I just got back from a great trip from CO. Had a awsome time with great friends killed some good deer and saw a bunch of new country. Three out of the 4 of us got to shoot at a dandy but could not seal the deal. The best part is we made 4 great shots that made recovery very easy and quick. The first buck we took was by my buddy Bob. He was still hunting in the bedding area at about 10am in the morning. He jumped 4 or 5 bucks and saw that there was a 28 inch 4 point in the group. The deer hung up in the timber and he was able to slip around on them and make a double lung shot at 62 yards.He thought he shot the right deer but later found out he shot a huge 3 point that was 28 wide. He still was a very happy boy. The deer made a fish hook and went about 65 yards and crashed. He killed the buck on the thrid day of the hunt.
Group pic having a great time with first buck of the trip.
Then i was the next to fill. I shot mine on the fourth eve of the hunt. I was still hunting along the edge of a clear cut about 2 hours before dark. I was working really slow. I had just got done glassing the clear cut and i turned around to walk a little farther and i saw a nose and a grey muzzle sticking out of the timber. I knew it was a buck by the look of the face. I slowly turned and faced the buck. I ranged the tree he was standing behind. My range said 46 yards so i guessed the buck to be 50. He knew something was not right but cound not see me or smell me. After about 30 seconds he put his head down to feed. There was a 8 to 10 foot gap in the trees he was going to cross. He started to walk and i drew my bow back. The darn thing would not stop for anything. He feed right through my gap so fast i could not shoot. I let down very slowly. I took one step to my right and saw one tiny gap to shoot through. I drew again and when he hit the next one foot gap i let the air out of him at a hair over 50 yards. I never put glasses on him to judge trophy size i just took a chance he was on of the big bucks our group had seen in the same patch of trees. He was not one of the couple of big ones i was hoping for but a great archery buck for me. For me the best part was getting that close to a mature buck making a great shot right through the heart and him not knowing i was there made my trip. That is what archery is all about for me. He went 25 to 30 yards and was stone dead.He is a great P&Y buck but not the one i see when i close my eyes.lol. I shot him with the 2 blade rage right through the front sholder and it stuck in the other side. This is the first deer for me shooting the rage and all i can say is amazing. I have never seen so much blood on impact and the blood trail was mind blowing. He was spraying 4 feet from his tracks up on trees and every where.
The next buck was my buddy Jeffs buck. He had some bad luck on a couple stud bucks. He shot his the eve of the 5th day of the hunt. We did a deer drive with 2 shooters and two drivers. I have never had any luck doing this with archery gear but it worked to a tee this time as we pushed this buck by him at 22 yards. He somoked the buck and he went about 45 yards and was out. He thought he had better points than he did but still a great buck and very tall.
My buddy Matt was the last to fill. He shot his buck the morning of the 7th day. He also got to shoot and a dandy but could not get it done. He made a great shot getting both lungs and was really happy to get his 4 point buck down.He passed on better deer just ran out of time. He shot his at 46 yards.
What a fun hunt and such awsome country to look at. This is my second year in a row going to CO to chase big muleys with a bow and I can not wait tell next year. The winter did have a huge impact on numbers of deer in my area. We saw very few deer and bucks but kept after it and got the job done. Saw hardly any fawns and dang few does. You had to hunt hard to see a couple bucks a day compared to years past. The size of bucks was still great but the numbers where a little scarey to say the least.
Group pic having a great time with first buck of the trip.
Then i was the next to fill. I shot mine on the fourth eve of the hunt. I was still hunting along the edge of a clear cut about 2 hours before dark. I was working really slow. I had just got done glassing the clear cut and i turned around to walk a little farther and i saw a nose and a grey muzzle sticking out of the timber. I knew it was a buck by the look of the face. I slowly turned and faced the buck. I ranged the tree he was standing behind. My range said 46 yards so i guessed the buck to be 50. He knew something was not right but cound not see me or smell me. After about 30 seconds he put his head down to feed. There was a 8 to 10 foot gap in the trees he was going to cross. He started to walk and i drew my bow back. The darn thing would not stop for anything. He feed right through my gap so fast i could not shoot. I let down very slowly. I took one step to my right and saw one tiny gap to shoot through. I drew again and when he hit the next one foot gap i let the air out of him at a hair over 50 yards. I never put glasses on him to judge trophy size i just took a chance he was on of the big bucks our group had seen in the same patch of trees. He was not one of the couple of big ones i was hoping for but a great archery buck for me. For me the best part was getting that close to a mature buck making a great shot right through the heart and him not knowing i was there made my trip. That is what archery is all about for me. He went 25 to 30 yards and was stone dead.He is a great P&Y buck but not the one i see when i close my eyes.lol. I shot him with the 2 blade rage right through the front sholder and it stuck in the other side. This is the first deer for me shooting the rage and all i can say is amazing. I have never seen so much blood on impact and the blood trail was mind blowing. He was spraying 4 feet from his tracks up on trees and every where.
The next buck was my buddy Jeffs buck. He had some bad luck on a couple stud bucks. He shot his the eve of the 5th day of the hunt. We did a deer drive with 2 shooters and two drivers. I have never had any luck doing this with archery gear but it worked to a tee this time as we pushed this buck by him at 22 yards. He somoked the buck and he went about 45 yards and was out. He thought he had better points than he did but still a great buck and very tall.
My buddy Matt was the last to fill. He shot his buck the morning of the 7th day. He also got to shoot and a dandy but could not get it done. He made a great shot getting both lungs and was really happy to get his 4 point buck down.He passed on better deer just ran out of time. He shot his at 46 yards.
What a fun hunt and such awsome country to look at. This is my second year in a row going to CO to chase big muleys with a bow and I can not wait tell next year. The winter did have a huge impact on numbers of deer in my area. We saw very few deer and bucks but kept after it and got the job done. Saw hardly any fawns and dang few does. You had to hunt hard to see a couple bucks a day compared to years past. The size of bucks was still great but the numbers where a little scarey to say the least.
