twoSevenO
12-12-2017, 06:44 PM
For buck #3 , see here: http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?141571-Buck-3-3-Blacktail-2-December
I spent 3 days in reg 3 in mid November and didn't see a single buck. Lots of does, few moose and a couple of nice rams way out in the distance. No bucks. Not even the littlest spike buck to be seen anywhere. The animals just vanished. To quote Ray from Trailer park boys sometimes "it's the way she goes Bubs" .... If there's one thing i've learned over the years is not to get angry or disappointed, not to sulk and pout and not to give up. Wasn't going to hit up region 3 again due to work but i could sneak out for day trips. Region 2 it is!
I picked this spot on Google Earth, completely blind, just going by my intuition. I looked for a steep, unlogged block of land that had no roads or trails leading up. The hike was going to be a climb straight from the main road ;) .... I had no desire to hunt land that had months of ATVs and dirt bikes blasting through in the summer. I basically picked a spot most people would look at and go "fu** that!". Got a late start to my day and the hike started around 9am. Wet. Slippery. Typical region 2 jungle terrain in November .... i think you know what i'm talking about. I hiked up for probably 1 hr and stumbled on a really nice, fresh rub. First sign of ... well, sign. I started glassing more often, moving slower, but continuing to climb up. My whole season's motto has been "get off the road". Hike as far as you can i you know there are no roads or trails in the direction you're headed. So i worked my way up some more.
The weather had warmed up and the snow line had moved up significantly, so reaching the snow line was not going to be possible from the low elevation i started at. But it wasn't the snow that turned me around. it was the cliffs. My hike led me to some gnarly cliffs that I was not going to attempt to climb. Nor circle around. I decided to work the base of the cliffs and side hill for a while, then find a good spot to still hunt for a while.
Just as i sat down and slowly took off my pack i caught some movement in my eye down the hill i was glassing. It was gone. Couldn't find anything in my binoculars. But i was convinced i'd seen something. I took out my rattle bag and figured i'd give that a try. I got the rattle bag probably 10 years ago for Christmas with the intention of using it on white tails .... i've never even hunted whitetails. Not before, not since. But i packed it along. I figured, if there's a buck in there, maybe it'll get him to step out? So i gave it a go.
I rattled for a bit on and off, thinking to myself how this gimmicky "tool" sounded so awful. I mean i could tell right away it didn't sound like real antlers. I kind of chuckled at myself for using it and decided to pack up. Stowed that away, put the pack back on, and began another slow walk.
I made it all of 5 steps when i spotted a deer. A buck! He was 20 yards away and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. We could't have seen each other with me sitting. He reacted to the rattle and was coming right at me!! I shouldered my rifle and looked at him. I debated. He was small. A young buck. Small in the antlers. Small in the body. A dozen different things played in my head in the span of 5 seconds. He would be the smallest buck i've ever shot. But he would get me 2/3 of the way to accomplishing my goal for the season .... to cut all 3 tags. Given it was late November already, my selfish desire for a season of quantity over quality prevailed. I squeezed the trigger.
He staggered back 3 steps and collapsed down the hill. I watched him kick a couple of times and expire. He collapsed in the most graceful way. He may not be a wall hanger, but his "as they lay" pic most definitely is. I can't think of a better way to portray the region 2 habitat they live in than this photograph. The ferns and the moss. The fallen, rotting logs. The sheer steepness of their terrain. It's just picture-perfect blacktail country.
I laid my rifle down in front of him. Snapped a couple of photographs and began the process of get him out of there. Skinned. Deboned. Packed up. Trekking poles came off the pack. Rifle went in their place. By the time i started, it was pitch black. I had about 1.5 hrs to go.
I took my time. The rain had started shortly before i left and the ground was by now very slippery. Moss covered fallen branches and rocks and every step was a slide. Thank god for trekking poles. I can't stress enough the importance of these in steep, slippery terrain like this. The ability to have 4 points of contact with the ground instead of 2 makes a tremendous difference.
My cheap garmin etrex10 GPS is on its way out and randomly erases tracks. I can't wait to get rid of it. I wanted to use the same trail back, but i could not find it in the dark. The GPS let me down completely. Twice i had to turn back and hike back up the hill, then take a different route down as i kept reaching cliffs. Without a track on my GPS, in pitch black, i was guessing. Luckily i did not have to go back up a third time. I found a way that took me all the way down. It felt great to be on a solid surface for the first time in 10 hours. A short walk and i was back at my vehicle. I changed into some dry clothes and hit up the nearest McDonalds to make up the burned calories :)
All said and done, this is the smallest buck i've ever shot and i definitely won't be shooting one this small again.
