Muley Hunt 2015

[steepNdeep]

Hey boys, it's been a few years since I've been on here... Things have changed quite a bit since I left the Kootenays & moved back to the coast. Hunting has changed the most - here' what's on the menu down here...

Spearfishing LINGS:

http://www.fluidstudios.tv/1-ling-db.jpg

CHANTERELLES:

http://www.fluidstudios.tv/1-mush.jpg

RED ROCK & DUNGENESS:

http://www.fluidstudios.tv/1-crab-s.jpg

SPRINGS:

http://www.fluidstudios.tv/1-uky-spring.jpg

[MB_Boy]

Well there's an old face crawling out of the woodwork!! :cool: Welcome back! :biggrin:

Springs/lings out on the WCVI???

[steepNdeep]

BUT.. Late season muleys are definitely one of my favourite hunts of all time! Combining the highland open country where you can glass for miles, with the rut bringing the big boys out of their lairs & the snow for tracking, it's hard to beat...

I'm always psyched dreamin' & gearin' up for the hunt!

http://www.fluidstudios.tv/1-m5-grassland.jpg

[todbartell]

you have my attention

[luckofthedraw]

Good luck in your quest. Keep the pics coming.

[steepNdeep]

Good to see some of the originals stll around & pop up on PM! Still got your camaro Bartel? lol.


Well there's an old face crawling out of the woodwork!! :cool: Welcome back! :biggrin:

Springs/lings out on the WCVI???

Thx man! Good eye - slayed 'em outta Uky on a reunion trip with some highschool buddies. Im usually chasin 'em in the rivers locally. Been out much?

[todbartell]

Still got your camaro Bartel? lol.

me and Gatehouse wrapped it around a telephone pole in '08 after the flat top hunt. Now I have a 89 plymouth mini van

[calvin L]

Well well well . You are still alive ! I started to think J M used you for cougar bait . and not good type of cougar . Traded your camo for a lu lu lemon dive suit . They have dry suits young man . :-P

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Glad you are alive and kicking, Dean! I figured you had fallen into a tree well or something.

[steepNdeep]

Haha! Vancouver has some of the best LuLu hunting in the world! You can combine it with cougar hunting (but then camels could be involved & that can be scary) Come on down Cal!.. ;)

The plentiful, but elusive coastal LuLu:
http://www.lygodc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/lululemon-see-thru.jpg

Good to see the OK coral still kickin'... Now that the elk r officially exinct in the Koots, I can post again :p. Is your daughter still out there, Brent?

[Glenny]

That is some ling there. Big rock too. Sheesh.

[MB_Boy]

Haha! Vancouver has some of the best LuLu hunting in the world!

No kidding Dean....my house is about 2 blocks from their HQ. During the summer the days are full of the minions wandering around my neighborhood! :smile:

[Xenomorph]

No kidding Dean....my house is about 2 blocks from their HQ. During the summer the days are full of the minions wandering around my neighborhood! :smile:

God save me from the LULU Butterface, the disappointment is pretty unbearable.

Get those cougars man, save them from the hounds.

[MB_Boy]

God save me from the LULU Butterface, the disappointment is pretty unbearable.

Get those cougars man, save them from the hounds.

They have some pretty fine screening processes in place at HQ. ;)

[steepNdeep]

Yeah Scott, I've almost crashed my car driving through your hood focussing on the scenery.

Back to stinky muleys... :D I busted my Leupy scope last year on an elk hunt & of course I waited until October to send it in to get fixed (IDIOT!) Over the years, I have missed opportunities at some cranker bucks, cause I wasn't set up for long range, so I finally got Leupold to add a custom tactical turret on my scope! I didn't think I was getting it back in time & asked to borrow my (gear junky) buddy's long range tactical rig that he is building:

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-des.jpg

He said he'd rather lend me his wife. lol Luckily mine just came in with a day to spare. Time to get it sighted in...

[MB_Boy]

Hey Dean.....your PM box is full. Trying to reply to ya. ;-)


But....back to the Muleys!!

[Xenomorph]

He said he'd rather lend me his wife. lol

Is the wife a LULU ...JK :)


But....back to the Muleys!!

I have a feeling this is being built up for some monster results, and I have no popcorn

[Stormy]

Yeah Scott, I've almost crashed my car driving through your hood focussing on the scenery.

Back to stinky muleys... :D I busted my Leupy scope last year on an elk hunt & of course I waited until October to send it in to get fixed (IDIOT!) Over the years, I have missed opportunities at some cranker bucks, cause I wasn't set up for long range, so I finally got Leupold to add a custom tactical turret on my scope! I didn't think I was getting it back in time & asked to borrow my (gear junky) buddy's long range tactical rig that he is building:

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-des.jpg

He said he'd rather lend me his wife. lol Luckily mine just came in with a day to spare. Time to get it sighted in...


