LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-04 AT 10:35PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-04 AT 10:30 PM (MST)
I killed a 24" 4x4 last Friday night in the Book Cliff's with my muzzleloader. I probably should've held out for a better buck, but the rain and mud was enough of a PITA that I was happy to get the buck I did. I fired and cleaned my rifle at the end of each day hoping it would go off when crunch time came, which it did.
I saw a bunch of bucks, but none bigger than what I killed. Friday morning started off with us seeing a herd of about 7 bucks running over a hill and down into a steep valley. I went after them and saw the two biggest bucks (both 22"-24" four points) split from the bunch. I attempted a stalk, but they saw me and took off up and over the ridge.
Later that afternoon, we went one canyon over from where we had last seen the two bucks earlier in the day and began glassing. I was using Zeiss 10x40 ClassiC's and my cousin was using Leica 8x32 BN's. Right off the bat I spotted a small 2x2 and pretty well figured there had to be other bucks around because we were not seeing single bucks, but herds. Sure enough, I spotted three bucks trying to slip out the bottom of the draw. I ditched my rain gear and fleece jacket and took off after them, never to see them again. On the way back up the ridge, I spotted two good bucks feeding above me on the other side of the canyon. My cousin and his father-in-law had also seen them and confirmed they were both shooters.
My cousins father-in-law watched them bed down as I was working my way up and out of the canyon. There was a small finger-ridge between me and where the bucks were bedded, so I made a game-plan to sneek over to the finger-ridge, hopefully undetected, and catch the bucks in their beds. The stalk to the ridge-top took about thirty minutes, as I was watching every step I took, being careful not to make any noise.
I made it to a spot where I could ease over the ridge, and I backed into the shade of a cedar tree. As soon as I crossed the ridge I saw a small 2x3 up and feeding. He saw me right off the bat and had me pinned. I thought sure as heck he was going to bust out of the there and take the bigger bucks with him, but he continued feeding, all the time while keeping an eye on me.
This little buck actually turned out to be a good thing, as he gave up one of the bigger buck's position in the brush. I hadn't been able to see either buck until the 2x3 was feeding through the brush when he stopped and started sniffing the air. One of the bigger bucks was right in front of him. I could make out it's antlers, but couldn't tell which way he was laying.
I watched the 2x3 and the bigger buck lying down for probably an hour when the sun starting dropping behind the ridge and I thought I was going to freeze to death. I only had a t-shirt on and had worked up a pretty good sweat hiking out of the draw and making my stalk. I knew if the bucks didn't stand up soon, I was going to have to push my hand and try to spook them out for a shot.
About the time this was all running through my mind, I glanced up and the biggest of the two bucks was up and feeding. I was in a perfect position for a 90 yard shot. I had already capped my rifle, so I turned the red dot on, got a solid rest, and put the dot right behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. My .50 cal Remington 700 loaded with two 777 pellets behind a 240gr Hornady XTP roared, and while I didn't see the hit because of the smoke, I knew the buck was hit solid by his reaction. He walked straight downhill for about 10 yards, his chin nearly dragging on the ground, and tipped over on his side.
At the shot, the other buck stood up, and it wasn't until I started across the hill that he took off, along with three other bucks that we hadn't even seen. I was glad that the buck I had shot was the biggest of the bunch. In the end, I'm happy with the buck I killed, but kinda sad that my hunt is over for another year.
. the advice really helped.
