2nd Choice (It Ain't So Bad)

LAST EDITED ON Jun-23-10 AT 09:19AM (MST) by Founder (admin)[p][p align=right]Thread Views Counter....[/p]

After a longer-than-usual winter of looking at draw stats until my eyes were bleeding, I finally logged on to submit my Colorado deer application--with minutes to spare. Last minute mind changes had taken me completely off of my game plan. Even though it would have taken a minor miracle (or a major computer glitch) to draw my 1st choice with 0 points, drawing one of my remaining three choices was all but certain. What I didn't know, was which of my remaining choices I'd end up with, and which was the most desirable.

I stared at the screen long enough for the screen saver to pop up. Naturally it was a picture of a very cool tall antlered buck I had watched during the rut for a couple of years in a row. He wouldn't have scored very well either year, but he was a great deer.

It was with no small degree of trepidation that I finally hit "APPLY." Why is it that "That Click" is always so final? It was too late anyway, and nothing I could change would make it any better, even if it hadn't been too late.

11:58pm... Minutes to spare...

[IMG]http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/8087tall_rut_buck.jpg[/img]

Luckily the days between April 6 and May 27 seemed to breeze by. There were several other applications to submit and a few draw results posted in the mean time--the appetizers.

I managed to land a general muzzleloader tag in UT, which I fully expected, and not much of anything else. On the bright side it gave me something to focus on until Colorado's results trickled in.

As we all know, it becomes a carnival atmosphere in internet hunting circles when the draws start. Invariably somebody knows somebody who somehow knows that the draws for each species have taken place--how could you not share that on the forums? And then it's rumors about "back-doors" and "front-doors" and then verification that whatever door was wide open and about to come off the hinges because of the glut of would-be hunters torture testing the servers to find out how many points they burned. Or didn't.

Even knowing that I wasn't going to draw a thing other than maybe deer, I went through every door and possibly a couple of windows just to prove to myself that there was actually a draw and that I had actually been involved... There was, and I had--and the preference points prove it.

Then there it was. First the "580" code on the backdoor, then that 10 letter "S" word that is the only important word in the entire process: SUCCESSFUL LIMITED LICENSE FOR 2ND CHOICE

Decisions, decisions... Now I have an archery buck tag and an OTC bull elk tag. What's the best way to approach archery season if I only have one week off work?

If I had only elk, I'd go sometime after Labor Day. Only deer, I'd be out the first week. Do I hunt deer on the weekends and take the week for elk? Hunt both for a week early in the season and see how it plays out?

As of tonight I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning toward hunting elk opening weekend in a great early season spot I found in another unit, and then spending the rest of the first week hunting deer (or both).

Remember when I mentioned last minute mind changes? Well, my original game plan had been to try for a 2nd or 3rd rifle season tag, but when it came right down to it I went with archery. There's just something about being in the field when things are still green and the days are long and the antlers are fuzzy that I'm not willing to let go.

A lot of folks seem to have the opinion that if a unit doesn't require at least a point or two it must not be very good. In many cases I agree because access or game numbers can be a nightmare in some units. On the other hand, I can't stand not hunting.

I've kinda taken on a different attitude the last few years. I jumped right in to deer hunting with an attitude that only big antlers mattered, and honestly I missed out by putting so much pressure on myself to kill something impressive. In reality, what I did to myself was to take the fun out of hunting and completely mess up my learning curve and my confidence.

What I've learned in the past couple of years is that I love killing deer. It is always fun when it's done in the right context. So my new attitude is that I'm going to hunt as much as I can, learn as much as I can, have as much fun as I can, and kill some deer in the process. The big ones will come. And if they don't, I'll make up for my lack of taxidermy with a lifetime of memories.

Don't get me wrong here--I'm not looking to let the air out of the first fork horn that lets me. In fact, I'll probably never shoot another fork horn unless it's one of those goofy old ones you see once in a while. What I am saying is that I'm not going to get myself so wrapped up in B.S. that I don't have fun--bottom line. If I get a chance at a buck that "turns my crank" he's going down; score, spread, and points be damned.

BTW, I have been able to look at my unit a couple of times since I learned I had the tag. That's my truck down there in the bottom.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-10 AT 10:51PM (MST)[p]I don't know if it's the OCD side of me, but I take a systematic approach to researching new areas. Every hunt starts with picking a unit, which means literally hours of late night statistic crunching--draws, harvest stats, herd dynamics, etc (ad nauseum)...