Can you tell us more about that custom rifle in the pic

[steepNdeep]

Can you tell us more about that custom rifle in the pic
All that I know is it's a .308 & a shooter. It looks like a cool alien's weapon to me. I will get it's spec's from my buddy for ya.

I mounted the suped up scope on my .338, made it to the range & got it soaked & got it sighted in with ~6 shots. I had worked up an accurate handoad for it that shoots clovers & with the custom tactical turret, NO more excuses...

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-338.jpg

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-338-clover.jpg

[Stone Sheep Steve]

. Is your daughter still out there, Brent?

Yes, she is still alive and killing....I mean kicking;-).

[tuner]

Yeah Scott, I've almost crashed my car driving through your hood focussing on the scenery.

Back to stinky muleys... :D I busted my Leupy scope last year on an elk hunt & of course I waited until October to send it in to get fixed (IDIOT!) Over the years, I have missed opportunities at some cranker bucks, cause I wasn't set up for long range, so I finally got Leupold to add a custom tactical turret on my scope! I didn't think I was getting it back in time & asked to borrow my (gear junky) buddy's long range tactical rig that he is building:

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-des.jpg

He said he'd rather lend me his wife. lol Luckily mine just came in with a day to spare. Time to get it sighted in...
What are you shooting ISIS or Taliban mulies?

[Xenomorph]

What are you shooting ISIS or Taliban mulies?

Ha! Now we're talking. Screw the LuLus -quite literally- headshots the above ...Uhm, now my mind's on those bums. Did you really have to post that pic Dean?!? :)

[steepNdeep]

Yeah, my buddy with the sniper build was in the military - surprise, surprise...

I've been lookin' over some old pics & dreamin' of the big boys. I haven't put a trail cam out in many years, but enjoyed my time out there before... I haven't seen many muley trailcam pics. Here a couple from the alpine in early summer:

A nice boxy typical:
http://fluidstudios.tv/1t-m4.jpg

A thick ~30 incher:
http://fluidstudios.tv/1t-m4w.jpg

& an extict Booner bull ;)
http://fluidstudios.tv/1t-booner7.jpg

[steepNdeep]

Ccan't ccconentrate... at work. I'm chompin' at the bit to get on the road & into the mountains ! Looong drive & there is snow up top...

http://fluidstudios.tv/chains.jpg


As usual, only 2 days to get a buck down & off the mountain. Already used up all my wifey fun tickets this year, too much to do, but the freezer is empty (of red meat) & it's too much fun. The mountains are calling!..

[Xenomorph]

Straight shooting my friend, have fun and fill that freezer

[smallfry14]

good luck and shoot straight! Hoping to see some pics of your cranker buck when you get back 8)

[steepNdeep]

Well, I gotter done & made it back in weekend warrior fashion in time for dinner. The usual curveballs made it a tough hunt & I didn't get the buck I was after, but the freezer if full & the fam' is happy...

[coach]

Congrats! Looking forward to the pics.

[calvin L]

OH a good old boy your chains on the frt wheels . Nothing on the rear . It could not have been that bad then :grin:

[steepNdeep]

Ha - Cal' knows. Snow on the top 1/4 of the mountain, but it wasn't so bad.

SHORT version: 10 hours driving, 3 drainages hiking, 380 m shot & 11 hours to get the meat buck to the truck... I need a massage, but the hot tub will work! :)

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-m5-8s.jpg

[northernbc]

awesome job I love these boots on the ground threads. just makes me happy beautie buck

[HarryToolips]

Way to go that's a beauty buck, congrats!

[sapper]

...380 m shot...
Holy smokes! It's a good thing you were using that sniper rifle. That's an impressive shot and buck. Well done.

[steepNdeep]

Thanks boys! Luckily, it's like riding a bike, (except for packin' it out... ;)

I wasn't gonna bother, but I've been getting PMs from some newbs about how I hunt, so:

LONG version: Got to sleep in the truck bed ~midnight. After a good short sleep, I was hikin' down ~1km under the stars, to my favourite point that I'd been dreamin' about all year - overlooking a huge open basin with scattered patches of timber & a steep thick canyon on the north side where the big boys hide. When it was light enough to start glassin' the visibility was good with cloud base right around my elevation & a few light flurries blowin' through. The fog stayed away (for a change), but I didn't see a single deer or any tracks in the snow below. Just when you think you have it all figured out something changes - logging moves in, or a fire or a big predator... whatever it was, they weren't using the basin now. ~8am I hiked across the drainage to glass back across into the bottom half & still nothin'. Wtf?! (If I had a week to hunt, I would come back in a couple of days)

http://fluidstudios.tv/sunrise.jpg

Back to the truck for lunch & figure out Plan B... I had a couple of new drainages in the area that I had been wanting to hit. Around noon I hit the first basin & still hunted/called my way along the edge of some broken pines to some glassing points. I was basically scouting the area, but with the rut swingin', even mid-day, I might cross a buck on the prowl... I circled the trees on the edge of the basin & found a couple of doe tracks, but nothing exciting. Next?..

