rishu_pepper
11-13-2008, 02:02 AM
I'm not a perfect story teller like bartell :oops:, but I'll try my best and write y'all a good story from my 4-day excursion to the Cariboo.
Objective: To bag and tag a mule deer buck from Region 5
Day 1, November 9th, Sunday:
As I ponder wistfully what would likely be this season's last long hunting trip, I drive off to meet up with my hunting buddy at 5am and we head off to our destination.
Upon arrival at the cabin, we quickly pull out the quads and speed for the nearby cut block where buddy has had previous success. A slight still sit on a gorgeous afternoon, but it yields no critters. We both spot grouses but lack of shotguns and unwillingness to scare away the deer, we let them live for another day. I have ample time to snap some pictures of my boomstick:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03202.jpg
That night the weather is clear and we enjoy our dinner, then decide to hit the hay and hit the logging roads early tomorrow.
Day 2, November 10th, Monday:
Exactly one year from whence I have last shot my first buck on the Island, I figure today shall be a perfect opportunity to "celebrate" this one-year anniversary.
All day long we cruise around logging roads, walking up into several cut blocks looking to fill buddy's LEH mulie doe draw and/or any buck, but we fail to bump into any......
Oh wait, we almost "bump into one", with the truck! As we drive (on an asphalt road, private property on the sides) to another area, we witness a doe of a small variety standing on the side; it being illegal to shoot where it is, buddy drives on without much attention. As the truck becomes almost parallel in position with the doe, the idiotic deer decides to "cross the road" :shock: Buddy has to slam on the brakes forcefully to avoid "bagging a deer" but in the wrong way. We are less than 5 yards away from hitting the darn thing... Not a good sign.
Another pic of local country:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03208.jpg
Day 3, November 11th, Tuesday:
Snow begins hitting us hard on Remembrance Day. Driving on the quad with the snow hitting my face is not a particularly pleasant experience. We decide to check out more cut blocks and buddy spots two cow moose but nothing else (besides more grouse and a hare that flushes right after shooting a grouse).
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03211.jpg
As we begin to return to the cabin for lunch, we encounter a fellow hunter on the trail. A conversation reveals that he has seen 5 does at a particular area and recommends us to check it out. We follow his advice because we are running short of time and patience to fill the doe draw.
We drive into the area, which shows promising results (does appear, but in private property). As we hit crown land, we again explore several cut blocks. The cut blocks are typical mule deer terrain:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03222.jpg
But no deer...
Leaving the area, we see a dozen+ does carelessly munching on the local ranches' properties, probably making funny faces at us and deriding us with their immunity. :?
Time is running short. Our trip is supposed to be, "bag the doe on the 1st/2nd day, hunt grouse on the 3rd, leave early morning on the 4th", but the plan has been thrown into chaos with our failures.
Back at the cabin, we discuss our (change of) plans and decide to give 'er another shot tomorrow morning at the first area we visited on Sunday.
The reason being? Our cabin owner friend has heard news that a nearby neighbour has connected with a 3-pointer this morning (we must have missed seeing it! :sad:) and they let slip that they will buy another tag because they believe there are more bucks in that original cut block. This piques our interest and we must give it one more go.
Over dinner, we cook up our traditional grouse rice over the cabin's fire place:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03228.jpg
And with a heavy heart, carrying the possibility of getting skunked again and being laughed at harshly by bartell :oops:, I go to sleep, praying that I will see a buck tomorrow morning.
Day 4, November 12th, Wednesday:
We arrive at the cut block near/at first light, each settling into our spots, and agree to meet up at 9:30am regardless.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03241.jpg
A little friend of the forest decides to pay a visit:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03247.jpg
(at first it's cute to have around, but gets annoying when he keeps squeaking to give away my position...:mad:)
An hour slowly passes as the beautiful sun rises on a bright and clear blue sky. Unfortunately, a heavy fog also appears and impairs my visibility badly:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03255.jpg
I do not want to move lest I give up my position/risk scaring away critters, so I stick around waiting for the fog to lift (even taking a short nap to pass the useless time...). No dice. After a little bit more than an hour (with the fog only lightly lifting), at exactly 9am, I say to myself, "Screw this, I can't see jack in this fog, might as well go home", and call it quits.
