Wyoming!
we headed out around 11:00 after helping get the antelope skinned and hung. we rolled into the area about 3:00 after a stop in afton to say high to relatives.
we didnt camp too far from the truck the first night and had a great view of the basin we wanted to hunt.
our view from the living room.
that night we videoed some good bucks including the backscratcher buck that i was after.
here we are glassing and having a good time together. im on the right my buddy chet to the left.
sunday morning we videoed and watched the two big bucks again until they bedded for the day and packed up and moved camp up the canyone a mile or two. we got things set up and headed up to start glassing for the night hoping to see the two big'ns again. on our way up chet spotted a bear up the mountain from us. it was a sow with 3 cubs! that was really neat to see and watch her for a minute. we got to the top and the bear came back and we got to video her.
that night we did not see the two big bucks but a lot of other good deer. not much pictures of them or video because i was looking for the big buck and didnt want to take the time to set up.
opening day!
its finally here! we were up early and ready to go. we hiked to the top of the ridge and started seeing bucks within minutes of sitting down. i spotted the backscratcher buck bedded with his buddy at 850 yards. WAY too far for me. i was in the process of trying to figure out my best route to get to him when they both spooked and took off headed away from us. chet than says backscratcher just got shot! i said "WHAT!!" and watched him roll down the hill, then i heard the shot. i was absolutely sick! i was so shooken up i wasnt sure what to do... i started to look for the big 3x4 that was with him but we could never locate him. i was bummed, wind taken right out of my sail. trike kicked in the ditch.... i do want to say congrats to the lucky hunter. you killed a hell of a buck. we decided to look for the inline 4 we called him. he was a buck we had dubbed the 3rd choice buck. well we saw him on someones pack headed down the mountain also. man!! we were striking out left and right. we got to talk to the guys who killed him and they were great guys. congrats to the lucky hunter.
we then take a lunch break and try and decide what to do, we were so undecided on what to do. we finally decided to wait it out and sit all day on the ridge and glass our eyeballs out. we did just that, but not for very long.
i spotted a buck to the south of us that was laying at the base of a pine sunning himself. we looked him over and decided he was a good buck and that everything was set up perfectly. he was bedded facing away from us and was currently at 565 yards. we packed up and closed the distance to 400, then to 375 where i was finally comfortable to take the shot. first shot missed and made him stand and turn perfectly broadside. second shot hit him and knocked im right down! i was pumped and stood and looked at chet who was still looking at him through the spotter. i asked, "is he dead" he said "ya" i was pumped first wyoming buck down at 2:00pm. we got to him and saw that he rolled down a steep ravine and ended up breaking his skull plate and his back fork (G2&G3)off. i found the points and started taking pictures. not the biggest but a trophy in my book. he rough scored 171.
excuse the width, i was trying to manage holding the deer from rolling with my leg, holding the broking tines in place with my left hand and hold the width right with my right hand... ha ha talk about juggling act.
we had him quartered out and back to came in an hour and 20 minutes.
we decided to pack up and head out the 4 miles or so to my truck. my pack ended up weighing 95 lbs with out my rifle. over 100 with my rifle.
a huge thanks to chet! he was awesome during the whole weekend and helped a ton during the whole hunt. his pack was 85 lbs. and i never heard one complaint from him! you are an awesome friend!
next week we are headed up for the muzzy hunt! check back for more hunting adventures!
"Shoot Straight"