The first thing I want to know is what I have a reasonable chance of drawing either as a 1st choice with few or no preference points, or as a 2nd (or later) choice. Being willing to hunt with any weapon can be a benefit because it opens up a lot of options. Units that don't have much public land at lower elevations can have summer range that's almost all public and vice versa. Not to mention the fact that some hard to draw rifle units can be drawn easily for archery or muzzleloader.

After I weed out the units I can't draw, I want to know what harvest rates are like during each of the seasons. Not just that, I want to know why. For example, if a unit has a low archery success but high muzzleloader success the problem is probably not the deer herd. It likely has more to do with how people hunt (road hunters) and having a 100 yard range is making the difference. If a unit has a high success (30% or more for primitive weapons and 50% for rifle seasons) it goes right on my "maybe" list.

From there I look at the top units that fit the 2 criteria (easy to draw, high hunt success). Now the work starts, because I now have a list of maybe 30-50 hunts and need to find out how much public land there is, how accessible it is, and whether the public land is quality deer habitat in each unit and for each season. It's a lot of map and air photo work, but the computer makes it much easier. Google Earth is a huge asset. I have access to the full version of ArcMap, but I've heard that ArcGIS Explorer is good too.

What I end up with is a list of 10-15 hunts that, on paper at least, should be good hunts. In the last few years I have found a couple of the so-called "top rated" units this way and killed bucks in both units.

* * * * * * * * * *

Back to scouting--I spent a couple of days in an area of my unit that I'm thinking about hunting. What I can tell you right off is that it's going to get hunted hard. Access is easy and as you can see from my last couple of pics it's wide open. If there's a buck out after daylight, chances are more than one person is going to be on him.

There seems to be a fair number of deer around. I started seeing does as soon as it started cooling off the first afternoon. I spent some time driving and looking, just to get a feel for the lay of the land.

Here's the first buck I spotted, at about 4:00 the first afternoon, and a poor attempt at digi-scoping. I named him the "Digi-Dink" buck and I think he will be safe.

As I was saying in my last post, I've got a smidge of OCD in me. It applies to choosing a hunt, and it applies to scouting too. I just think that running off willy-nilly into the woods is likely to be a waste of time. Fun, but a waste of time... Unless you get lucky.

So I, being the unlucky type, have to work at it. If I'm going to be working, I want to know what's the goal and how to get there. That means breaking it down into smaller pieces.

First thing after I get a tag the maps come back out. Where is the public? Where are the deer going to be? Where is the access? Where are most people going to hunt?

Once that is sorted out I start looking for places I can get to that most people won't bother with. A hidden bowl, a small side canyon, a bench a couple miles from the road... Those are the places I need to get to and do some scouting.

But, the first thing I do when I actually go to the unit is to "ground truth" what I saw on the maps. Seeing it in person is always best and it's surprising how often things change--for the better and otherwise. Ground truthing starts with what I call "power scouting." Most people would call it riding around out in the woods. Basically I drive through as much of the unit as I can in the time that I have and look at spots I liked from the maps as I do.

* * * * * * * * * *

After I watched the "Digi-dink" buck for a while to make sure he didn't have an older brother I moved to another vantage point. I could see a stock pond that had good water, and there was a two-track road that would get me close, so I after glassing a bit I took off to check the pond for tracks.

I parked up the trail a bit and walked to the pond, and bumped these 2 bucks in the process. The front one might be a decent buck once he's done growing.

Turns out the only fresh deer tracks at the tank were the bucks that I had just run into. It's not too surprising since I could see water running in a few of the canyons nearby. Lots of elk tracks, and two old sets of bear tracks. I followed the bears for a few hundred feet, and I think it was probably a boar following a dry sow. The big set was just shy of 6" across the front pad.



I made my way back to the truck and set out to cover as much ground as I still could before dark. I saw a few does and watched what must have been a newborn fawn wobbling around between mom's legs trying to get steady enough to get a few drops of milk. Too far for a good pic.

