watching from a distance, deciding what its next move would be.” It was a little unnerving, to say the least. 

Well, it made for an interesting end to an incredibly challenging hunt. At the time, I was not quite sure how to feel about the whole thing, but now I look back and think, I learned a lot from the experience, and it’s certainly one I’ll never forget. 

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