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4 point
09-10-2008, 08:09 PM
Up at 4:15am, down to Tim's at 5:00am dodge a doe & 2 fawns crossing the road right near where I hit a deer a couple years back. I am pumped deer and it's still dark. Up into the woods right to the top. Now one else on any of the roads so things look quiet for opening of 4 point season.

Check a few spots at the top as sun starts to rise over eastern ridges across the North Thompson River valley. Over I go towards where I want to hike in and check 3 blocks at the highest point I can reach by road. 7:10am I spot a doe 80 feet ahead just to my right side on east sloping down big block. Wait there is another deer a few feet from her, oh it's another doe.....no it isn't it's a buck. Binos up it's a tall two point with very dark horns. Reach for my camera from my pack and the buck goes slowly downhill with the doe following yikes no picture. If it had been any buck season bingo.

Forward I go about 300 feet looking down into the block. Bingo there some 450 -500 yards out is a giant 4+ buck facing me at 2:00oclock with his front legs up on a slight incline. He has massive horns and was a nontypical. He is a shooter. Up with the gun. no deer. Down with the gun up with the binos there he is. Up with the gun again scope on him, it's a long shot and not much shows in the scope. At the exact second I am trying to hold he turns and goes down hill to his left below line of site. I sit down and get steady. There is a draw behind him with cover. I feel he may go down or up the draw and I'll never see him again. It's a long ways away and no way to get closer fast at all. Right behind the draw he went in is an open area going up hill. I'll have to decide if he shows going up that if I'll shoot. That will be another 150 yards more. Really to far to shoot.

I am only sitting for about 1 minute when I see a deer.. a buck walking from left to right about 50 yards closer from where I saw the big one the first time. I thought for a moment he must have circled somehow. Then instantly when I focus on the horns I realize it's another buck. Up with the binos and as he walks it's to hard to tell the rack for sure but a 4 I would guess, but not positive. After walking for a 30 - 40 seconds he bolts downhill into the same draw the other guy went into. He runs right up into the opening I thought the big buck might and then just before he enters cover I see the big buck standing right where he is heading on the cover line and in they both go.

Close but no cigar. It would have been one hell of a long downhill shot for sure. If I had a companion maybe things would have slightly different I don't know. A sniper rifle and shooter would have had a big deer. The main things is their still in bachelor groups and one must keep on looking.

Nine deer in all seen today. Until Saturday.

Jelvis
09-10-2008, 08:27 PM
4 point sounds like a heck of a day in the hills for mule deer. Good write up of your day. I'm glad you showed patience and used good sense in your holding off just tossing lead at a far distance, it shows good judgment on your part.
That spot sounds good but by Saturday they could be a kilometer away but maybe not.
Keep us informed on your hunts cuz it is quite well done. Good luck in getting that big non-typical.
Jel-loops.

ianwuzhere
09-10-2008, 08:29 PM
good story, i bet your blood is boiling right now and are angry that work stuff is always getting in the way of hunting. Id keep back to that spot and hopefully youll be postin pix of the non-typ this weekend,
cheers...

BearSniper
09-10-2008, 08:45 PM
Hey what the heck !

You saw bucks ! :-P

Good story. Kinda nice you were all alone with no one else around.

Obviously a promising area:p

johnk
09-10-2008, 09:07 PM
In 3-18 and 3-19 I saw very few people any year between Sept.10-19 but on the 20th when spike forks open, look out!

huntwriter
09-10-2008, 09:34 PM
Went out today in region 3. I was in my spot well before daylight. At sunup nothing moved so I moved on to the next spot where I have seen several bucks previously. Same as on all the other spots, nothing moved, even the birds seemed to shut up. Weird.

I went home at around 10 am and went back an hour before dark. Now the deer moved seen lots of does and then two bucks. One of them was a shooter but he was to way out and I had no way to close the distance fast.

Strangely I haven’t seen any other hunters today either.

Well there will be another day tomorrow, and after that, and after that. The season only just started.

jimk shockey
09-13-2008, 08:03 PM
good story, you'll have to go back their and try get in and see him again to bad he was to far away, i took a 4x4 170 B&C with my 7mm rem mag, 564yards down hill angle shot took a few to hit him good thing he was in rut

4 point
09-13-2008, 09:09 PM
Went back in this moring early. On my way in I spotted some deer, 1 buck and a couple does. Did a circle climb around them and the buck turned out to be a 3 point. Big body though. While watching him I picked up below him a tall 2 point and a samller 2 point with some does. Fun to watch. At one point the larger 2 mounted the smaller one. When they saw me the 3 split and the 2 smaller bucks snorted and stomped while making bluff approaches to me (75 yards). I enjoyed the whole show. But no 4 point's today. But heck I have seen 6 bucks and a bunch of does in two trips out, not bad. No sign of any hunters or moose which is weird.

doubled
09-14-2008, 06:06 AM
That is one of the reasons I switched to a 300 wsm from the 30-06. Flatter, longer shots for exactly this scenario. Practiced so much this summer, my shoulder still hurts.

Well done on the report. Sounds like you got yourself a good ol honey hole. Good luck on the big fella.

Little Hawk
09-14-2008, 06:48 AM
Wow! *****-deer? What next?

Never been much for the long-shot camp. Risk of a poor-hit and a wounded/suffering animal goes up exponentially with distance. My mantra is - if I can't get close enough to kill it fast & sure, I don't deserve the shot.

There is a new 'ultra long-shot' fraternity growing down in the States that kinda bugs me. These guys are using big flat-shooters with Hubble telescopes mounted on em' and going out for the 1000+/yd shots pretending it's sniper-camp. If this mentality prevails, there will likely be much more suffrage in the bush.

CooperSscat
09-14-2008, 09:24 AM
Yes I'm glad 4 point didn't bark off a round or two. Not very ethical if you're unsure of range, unsure about area and plus you may have a long pack back uphill all alone!

No moose=lots of wolf sign in MU 3?? Last year there was a bunch more wolf sign compared to previous years.

Jeremy

4 point
09-14-2008, 12:54 PM
Moose must still be up higher on the plateau. Wolves around their just hard to see much sign off when no snow on ground. Lots of bear sign for sure.

rocksteady
09-14-2008, 12:58 PM
Close but no cigar. .


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Just kidding you...Perseverance pays off..Pound the ground and you will eat venison....