ChubbyTuna
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LAST EDITED ON Nov-11-10 AT 10:31AM (MST)[p]Area: North end of divide road out of the city of Delta. FS rd 408 drops off of Divide Rd. and runs South thru Dominguez Campground then reconnects to Divide Rd again after 8-10 miles. FS rd 409 comes off FS rd 408 about ? milebefore the reconnect. Area hunted is NE of where 408 & 409 meet. (see map)
It's 3am and I just woke after dreaming of that deer again.Just can't seem to shake the sick feeling in my gut, even in my sleep.
Dad and I had a few points to burn so after some research we ended up in Colorado GMU 62 (3rd season). Success rates were good and we felt confident even though it was a brand new area for us. We have always hunted aspen and pines although most people suggested the lower scrub brush country. Go with the local knowledge we thought and gave it a try. After a slow opening morning and only 1 deer sighted we decided to head higher into the aspens. This felt like country we could handle so we parked the truck near a good looking ridge and headed out.
Once on top, the terrain leveled out with mixed open and aspen patches. I could see a large gulley ahead thru the trees and my ?spidey senses? started to tingle. You just know when an area feels right and this was it. I settled in just over the edge and instantly saw 2 animals bust out 100yds from me and move up the opposite hillside. Once they cleared the trees, I could see that it was a couple of cow elk. After watching them a few minutes another animal trotted out of the same area. More elk I thought until he hit the open hillside. My eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped as I laid eyes on the biggest buck I had ever seen. No need for the binos this time. Even at 200yds I could tell he was a monster. I threw off my pack, cranked up the scope and grabbed the shooting stix.
I've been excited in the past and have always worked thru it to make a good shot. Once I got a good look at that buck thru the scope it was like I was sitting in the electric chair and someone just turned on the juice. He stopped on the opposite ridge right where I ranged the elk at a few minutes earlier. 250 yds? hold dead on. Breathe, breathe, breeeeeathe. Slow breath. BOOM!! I looked up and he was trotting straight away. Damn, crank in another one. He only went about 50 yds then stopped to look back, settle down, BOOM!! Again he trotted away. NOOOOO!! Crank in the third shell. BOOM!! Another miss and the juice got cranked up a notch. He turned broadside at the far tree line (which I later ranged at 384yds) and stopped. BOOM!! That one felt good. I looked back thru the scope just as he took a step behind a tree. Was he limping?!! OH no I thought. Last shell, you better make this one count. As the crosshairs moved behind the front shoulder I jerked the trigger. Knowing I was out of shells I grabbed the binos and scanned the far tree line. Nothing. I reloaded and grabbed the walkie. As soon as I turned it on all I could hear was my dad shouting. HE WAS HUGE!!, HE WAS HUGE!!... over and over again.
We met at the bottom of the gulley and compared notes. Ended up dad was only 300 yards to my left and had jumped the buck about 15 seconds before my first shot. We both agreed he was at least 30? wide, a clean 4x4 and real heavy. It was easily the biggest deer we had seen in our 60+ combined years of hunting. I told dad that I think I hit him on the 4th shot and dropped him on the 5th. We scrambled out of the gulley and headed towards where I last saw him. I was still shaking as I approached the aspens, eyes darting back and forth looking for an antler, a patch of fur, anything that signaled success. We zigzagged cautiously thru the area, my heart sinking and my guts tightening with every step. I stopped to replay the shots in my head when I caught movement about 60 yds ahead. For less than a second I saw a deer butt moving thru the trees. Although dad was only 50 yds away, I called him on the walkie and he swung around in front of me. Rifles ready, we worked towards the spot ahead. Instantly dad started snapping his fingers and pointing toward the ground at his feet. Standing next to him I could see the drop of blood framed perfectly by the aspen leave. It took a few minutes to find the second drop but now we had a direction. There was still 3 hours of light left and we discussed whether to leave him overnight or get on his trail. Because of the open terrain we decided to go after him. We found dime sized drops every 4 feet with bigger pools where it looked like he stopped. For the next 3 hours we covered about ? mile. The deer stayed on a pretty straight path and seemed to be moving along alright. Just as it was getting too dark the blood trail began to thin out. We marked the last spot and decided to come back in the morning.
