WhackNPack
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LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-15 AT 06:13PM (MST)[p]This season started out with a little more involvement from my dad and I. He was able to draw the September bear tag for the unit we would be hunting deer in second season this year. After a few trail cams and a lot of pictures of the sun or leaves we figured out how and where to place them to scope out some animals. While on the early bear hunt (or scouting for deer) the old man had one weekend that pinpointed where we would be hunting for big bucks. Within two evenings and one morning he had located three great shooters from the low 180's and up in the same drainage! What a honey hole. Excitement grew over the coming weeks before it was finally time to pack up and head up the mountain. Waking up on the Thursday before season as always, we kissed the wives and hit the road for the four hour journey. Soon we were bouncing up the rocky road to camp as the sun was rising.
Upon pulling into camp it was discovered that the spot was already taken. After clearing a new spot and stealing/relocating a toilet camp was soon set up. (We later joked with the men that were in our old camping spot that the toilet had disappeared.) With all of the chores taken care of it was finally time to scout for the next two days before season. On the night before season we were able to locate two more shooters from our honey hole! A 180" class typical that was running with a big non-typical with a hook cheater.
This non-typical was the clear target along with another buck with matching front inlines we figured to go close to 190". Opening morning was fairly uneventful. With the area we were hunting being mostly thick timber there was not much to see. The second morning found us working the same drainage from different sides working the wind and going slow to sneak up on anything that was feeding. My dad was able to have a good encounter with a good buck that morning but with so many good ones in the area he chose to hold off and walk into a different drainage. I chose to sit near the area where we saw the non-typical all day that would allow me to see about 200 to 250 yards into the timber. The hours slowly clocked by and sometimes a little faster as I took a few naps on the hillside. Finally it was 3:00 PM and I started searching the timber for feeding deer. 4:30 PM rolled by and I caught movement back in the timber. After throwing up my binos it was easy to see that the non-typical with a noticeable hook cheater was in my sights. I quickly ranged him at 210 with my Vortex Ranger 1000 and set the parallax on my Vortex Viper HS to 200. He gave me a broadside view but with a few seconds he fed up into the timber before I was fully set up to take the shot.
Feeling defeated I returned to camp to tell the guys of how I messed up. My dad finally pulled in late to camp just before 8:30 PM. He almost had the search party after him as we knew he was taking a long walk that evening. With a smile on his face he said he had shot the biggest one he has yet so far! He tossed me his phone and I was surprised to see the picture of a great black bear. Laying beside the bear he said it was every bit of 6 feet tall and around 350 pounds with a great dark brown color. It was a beautiful bear. He had cleaned the bear and the plan was to go pack it out the day after the morning hunt as it was about 2 miles back in the woods.
The next morning I found myself sitting under the same tree as the evening before hoping Hook would show is face again. The morning was full of fog and snow/rain/sleet flurries and I sat hunkered under the tree with the chipmunks and mice. After about the forth round of fog and weather I was able to see into the timber again. It took me two seconds to find the hind end of a deer. Ol' Hook was in the same spot he was the evening before feeding. Afraid he was going to feed up the timber line and out of sight again I was a little faster getting ready the second time. Luckily he fed out into the clearing and gave me a second chance. I dialed the scope up to 16 and let the 270 WSM loose. BOOM! I quickly scanned the timber for movement with the only sight was an antler sticking up 195 yards away. Excited I ran over to the deer to pick up the most bone I have been able to harvest so far.
I reached my dad on the radio and he soon joined me in the excitement. With a spread of just over 30" and taping out at 194 he is my best yet. On close examination the buck had is right eye poked out from a fight maybe a week early. From that he left his antlers a light color and had a touch of velvet around his huge bases. (his good eye was facing me on the shot so no excuses!) From now on ol' Hook will be Captain Hook in my book. After the photos we dropped my pack and went after the bear. What a hike and what a bear! You can fit eight fingers in between his ears. A quick range and shot at 105 yards was all it needed from his Vortex Ranger 1000 and Vortex Viper HS LR mounted on the 7mm.
After a long day of packing we finally got back to the truck and four wheeler at 5:30 PM
A few days days after the buck and bear was a scary night. While riding beside my dad on our way back to camp he must have gotten to close to a rock or the berm by the road. One second everything was fine and the next my dad was flying off of his four wheeler as it flipped all the way over. Slamming on the breaks I ran back to find a bloody and bruised guy with quite the goose egg. Another unfortunate result of the slip was his 7mm stock has sheared off at the trigger making possible the largest revolver.Luckily nothing was too serious, the four wheeler started up like a champ, and we had brought a back up gun.
