Here's the story.....
I drove up at 3 am to the Methow. It took me 7 long hours to get to my camp after I left the truck. It was pretty gloomy, but no precip so far. I found a place where I thought it might be safe to camp, and fairly flat. You'll notice I stuck my tent next to a big log, hoping that one of the snags I miscalculated did come down, it might not completely crush me. The last weeks blizzard brought down at least a hundred snags that I saw. Anyhow, I woke up to it snowing. Not really sticking at my camp but coming down. I climbed up a barren ridge to try to get where I was going to camp in a spike camp to get to a bowl I was after. No luck. It was just too dangerous with the snow already there 0-8 inches, and it snowing fresh. I saw one buck just below where I killed the one last year. He was a 150 class fellow. No other sign. Most of the deer had moved out of the rocks to about 5500-6000 feet. I swung back through camp, grabbed a candy bar and headed up the ridge near camp. I jumped another 150 class buck sending him down the mountain. I made my observations and headed back to camp. This is when I rolled down the mountain. A log I was crawing over broke loose and down we went aobut 40 feet or so. This broke my camera, so no more pics. I shook myself off and about thirty minutes later BOOM!!!! What the.....across from me some JACKASS poached 130 class buck. PISSES ME OFF. Why can't idiots play by the rules. Dressed in blue jeans, blue plaid shirt, and white T-shirt, he stashed the Buck under a tree and left. You're a lucky bastard that I just broke my camera because I could have had it all on film. Hopefully he came back to claim it the next day. Just because you are on top of the world doesn't mean you are alone.
I made it back to camp and the snow had finally quit. It started to clear just before dark and was getting rather crisp. I woke and headed straight out from camp. It was just pushing shooting light when I worked my way under a gorgeous 180 plus buck and 6 does. He was rutting something fierce. They were feedingalong the mountain, and I tried to get in front of them, but they had the elevation and I just couldn't catch them. If the 06 would ave been in my hand, he would be dead. I got into a rough spot, or chute, and I lost them. i don't know if they ever spooked from me or just out distanced me. I got through the chute and approached the lip of a new draw or basin, and I heard a deer in front of me. I thought SWEET. They moved down. I cleared the lip and here was my buck with 4 does, and he was full in rut. There was no way I could move from my spot without being detected, so just waited until he got close. I shot when he was at 40-45 yards. A little far for what I like with the Trad bow, but it was the best I could do. Bullseye. He ran back my direction under me and across the chute towards camp. Thanks guy, I appreciate that. He went about 80 yards I guess. Then the work started, and not sure it ever ended. I logged alot of hard miles.