Letshunt
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Colorado was a brutal hunt 6 out of 7 days. Very very low deer numbers and really hot days. On the last day of the hunt the magic of colorado showed up! This is why I love hunting colorado. You just never know when bucks will show up.
We hunted hard and stayed out all day hiking and glassing every day of the hunt. With how hot it was, the deer activity was very low. But we’d see 1-2 bucks a day and maybe 4-5 does that kept the motivation bright enough to think that one day those 1-2 small bucks would turn into something worth getting excited about.
Fast forward to day number 7! Ha. The first six days were brutal. Nothing better than a 22” four point. But the last morning of the hunt was different!
We woke up each morning at 3:45 and made our way to some good glassing points. This day was no different. Other than the fact that we were going to hunt til noon and then head back home. Fatigue was definitely on our minds and the grind of the last 6 days had us questioning the night before if we really wanted to get up at 3:45 the last morning. But all that fatigue and doubt vanished at first light.
Right at first light we spotted a buck chasing two does. He was a 24” heavy four point with good fronts but really weak backs. But he had a dark face, a beautiful cape, and I wanted jerky for ice fishing trips so we decided to go after him. We worked our way as close as we could to him. We were 600 yards away and he was about to push his does into a patch of pines. I got set up and waited for a clear broadside shot. ? Boom. The shot was barely high and the buck dove into the pines. We kept glassing for him on the pine face and would get glimpses of him pushing his does but never could get a clear shot.
That’s when things changed! Luck ? was on our side. Two does and a different buck made their way out of the other side of the pines. As we got our scopes on him we couldn’t believe what we were looking at! We had spent so many days seeing very few deer and the bucks we did see were very small.
After calming ourselves down, we dropped down the ridge to a closer shooting point. The buck kept pushing the does for a bit which allowed us to get into position.
The buck stopped and presented a great broadside shot. I gently pulled the trigger and hit right below the bucks chest. He moved 30 yards higher and then stopped again. I steadied on him and shot again. This time he jumped straight in the air, but didn’t act hit.
He left his does heading straight away from us. We thought that he was gone as he was heading to the top of the ridge too far away to shoot. We were devastated. But then he turned around and started heading straight back to us! We couldn’t believe what we were witnessing. As he moved closer to us he was on a different line heading straight down to the pine face that they first came out of. We didn’t feel comfortable with a shot as he never stopped long enough.
He dropped into the pine face that had some openings where we hoped he would show up…. Ten minutes later Garrett found him pushing three does in a small clearing. We ranged his does at 512 yards. 5 minutes later he stepped out in a small clearing and I wasn’t going to mess up this opportunity! ? and that sound you wait to hear at the end of shot was there! Smack! The buck hunched up and moved slowly to his right. ? this shot broke his back right leg. The buck walked very slowly through the pines and went over a small little knoll. I dropped down the ridge and up there pine face and found the buck laying down in a small patch of quakies. I put another shot in him just to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
So many emotions at the end of an extremely hard hunt all came out! We could have left early but didn’t. Our group kept pushing and encouraging each other to keep grinding and it paid off. The buck is the cherry on top of all the hunting experiences gained with such close friends. I am very grateful and humbled for the opportunity to hunt mule deer in some nasty country with some awesome friends! He’s 30” wide and scores 206.5”.
We hunted hard and stayed out all day hiking and glassing every day of the hunt. With how hot it was, the deer activity was very low. But we’d see 1-2 bucks a day and maybe 4-5 does that kept the motivation bright enough to think that one day those 1-2 small bucks would turn into something worth getting excited about.
Fast forward to day number 7! Ha. The first six days were brutal. Nothing better than a 22” four point. But the last morning of the hunt was different!
We woke up each morning at 3:45 and made our way to some good glassing points. This day was no different. Other than the fact that we were going to hunt til noon and then head back home. Fatigue was definitely on our minds and the grind of the last 6 days had us questioning the night before if we really wanted to get up at 3:45 the last morning. But all that fatigue and doubt vanished at first light.
Right at first light we spotted a buck chasing two does. He was a 24” heavy four point with good fronts but really weak backs. But he had a dark face, a beautiful cape, and I wanted jerky for ice fishing trips so we decided to go after him. We worked our way as close as we could to him. We were 600 yards away and he was about to push his does into a patch of pines. I got set up and waited for a clear broadside shot. ? Boom. The shot was barely high and the buck dove into the pines. We kept glassing for him on the pine face and would get glimpses of him pushing his does but never could get a clear shot.
That’s when things changed! Luck ? was on our side. Two does and a different buck made their way out of the other side of the pines. As we got our scopes on him we couldn’t believe what we were looking at! We had spent so many days seeing very few deer and the bucks we did see were very small.
After calming ourselves down, we dropped down the ridge to a closer shooting point. The buck kept pushing the does for a bit which allowed us to get into position.
The buck stopped and presented a great broadside shot. I gently pulled the trigger and hit right below the bucks chest. He moved 30 yards higher and then stopped again. I steadied on him and shot again. This time he jumped straight in the air, but didn’t act hit.
He left his does heading straight away from us. We thought that he was gone as he was heading to the top of the ridge too far away to shoot. We were devastated. But then he turned around and started heading straight back to us! We couldn’t believe what we were witnessing. As he moved closer to us he was on a different line heading straight down to the pine face that they first came out of. We didn’t feel comfortable with a shot as he never stopped long enough.
He dropped into the pine face that had some openings where we hoped he would show up…. Ten minutes later Garrett found him pushing three does in a small clearing. We ranged his does at 512 yards. 5 minutes later he stepped out in a small clearing and I wasn’t going to mess up this opportunity! ? and that sound you wait to hear at the end of shot was there! Smack! The buck hunched up and moved slowly to his right. ? this shot broke his back right leg. The buck walked very slowly through the pines and went over a small little knoll. I dropped down the ridge and up there pine face and found the buck laying down in a small patch of quakies. I put another shot in him just to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
So many emotions at the end of an extremely hard hunt all came out! We could have left early but didn’t. Our group kept pushing and encouraging each other to keep grinding and it paid off. The buck is the cherry on top of all the hunting experiences gained with such close friends. I am very grateful and humbled for the opportunity to hunt mule deer in some nasty country with some awesome friends! He’s 30” wide and scores 206.5”.