Camera light was fading fast when I came across this guy. I nicknamed him "Crank" (as in "crank turner") because of the double browtine. I think he's splitting too soon on his mainbeam to turn into a true monster, but he might be hard to turn down on a 2nd choice archery tag after a couple of days. We'll see. Had to do some fiddling with the pics on the computer when I got home to even get them this good.

A few more pics from scouting in mid-June:




Too bad some of them are on private ground I can't hunt! There seem to be plenty of good bucks on public though, and I'm feeling confident I can get a good hunt out of this.

I wish everyone a Happy 4th of July and good luck in your scouting over the weekend!

Here are a couple of velvet bucks from the past--the first one is a buck I spotted, but a friend and MM'er snapped the pic. The second one is from another friend. I think one or both have been on MM before. Both are near where my tag is good, but on private property.

It's good to know there are bucks like this around! Now i just have to find one on public land!

My last post included a couple of pictures that were taken by my friends in the unit I'll be hunting. I was thinking about that over the weekend and I realized how valuable networking can be when learning a new area.

On some of my out-of-state hunts in the past, I've gotten great tips both by using the internet to find people who are familiar with the area, and also by talking to people who live near where I'm hunting. For example, I discovered an OTC archery mule deer spot with a lot of potential in Arizona last year after a conversation with a waitress. I can't wait to try it next January (for javelina too)!

Here are a couple more pics from my unit that were taken by a friend a few days ago.

I looked at a new part of the unit this week and took the opportunity to try to learn something about my camera. What I learned is I need more practice, but I am pleased with the number of bucks I'm seeing on public land. Still looking for the right one--He's in there somewhere.

This weekend I'll be out on a trial run with my bivy gear (fishing trip). Cameron Hanes would laugh at me--that's all I'm saying for now, but there will be more to come on that topic!

This is one I came across last week--he is the fattest deer I've ever seen. He is an old timer for sure, and I would have liked to have seen him a few years ago--I bet he was a stud. He doesn't have much for headgear anymore, but he had some impressive scars across his other side, and he pushed the younger bucks around like he would always be the boss.

If I see him again I'm going to call him "Godfather" or "Don Vito."

Another one of those private land bucks I can't touch! I'll consider them brood-stock and hope their offspring have made it off the ranch.

I still haven't found "The" buck I want to chase, but I've found some potential candidates. The area I've chosen is glassable from a main road in a couple of places, but not many people are going to walk in even if they see something because of the terrain.

Last week I made the comment that Cameron Hanes would laugh at my bivy set up, so I suppose it's time to elaborate on that. The only reason to really to even bring it up is to make the point that you don't have to take out a second mortgage to get set up for bivy hunting. Get a cheap set up, try it, and replace items with something better as necessary over time.

There are several advantages to doing it this way. First, you can go try bivy hunting once and see if it's really for you. If it's not, you're really not out that much and you can toss the stuff in the next garage sell. Second, you'll find out what you can get away with on the cheap. If an item that cost $10 is working fine, you'll be glad you didn't spend $70 on something that's not 700% better. Last, as I have already alluded to, you can get set up and start making bivy trips right away, but replace things one at a time as you can afford to or as you determine what's working and what's not. A positive side effect of this approach is that you can always have the cheap stuff as a back up in case something breaks or if a buddy wants to go who doesn't have his own gear.

There are also sacrifices though. For one, you're taking a chance on quality. The last thing you want is to get 5 miles and 3,000 feet in elevation and your shoulder strap tears off. The other sacrifice is that when it comes to backpacking, you have to PAY for lightweight. It's like growing up, if you're poor, you better be tough! In the big scheme of things though, you're only going to shed so much weight by spending all the money. You might go from a 50-55 pound pack for a 5 day hunt down to a 40-45. To a real backpacker 10 pounds might as well be a side of beef, but to me and most guys who are only going to do it once or twice a year, and never more than 5-8 miles from a road, you might as well forget it and go. Another thought I always have is that once you get an animal down you're going to be carrying more than 55 pounds in most cases anyway, so if you can't handle that much weight... You see where I'm going with this.

So here's a brief run-through of my set up and some alternatives I've gathered since my first bivy trip in 2007:

Pack--Swiss Gear, 3500 cubic inches. It has all the adjustments of a more expensive pack, a built in rain cover, and plenty of room for what I need for 3-4 days of hunting off my back. Most importantly it fits well and is comfortable to carry. My main concern is quality of construction, but no issues yet. Price: $49.99 at Sam's Club.

