coach
11-17-2010, 12:42 PM
I spent the Remembrance day weekend in Region 4 with some great hunting buddies. Last year, we hunted this same area at the end of November and I was lucky enough to get my first whitetail from a tree stand at 8am on day one. After careful studying of the regulations for this season, we decided to would head down earlier and take advantage of the fact that 4 point mule deer would be open until the 15th of November. After unsuccessfully closing out the rifle season in region 8, I still hadn't given up hope of getting a decent mule buck.
My hunting partners arrived late on the night of the 10th and set up their camp, then hunted the morning of the 11th. I had to drive my daughter to Hope on the Wednesday night so that she could spend the weekend with her mom. As a result, I headed out on the 11th.
I left Kelowna late morning and made my way toward the area of our hunt. As soon as I crossed into region 4, I checked out several FSR's up high in search of fresh sign. Despite a skiff of snow on the ground, I really didn't see much in the way of fresh tracks - although there were a few buck tracks from a day or so earlier that had snow blown into them. After checking out the areas up high, I made my way down to where the guys were camped. A quick scout of the areas we hunted last year resulted in the sighting of a whitetail doe, skylined just before dark. I wasn't too sure what to expect but looked forward to having a beer and BSing with the guys in camp.
When I got to camp, the guys were still out on their afternoon hunt. I went to work unloading firewood that I had brought, setting up my gear, building a fire and putting my tent up. (I sold my camper last year - so this year, I'm back to sleeping in a tent under a tarp. :icon_frow) The first group of guys arrived with only a couple stories of woe after spooking deer in the thick stuff down low. They inspired me with a report of seeing a decent mule buck up high on one of the roads I had checked out on my way in. This buck didn't give them enough time to count points, but they felt there was a good chance he was a 4 point.
Our group had permission to hunt one of the fields down low and a couple of the guys had gone there for the evening. They were pretty late returning, which lead to speculation they may have been successful. Sure enough, when they rolled into camp they had a very nice 4x4 whitetail buck in the back of the truck. He wasn't overly wide, but his tines were a good 8 inches in length. This buck had come in on a dead run, grunting all the way to 25 feet where my buddy put a bolt from a crossbow right through him. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to post right now. (Working on getting one sent to me along with permission to post)
After a few celebratory beers and a nice dinner of BBQ'd spring salmon belly marinated in Terriyaki, I was off to sleep in my tent. The sound of rain pouring down on my tarp through the night was welcomed as it meant it would be snowing up high. My alarm went off at 5am and we were all up soon after and set about making our plans for the day. I gave my video camera to my buddy who was successful the night before. He was going to sit in the tree stand where I had been successful the year before. He had a young hunter with him in the stand who was hoping to get his first deer (buck or doe as both are open to youths). A couple of the other guys hit a different area where one of our group got a nice buck the year before and I took two of the guys with my and we headed up high to see what we could find.
When we made our turn off the highway, the road had a fresh layer of snow on it and no tire tracks - perfect! As we didn't know the area very well, our plan was to look for fresh tracks, then get out and follow them. It seemed logical that this area was at an elevation that should have both resident deer as well as animals migrating through from the high country. After about 8km's of great area, we finally cut our first set of fresh tracks. Three deer had made their way across the road and through a cut block. The road continued past the block,then a branch turned into the cut at the lower end. A quick check of the area resulted in finding the tracks all through the lower end. We decided to drop CR off and let him hunt the area for an hour or so. I continued back down the main road with my other hunting partner. About another kilometer down the road, we cut another fresh set of buck tracks. I dropped my buddy there, and let him go to work tracking that deer down. I continued down the road in search of more sign. I found a few more fresh tracks, including a huge set that looked to be a couple of hours old. As it had been about 45 minutes since I dropped CR off, it was time to turn around and head back to pick him up. I planned to return to where I had seen the big tracks and then work that area on foot.
Fifteen minutes later, I rounded the corner to where I had dropped CR and he was standing in the middle of the road. I jokingly said to him, "there's no blood on your hands.." Then noticed a fresh cut on his forehead, "but it looks like you've been shooting". Nothing quite like a fresh scope bite! :-D
"Yup, he replied. I've got a whitetail buck down" Awesome! We headed back to pick our partner up, then immediately returned to start working on his buck. As we drove up to where his deer was laying beside the road, my focus changed from hunting to making a plan for dealing with his animal. I was looking at his buck when suddenly CR said, "deer.. on the treeline!"
I snapped to attention and picked the deer up right away. It had a good sized body and was standing just on the edge of the cut facing us.