I begin to walk downward toward the trail (bottom of the cut block) where I have parked the quad. No more than one minute has passed when I suddenly catch sight of a deer, looking straight at me at an upward direction. The wind is in my favour. I quickly scramble for the binoculars to identify it, and sure enough, it is a buck (antlered)! Buck fever sets in like an unwelcome guest and at 75 yards, I put my scope at his head-on position, only to find myself shaking like a madman. I keep telling myself, "Calm down, man!". Not confident that I can make the shot off-hand, I zoom to the nearest stump to set up the bipod and make the penultimate shot. With its head facing me, the neck shot is my best available option and I aim the 7WSM at the buck.
BOOM!
Recovering from the stout recoil, I am worried to find that I am not able to spot the deer at the spot where I have shot. I know I have made a good shot, but doubt still creeps in unwanted. I begin the journey to track and locate the animal all by myself. At the bottom of the cut block, I look left, right, and centre but cannot locate the buck. Then I look up behind me, back up the slight slope:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03261.jpg
The deer lies on the slope, twitching like it has been electrocuted, and not wanting to see it suffer, I place another round of 140gr Nosler Partition into the back of its head.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03264.jpg
The neck/spine shot, entry wound (the bullet has not been recovered):
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03268.jpg
The general area where the buck lay:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03273.jpg
Take that, bartell!! :biggrin:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03276.jpg
Another skunking amazingly turns around into a joyous success with the shot of a buck. :smile: Weighing in, this 2x1 is only 115lbs dressed out, but for me it's not about the antlers or the size of the buck. I'm happy with the meat, but moreover, I'm glad I had a great time on the trip, and to again experience the exhiliration of the hunt.
"I'd like to thank Jesus, my hunting buddy, his friends the cabin owner, manitou210 (previous owner of the 7WSM), and y'all at HBC; yes, even you, bartell :-P"
Hope y'all enjoyed this hunting story. I know I did.
Objective: To bag and tag a mule deer buck from Region 5
Day 1, November 9th, Sunday:
As I ponder wistfully what would likely be this season's last long hunting trip, I drive off to meet up with my hunting buddy at 5am and we head off to our destination.
Upon arrival at the cabin, we quickly pull out the quads and speed for the nearby cut block where buddy has had previous success. A slight still sit on a gorgeous afternoon, but it yields no critters. We both spot grouses but lack of shotguns and unwillingness to scare away the deer, we let them live for another day. I have ample time to snap some pictures of my boomstick:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03202.jpg
That night the weather is clear and we enjoy our dinner, then decide to hit the hay and hit the logging roads early tomorrow.
Day 2, November 10th, Monday:
Exactly one year from whence I have last shot my first buck on the Island, I figure today shall be a perfect opportunity to "celebrate" this one-year anniversary.
All day long we cruise around logging roads, walking up into several cut blocks looking to fill buddy's LEH mulie doe draw and/or any buck, but we fail to bump into any......
Oh wait, we almost "bump into one", with the truck! As we drive (on an asphalt road, private property on the sides) to another area, we witness a doe of a small variety standing on the side; it being illegal to shoot where it is, buddy drives on without much attention. As the truck becomes almost parallel in position with the doe, the idiotic deer decides to "cross the road" :shock: Buddy has to slam on the brakes forcefully to avoid "bagging a deer" but in the wrong way. We are less than 5 yards away from hitting the darn thing... Not a good sign.
Another pic of local country:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03208.jpg
Day 3, November 11th, Tuesday:
Snow begins hitting us hard on Remembrance Day. Driving on the quad with the snow hitting my face is not a particularly pleasant experience. We decide to check out more cut blocks and buddy spots two cow moose but nothing else (besides more grouse and a hare that flushes right after shooting a grouse).