[Xenomorph]

I circled the trees on the edge of the basin & found a couple of doe tracks, but nothing exciting. Next?..

Hooked and sunk in... OK!

[steepNdeep]

I was excited about the next spot, as the topography & glimpses of the drainage driving up looked promising. It was a deep hole with some nasty lookin' cliffs on one end that opened up to some steep grassy fields scattered with timbered benches & draws. I worked my way down into the drainage & there was tons of fresh sign in the open timber with ~200m windows. Got to a perfect sniper bluff where I could glass for 1,000+ m & put it in my GPS. (I have a feeling that I will kill a buck from that blind one day). I glassed for a couple hours without seeing a deer & as the magic hour approached, I decided to work my way across a mid series of benches that I could glass above & below into the patchy timber. Light was starting to fade & I still hadn't seen a deer - doubt was starting to creep in & I needed some meat on the ground... I worked my way towards the cliffs where I wanted to glass at last light for a buck coming out of his bed. Sure enough, on a bench below the sniper bluff at ~300 m, I spotted a buck that was locked on a doe that I couldn't see - finally!

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-m5-shot.jpg

Light was fading & the buck was steps from disappearing behind the trees in the left of the pic. I glassed him & he was at least a 4x4, so I scrambled to set up a good prone rest & decide looking through my scope, but the grass was too high. Finally I found a small boulder that put me above the grass with the bipod & pack at the back. Hmmm... I thought I saw some junk on his back forks + it's gonna take a day to get him outta this hole... = decision made. 380 m dialed & once the crosshairs settled I squeezed one off. When I regained my sight picture, he was haulin' like his nuts were on fire & the doe appeared & then took off uphill. He turned downhill & dove over a little cliff into a treed ravine. I knew he was hit.

[steepNdeep]

I took a pic of the shot & as I walked down part of me was hopin' I missed, as I started to realize the depth of this hole... On the bench I found his tracks in the dirt where he was standing & bounded over the edge. I found decent blood & figured he would at least be bedded. Followed his stotts in the dirt, once they ended I glassed & I spotted him in a minute. After 30m he fell, cartwheeled down & piled up ~100m down from the cliff.

I got to him at 4:45 - no junk & a bit of ground shrinkage, but happy to fill the freezer. I took some pics & got to work. I hit him quartering away - low just behind the front shoulder. I didn't see or look for an exit. Took the meat off & hauled the whole thing up to just below the sniper cliff, wiping out I was so exhausted at the end. Dumped half & got back to the truck at 11:30pm - stars were out & ~-5'C.

http://fluidstudios.tv/1-m5-butcher.jpg

Didn't set an alarm & woke up to glowing sky. Hunted my way over to the bluffs, but didn't expect to see much after stinking up the area last night. Glassed my way down to the sniper bluff & spotted a similar buck & 3 does way down in the middle far below my buck. Got the meat & was back at the truck by 10am. Made it home for dinner. Wife & kids were happy & I'm already dreamin' about next year...

[Husky7mm]

Oh ya, I like the looks of that country!!! I like hunting like that. When did you move away from the koots? I remember some of your threads a few years back, those massive rubs..... welcome back.
Are those tcam bucks from this year?
Thanks for sharring the story.

[ElliotMoose]

Great read, thanks for taking us along! Nothing wrong with that buck. Passed on one similar to yours this year while moose hunting and am now eating tag soup with only a couple roasts left in the freezer. Hopefully I can get it done at crunch time!

[kennyj]

Great buck!
kenny

[Sitkaspruce]

Congrats on getting back on the horse so to speak sNd!!

Nice buck!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers

SS

[steepNdeep]

Thx. boys! Its always good to get out there...


Oh ya, I like the looks of that country!!! I like hunting like that.

When did you move away from the koots? I remember some of your threads a few years back, those massive rubs..... welcome back.

Are those tcam bucks from this year?

Been at the coast a few years. Trail cam pics are older. Cheers