Sleeping bag--Kelty Light Stalker 0deg. A little over 2 pounds. 0 degree because I might want to use it on a later hunt, and it's easier to cool off in a warmer bag than to warm up in a colder one. Price: $89.99 on sale from Sportsman's Warehouse.

Shelter--I have acquired 3 alternatives here.
I started with nothing but a regular plastic tarp to wrap my sleeping bag in. It actually got me through two rainy nights and kept me dry, but it's noisy and takes up too much space so I dropped it and picked up a Kelty 12' Noah's Tarp (2 pounds).

I also have a "two" man tent (either they measured small men or they expect you to spoon)from Walmart for about $20. It works, but no rain fly and limited waterproof ability, plus it is not free standing, and it is the heaviest option at 3 1/2 pounds. I can make it work, but I really don't use it. If mosquitos were a problem (like in Alaska) the tent would be my choice. I have a Eureka USMC issue 2 man tent, that if there were two people going, it could be divided up and each person would have less than 3 pounds to carry. The reason I don't use the tents very often is that I prefer a bivy sack.

The one I have is the Goretex model issued to the Marines. I spent quite a few nights in the jungles of Okinawa and Thailand during typhoon season and in the deserts of southern California, Kuwait, and Iraq during all sorts of weather, and never had a problem, so I grabbed one on eBay for $20. It weighs a little over 2 pounds, but it smashes down on the bottom of my pack and takes up very little room.

Stove--The stove I use is a collapsible Coleman that screws right to the top of a propane/butane canister. It weighs less than half a pound and cost less than $20 at Walmart.

Water filter--Here's one I just spent the money on right from the start. I used iodine tablets in Okinawa and Thailand quite a bit, and that's for the birds. I like water to be refreshing, not taste like medicine, especially if I'm cooking with it as well as drinking it. I bought a MSR Mini-works EX filter because it's light (less than a pound) and it attaches directly to a Nalgene bottle. I paid $89.

It's really that simple. Total cost of the big items was $270.
Here are some of the other things I take, just to give you an idea.

Fuel--1 full canister of fuel per 3 days--if you make coffee once and boil water once for dinner each day it should last. Obviously more in colder weather. Using a wind block while cooking saves fuel. Setting a Nalgene bottle in the sun during the day pre-heats the water and saves fuel too.

Pot/Utensils--I use one pot for boiling water for dinner and for making/drinking coffee rather than carry a separate cup. My stove and lighter fit inside the pot, and the lid still fits. The pot itself is the same size and shape as a butane fuel canister. the only utensil I carry is a heavy duty polycarbonate "Spork" and it works fine.

Coffee--Starbucks "Via" coffee packets are great. Lightweight, taste better than the other instant coffee's. About $10 for 12 packets.

Food--I like Mountain House because I can find them about anywhere (Walmart, Sportsmans, Cabelas, and most small town outdoors shops). They're a little salty and some menus are better than others. I take a 2 serving pouch for each day and sometimes I'll throw in a breakfast to mix it up. I won't pay more than $6 per meal and if you watch you can find them for half that. Other than that I take snack-foods. Jerky, granola bars, etc. I'm not going to starve to death in 5 days, and I'm not climbing Mt. McKinley, so no fancy formulas. Besides, I can stand to lose few pounds and energy is proportional to motivation.

Hygiene--TP--And keep it in a plastic bag for crying out loud! Travel size toothpaste and regular toothbrush (handle intact) because you occassionally want to brush those nasty fangs out there. Dental floss--you'll be amazed at the uses you'll find for this one. Contact case and travel size solution (and glasses w/ case for backup). Unscented deodorant. A small package of baby wipes. In the past I have left the package open for a day or two before to dehydrate them. They rehydrate easy. Chances are, no matter what you tell yourself ahead of time or how clean you are at home, you're not going to go through the effort of much hygiene on a bivy hunt, plus it takes a lot of water. Don't overdo it because you'll just be carrying it around and letting it take up space.

Clothes--For less than 3 days I'm taking what I'm wearing plus: gloves, one set of skivvies (in case of the dreaded swamp ass) and 2 pairs of socks in addition to rain gear and maybe a jacket of some sort. For 5-7 days one extra t-shirt and pair of pants, 4 socks and 3 skivvies. If you rotate them day to day, and wash them in a creek halfway through you can get by with less skivvies and socks, but considering their weight all you give up is space.

