[narrator]
today might be Tom Oar's last chance
to go after big game.
We've got a special deer season going on right now,
and you're only allowed to use old-timey gear.
[narrator]
Montana hunters are prohibited from using
the high-powered hunting rifles
that give them an outsized advantage against the deer.
Instead, it's back to basics.
This is a replica of the old Hawken rifle,
the most common rifle used by the mountain men.
They have to be old style.
They can't be any of the modern muzzleloaders
with telescopic sights.
We can't use any of that.
It's got to be old, traditional muzzleloaders.
[narrator]
for a more difficult hunt...
Hey, you guys.
...Tom's bringing backup.
Hey, hiya, buddy. How are you?
Good, how are you?
-Are you ready for this? -Yeah.
-How 'bout you? -Hey, man. Good.
[narrator]
have learned a lot from Tom over the years.
-Think we can get one? -[Hank] Yeah.
[Tom] All right.
But Hank's never been on a single-shot hunt before.
You ever see an old muzzleloader like this?
I've only seen 'em in the movies,
but never, like, on this.
Single shot, you pour the powder down in the barrel,
put the bullet on the barrel and ram it down.
That's really cool.
[Tom] This is the powder measure.
Hank's pretty sharp.
Seeing that he's ten and I'm 79,
I ought to be able to teach him something. [chuckles]
Short starter, that's called.
That's for getting the ball down into the barrel.
You ram that ball down on top of that powder.
You got it loaded.
We got a target set up down there.
We'll check this sucker out.
Good to know if your gun is shooting straight or not.
-Yeah. -[Tom laughs]
[narrator]
lacks the rifling that helps the ball fly straight.
It's effective only at short distances.
[Tom]
so you're just kind of shooting down the barrel.
The muzzleloaders are quite heavy.
So it's hard to hold it steady.
But I feel comfortable shooting it up to 50 yards,
but from there it's pretty icy.
[gunshot]
Look, we're in the target.
[Sean] Cool.
-[Tom] I think we got it. -Right on.
-This is gonna be fun. -Yeah, it is.
[Sean] Should we load up?
-[Hank] Yeah, I'm good. -[Tom] Ready?
This is the very end of the deer season.
You're riding in the middle, I'm not riding in the middle.
So I'd like to be successful at
putting some deer meat in the freezer.
This is about my last chance.
[Sean] Better than going to school today, huh?
[Hank] Yeah!
[narrator]
it's a good day for a hunt in the Kootenay Forest.
-Ready? -Yeah.
[whispers] All right, let's do this.
[Hank]
[Sean]
-[Hank] -[Sean]
[Tom]
He's their number one guide.
Get in there and get comfy, all right?
What do you think, man?
-Looks good. -This'll work, huh?
Yeah.
He knows certain spots that have more of
a higher deer population in 'em, and stuff like that.
This is comfy.
This'll work good, yeah.
It's got good height for a shooting rest too, you know?
[Tom]
and good eyes and ears.
It's hard to walk up on a deer
close enough to shoot him, just by walking.
You're better off sitting in one spot
and just waiting for deer movement past you.
If you see one,
just don't jerk your head around like that.
Just, if you're gonna move your head,
you know, just watch real slow.
We gotta be sneaky about this.
Patience is a real big thing.
Most kids you couldn't set 'em down inside of a blind
when it was as cold as what it is.
Now, I mean, we told him he had to be quiet
and not to move around much,
and he fell right in with it.
[whispers]
[Tom]
what the rules are, we can't shoot does.
You can only shoot bucks.
But the more does you see,
there's a better chance of seeing a buck.
All we need is a buck.
[narrator]
This sure got slow, didn't it?
Sure has.
Not much going on.
...Tom, Sean, and young Hank
are still in need of a buck sighting.
You guys ought to just go out and go for a walk.
[Sean] Sure.
Then you could make a big circle around,
and I'll just hang out here.
Sure. Maybe we'll move something your way anyway.
Get something out of its bed
or something gets moving by the blind here
or maybe we could even see one.
-Okay. -[Sean] Yeah.
Okay.
-See you in a little bit. -Okay.
They're gonna walk out and just make some big swings around us,
see if they can push something by me,
or maybe make a little bit more deer movement.
[Sean whispers] Before we work our way back to Tom,
let's sit down here and rattle, okay, buddy?
[narrator]
signals to any bucks in the area that a doe is nearby
and worth fighting over.
[whispers] Turn these around. Bang 'em this way.
[rattling softly]
[Sean whispers]
[Sean] Shh!
[wind whistling]
Did you guys see anything?
[Sean] It's a little buck, Tom. Not too far over here.
Why don't you rattle one more time?
See if we can stir it up.
[rattling]
[rattling continues]
[Sean whispers]
[narrator]
[Sean whispers]
[narrator]
he only gets one shot.
-[Tom] Uh-oh. -[Sean] I don't know.
[Tom]
kills your image.
I mean, you're looking at the deer
down the barrel of the rifle,
and when you pull the trigger,
boom, there's blue smoke in your way.
Well, we were standing
right behind that tree there.
[Sean] Let's go, uh...
Let's go check for blood anyhow.
Here's where he was standing, right behind this tree.
[Hank] Yeah, he was, like, right here.
[Sean] No blood there, huh?
[Tom] I don't see any blood.
I see some tracks around down there.
[Hank] I think you hit the tree.
[Tom chuckles]
[Sean] Look at that.
Look at that, you missed by two inches.
[Tom chuckles]
Perfect height for his vitals.
[Tom]
Well, at least we didn't hurt him. Right, pal?
Yeah, at least we shot the tree.
The deer was behind the tree, and it actually hit the tree.
Is it luck for you when you kill one,
or is it luck for the deer when you miss?
You know, it's hunting.
Well...
[Sean] What do you think?
I guess that's kind of the end of it.
We had... We had our chance.
Muzzleloaders, you got one shot. That's it.
-That was a strange deal. -[Sean] Yeah.
There's no quick load, we could shoot again.
Usually, if you miss with that first shot, it's...
it's gone, you know?
Might as well call it a night, huh?
Probably.
We can always come back tomorrow.
Sounds good, man.
-[Tom] All right. -Okay.
[Tom]
was just go out and shoot once,
then you'd killed your deer, well,
that might take some of the excitement out of it.
I mean, that's why they call it hunting.
But there's always a chance that the next time
is gonna be successful.