First light found us back on the trail. It took a good half hour to find the next drop and the trail dried up completely after only 75 yds. We had reached some private property that was marked by a collapsed wooden fence. The deer had reached the fence line and was moving downhill along it. I think he was looking for a low spot to cross over and continue in the direction he was on earlier. It definitely felt like he knew where he wanted to go. After losing the blood trail we scoured the area . Dad headed downhill along the tree line and I headed towards some water I saw on the map. We hunted all morning with no luck. We let the area sit that evening then came back again the next day. I was hoping to see some ravens that would lead me to the buck or maybe smell him which I have done in the past. Still no luck. I wanted to give it one more try on our last day but the snow came in that night and we weren't able to get back up to the high country. We actually had a very difficult time just getting out with our trailer.
I know people say that at some point this will happen to everyone. I understand that, but it does not sit well with me. I have hunted 29 years and this is the first time I have not been able to recover an animal. That fact that it was a trophy does not make it feel any worse, but it definitely doesn't help. We gave the search a solid effort and dad gave up some valuable hunting time to help. I would say the deer lost maybe a 1-1.5 pints of blood over the half mile we tracked him. He never bedded down and stayed on a slow but steady course. He seemed to go up some small hills with no problem and went over deadfalls instead of around them. Some of the trees had blood smears on the backside as he crossed over and the blood was dark red in color. With the rut right around the corner and winter starting up, I just don't feel good about his chances.
B&C, ya right. I would say the same thing. Another one of those big ones that got away story. I've never scored a deer in my life so I'll tell you what I know and you can decide. The antlers were very unique in that they came out sideways, almost parallel to the ground then turned straight up. If you hold your arms out to the side and make a touchdown signal, that's what they looked like. Very boxy. He was real tall in the back and heavy with dark chocolate antlers. When he stopped and looked back, he put his ears out sideways like he was trying to locate me. The ?elbow? where the antlers turned up was out past the ears about another ? ear on each side. I don't remember seeing any trash and he may be a bit crabby on the right front. He did not move like any deer I had seen before either. When he trotted it looked like a moose trotting. Long slow strides and he swayed back and forth.
I know this area is hit pretty hard by elk guys so if he's down maybe someone will find him. If you do please, please let me know. With the snow starting, he may not be found till spring so I'll bump it up again. Below is a map and coordinates of where I hunted. Good luck to those still out hunting and be safe.
Last blood N38 37.846 W108 38.845
It's 3am and I just woke after dreaming of that deer again.Just can't seem to shake the sick feeling in my gut, even in my sleep.
Dad and I had a few points to burn so after some research we ended up in Colorado GMU 62 (3rd season). Success rates were good and we felt confident even though it was a brand new area for us. We have always hunted aspen and pines although most people suggested the lower scrub brush country. Go with the local knowledge we thought and gave it a try. After a slow opening morning and only 1 deer sighted we decided to head higher into the aspens. This felt like country we could handle so we parked the truck near a good looking ridge and headed out.
Once on top, the terrain leveled out with mixed open and aspen patches. I could see a large gulley ahead thru the trees and my ?spidey senses? started to tingle. You just know when an area feels right and this was it. I settled in just over the edge and instantly saw 2 animals bust out 100yds from me and move up the opposite hillside. Once they cleared the trees, I could see that it was a couple of cow elk. After watching them a few minutes another animal trotted out of the same area. More elk I thought until he hit the open hillside. My eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped as I laid eyes on the biggest buck I had ever seen. No need for the binos this time. Even at 200yds I could tell he was a monster. I threw off my pack, cranked up the scope and grabbed the shooting stix.
I've been excited in the past and have always worked thru it to make a good shot. Once I got a good look at that buck thru the scope it was like I was sitting in the electric chair and someone just turned on the juice. He stopped on the opposite ridge right where I ranged the elk at a few minutes earlier. 250 yds? hold dead on. Breathe, breathe, breeeeeathe. Slow breath. BOOM!! I looked up and he was trotting straight away. Damn, crank in another one. He only went about 50 yds then stopped to look back, settle down, BOOM!! Again he trotted away. NOOOOO!! Crank in the third shell. BOOM!! Another miss and the juice got cranked up a notch. He turned broadside at the far tree line (which I later ranged at 384yds) and stopped. BOOM!! That one felt good. I looked back thru the scope just as he took a step behind a tree. Was he limping?!! OH no I thought. Last shell, you better make this one count. As the crosshairs moved behind the front shoulder I jerked the trigger. Knowing I was out of shells I grabbed the binos and scanned the far tree line. Nothing. I reloaded and grabbed the walkie. As soon as I turned it on all I could hear was my dad shouting. HE WAS HUGE!!, HE WAS HUGE!!... over and over again.
