Season Opener Darwin Award

[hare_assassin]

Well I kept my promise to the nice 2x2 that I chatted with last week.

Pics and story tomorrow. Way too tired...

[Sofa King]

too tired to click a couple buttons?
shoulda just waited to start thread tomorrow.

[hare_assassin]

too tired to click a couple buttons?
shoulda just waited to start thread tomorrow.

Actually, way too tired to transfer the photos from my phone to my PC, re-size them, then upload them to my server, then type in the story that goes with them.

Sorry for the teaser. I was almost as excited to share the story as I was tired. Exhaustion won.

Anyway... I'll get on with it...

[hare_assassin]

So a couple weeks ago I was up at my "after work" hunting area (I call it that since I can be there in 20 minutes) and I spotted this 2x2 mulie in a clearing about 30 or 40 meters from the road. I stopped my trail bike and chatted with him briefly, noting how complacent he was; he really didn't seem to care that I was there at all. I continued up to the top of the mountain and then back down again. I might have been gone for 45 minutes. When I returned to the area where I had seen him, he was on the other side of the road, about 50 meters into the clearing. I stopped again and talked to him for a few minutes. He would look at me once in a while but again he didn't care that I was there. I decided to take a photo. (Sorry for the quality as this is digital zoom on a Blackberry)

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/hunting/2013_mule_1.jpg

I told him "I'll be back in 10 days buddy. OK? Make sure you are here in 10 days!"

He looked up briefly, then continued to browse.

In the meantime, I caught a very bad cold. I haven't been able to get out hunting at all and I even missed several days of work.

The clock was ticking and I wasn't feeling a whole lot better. Monday arrived and I was still coughing up some pretty colourful stuff... Damn! Tomorrow is my date with that 2x2!

So yesterday finally arrived and I had major buck fever. My cold was still hanging on, but I figured it wouldn't kill me to be out in the fresh air, so I left work a little earlier than usual, went home to change and grab my stuff, and was on the trail bike by 3:30pm.

First thing I did was cruise up to the spot where Mr. 2x2 was supposed to be. There was a doe and fawn browsing, but no sign of the buck. Oh well, lots of time left. I continued along the road and not 500 meters later a huge moose bolted across the road about 70 meters ahead and stopped in the brush on the other side to have a quick look over its shoulder. "Is it a spike-fork?" By the time I had my binoculars up he/she was gone. Don't know if it had antlers or not, but now I know there are moose up there. Exciting!

For the next 2 hours or so I explored way up into the back trails, into the grousy areas and places I had seen deer before. It was cold. I only had a base layer and a Stanny on, no wind-breaker. No gloves. My hands were freezing and eventually I started to shiver uncontrollably. I had to stop every once in a while and warm my hands on the engine.

"This is really stupid - I am still not over this cold and I am out here freezing. I might as well just go home."

So, I started making my way back to the truck but with about 2km to go I decided to check the "buck spot" one last time. I drove up around the bend and down the gully. Nothing. I hadn't seen any animals in at least 2 hours by this point and I was thinking "I guess that's it for today".

But I continued up the mountain, just cruising along in 1st gear trying not to freeze myself any worse. I saw a doe on the road along the way, and I thought "Hmmm, so they are still around." I stopped near the top and warmed my hands on the engine again, and ate a pile of trail mix. This made me feel a bit better, but I was getting to the end of my rope. "OK, that's it. I have to get warm now or I am going to end up with pneumonia."

So I headed back down one last time, all the while thinking about how toasty the truck would be once I got it warmed up. I came around the bend that heads down a long, gradual hill towards the nice clearing and... "Oh, what's that?" About 200 meters up the road, right where it should have been, there was the body of a large mule deer. It's head was behind a Christmas tree..

I stopped and got the binos out. Waiting... waiting... It lifted it's head. Nope, it is doe. A big one, but... a doe.

So I started the trail bike back up and decided to see how close I could get before the doe bolted. I started crawling along in 1st gear and when I got to within about 100m I realized there are two does... and a fawn...

I continued to crawl forward. Now at about 50m. One of them looked up at me but payed no attention. I stopped. I was getting a very strong "gut" feeling.

I got off the bike, unslung my .270 and loaded a round into the chamber, all the while moving forward slowly and watching the mix of gray hair and Christmas trees about 35m away.

"Oh, there's a third adult body in there"... but... its head was concealed behind a tree and there was a fawn standing right in the line of sight, right beside it...

I made a "tick-tick" sound with my tongue and teeth. Head up... "IT'S HIM! It's the 2x2!!!" He drops his head behind the tree and continues to munch away...

The scope was at my eye and the safety was off within nanoseconds... "But that damned fawn is right in the line of fire... shit! ... Oh, I can see most of the buck's head now... I could take the head shot... no... just be patient... wait for it... wait for it...."

The fawn took two steps forward, revealing the buck's boiler-room...

