BuckSWATer
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California Dream
This is part two of my California hunting adventure 2014. For the first half of the story see ?Family Success? in the California forum.
2014 had already shaped up into a great hunting season for me. Now it was time to round it out with my late season California tag. I had done my homework and was as primed as I could be, but I still didn't really know what to expect. The majority of this area had been closed by the Forest Service for well over a year due to a major fire. As a result all of my preparation had been limited to maps, internet, phone calls, etc. I had yet to see the area first hand. Certainly not a great way to prepare. Thankfully, a couple fellow MM hunters were gracious enough to give me some pointers, Brent and Adam I am in debt to you!
The season was nine days long and I was prepared to stay for the duration to find what I was looking for. I was going to hold out for a buck that made me say ?woooow? or I was going to have tag soup. Most late season tags in California are weather dependent and this tag is no different, in fact the common thread with everyone I discussed this hunt with was, ?without the snow, the deer won't show?. And what seems to always be the case when you really need the weather?? Exactly ? none, and none in the forecast. The Forest Service lifted the area closure four days before the season opener and I finally got a firsthand look at the country. Thick and brushy, even where the fire had scorched it was difficult to see much. I did put quite a few miles on my boots, but saw very few deer.
Opening day dawned wet and rainy, mother nature was kind enough to drop some moisture, but it was a warm system and definitely not going to help with the migration ? oh well, better than nothing. My good friend Rick took a week off work to help me on this hunt. The first three days we covered a lot of ground, both on foot and in the truck. We saw a moderate amount of deer including a few pretty decent bucks, actually more than I was expecting, given the lack of snow and thick cover.
We did see one that was a definite shooter, 25?+ very tall & heavy. I had him in my sights at 40 yards, round in the chamber, safety off!! But all I could see were his antlers and his butt as he slipped through the brush. I knew my 7mmSTW would put him down, but that would have been far from a clean kill. I elected to hold off and try for a better shot, but the buck had other ideas - he slipped away and disappeared in the thick brush - ahhhhhhhh.
The afternoon of the third day found us eating our lunch at the edge of some canyon country. It was VERY steep and rugged, but was open and we could actually use our binoculars, wooowho. After a bit, Rick who had been peering intently through his spotting scope, said ?come look at this and tell me what you think?. He had his spotting scope focused at the base of a cliff well over a mile away. I looked through the scope, fought through the mirage and studied what I saw, before saying, ?looks like a 30? buck laying there?!! It was difficult to say for sure, the lighting was tricky and it was a long way to look through the heat waves, but it certainly looked like a big ole crafty buck laying in the shade of that cliff. It was worth a try. I picked out some landmarks, grabbed my gear and started off. My plan was to hike to the head of the drainage, side-hill to the ridgeline above the buck and work my way into my final firing position. Two hours later I was creeping into my shooting position 250 yards from the bedded buck. I checked in with Rick on the radio, it was still there. I got into a comfortable prone position and waited for the buck to get out of bed. As the minutes slid by and the shadows got longer, I heard Rick on the radio through my ear piece ?hey, ahhh ummm?now that the light is changing I'm not convinced that is a deer at all?? ? ?ha ha very funny? ? ?no unfortunately I'm serious? ? ?you have got to be kidding me!!? Long story short, I put a three hour stalk on an apparition, a phantom buck ? what a dumb a**!!! We are still laughing about it now though. I got back to the truck long after dark, tired and a bit dejected.
The following day we hiked to the ridge that overlooked what we dubbed ?Phantom Point?. After an uneventful morning, I hiked further down canyon to the edge of a substantial cliff. As I neared the edge, the view that unfolded before me was nothing short of breathtaking. I actually said out loud, ?I think I just found a honeyhole?. We stayed there until dark, but surprisingly only saw a few does. My buddy had to leave the following day so I would be solo for the next couple of days.
It was Friday morning, after which there were only two days left in the season and still no snow in the forecast. There was definitely not going to be any migration during the season. I was sitting on Phantom Point before first light. Dawn began to break and I sat looking intently into the dim light, anxious to see what the canyon below me had to offer. There?s one, a nice one and he is pretty close ? less than 300 yards. My heart started to beat a little faster as I got into a shooting position, dialed in my scope and chambered a round. The buck was standing perfectly broadside, feeding and completely unaware.