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03211.jpg
As we begin to return to the cabin for lunch, we encounter a fellow hunter on the trail. A conversation reveals that he has seen 5 does at a particular area and recommends us to check it out. We follow his advice because we are running short of time and patience to fill the doe draw.
We drive into the area, which shows promising results (does appear, but in private property). As we hit crown land, we again explore several cut blocks. The cut blocks are typical mule deer terrain:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03222.jpg
But no deer...
Leaving the area, we see a dozen+ does carelessly munching on the local ranches' properties, probably making funny faces at us and deriding us with their immunity. :?
Time is running short. Our trip is supposed to be, "bag the doe on the 1st/2nd day, hunt grouse on the 3rd, leave early morning on the 4th", but the plan has been thrown into chaos with our failures.
Back at the cabin, we discuss our (change of) plans and decide to give 'er another shot tomorrow morning at the first area we visited on Sunday.
The reason being? Our cabin owner friend has heard news that a nearby neighbour has connected with a 3-pointer this morning (we must have missed seeing it! :sad:) and they let slip that they will buy another tag because they believe there are more bucks in that original cut block. This piques our interest and we must give it one more go.
Over dinner, we cook up our traditional grouse rice over the cabin's fire place:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03228.jpg
And with a heavy heart, carrying the possibility of getting skunked again and being laughed at harshly by bartell :oops:, I go to sleep, praying that I will see a buck tomorrow morning.
Day 4, November 12th, Wednesday:
We arrive at the cut block near/at first light, each settling into our spots, and agree to meet up at 9:30am regardless.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03241.jpg
A little friend of the forest decides to pay a visit:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03247.jpg
(at first it's cute to have around, but gets annoying when he keeps squeaking to give away my position...:mad:)
An hour slowly passes as the beautiful sun rises on a bright and clear blue sky. Unfortunately, a heavy fog also appears and impairs my visibility badly:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03255.jpg
I do not want to move lest I give up my position/risk scaring away critters, so I stick around waiting for the fog to lift (even taking a short nap to pass the useless time...). No dice. After a little bit more than an hour (with the fog only lightly lifting), at exactly 9am, I say to myself, "Screw this, I can't see jack in this fog, might as well go home", and call it quits.
I begin to walk downward toward the trail (bottom of the cut block) where I have parked the quad. No more than one minute has passed when I suddenly catch sight of a deer, looking straight at me at an upward direction. The wind is in my favour. I quickly scramble for the binoculars to identify it, and sure enough, it is a buck (antlered)! Buck fever sets in like an unwelcome guest and at 75 yards, I put my scope at his head-on position, only to find myself shaking like a madman. I keep telling myself, "Calm down, man!". Not confident that I can make the shot off-hand, I zoom to the nearest stump to set up the bipod and make the penultimate shot. With its head facing me, the neck shot is my best available option and I aim the 7WSM at the buck.
BOOM!
Recovering from the stout recoil, I am worried to find that I am not able to spot the deer at the spot where I have shot. I know I have made a good shot, but doubt still creeps in unwanted. I begin the journey to track and locate the animal all by myself. At the bottom of the cut block, I look left, right, and centre but cannot locate the buck. Then I look up behind me, back up the slight slope:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03261.jpg
The deer lies on the slope, twitching like it has been electrocuted, and not wanting to see it suffer, I place another round of 140gr Nosler Partition into the back of its head.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03264.jpg
The neck/spine shot, entry wound (the bullet has not been recovered):
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03268.jpg
The general area where the buck lay:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03273.jpg
Take that, bartell!! :biggrin:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/DSC03276.jpg
Another skunking amazingly turns around into a joyous success with the shot of a buck. :smile: Weighing in, this 2x1 is only 115lbs dressed out, but for me it's not about the antlers or the size of the buck. I'm happy with the meat, but moreover, I'm glad I had a great time on the trip, and to again experience the exhiliration of the hunt.
"I'd like to thank Jesus, my hunting buddy, his friends the cabin owner, manitou210 (previous owner of the 7WSM), and y'all at HBC; yes, even you, bartell :-P"
Hope y'all enjoyed this hunting story. I know I did.