As he lays....
https://i.imgur.com/6zF2Dma.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nEVAn7p.jpg
I spent 3 days in reg 3 in mid November and didn't see a single buck. Lots of does, few moose and a couple of nice rams way out in the distance. No bucks. Not even the littlest spike buck to be seen anywhere. The animals just vanished. To quote Ray from Trailer park boys sometimes "it's the way she goes Bubs" .... If there's one thing i've learned over the years is not to get angry or disappointed, not to sulk and pout and not to give up. Wasn't going to hit up region 3 again due to work but i could sneak out for day trips. Region 2 it is!
I picked this spot on Google Earth, completely blind, just going by my intuition. I looked for a steep, unlogged block of land that had no roads or trails leading up. The hike was going to be a climb straight from the main road ;) .... I had no desire to hunt land that had months of ATVs and dirt bikes blasting through in the summer. I basically picked a spot most people would look at and go "fu** that!". Got a late start to my day and the hike started around 9am. Wet. Slippery. Typical region 2 jungle terrain in November .... i think you know what i'm talking about. I hiked up for probably 1 hr and stumbled on a really nice, fresh rub. First sign of ... well, sign. I started glassing more often, moving slower, but continuing to climb up. My whole season's motto has been "get off the road". Hike as far as you can i you know there are no roads or trails in the direction you're headed. So i worked my way up some more.
The weather had warmed up and the snow line had moved up significantly, so reaching the snow line was not going to be possible from the low elevation i started at. But it wasn't the snow that turned me around. it was the cliffs. My hike led me to some gnarly cliffs that I was not going to attempt to climb. Nor circle around. I decided to work the base of the cliffs and side hill for a while, then find a good spot to still hunt for a while.
Just as i sat down and slowly took off my pack i caught some movement in my eye down the hill i was glassing. It was gone. Couldn't find anything in my binoculars. But i was convinced i'd seen something. I took out my rattle bag and figured i'd give that a try. I got the rattle bag probably 10 years ago for Christmas with the intention of using it on white tails .... i've never even hunted whitetails. Not before, not since. But i packed it along. I figured, if there's a buck in there, maybe it'll get him to step out? So i gave it a go.
I rattled for a bit on and off, thinking to myself how this gimmicky "tool" sounded so awful. I mean i could tell right away it didn't sound like real antlers. I kind of chuckled at myself for using it and decided to pack up. Stowed that away, put the pack back on, and began another slow walk.
I made it all of 5 steps when i spotted a deer. A buck! He was 20 yards away and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. We could't have seen each other with me sitting. He reacted to the rattle and was coming right at me!! I shouldered my rifle and looked at him. I debated. He was small. A young buck. Small in the antlers. Small in the body. A dozen different things played in my head in the span of 5 seconds. He would be the smallest buck i've ever shot. But he would get me 2/3 of the way to accomplishing my goal for the season .... to cut all 3 tags. Given it was late November already, my selfish desire for a season of quantity over quality prevailed. I squeezed the trigger.
He staggered back 3 steps and collapsed down the hill. I watched him kick a couple of times and expire. He collapsed in the most graceful way. He may not be a wall hanger, but his "as they lay" pic most definitely is. I can't think of a better way to portray the region 2 habitat they live in than this photograph. The ferns and the moss. The fallen, rotting logs. The sheer steepness of their terrain. It's just picture-perfect blacktail country.
I laid my rifle down in front of him. Snapped a couple of photographs and began the process of get him out of there. Skinned. Deboned. Packed up. Trekking poles came off the pack. Rifle went in their place. By the time i started, it was pitch black. I had about 1.5 hrs to go.
I took my time. The rain had started shortly before i left and the ground was by now very slippery. Moss covered fallen branches and rocks and every step was a slide. Thank god for trekking poles. I can't stress enough the importance of these in steep, slippery terrain like this. The ability to have 4 points of contact with the ground instead of 2 makes a tremendous difference.
My cheap garmin etrex10 GPS is on its way out and randomly erases tracks. I can't wait to get rid of it. I wanted to use the same trail back, but i could not find it in the dark. The GPS let me down completely. Twice i had to turn back and hike back up the hill, then take a different route down as i kept reaching cliffs. Without a track on my GPS, in pitch black, i was guessing. Luckily i did not have to go back up a third time. I found a way that took me all the way down. It felt great to be on a solid surface for the first time in 10 hours. A short walk and i was back at my vehicle. I changed into some dry clothes and hit up the nearest McDonalds to make up the burned calories :)
All said and done, this is the smallest buck i've ever shot and i definitely won't be shooting one this small again.
As he lays....
https://i.imgur.com/6zF2Dma.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nEVAn7p.jpg