One more look to make sure he is the right one? well, hmmmm ? he was nice, but not quite as big as I was hoping for. I weighed my options; nice buck, in range, season almost over, no weather in forecast?. Hmmmm?..nope ? very tempting, but not what I came here for.
I set myself to glassing the expansive canyon again. I found a lone doe on a finger-ridge beyond the buck I had just passed. I picked apart the hillside she was feeding on, nothing else in sight. I continued glassing the remainder of the canyon, but kept a close eye on the solo doe. The sun just started to peak over the mountaintop and I checked on the doe for the 20th time, holy s***!! There he was ? WOW!!! I knew in an instant that was the buck I had been waiting for. I scrambled in behind my rifle, checked the range, compensated for the 40 degree angle ? no wind to speak of, adjusted my scope, chambered a round and flipped the safety off. I took a deep breath to calm myself as my adrenaline was pumping! Reticle on the sweet spot aaand squeeze???.thhhhawack!! The shot felt good and I heard that unmistakable impact of the bullet, but the recoil knocked me off target. When I fired, the buck had only been a few steps from disappearing behind a ridgeline between us and by the time I re-combobulated myself the hillside was empty? I was confident I had hit him, but he didn't pile up like I had expected. I waited for a few minutes and thoroughly scanned the canyon, no deer. Nothing left to do, I packed up my gear and headed down into the abyss ? more like clambered, slid, climbed and scrambled. I do believe that was the steepest and nastiest hell hole I have ever traversed. It took some perseverance and some searching, but there he was! In the end he had tumbled head over heels down a shale slide and off a twenty foot cliff before piling up in a ravine. Fourteen hours later and utterly exhausted, I had all the meat, cape and trophy antlers back to the truck.
The buck is a tremendous 6x7 with incredible mass, in line points, kickers, a unique ?trident? on left rear fork and a beautiful 5? drop tine off the right beam (unfortunately the drop tine broke off on the rocks when the buck tumbled down the canyon, thankfully the taxidermist says he can fix it). The pictures aren't great, but the best I could do solo.
California dreams & memories that will last a lifetime.
Adversity does not build character, it reveals it - Audaces Fortuna Juvat
This is part two of my California hunting adventure 2014. For the first half of the story see ?Family Success? in the California forum.
2014 had already shaped up into a great hunting season for me. Now it was time to round it out with my late season California tag. I had done my homework and was as primed as I could be, but I still didn't really know what to expect. The majority of this area had been closed by the Forest Service for well over a year due to a major fire. As a result all of my preparation had been limited to maps, internet, phone calls, etc. I had yet to see the area first hand. Certainly not a great way to prepare. Thankfully, a couple fellow MM hunters were gracious enough to give me some pointers, Brent and Adam I am in debt to you!
The season was nine days long and I was prepared to stay for the duration to find what I was looking for. I was going to hold out for a buck that made me say ?woooow? or I was going to have tag soup. Most late season tags in California are weather dependent and this tag is no different, in fact the common thread with everyone I discussed this hunt with was, ?without the snow, the deer won't show?. And what seems to always be the case when you really need the weather?? Exactly ? none, and none in the forecast. The Forest Service lifted the area closure four days before the season opener and I finally got a firsthand look at the country. Thick and brushy, even where the fire had scorched it was difficult to see much. I did put quite a few miles on my boots, but saw very few deer.
Opening day dawned wet and rainy, mother nature was kind enough to drop some moisture, but it was a warm system and definitely not going to help with the migration ? oh well, better than nothing. My good friend Rick took a week off work to help me on this hunt. The first three days we covered a lot of ground, both on foot and in the truck. We saw a moderate amount of deer including a few pretty decent bucks, actually more than I was expecting, given the lack of snow and thick cover.
We did see one that was a definite shooter, 25?+ very tall & heavy. I had him in my sights at 40 yards, round in the chamber, safety off!! But all I could see were his antlers and his butt as he slipped through the brush. I knew my 7mmSTW would put him down, but that would have been far from a clean kill. I elected to hold off and try for a better shot, but the buck had other ideas - he slipped away and disappeared in the thick brush - ahhhhhhhh.