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/IMG_6131.jpg
I got out of the truck, grabbed my pack and laid down in the snow (pretty much right beside his dead whitetail). I picked the deer up in the scope and saw right away that it was a decent sized buck. At the angle I was looking at him, I couldn't tell if he was a four point or not, but it was obvious he was a mule deer. Now, I'm a guy who prides myself on being prepared for any situation. I carry a spotting scope and a camera. Several times, I've taken pictures of animals, then zoomed in on the picture to count points. Unfortunately, I hadn't told the other guys where the spotting scope was, or how the camera worked. In the end, CR got the camera to me and the result was the picture I just posted. Needless to say, I couldn't count points that way. The guys searched in vain for my spotting scope (which was sitting right beside CR's feet the whole day). I patiently kept watching the buck through my scope, waiting for him to turn his head. After what seemed like an eternity (maybe 5 minutes), he finally did turn. Instantly, I saw four points on the one side, slid the safety off and pulled the trigger. He stumbled forward, but remained standing. I let a second shot fly, but hit a tree in front of him. Snow flew everywhere and he disappeared from view. We gave the buck about 15 minutes, then went to where he had been standing when I shot. Sure enough, there was a good blood trail. About 40 yards from where I shot him, we found him laying beside a log.
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/IMG_6133.jpg
I've hunted a good number of days this season, but hadn't seen a four point all year. A lot of the reason for this was that I've hunted a lot of days with my daughter and haven't been on the hikes I had in past seasons. My focus all year had been to help her get an animal. I shot a bear with her in September and a small meat buck during the any buck season in region 3. She has yet to connect this year, but it's been great spending time with her in the outdoors. This was my last gasp at getting a four point with the rifle and I still can't believe how things worked out. As much as I'd prefer to get a buck while hiking, sometimes getting one from the road can be rewarding too. The fact that I got this deer while looking at my friends dead whitetail is rather comical. In fact, had I left my pack in the truck, I could have used his buck for a rest!
After gutting my deer and dragging it to the truck, we went to work on CR's buck. Here's a picture of his whitetail:
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/MVI_6138_0001.jpg
All in all, it was a great day. At the end of the weekend, we had 3 whitetail bucks and my mulie hanging in camp. One of the junior hunters in our group also took at whitetail doe. Not bad for a couple days hunting. On Sunday, I drove back to Hope to pick my daughter up. I have one more tag left - either she will use it before the end of the month or I will use it in bow season. Either way, we'll be eating well this winter.
My hunting partners arrived late on the night of the 10th and set up their camp, then hunted the morning of the 11th. I had to drive my daughter to Hope on the Wednesday night so that she could spend the weekend with her mom. As a result, I headed out on the 11th.
I left Kelowna late morning and made my way toward the area of our hunt. As soon as I crossed into region 4, I checked out several FSR's up high in search of fresh sign. Despite a skiff of snow on the ground, I really didn't see much in the way of fresh tracks - although there were a few buck tracks from a day or so earlier that had snow blown into them. After checking out the areas up high, I made my way down to where the guys were camped. A quick scout of the areas we hunted last year resulted in the sighting of a whitetail doe, skylined just before dark. I wasn't too sure what to expect but looked forward to having a beer and BSing with the guys in camp.
When I got to camp, the guys were still out on their afternoon hunt. I went to work unloading firewood that I had brought, setting up my gear, building a fire and putting my tent up. (I sold my camper last year - so this year, I'm back to sleeping in a tent under a tarp. :icon_frow) The first group of guys arrived with only a couple stories of woe after spooking deer in the thick stuff down low. They inspired me with a report of seeing a decent mule buck up high on one of the roads I had checked out on my way in. This buck didn't give them enough time to count points, but they felt there was a good chance he was a 4 point.
Our group had permission to hunt one of the fields down low and a couple of the guys had gone there for the evening. They were pretty late returning, which lead to speculation they may have been successful. Sure enough, when they rolled into camp they had a very nice 4x4 whitetail buck in the back of the truck. He wasn't overly wide, but his tines were a good 8 inches in length. This buck had come in on a dead run, grunting all the way to 25 feet where my buddy put a bolt from a crossbow right through him. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to post right now. (Working on getting one sent to me along with permission to post)
After a few celebratory beers and a nice dinner of BBQ'd spring salmon belly marinated in Terriyaki, I was off to sleep in my tent. The sound of rain pouring down on my tarp through the night was welcomed as it meant it would be snowing up high. My alarm went off at 5am and we were all up soon after and set about making our plans for the day. I gave my video camera to my buddy who was successful the night before. He was going to sit in the tree stand where I had been successful the year before. He had a young hunter with him in the stand who was hoping to get his first deer (buck or doe as both are open to youths). A couple of the other guys hit a different area where one of our group got a nice buck the year before and I took two of the guys with my and we headed up high to see what we could find.