BANG! Flop. 25 meters at most. He jerked a couple times and then I saw his whole body relax.

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/hunting/2013_mule_2.jpg

I sure warmed up quickly! I was losing light fast and decided that I didn't have time to wait for help, so I just got busy.

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/hunting/2013_mule_3.jpg

Got him in the truck and drove out just as full darkness set in (the pic is from when I got home).

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/hunting/2013_mule_4.jpg

Got him skinned (with help from a great friend!) and into a game bag and he's hanging in my shed.

It really couldn't have gone any better. I'm really glad I didn't give up earlier. :)

[markt308]

Haha. Nice of him to keep his word and stick around for you like that! Congrats on your buck. Thanks for posting

[hare_assassin]

Thanks!

Indeed. We both kept our promise... Well, I guess he didn't really promise me anything, he just stayed stupid enough in the meantime to win "The Darwin Award".

[biggyun68]

Congrats: Good on you for taking advantage of your location:
City boy like me envy you guys:-D
I hope you share your recipes for him too...
BY68

[adriaticum]

Oh no you killed my pet deer!
Bambi killer!

Great story and good job!

I only really understood the meaning of "Never give up" when I interpreted it literally! :wink:

[Rackem]

Very very nice, good story telling too!

[hare_assassin]

Congrats: Good on you for taking advantage of your location:
City boy like me envy you guys:-D
I hope you share your recipes for him too...
BY68

Thank you! It wasn't all that long ago that I was a city boy, too (not by free-will and slowly going insane).

Heart is on the menu tonight! If it turns out any good, I'll post the recipe.

[Kudu]

Nice story - great pics - well done mate.

[hare_assassin]

Oh no you killed my pet deer!
Bambi killer!

Great story and good job!

I only really understood the meaning of "Never give up" when I interpreted it literally! :wink:

LOL. Thanks!

Still trying to figure out the literal interpretation of that... :)

[hare_assassin]

Very very nice, good story telling too!

Thanks. I did my best to try to fill the story/pic void that so many are whining about around here. :p ;)

[hare_assassin]

Nice story - great pics - well done mate.

Cheers!

Can't wait to figure out where all the WTs are now!

[Whonnock Boy]

Nice work! Good luck on the whitey. Thanks for sharing.

[albravo2]

Nicely done.

Didn't you mean to say 'i had a cold so bad I couldn't get to work and I even missed a couple days of hunting'?

[hare_assassin]

Nice work! Good luck on the whitey. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you and thank you, and you're welcome. :)

[rides bike to work]

Way to go on the fine deer . I'm thinking wrap a piece of back strap with prime rabbit cuts then wrap that with bacon on a bed of onions and garlic.

[hare_assassin]

Nicely done.

Didn't you mean to say 'i had a cold so bad I couldn't get to work and I even missed a couple days of hunting'?

Cheers.

So many people thought I was hunting last week when I was home ill. All I could say was "I wish". I'm sure some of them still don't believe me.

[hare_assassin]

Way to go on the fine deer . I'm thinking wrap a piece of back strap with prime rabbit cuts then wrap that with bacon on a bed of onions and garlic.

Thanks.

Interesting recipe idea there... hmmm. Reminds me of an idea I had the other day for "Mini Rouladen".

On the other hand, I find the "less is more" rule applies with venison back-strap; cut it thick, sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic power, then sear it on the BBQ on super high heat and eat it blue. :D

[hare_assassin]

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, this deer was shot with Federal Blue Box 130gr. They are cheap and my rifle loves them.

The bullet passed straight through him (not surprising considering 25m shot).

When I opened him up, both the aorta and pulmonary artery were completely disconnected from the heart. A heart shot that left the heart intact! :)

[Barracuda]

nice deer is that a ct70

[sapper]

Great story. Worth waiting the few hours for. I too, stuck in the LML, envy you guys who can have "after work hunts".
I like your less-is-more backstrap recipe too.

[hare_assassin]

nice deer is that a ct70

Thanks!

Yes, it sure is.

Here it is on another day...

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/hunting/ct70_hunt.jpg

[hare_assassin]

Great story. Worth waiting the few hours for. I too, stuck in the LML, envy you guys who can have "after work hunts".
I like your less-is-more backstrap recipe too.

I really should have waited to start the thread, but glad you enjoyed reading it...

Believe me, I know how it feels to be stuck in a city. I spent 12 years in Toronto. 11 years, 11 months and 29 days too long for this guy.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I'm also a big fan of efficient vittles.

Nicely done!!

SSS

[hare_assassin]

I'm also a big fan of efficient vittles.

Nicely done!!

SSS

Thanks Steve!

BTW, does "dink" mean something different in Region 8 than it does elsewhere in the English-speaking world? ;)

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Thanks Steve!

BTW, does "dink" mean something different in Region 8 than it does elsewhere in the English-speaking world? ;)

The "dink" I'm referring to is from "Willy's world". A bit before your time here on HBC.