Still at the truck, I elected not to load the .44 Magnum until I got up into the ladder stand. There was only about a 600 yard walk in the dark, no flashlight.

I shot a 6-pointer about 7:30 at 80 yards. It was like cheating with that Red Dot. Got him field-dressed and back to the truck. All I could think about was how guilty I felt for all the years, I did it the hard way with iron sights.

All the time I walked to the deer stand with my 44 Magnum and sitting in the stand until 7:30 was how to carry a loaded, scoped handgun. I didn’t like the only holster out there at the time for a scoped handgun.

So back to the shop I went. Hunting with a handgun for years, I knew what I needed. Safety, speed and stealth.

Back to the drawing board…all winter, spring, summer, then into fall. The night before opening day, at last I had a plastic holster, out of black Delrin, a cross-draw with supporting shoulder strap. Wow was it crude! But it was safe, fast and very stealth of movement.

Opening day, back in the same place. Get out of my truck, put on the holster and loaded the .44 Mag and, in the dark, I started out for my deer stand. All the time I was walking I couldn’t believe how comfortable the holster was. I stopped several times to draw it out.

Hell I was so impressed, if it hadn’t been for all the hunting clothes I had on, I would have patted myself on the back.

In the ladder stand I saw 3 bucks before 11 am. One way out and moving fast and two smaller bucks I let go. I decided to go back down to the truck because I left my granola bars there.

About 12:30 I started back up. I was about 70 yards from the truck. By the way the truck was parked about a quarter of a mile from the road in my neighbor’s field. Anyway, I picked up movement to my right about 150 yards.

Standing very still, an 8-pointer, a doe and a much larger 8-pointer came running out about 70 yards ahead of me. I picked up the 2nd 8-pointer, put the Dot about 2 feet in front of his nose because they were flat-out running and down he went. He got back up and I put the Dot on him again and it was over.

The gun was holstered until the last seconds when I drew and fired. The season was over and I went back to the drawing boards to improve my idea.

That brought me to the Stealth Hunter Holster and the rest is history… (To be continued.)

Dan