Opening Weekend Whitetail

[ElliotMoose]

Left the house Friday around 2pm to meet a couple buddies in a part of the EK that I've never hunted before. They scouted the area over the summer while I was in Alberta for work and decided that's where they wanted to be for the rifle opener.

It wasn't as cold as we would have liked and we didn't get any responses to our calls from the elk but we did see a few animals. Nobody pulled the trigger but by the time we packed up sunday afternoon we had seen 3 cow elk, 2 black bears including one massive old boar in a slide and a dozen or so whitetails. Only one of the whiteys was a buck and he took off before my buddy could get a shot off. Still a great weekend in the bush with the fellas and some new country explored. Can't believe the season is finally here again.


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[ElliotMoose]

On the drive home the rain started coming down and the temperature began to drop. I stopped in town for gas, coffee and a soup from timmies before hopping back on the highway. After about two minutes of trying to eat my soup while driving and having it dump all over my lap I decided to take a trail off the hwy that I knew only went 4-500 yards before ending at a small forested campsite on a creek. This would be a good spot for me to have my soup/coffee and throw my line out a couple times before heading home. I love fly fishing in the (light) cold rain. I hopped out for a piss and immediately heard a bugle fire up from the valley across the creek. As I walked to the edge I saw something that Ive never noticed before.. An old horse trail on the other side of the creek that headed back into the timber towards what looked like a series of slides. Again I heard a bugle sound off. I scanned the edge of the creek a little bit and soon found a set of BIG bear tracks which appeared to cross the creek and head up the horse trail. By now the rain clouds began to lift above the mountain peaks and revealed a snowline halfway down the mountains. What a beautiful sight. As I looked at my watch and saw 2 pm and cool weather moving in I couldnt help myself. Back to the truck, threw on the waders, grabbed my gun, bugle, binos and hoochie mama and headed across the creek. The trail looked pretty tight on the other side and I had nobody backing me up so I elected to take the 45-70 along. I wasnt planning on killing an elk but more or less just wanted to see if it was a spot worth packing into next weekend.

After crossing the creek the trail was pretty choked with alders. I decided to hold off on my calls until it opened up a bit. After 100 yards or so of pushing through alders it finally started to open up for me. I was just taking the bugle off from around my neck when I caught a glimpse of white in my peripherals. I brought my binos up and was immediately staring into the face of a deer not 40 yards away. After focusing my binos, small antlers began to materialize and I could make out a nice young healthy 4x4 buck looking at me head on. I start to contemplate taking the shot. Remember, I've only got my 45-70 on me. With no venison left in the freezer and high confidence in my shooting abilities at this range I decide to take the shot. Up comes the gun, settle my iron sights on his neck just below his head and squeeze...

[steveo]

Geez, there is actually quite a few standing trees in a couple of pics, don't see landscape like that too often.

[buckshot]

So, is it dead?

[ElliotMoose]

BOOM goes the 45-70 and the buck disappears. I jack another one in and slowly walk over to where he was standing. When I get there, I am relieved to find him laying right where I shot him. Bit of an exit wound but thankfully only ruined a bit of neck meat.

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[ElliotMoose]

I went the gutless method with this buck as I had a little ways to pack him back to the truck and I didn't even bring my pack frame with me. When I took his hide off I was amazed to see how much fat he had on him and how big the body was for such a young deer. Definitely a healthy specimen. Got him cut up and the steaks are some of the tenderest hunks of meat I have ever cut into

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[351BII]

nice deer!! Even nicer gun. Good story thanks for sharing.

[ElliotMoose]

I wrapped the tenderloins with bacon last night and put them on the grill. Cut into medallions and covered them in a mushroom garlic cream sauce, served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. Heading back out this weekend to look for an elk, they should be bugling bigtime. Good luck to all, Hope to see a few more stories on here this year!

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[Harvest the Land]

Nice work - congratulations!

[goatdancer]

Calling that a ' bit of an exit wound ' is an understatement, to say the least. But like my hunting buddy says " They're never over dead ".
Congrats on putting some nice venison in your freezer. Good luck on your elk hunt.

[Whonnock Boy]

Gotta love the unexpected hunts. Thanks for sharing.

[Shikari300WSM]

Awesome man congrats. Making my stomach growl!

[Blainer]

Looks like some great eats!

[RiverOtter]

I'm not much of a deer meat fan, save for pepperoni, but man those tenders look good. Good luck with the elk this weekend.

[ElliotMoose]

Thanks fellas. Yeah, I was never a huge fan of deer meat either until I shot my first whitetail 7 or 8 years ago. Ever since I have tried to harvest a young buck or a doe every year. They are delicious

[beretta]

In like dime out like a cash register!

[Arctic Lake]

Looks like gourmet to me !
Way to go !
Arctic Lake

[Xenomorph]

Awesome shot, awesome dinner.




I'm not much of a deer meat fan, save for pepperoni, but man those tenders look good. Good luck with the elk this weekend.

I'm surprised man, we eat a lot of deer. I make a lot of steaks out of deer and even my better half's completely sold on them. I do my own butchering though and vacuum seal everything. Sausages are out of this world, but still, the steaks are even better.

[Glenny]

Right arm EM. Compliments on the butchering and foody pics. Good times.

[lakelander]

Great story - first one I've seen from the hunt to the plate :)

[Brambles]

The ol 45-70 has a habit of making animals disappear from sight....lol...nice work on your Whitey.

[kennyj]

Yum!! They don't get any bettor than that. Good luck on the elk.
kenny

[RiverOtter]

I'm not much of a deer meat fan, save for pepperoni, but man those tenders look good. Good luck with the elk this weekend.



I'm surprised man, we eat a lot of deer. I make a lot of steaks out of deer and even my better half's completely sold on them. I do my own butchering though and vacuum seal everything. Sausages are out of this world, but still, the steaks are even better.
To me deer tastes like liver and I've eaten several, from alfalfa fed September WT does/little bucks, all the way up to rutted Mulie bucks. The smell it gives off from cooking alone is usually enough to curb my appetite. And ya, I butcher my own as well, boneless. And I've tried all the tricks, from hanging longer to cutting the day after and trimming all the fat, sinue and muscle casing off.

If you have another suggestion, I'm all ears, as I'll be dumping another sausage deer this fall. :)

[Sitkaspruce]

Congrats on the buck, some good eats!!!

Thanks for posting

Cheers

SS

[grizzly550]

Hell yes...looks tasty

[Glenny]

To me deer tastes like liver and I've eaten several, from alfalfa fed September WT does/little bucks, all the way up to rutted Mulie bucks. The smell it gives off from cooking alone is usually enough to curb my appetite. And ya, I butcher my own as well, boneless. And I've tried all the tricks, from hanging longer to cutting the day after and trimming all the fat, sinue and muscle casing off.

If you have another suggestion, I'm all ears, as I'll be dumping another sausage deer this fall. :)


Otter. Do you get he hide off right away? Are you over cooking it? If the hide is not off right away you "otter" do It. Just my any advise..Happy hunning. G

[ElliotMoose]

Otter. Do you get he hide off right away? Are you over cooking it? If the hide is not off right away you "otter" do It. Just my any advise..Happy hunning. G


agreed. I had the hide off him in 20 mins and the time of year plays a big part as well. overcooking is the worst thing someone can do. Sear to medium rare and well seasoned