In cold weather I would only add gloves and long underwear and a windproof top. A beanie is a given, in all weather. If nothing else, I sleep in it.

Pillow and sleeping pad--For a pillow I use the stuff sack for my sleeping bag, turn it inside out, and put whatever extra clothes I have inside. Works great and saves space, not to mention cheap. My sleeping pad is the example of $10 vs $70 I used earlier. I use a $10 Walmart pad that's about 5/8" thick heavy duty foam. I cut it off at thigh length and what I do is roll it against it's natural curve and stuff it in my empty pack, then put everything else inside the "skeleton" that it creates. It keeps things from shifting, stiffens the pack, and it keeps me from hanging stuff on the outside of my pack.

In the pic below you can see my pad strapped on the bottom of my pack, but that's the trip where I learned better--brush and strapped on gear don't work out very well.

Hunting gear--I don't take much. Binos, rangefinder, calls (usually a couple of diaphragms), knife, parachute cord, headlamp. This is where it's hard not to go overboard because it's easy to justify each and every item with "what-if" scenarios. Just forget it--what you need to make a kill is a weapon and ammo. Above that is luxury, and luxury is over-rated when you have to fit it in a pack and carry it around.

This year I'll probably take a spotting scope and tripod because I'll be only 3-4 miles from the road and mostly side-hilling and walking ridges to get there. Normally I wouldn't, especially if I was climbing a lot. 10x binocs should be able to tell you what you need to know unless you're really interested in field judging to the nearest inch before you decide to shoot.

I just bought a palm size Panasonic DMC-ZS1 digital camera to take with me. Heavy for its size, but amazing pics and takes up very little space.

I always carry my GPS (Garmin GPSMap 60 CSX). I don't use it any more than I have to, and therefore I don't take extra batteries. I do take one extra set for my headlamp which happens to be the AA as well.

So there it is. Cheap and crappy, light-ish, but it works and it's a hell of a lot of fun to do.

I've been focusing on the deer so far because I love archery mule deer hunting and that's what's interesting to me. Briefly mentioned was an OTC elk tag I will also have, and I've been seeing a few good bulls. I need to start doing some homework for my General ML deer tag in Utah as well--Time's running out quick!

Last week, Colorado's "OTC with Caps" licenses went on sale, and I was lucky enough to be around so I bought a bear tag to go along with deer and elk. In other words, I bought $40 worth of bear repellent. It works great, you should try it!

Here are a couple of bears. The black bear pic was taken in the unit my bear tag covers back in 2008. He was the second bear I had seen in less than an hour. I came across the chocolate bear while he was chowing down on a dead beef this past May.

It's getting down to the wire with only 24 days and a wake-up to go before opening day!

I would have liked to have found one "Monster Muley" to dedicate my time to, but I'm excited about what I've found.

18 days and a wake-up... Shooting 3 nights a week and seeing a great deal of improvement since late spring.

Here is one of the best deer I've seen in my unit, but once again he's on property I won't be able to hunt. Not many bucks get me excited but he sure does.

We're entering the home stretch with less than 2 weeks to go. Money has been disappearing from my pockets faster than it's coming in as I get the things I finally decided I can't do without.

I sprung for an Eberlestock Blue Widow with a "Bow Bucket" a couple of weeks ago and since then I've added the Super Spike duffel and the zip-in panel. I'm excited to use it. At first I wasn't going to buy it, but then I found out the great guys at Red Rock Archery in Grand Junction had them in stock, and I like to support local businesses that treat their customers right.

Today I started packing. I have to re-think where things go because the pocket configuration is so much different. With everything for 6 days, minus water, I'm under 50 pounds of gear. My plan is to do 3 at a time, and I may leave the spotting scope and tripod in the truck.

My bow has been tuned and I've shot every broadhead/arrow combination half a dozen times out to 60 yards. If one combo doesn't consistently hit within a 6" circle at 60 it doesn't make the cut and I swap in a new broadhead. I got the last of my 5 hunting arrows shooting right earlier today.

