Dre
11-22-2012, 10:38 PM
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http://i49.tinypic.com/35au8a0.jpg
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http://i45.tinypic.com/2wg6ou0.jpghttp://i49.tinypic.com/24n0imp.jpg
My late November Muledeer hunt really came together this year. Here is the short version.
Hiked 800 vertical metres into the mountains with my partner Blue (100lb. Bouvier) on Sat. Nov.10. Set up my tent, changed out of sweaty clothes and hunted in the evening. Spotted monster buck on far-off slope with 2 does (1 darker, 1 lighter) with only 15-20 min. of daylight left. Made a hasty stalk to close the distance to about 200yds. No sign of deer, maybe it was the crunchy snow (1-2 inch), maybe they winded us. Looked around, but darkness was on us. The tent and sleeping bag were suprisingly comfy and warm for -5 to -10C outside.
Day 2 I see the same 2 does on a different hillside, but the buck was being shy and would not show. 3" new snow on the ground showed me their night wanderings and the buck had been with them. I was determined to stay with the threesome.
Day 3 It takes us till 9 am to find the same Buck with 1 doe, only a glimpse as they faded into the fog. They were in a much more difficult area, steeply downhill from us and 625yds. according to the rangefinder. I had a decission to make. This was supposed to be my last morning and the wife was expecting me home that night. I just needed a closer look. We made it to a pre-determined ridge that put us 200-230 yds from the opening where we last saw them. I told Blue to sit and started glassing, nothing. I was starting to think that it was going to be a repeat of the 1st night, but after a few minutes I saw a doe, then a second doe and finally the buck.....he was massive.
Our spot was not as good as I hoped, there was too much brush between us and the deer and only a few openings. I got in a comfortable shooting position and dug in. We sat and watched the magic of the rut. A doe would do a little shimi to get the buck's attention and then make a short dash. The buck would chase her, and the other doe would chase the buck. This exchange went on for a while, but one time I saw the buck put his head down and charge towards a bush that was not near the does. I panned the binos in that direction and saw the antlers of another buck bouncing away over the bushes. Confident he got rid of the intruder, the buck went back to entertain his does.
Probably 40 minutes had gone by and I had no shot. The buck had managed to elude my crosshairs almost as if he knew what I was thinking. I was however picking up a pattern in their behaviour. A doe would dash and the buck would chase. As I was conteplating how this could work to my advantage, one of the does made a dash through an opening. I knew he would run through it and got ready. I covered the opening with my sights and almost imediately, he came. The 30-06 kicked as his head was dissapearing through the other side of the opening. I had held forward on his shoulder and a little high (225yds). Does ran in opposite directions, but where was the buck? A second later I saw him roll through the same opening into a small cluster of trees.
He did not come out.
The rest of the day consisted of getting the boned out meat and head/cape back to camp. My pack came in at 94lbs and Blue's at 25lbs. I had to send my wife a text through my Spot/GPS that we will stay another night on the mountain. We came down in the morning with the meat and trophy, but had to leave the camp behind. We went back 2 days later to retrieve the camp.
Some adventure, and a lot of hard work, but the satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment is undescribable. This is the 3rd buck we packed out together this way, and Blue's 4th in a row perfect find after the shot, he's becoming a pro.
http://i49.tinypic.com/35au8a0.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/rwntyv.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/2wg6ou0.jpghttp://i49.tinypic.com/24n0imp.jpg
My late November Muledeer hunt really came together this year. Here is the short version.
Hiked 800 vertical metres into the mountains with my partner Blue (100lb. Bouvier) on Sat. Nov.10. Set up my tent, changed out of sweaty clothes and hunted in the evening. Spotted monster buck on far-off slope with 2 does (1 darker, 1 lighter) with only 15-20 min. of daylight left. Made a hasty stalk to close the distance to about 200yds. No sign of deer, maybe it was the crunchy snow (1-2 inch), maybe they winded us. Looked around, but darkness was on us. The tent and sleeping bag were suprisingly comfy and warm for -5 to -10C outside.
Day 2 I see the same 2 does on a different hillside, but the buck was being shy and would not show. 3" new snow on the ground showed me their night wanderings and the buck had been with them. I was determined to stay with the threesome.
Day 3 It takes us till 9 am to find the same Buck with 1 doe, only a glimpse as they faded into the fog. They were in a much more difficult area, steeply downhill from us and 625yds. according to the rangefinder. I had a decission to make. This was supposed to be my last morning and the wife was expecting me home that night. I just needed a closer look. We made it to a pre-determined ridge that put us 200-230 yds from the opening where we last saw them. I told Blue to sit and started glassing, nothing. I was starting to think that it was going to be a repeat of the 1st night, but after a few minutes I saw a doe, then a second doe and finally the buck.....he was massive.
Our spot was not as good as I hoped, there was too much brush between us and the deer and only a few openings. I got in a comfortable shooting position and dug in. We sat and watched the magic of the rut. A doe would do a little shimi to get the buck's attention and then make a short dash. The buck would chase her, and the other doe would chase the buck. This exchange went on for a while, but one time I saw the buck put his head down and charge towards a bush that was not near the does. I panned the binos in that direction and saw the antlers of another buck bouncing away over the bushes. Confident he got rid of the intruder, the buck went back to entertain his does.
Probably 40 minutes had gone by and I had no shot. The buck had managed to elude my crosshairs almost as if he knew what I was thinking. I was however picking up a pattern in their behaviour. A doe would dash and the buck would chase. As I was conteplating how this could work to my advantage, one of the does made a dash through an opening. I knew he would run through it and got ready. I covered the opening with my sights and almost imediately, he came. The 30-06 kicked as his head was dissapearing through the other side of the opening. I had held forward on his shoulder and a little high (225yds). Does ran in opposite directions, but where was the buck? A second later I saw him roll through the same opening into a small cluster of trees.
He did not come out.
The rest of the day consisted of getting the boned out meat and head/cape back to camp. My pack came in at 94lbs and Blue's at 25lbs. I had to send my wife a text through my Spot/GPS that we will stay another night on the mountain. We came down in the morning with the meat and trophy, but had to leave the camp behind. We went back 2 days later to retrieve the camp.
Some adventure, and a lot of hard work, but the satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment is undescribable. This is the 3rd buck we packed out together this way, and Blue's 4th in a row perfect find after the shot, he's becoming a pro.