We met at the bottom of the gulley and compared notes. Ended up dad was only 300 yards to my left and had jumped the buck about 15 seconds before my first shot. We both agreed he was at least 30? wide, a clean 4x4 and real heavy. It was easily the biggest deer we had seen in our 60+ combined years of hunting. I told dad that I think I hit him on the 4th shot and dropped him on the 5th. We scrambled out of the gulley and headed towards where I last saw him. I was still shaking as I approached the aspens, eyes darting back and forth looking for an antler, a patch of fur, anything that signaled success. We zigzagged cautiously thru the area, my heart sinking and my guts tightening with every step. I stopped to replay the shots in my head when I caught movement about 60 yds ahead. For less than a second I saw a deer butt moving thru the trees. Although dad was only 50 yds away, I called him on the walkie and he swung around in front of me. Rifles ready, we worked towards the spot ahead. Instantly dad started snapping his fingers and pointing toward the ground at his feet. Standing next to him I could see the drop of blood framed perfectly by the aspen leave. It took a few minutes to find the second drop but now we had a direction. There was still 3 hours of light left and we discussed whether to leave him overnight or get on his trail. Because of the open terrain we decided to go after him. We found dime sized drops every 4 feet with bigger pools where it looked like he stopped. For the next 3 hours we covered about ? mile. The deer stayed on a pretty straight path and seemed to be moving along alright. Just as it was getting too dark the blood trail began to thin out. We marked the last spot and decided to come back in the morning.
First light found us back on the trail. It took a good half hour to find the next drop and the trail dried up completely after only 75 yds. We had reached some private property that was marked by a collapsed wooden fence. The deer had reached the fence line and was moving downhill along it. I think he was looking for a low spot to cross over and continue in the direction he was on earlier. It definitely felt like he knew where he wanted to go. After losing the blood trail we scoured the area . Dad headed downhill along the tree line and I headed towards some water I saw on the map. We hunted all morning with no luck. We let the area sit that evening then came back again the next day. I was hoping to see some ravens that would lead me to the buck or maybe smell him which I have done in the past. Still no luck. I wanted to give it one more try on our last day but the snow came in that night and we weren't able to get back up to the high country. We actually had a very difficult time just getting out with our trailer.
I know people say that at some point this will happen to everyone. I understand that, but it does not sit well with me. I have hunted 29 years and this is the first time I have not been able to recover an animal. That fact that it was a trophy does not make it feel any worse, but it definitely doesn't help. We gave the search a solid effort and dad gave up some valuable hunting time to help. I would say the deer lost maybe a 1-1.5 pints of blood over the half mile we tracked him. He never bedded down and stayed on a slow but steady course. He seemed to go up some small hills with no problem and went over deadfalls instead of around them. Some of the trees had blood smears on the backside as he crossed over and the blood was dark red in color. With the rut right around the corner and winter starting up, I just don't feel good about his chances.
B&C, ya right. I would say the same thing. Another one of those big ones that got away story. I've never scored a deer in my life so I'll tell you what I know and you can decide. The antlers were very unique in that they came out sideways, almost parallel to the ground then turned straight up. If you hold your arms out to the side and make a touchdown signal, that's what they looked like. Very boxy. He was real tall in the back and heavy with dark chocolate antlers. When he stopped and looked back, he put his ears out sideways like he was trying to locate me. The ?elbow? where the antlers turned up was out past the ears about another ? ear on each side. I don't remember seeing any trash and he may be a bit crabby on the right front. He did not move like any deer I had seen before either. When he trotted it looked like a moose trotting. Long slow strides and he swayed back and forth.
I know this area is hit pretty hard by elk guys so if he's down maybe someone will find him. If you do please, please let me know. With the snow starting, he may not be found till spring so I'll bump it up again. Below is a map and coordinates of where I hunted. Good luck to those still out hunting and be safe.
Last blood N38 37.846 W108 38.845