I'm shooting high quality heads and arrows, and the bow is tuned, but it still took shooting 9 broadheads and 7 arrows to make 5 serviceable hunting arrows that group with my field points. It was amazing how consistent the other 4 were off though. There was 1 that shot high, one that shot low right, and 2 that shot low--every single time! In fact, they'd hit so close that the holes from the blades were overlapping from the last shot! But they weren't with my field points and they weren't with each other...

Every one of the original 5 arrows spun true, and yet only two made the first cut. The third arrow that made the cut actually doesn't spin perfectly, but it shoots. The next two took some serious trial and error. I started going one by one shooting each broadhead on each arrow at 20 yards. If it hit the 2" bullseye, I took it to 40. If it was close at 40 I moved to 60. At 60 I shot them several times, and at that distance any inconsistency really shows.

The only reason I am bringing all that up is because I think a lot of people have the preconceived notion that a perfectly tuned bow will put every broadhead with every field point and I just don't believe that to be true. If it was, I should have had 5 perfect arrows right off the bat. Now I have 5 perfect arrows, but it took a few hours and a few dozen shots to get there. Shooting grapefruit sized groups with broadheads inside a 6" bullseye at 60 yards is pretty satisfying. I hope to get a much closer shot on my deer.

The downside is that I have 5 broadheads to re-sharpen. It'll give me something to do while I watch a mule deer hunting DVD.

This is going to be my last post before the hunt. I hope I've been able to put a fresh perspective on applying, drawing, and scouting for hunts, as well as a few ideas for getting off the road a little bit. The main points I've wanted to convey are these:

***Although it can take some effort just to get tags sometimes, there is no reason you can't have a "quality" hunt every year.

***Hunting should be fun--the only person who can define "fun" for you is you.

***It doesn't have to be hunting season to enjoy the hunt! Half the fun for me is scouting and prepping my gear. By the time the actual season rolls around I've done most of my "hunting" and it's a matter of creating shot opportunities on the animals I know are there. Knowing my gear is ready inspires confidence. The only missing ingredient is a little luck!

Here is my Colorado buck from 2008 the story of how it came about. The only benchmark I'm setting for this year is to beat or match this one, and if not to at least make as good a memory.

*******

The 60 yard pin circled tighter above the buck's elbow and my index finger began to tense around the knurled trigger on the release. It was a shot I had made a hundred times in my mind, and pictured at least a hundred more during practice sessions over the summer. This time I let down my draw. The buck was looking right at me and would surely bolt at the sound of the shot. I wanted to cuss out loud. I wanted even more to throw something at the deep forked 160" buck and his 8 buddies as they stotted away through the serviceberry and sage. Stalking mulies in this open country was killing me.

Time was running out, and I felt especially pressured because I only had the weekends to hunt, plus I still had an elk tag to try to fill. The third Saturday was now in the books.

Three weeks of the 2008 archery season had made the bucks skittish and had them moving at odd times. With a road on every ridge and in every drainage, it had been hard to break away from the crowds, but I had found a small basin that for some reason most of the other hunters were passing by. Since the opener the weather had made a full 360; from scorching hot to a freezing, drenching rain, and at 8 o'clock Sunday morning it was approaching 70 degrees. Less than ideal, but not unexpected for archery season.

The bucks were back--for the most part anyway. The buck I had drawn on the day before was either missing or was hanging back in the brush. From my position it was clear that they would make the same loop as yesterday, but today I had the advantage, because I knew where they would cross the steep two-track through the waist high sagebrush.

My good friend Cullen and his dad Phil had given up a morning of hunting elk to help me put a tag on a deer, and it was nice to have their feedback confirming the validity of my planned ambush on the ride along the ridge to where I'd drop off the two-track road that I hoped would provide a shooting lane. The old road also provided a quick, silent way to cover the ground between the main road on the ridge and the bottleneck where the deer would cross.

Before I could even get into position I spotted the first buck break into the sagebrush. I dropped to a knee, but I knew I had to get closer if I was going to get a shot when the big one came out. Crab walking down the hill, I tried to keep just the antlers of the little forkhorn visible over the top of the brush.

He hadn't busted me yet-- "How far is he?"

I ranged him at 46 yards. Three more small bucks had left the shelter of the serviceberry. Then a 4th and a 5th. Then a 6th. I recognized a couple of the bucks from the day before, but where was the bigger one? The 7th buck was a decent, freshly rubbed 4 point. I just knew the big one would be next. The 8th buck was a young three point.