The afternoon of the third day found us eating our lunch at the edge of some canyon country. It was VERY steep and rugged, but was open and we could actually use our binoculars, wooowho. After a bit, Rick who had been peering intently through his spotting scope, said ?come look at this and tell me what you think?. He had his spotting scope focused at the base of a cliff well over a mile away. I looked through the scope, fought through the mirage and studied what I saw, before saying, ?looks like a 30? buck laying there?!! It was difficult to say for sure, the lighting was tricky and it was a long way to look through the heat waves, but it certainly looked like a big ole crafty buck laying in the shade of that cliff. It was worth a try. I picked out some landmarks, grabbed my gear and started off. My plan was to hike to the head of the drainage, side-hill to the ridgeline above the buck and work my way into my final firing position. Two hours later I was creeping into my shooting position 250 yards from the bedded buck. I checked in with Rick on the radio, it was still there. I got into a comfortable prone position and waited for the buck to get out of bed. As the minutes slid by and the shadows got longer, I heard Rick on the radio through my ear piece ?hey, ahhh ummm?now that the light is changing I'm not convinced that is a deer at all?? ? ?ha ha very funny? ? ?no unfortunately I'm serious? ? ?you have got to be kidding me!!? Long story short, I put a three hour stalk on an apparition, a phantom buck ? what a dumb a**!!! We are still laughing about it now though. I got back to the truck long after dark, tired and a bit dejected.
The following day we hiked to the ridge that overlooked what we dubbed ?Phantom Point?. After an uneventful morning, I hiked further down canyon to the edge of a substantial cliff. As I neared the edge, the view that unfolded before me was nothing short of breathtaking. I actually said out loud, ?I think I just found a honeyhole?. We stayed there until dark, but surprisingly only saw a few does. My buddy had to leave the following day so I would be solo for the next couple of days.
It was Friday morning, after which there were only two days left in the season and still no snow in the forecast. There was definitely not going to be any migration during the season. I was sitting on Phantom Point before first light. Dawn began to break and I sat looking intently into the dim light, anxious to see what the canyon below me had to offer. There?s one, a nice one and he is pretty close ? less than 300 yards. My heart started to beat a little faster as I got into a shooting position, dialed in my scope and chambered a round. The buck was standing perfectly broadside, feeding and completely unaware.
One more look to make sure he is the right one? well, hmmmm ? he was nice, but not quite as big as I was hoping for. I weighed my options; nice buck, in range, season almost over, no weather in forecast?. Hmmmm?..nope ? very tempting, but not what I came here for.
I set myself to glassing the expansive canyon again. I found a lone doe on a finger-ridge beyond the buck I had just passed. I picked apart the hillside she was feeding on, nothing else in sight. I continued glassing the remainder of the canyon, but kept a close eye on the solo doe. The sun just started to peak over the mountaintop and I checked on the doe for the 20th time, holy s***!! There he was ? WOW!!! I knew in an instant that was the buck I had been waiting for. I scrambled in behind my rifle, checked the range, compensated for the 40 degree angle ? no wind to speak of, adjusted my scope, chambered a round and flipped the safety off. I took a deep breath to calm myself as my adrenaline was pumping! Reticle on the sweet spot aaand squeeze???.thhhhawack!! The shot felt good and I heard that unmistakable impact of the bullet, but the recoil knocked me off target. When I fired, the buck had only been a few steps from disappearing behind a ridgeline between us and by the time I re-combobulated myself the hillside was empty? I was confident I had hit him, but he didn't pile up like I had expected. I waited for a few minutes and thoroughly scanned the canyon, no deer. Nothing left to do, I packed up my gear and headed down into the abyss ? more like clambered, slid, climbed and scrambled. I do believe that was the steepest and nastiest hell hole I have ever traversed. It took some perseverance and some searching, but there he was! In the end he had tumbled head over heels down a shale slide and off a twenty foot cliff before piling up in a ravine. Fourteen hours later and utterly exhausted, I had all the meat, cape and trophy antlers back to the truck.
The buck is a tremendous 6x7 with incredible mass, in line points, kickers, a unique ?trident? on left rear fork and a beautiful 5? drop tine off the right beam (unfortunately the drop tine broke off on the rocks when the buck tumbled down the canyon, thankfully the taxidermist says he can fix it). The pictures aren't great, but the best I could do solo.
California dreams & memories that will last a lifetime.
Adversity does not build character, it reveals it - Audaces Fortuna Juvat
