brotherjack
11-07-2008, 01:42 PM
Well, the freezer has been looking just a little bit bare this year, having only one doe and a small-ish mulie in it (and for whatever bizarre reason, that doe is just as tough as nails, and probably going to be 100% hamburger, sadly) . So, this morning, we woke up long before daylight, grabbed our gear, and back up the mountains we go, in search of a 4 point mulie for The Wife(tm). We've only got three hours to hunt, but sometimes that's all it takes.
We arrive at our parking spot, and we are socked in with fog. I mean, big time – visibility is about 30 yards. Yuck – this can't be good, can it? We sit there and wait... and wait.... it was well into legal shooting when we finally gave up trying to wait out the fog and headed out. Visibility was up to maybe 50 yards – still awful in country where you're likely shots are pushing the 250 yard mark, and the deer tend to be three quarters of a kilometer away when you spot them.
We creep carefully up the mountainside, navigating mostly by dead reckoning because landmarks are all invisible off in the fog. Eventually we spotted the “V” of two tree trunks that is my landmark for a nice spot where I like to sit and glass this particular mountainside in the morning. Not really sure what else to do – we certainly aren't going to do any glassing this morning – we sit down and get comfy, hoping the sun will come cook off the fog soon. Visibility has lifted to about 60 yards by now.
After about 5 minutes, we are startled to hear the “clop clop clop” of stotting mulies coming towards us in the mist. Two does and a fawn come crashing up to about 40 yards out and then freeze. Their shapes are still a bit fuzzy in the fog at that yardage, but with the binos up, we could see them well enough.
We sat and watched them for maybe 2 minutes. They had just settled down and started to feed away from us, when I caught a bit of movement in the fog right at the edge of visibility. “Something big, this way comes” I thought to myself as I strained into the binos trying to see what it was, other than big and foggy. He hung up for a moment too far away to see clearly (only about 60 yards!!), but then he stepped in a few more steps, and was close enough to get a better look at him. I saw the 3 point side first, and for a moment, my heart sank. There is a HUGE three point that hangs out around here, and this is probably him.
Still looking through the binos – my pulse suddenly kicked right back up a couple of notches as I realize that this guy has back forks. The big three point has monster front forks, and huge back tines, but but no back forks.... I stare at him hard... turn your head, please... thanks..... The Wife(tm) and I both hiss/whispered at each other simultaneously “4 point!”.
I keep the bino's trained on him while The Wife(tm) reaches for her gun. The big mulie swings his head our way the second she starts moving. I can't see what The Wife(tm) is doing without dropping the binoculars, and the deer is too close to the edge of visibility that I am not about to take my eyes off of him. He swings his head around the other way, and makes as if to heel himself around and exit stage left, but in the instant that he is in mid-motion of doing just that, The Wife(tm)'s gun barks into the thick foggy morning.
I saw the impact through the binos – and I must say, I was VERY impressed by how well the 168 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip's perform at 308 velocities! It hit that deer like a ton of bricks – so hard it came within a whisker of knocking him clean off his feet (the 303's have certainly never done anything even remotely like that!). He staggered back up, took three or four desperate hops, and piled up about 55 yards away from where we were sitting, dead by the time his chin hit the ground.
To say we were happy would be an understatement! High fives, thank you Lord's, hug's, and whispered “yahoo's” were exchanged repeatedly!!! I just have to say -- I LOVE MULE DEER HUNTING!!!!!
Of course, such stories are worthless without pictures, so here are some pictures.
http://xjack.org/hunting/wmulie2008-2.jpg
http://xjack.org/hunting/wmulie2008-1.jpg
We arrive at our parking spot, and we are socked in with fog. I mean, big time – visibility is about 30 yards. Yuck – this can't be good, can it? We sit there and wait... and wait.... it was well into legal shooting when we finally gave up trying to wait out the fog and headed out. Visibility was up to maybe 50 yards – still awful in country where you're likely shots are pushing the 250 yard mark, and the deer tend to be three quarters of a kilometer away when you spot them.
We creep carefully up the mountainside, navigating mostly by dead reckoning because landmarks are all invisible off in the fog. Eventually we spotted the “V” of two tree trunks that is my landmark for a nice spot where I like to sit and glass this particular mountainside in the morning. Not really sure what else to do – we certainly aren't going to do any glassing this morning – we sit down and get comfy, hoping the sun will come cook off the fog soon. Visibility has lifted to about 60 yards by now.
After about 5 minutes, we are startled to hear the “clop clop clop” of stotting mulies coming towards us in the mist. Two does and a fawn come crashing up to about 40 yards out and then freeze. Their shapes are still a bit fuzzy in the fog at that yardage, but with the binos up, we could see them well enough.
We sat and watched them for maybe 2 minutes. They had just settled down and started to feed away from us, when I caught a bit of movement in the fog right at the edge of visibility. “Something big, this way comes” I thought to myself as I strained into the binos trying to see what it was, other than big and foggy. He hung up for a moment too far away to see clearly (only about 60 yards!!), but then he stepped in a few more steps, and was close enough to get a better look at him. I saw the 3 point side first, and for a moment, my heart sank. There is a HUGE three point that hangs out around here, and this is probably him.
Still looking through the binos – my pulse suddenly kicked right back up a couple of notches as I realize that this guy has back forks. The big three point has monster front forks, and huge back tines, but but no back forks.... I stare at him hard... turn your head, please... thanks..... The Wife(tm) and I both hiss/whispered at each other simultaneously “4 point!”.
I keep the bino's trained on him while The Wife(tm) reaches for her gun. The big mulie swings his head our way the second she starts moving. I can't see what The Wife(tm) is doing without dropping the binoculars, and the deer is too close to the edge of visibility that I am not about to take my eyes off of him. He swings his head around the other way, and makes as if to heel himself around and exit stage left, but in the instant that he is in mid-motion of doing just that, The Wife(tm)'s gun barks into the thick foggy morning.
I saw the impact through the binos – and I must say, I was VERY impressed by how well the 168 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip's perform at 308 velocities! It hit that deer like a ton of bricks – so hard it came within a whisker of knocking him clean off his feet (the 303's have certainly never done anything even remotely like that!). He staggered back up, took three or four desperate hops, and piled up about 55 yards away from where we were sitting, dead by the time his chin hit the ground.
To say we were happy would be an understatement! High fives, thank you Lord's, hug's, and whispered “yahoo's” were exchanged repeatedly!!! I just have to say -- I LOVE MULE DEER HUNTING!!!!!
Of course, such stories are worthless without pictures, so here are some pictures.
http://xjack.org/hunting/wmulie2008-2.jpg
http://xjack.org/hunting/wmulie2008-1.jpg