"Where is he??" The big one had to be there.

I was confident that I had been the last person to see those deer the day before, and I hadn't seen anyone around this morning. He just had to be there, so I waited...

Thank God for predictable winds because I sat within 50 yards of the bachelor herd for nearly 10 minutes. I knew Cullen was sitting in the sage above me--maybe he could see him. I searched for my buddy with the binos, trying to get any indication that another buck was there. I couldn't see Cullen either. It was all on me.

Wait or settle? Four of the bucks had crossed the two-track into the serviceberry where I'd never be able to get close again. Two more were in the two-track and about to disappear. The hard horned 4 and a small 2x3 were still in the sage. 58 yards to the crab-clawed 4x4.

CRAP! One of the bucks in the road spotted me! I was pinned down and afraid to breath, afraid that the motion would set him off and blow any chance I may have had. I was already thinking about what to throw when they did blow out of there.

Finally he pinned his ears back and trotted into the tangled brush. I drew my bow and raised up to one knee. The 4 point was watching his stiff legged buddy, wondering what was up--still having no idea that I was there. Just as he turned his head back to the snowberry he was nibbling on, my release broke over and the arrow was on its way. Just as it dipped behind the tops of the sagebrush i heard the sound of a fastball hitting a watermelon. The buck made a panicked dash into the brush, blood dripping down his side.

Cullen had heard the shot and popped up out of the sage. I gave him the thumbs up and I could tell by his expression he was as excited as me. He waved to Phil to bring down the jeep.

My arrow was laying right where the deer had stood, covered in bright red blood, end-to-end. The trail started easy, then slowly faded. The shot had been a little "higher and backer" than I wanted, but he was downhill and quartering away, so figured it would work out alright.

I had a feeling the shot had been high enough that the chest cavity had filled, but stopped hitting the ground. We had covered about 80 yards when it stopped completely. Tracks were everywhere--the deer had been thick here all summer and there was no way to tell which was my deer. I stopped to look at the situation and think.

"Was the hit good? I think so.

Is this deer dead? Yes--there's to much blood to think otherwise.

Where would I go if I were him?"

I looked down the draw and my eyes instantly caught a cattle trail paralleling the bottom and disappearing into a patch of pines and aspen.

"Here he is right here, Nick!" Cullen had found him.

"Where is he? I can't see you."

"Right in the aspens in the draw lying next to that pine tree!"

The buck had died about 10 feet from where I could see, right on the cattle trail. We drug him out into the open and took some field pics. He wasn't the buck I was after, but he was my best deer, and I had been able to share most of it with some good friends. Nothing wrong with that!

I've been back to the grind for a couple of days now, so I suppose it's time for an update!

It took some soul searching to decide where to hunt the first week. I had some decent spots to choose from but weighing the pros and cons of each left no clear answer. Finally I chose the area I was most familiar with and that had the best access, even though I knew it would be busier than some of the other areas I had in mind. I was seeing similar quality and quantity of bucks in all the spots I had scouted and in the end, the spot I chose left me the most options if I blew some deer out.

My buddy Garrett and I left Friday afternoon and set up camp with a few hours left for some last minute glassing. Wouldn't you know it, we spotted the two biggest bucks I had seen on public land all summer! One had the deepest back forks I've ever seen on a live deer, and we guessed him in the mid 170's to low 180's. The other was perfectly proportioned and massive, and we put him in the high 150's to low 160's.



Opening morning found us in the same spot we had seen them from, but the only buck out was a small 4x4. About 9:00 we decided to go to the other side of the ridge and see if we could turn them up. Sure enough, not 10 minutes after setting the scopes up the bucks appeared along with three smaller bucks. They bedded quickly and Garrett and I put together a game plan.

The 2 big bucks couldn't have picked a better spot for a stalk. The wind was right and strong enough to cover any noise I might make. Less than 45 minutes later I was 36 yards from the heavy 160 buck and 33 yards from the deep forked 170. Problem was, I couldn't see a hair on either one. I knew I'd have to wait them out.

Over the next 2 1/2 hours Garrett gave me the "They're Up" signal half a dozen times as they re-situated, but never emerged. Then I felt raindrops. Then I saw Garrett put his raingear on. Then it started coming down so hard I couldn't see 100 yards.