After taking a one day easy he was ready to get back out and walking in the woods even with a lot of pain and bruises. On the last evening of the hunt he took my gun into the woods with him and was able to connect on a good deer at 70 yards in the timber.
After an exciting and eventful hunt to say the least hopfully the wives will let us out again for next year!
Upon pulling into camp it was discovered that the spot was already taken. After clearing a new spot and stealing/relocating a toilet camp was soon set up. (We later joked with the men that were in our old camping spot that the toilet had disappeared.) With all of the chores taken care of it was finally time to scout for the next two days before season. On the night before season we were able to locate two more shooters from our honey hole! A 180" class typical that was running with a big non-typical with a hook cheater.
This non-typical was the clear target along with another buck with matching front inlines we figured to go close to 190". Opening morning was fairly uneventful. With the area we were hunting being mostly thick timber there was not much to see. The second morning found us working the same drainage from different sides working the wind and going slow to sneak up on anything that was feeding. My dad was able to have a good encounter with a good buck that morning but with so many good ones in the area he chose to hold off and walk into a different drainage. I chose to sit near the area where we saw the non-typical all day that would allow me to see about 200 to 250 yards into the timber. The hours slowly clocked by and sometimes a little faster as I took a few naps on the hillside. Finally it was 3:00 PM and I started searching the timber for feeding deer. 4:30 PM rolled by and I caught movement back in the timber. After throwing up my binos it was easy to see that the non-typical with a noticeable hook cheater was in my sights. I quickly ranged him at 210 with my Vortex Ranger 1000 and set the parallax on my Vortex Viper HS to 200. He gave me a broadside view but with a few seconds he fed up into the timber before I was fully set up to take the shot.
Feeling defeated I returned to camp to tell the guys of how I messed up. My dad finally pulled in late to camp just before 8:30 PM. He almost had the search party after him as we knew he was taking a long walk that evening. With a smile on his face he said he had shot the biggest one he has yet so far! He tossed me his phone and I was surprised to see the picture of a great black bear. Laying beside the bear he said it was every bit of 6 feet tall and around 350 pounds with a great dark brown color. It was a beautiful bear. He had cleaned the bear and the plan was to go pack it out the day after the morning hunt as it was about 2 miles back in the woods.
The next morning I found myself sitting under the same tree as the evening before hoping Hook would show is face again. The morning was full of fog and snow/rain/sleet flurries and I sat hunkered under the tree with the chipmunks and mice. After about the forth round of fog and weather I was able to see into the timber again. It took me two seconds to find the hind end of a deer. Ol' Hook was in the same spot he was the evening before feeding. Afraid he was going to feed up the timber line and out of sight again I was a little faster getting ready the second time. Luckily he fed out into the clearing and gave me a second chance. I dialed the scope up to 16 and let the 270 WSM loose. BOOM! I quickly scanned the timber for movement with the only sight was an antler sticking up 195 yards away. Excited I ran over to the deer to pick up the most bone I have been able to harvest so far.
I reached my dad on the radio and he soon joined me in the excitement. With a spread of just over 30" and taping out at 194 he is my best yet. On close examination the buck had is right eye poked out from a fight maybe a week early. From that he left his antlers a light color and had a touch of velvet around his huge bases. (his good eye was facing me on the shot so no excuses!) From now on ol' Hook will be Captain Hook in my book. After the photos we dropped my pack and went after the bear. What a hike and what a bear! You can fit eight fingers in between his ears. A quick range and shot at 105 yards was all it needed from his Vortex Ranger 1000 and Vortex Viper HS LR mounted on the 7mm.
After a long day of packing we finally got back to the truck and four wheeler at 5:30 PM
A few days days after the buck and bear was a scary night. While riding beside my dad on our way back to camp he must have gotten to close to a rock or the berm by the road. One second everything was fine and the next my dad was flying off of his four wheeler as it flipped all the way over. Slamming on the breaks I ran back to find a bloody and bruised guy with quite the goose egg. Another unfortunate result of the slip was his 7mm stock has sheared off at the trigger making possible the largest revolver.Luckily nothing was too serious, the four wheeler started up like a champ, and we had brought a back up gun.
After taking a one day easy he was ready to get back out and walking in the woods even with a lot of pain and bruises. On the last evening of the hunt he took my gun into the woods with him and was able to connect on a good deer at 70 yards in the timber.
After an exciting and eventful hunt to say the least hopfully the wives will let us out again for next year!
