ridgetops
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 2,727
Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:45 am Post subject: 2007 Recap
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Now that most of the hunts are over, and mine has been done for about 2 months, I will review my only 2007 hunt. It started last Dec. when we decided to move and not knowing where to or how costly it would be, I decided not to renew my dedicated hunter tag and go for a central tag through the draw. No luck, so I got a leftover northern tag. With all my hunting partners either hunting the central or southern. I was left asking for help and several people responded. Thanks guys. I started looking in an area that looked really good from the highway.Here are a few bucks I got pics. of through my spotting scope.
After scaling down cliffs and doing some major bushwacking, I thought I better find a hunting partner to help me out. A guy named Noel responded and we started to make plans. In Aug., I made a side scouting trip to look for a really big 4 point in a different region and we did find it but while just starting to hike back down the very steep and rocky trail, I turned my left ankle about 2 or 3 miles from the car.
Now I'm really glad Noel was going to help me out. Sept. came and I was able to find a better route into where the bigger bucks were hanging out. I also made a side trip to southern utah to help a friend with an archery elk hunt. While watching him make a stalk on a 300 class bull, I spotted this buck feeding about 100 yards from my friend but neither of us had an archery deer tag.
Paul did get a 50 yard shot at the bull but hit a little low. So close.
Opening day came for the muzzy hunt and there was about a foot of new snow in the pines to hike through. 2 1/2 hours later we made it to the summit where there was a tent. The hunters were just climbing out and we talked for a few minutes. I wished them luck and walked over the next ridge. We spotted 4 or 5 bucks feeding and two of them where the first two pics. I showed. I decided I would shoot the first pictured buck if I got the chance but for some reason the bucks spooked. I then walked over the hill to see some jerks had ridden their atv up the face of the mnt.(which was off limits). We headed back to look into a deep canyon and we spotted two very nice bucks, a 26-28" 5x3 and a 26-27" 4x5. We tried to get above the bucks and have them feed to us but no luck. Oh btw, Noels firing pin had broke on his muzzy just days before and he could not find a replacement. So he was hunting with his bow because of his ded. hunter tag and being in part of the wasatch extended, he was able to still hunt legally. The next day I saw a huge buck a mile away standing a few hundred yards off a main trail. I tried to get there fast but I was too late and some guys saw it and started shooting 300+ yard shots at it. Stupid idiots. The next few days were really windy and the deer were not out feeding much. I passed on about 30 smaller bucks, but after seeing the 3 big boys I held out to the end only to have tag soup again. I went up there with friends on the rifle hunt but with all the fresh deep snow from the week before, all the deer seemed to have moved down lower. While hiking around at the time in Oct. my right foot started hurting, it had been hurting for weeks but was getting worse. I went to the doctor and found I had a stress fracture on my right foot probably due to the extra weight applied to it when I was nursing my spained ankle. All in all it was a good year for not knowing the area at all. Even though the overall deer numbers were low, I still saw a very good buck to doe ratio and even a few elk too. I would grade my pre-hunt scouting an( A-) only because I didn't see that second day buck sooner in the year. During the hunt I would have given it an A but for the guys blowing my stalks and the 3 days of gale-force winds. I will give it a B grade. So for the overall year it has been a B+ for me. I will be rifle hunting elk next year and signing back up for the ded. hunter program. I can't wait.
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Now that most of the hunts are over, and mine has been done for about 2 months, I will review my only 2007 hunt. It started last Dec. when we decided to move and not knowing where to or how costly it would be, I decided not to renew my dedicated hunter tag and go for a central tag through the draw. No luck, so I got a leftover northern tag. With all my hunting partners either hunting the central or southern. I was left asking for help and several people responded. Thanks guys. I started looking in an area that looked really good from the highway.Here are a few bucks I got pics. of through my spotting scope.
After scaling down cliffs and doing some major bushwacking, I thought I better find a hunting partner to help me out. A guy named Noel responded and we started to make plans. In Aug., I made a side scouting trip to look for a really big 4 point in a different region and we did find it but while just starting to hike back down the very steep and rocky trail, I turned my left ankle about 2 or 3 miles from the car.
Now I'm really glad Noel was going to help me out. Sept. came and I was able to find a better route into where the bigger bucks were hanging out. I also made a side trip to southern utah to help a friend with an archery elk hunt. While watching him make a stalk on a 300 class bull, I spotted this buck feeding about 100 yards from my friend but neither of us had an archery deer tag.
Paul did get a 50 yard shot at the bull but hit a little low. So close.
Opening day came for the muzzy hunt and there was about a foot of new snow in the pines to hike through. 2 1/2 hours later we made it to the summit where there was a tent. The hunters were just climbing out and we talked for a few minutes. I wished them luck and walked over the next ridge. We spotted 4 or 5 bucks feeding and two of them where the first two pics. I showed. I decided I would shoot the first pictured buck if I got the chance but for some reason the bucks spooked. I then walked over the hill to see some jerks had ridden their atv up the face of the mnt.(which was off limits). We headed back to look into a deep canyon and we spotted two very nice bucks, a 26-28" 5x3 and a 26-27" 4x5. We tried to get above the bucks and have them feed to us but no luck. Oh btw, Noels firing pin had broke on his muzzy just days before and he could not find a replacement. So he was hunting with his bow because of his ded. hunter tag and being in part of the wasatch extended, he was able to still hunt legally. The next day I saw a huge buck a mile away standing a few hundred yards off a main trail. I tried to get there fast but I was too late and some guys saw it and started shooting 300+ yard shots at it. Stupid idiots. The next few days were really windy and the deer were not out feeding much. I passed on about 30 smaller bucks, but after seeing the 3 big boys I held out to the end only to have tag soup again. I went up there with friends on the rifle hunt but with all the fresh deep snow from the week before, all the deer seemed to have moved down lower. While hiking around at the time in Oct. my right foot started hurting, it had been hurting for weeks but was getting worse. I went to the doctor and found I had a stress fracture on my right foot probably due to the extra weight applied to it when I was nursing my spained ankle. All in all it was a good year for not knowing the area at all. Even though the overall deer numbers were low, I still saw a very good buck to doe ratio and even a few elk too. I would grade my pre-hunt scouting an( A-) only because I didn't see that second day buck sooner in the year. During the hunt I would have given it an A but for the guys blowing my stalks and the 3 days of gale-force winds. I will give it a B grade. So for the overall year it has been a B+ for me. I will be rifle hunting elk next year and signing back up for the ded. hunter program. I can't wait.