When we made our turn off the highway, the road had a fresh layer of snow on it and no tire tracks - perfect! As we didn't know the area very well, our plan was to look for fresh tracks, then get out and follow them. It seemed logical that this area was at an elevation that should have both resident deer as well as animals migrating through from the high country. After about 8km's of great area, we finally cut our first set of fresh tracks. Three deer had made their way across the road and through a cut block. The road continued past the block,then a branch turned into the cut at the lower end. A quick check of the area resulted in finding the tracks all through the lower end. We decided to drop CR off and let him hunt the area for an hour or so. I continued back down the main road with my other hunting partner. About another kilometer down the road, we cut another fresh set of buck tracks. I dropped my buddy there, and let him go to work tracking that deer down. I continued down the road in search of more sign. I found a few more fresh tracks, including a huge set that looked to be a couple of hours old. As it had been about 45 minutes since I dropped CR off, it was time to turn around and head back to pick him up. I planned to return to where I had seen the big tracks and then work that area on foot.
Fifteen minutes later, I rounded the corner to where I had dropped CR and he was standing in the middle of the road. I jokingly said to him, "there's no blood on your hands.." Then noticed a fresh cut on his forehead, "but it looks like you've been shooting". Nothing quite like a fresh scope bite! :-D
"Yup, he replied. I've got a whitetail buck down" Awesome! We headed back to pick our partner up, then immediately returned to start working on his buck. As we drove up to where his deer was laying beside the road, my focus changed from hunting to making a plan for dealing with his animal. I was looking at his buck when suddenly CR said, "deer.. on the treeline!"
I snapped to attention and picked the deer up right away. It had a good sized body and was standing just on the edge of the cut facing us.
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/IMG_6131.jpg
I got out of the truck, grabbed my pack and laid down in the snow (pretty much right beside his dead whitetail). I picked the deer up in the scope and saw right away that it was a decent sized buck. At the angle I was looking at him, I couldn't tell if he was a four point or not, but it was obvious he was a mule deer. Now, I'm a guy who prides myself on being prepared for any situation. I carry a spotting scope and a camera. Several times, I've taken pictures of animals, then zoomed in on the picture to count points. Unfortunately, I hadn't told the other guys where the spotting scope was, or how the camera worked. In the end, CR got the camera to me and the result was the picture I just posted. Needless to say, I couldn't count points that way. The guys searched in vain for my spotting scope (which was sitting right beside CR's feet the whole day). I patiently kept watching the buck through my scope, waiting for him to turn his head. After what seemed like an eternity (maybe 5 minutes), he finally did turn. Instantly, I saw four points on the one side, slid the safety off and pulled the trigger. He stumbled forward, but remained standing. I let a second shot fly, but hit a tree in front of him. Snow flew everywhere and he disappeared from view. We gave the buck about 15 minutes, then went to where he had been standing when I shot. Sure enough, there was a good blood trail. About 40 yards from where I shot him, we found him laying beside a log.
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/IMG_6133.jpg
I've hunted a good number of days this season, but hadn't seen a four point all year. A lot of the reason for this was that I've hunted a lot of days with my daughter and haven't been on the hikes I had in past seasons. My focus all year had been to help her get an animal. I shot a bear with her in September and a small meat buck during the any buck season in region 3. She has yet to connect this year, but it's been great spending time with her in the outdoors. This was my last gasp at getting a four point with the rifle and I still can't believe how things worked out. As much as I'd prefer to get a buck while hiking, sometimes getting one from the road can be rewarding too. The fact that I got this deer while looking at my friends dead whitetail is rather comical. In fact, had I left my pack in the truck, I could have used his buck for a rest!
After gutting my deer and dragging it to the truck, we went to work on CR's buck. Here's a picture of his whitetail:
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy154/coach108/MVI_6138_0001.jpg
All in all, it was a great day. At the end of the weekend, we had 3 whitetail bucks and my mulie hanging in camp. One of the junior hunters in our group also took at whitetail doe. Not bad for a couple days hunting. On Sunday, I drove back to Hope to pick my daughter up. I have one more tag left - either she will use it before the end of the month or I will use it in bow season. Either way, we'll be eating well this winter.