I knew that the bucks would either bolt for better cover, or I would be shivering so hard I wouldn't be able to shoot. So I pressed the issue and stalked closer, hoping that the bucks would at least hesitate long enough for a shot. The 160 buck spotted me first and stood up, but the only thing in the clear was his antlers. He blew out, and the bigger buck followed about 45 seconds later, neither giving me a good shot.

Before he had to take off that afternoon, Garrett and I spotted a nice potential P&Y buck that I thought I would leave in my back pocket if I couldn't find the deep forked one again.

For the next 3 days I tried to find the big bucks again, without luck. The second day was a weather disaster with 40+ mph winds all day, and spitting rain. I never saw a buck, but a full rainbow that afternoon gave me hope that things would get better.



The third day was a little better, and I was able to turn up a few small bucks in the morning, but nothing I wanted to chase.

I was doing a lot of driving to different vantage points to glass, and camp was a bit far away from where I was hunting, so by the third evening I was running low on gas and decided to glass until dark and then drive off the mountain to refuel. About 4pm I spotted the potential P&Y buck 2 canyons from where Garrett and I had seen him the first time and he was in a stalkable position.

Let me say right here that it's a HUGE advantage to have a spotter that can give hand signals to the hunter. Long story short, I stalked the buck without being able to see him and without the aid of a partner, but never saw him again. I'm not sure when he left or how/if I spooked him. I got back to the truck by moonlight and went for gas.

The fourth morning I had a tough time getting out of bed before daylight because of my "midnight" gas run. I warmed up what was left of "Day 3" coffee and left camp for the far side of public land in the dark.

My timing was perfect and I started seeing bucks right away. In the canyon I had made the stalk the night before I found 3 small bucks and passed them by. Two draws later I spotted a nice 4 point but even from 400+ yards he was spooked by the truck and I lost sight of him quickly. Another half mile away I spotted a bachelor herd of 8 bucks with one shooter 4 point about 100 yards off the road. I parked and tried to sneak ahead of them for an ambush, but a small buck off to one side caught my wind and spooked the whole crew.

I bee-lined for the truck so I could check out a few more spots before the deer all bedded for the day. The next spot was off a side road that I hadn't even looked at during the season. Right away I spotted three small bucks in some heavy brush, but decided that there weren't any bigger ones around.

I rounded a bend in the road just as a 4 point crossed ahead of me, but I didn't get a great look at him. I pulled off the road and put my gear together. I found where the buck had crossed and gone up a nice cattle trail into the serviceberry, so I followed.

A little bit into the brush a bigger 4 point with good browtines stepped out, but didn't seem to notice me. I guessed the yardage at 30 yards and drew.

The buck looked at me, quartering away. I didn't take the time to really size him up but I knew he was bigger than my last archery buck and the opportunity was being served on a silver platter.

All the summer practice kicked in and my body was on auto-pilot. It felt like my 30 yard pin was magnetized to the "pocket" behind his front leg and the orange fletching on my arrow may as well have been a fireball as it disappeared into the very spot I held on.

He bolted into the brush, but quickly reappeared and turned down a small drainage, head held low. A perfect hole and a trickle of blood confirmed the hit was good. He disappeared behind the oakbrush and serviceberry and I thought I heard a crash, but wasn't sure.

My arrow was lying about 5 yards past where he stood when I shot, red from broadhead to nock.



I had to hold myself back from tracking too soon. I knew he was dead, but better safe than sorry. I walked back up the hill and found another hunter had pulled off the road to glass for elk. We chatted for a few minutes and as it turned out another buck had been with the 3 smaller ones from before, and according to him it was a real brute--but I was still pumped about the one I had just shot!

After a few minutes I decided it was safe to follow the trail and walked back down the hill.

I realize I've been a little verbose, and most of you are only skimming anyway, so here's the rest of the story in pictures:

















I'm still chasing elk, so more to come on that soon (hopefully). And all that garbage I said earlier about buying a bear tag being as good as having bear repellent? Garbage, pure garbage. I've seen 5 bears since I killed my buck, three within 25 yards (23, 18, and 12 yards respectively). None were big enough to "bear" my tag. Pun intended!