I
ICHABOD
Guest
Peakfreak and I had a GREAT time in Wyoming (Region G) this year. I thought I would share a little photo-journal of our trip with you guys/gals. Hope you enjoy!
Peakfreak Sr. came along as our official 'spotter'.
Here are a couple pics of Peakfreak Sr. earning his keep.
About as beautiful a country to hunt in as a guy could ask for!
With it raining on the drive all the way up to Wyoming, we were hoping for fridgid temps, and a little snow when we arrived, but except for some scattered flurries off and on, it just didnt happen for us.
Day one found us riding around in the Ranger, as I was getting the 'freak boys aquainted with the area. (I had hunted this same area last year). All the rain had some of the roads pretty sloppy, and with the colder temps in Wyo, we found out that the tire pressure was a little low in the Ranger tires. We discovered this about ten miles from camp when we peeled 3 of the four tires off the rims! After a little walking, some locals gave us a lift back to camp. We took the truck back to the Ranger, removed the three bad tires, and the 'freaks decided to drive to the nearest town the next day to try and get the tires cleaned up and re-mounted.
Here is a pic after they returned with the tires
With a couple of days already shot, it was time to get serious!
The next morning, the 'freaks had seen a couple decent bucks, but Peak had opted to pass; when 'freak Sr. spotted a buck across the canyon that they wanted to get a better look at. After watching the buck for ten or fifteen minutes, Peak decided he was gonna kill the buck. They got as close as they could, ranged him at 470+ yards, and Peak prepared for the shot. As he readied himself, the excitement started to hit, and the adrenaline started flowing! Peak had to calm himself down a little! He took a few deep breaths, and ... Boom! Hammered him! On the shot, the deer started his deathrun down the mountain, and peakfreak hammered him with two more lethal shots, on the run, at over 460 yds. Pretty impressive shooting!
Here are a few pics of peakfreak with his buck:
The 'freak boys:
Me and peakfreak with his buck:
We decided to just 'git'er done' and drag the buck down the mountain, through the 400 yds of 6'high willows and thigh deep beaver sloughs, and across the river, instead of going back to camp and getting the packs....now we know why we never saw a soul hunting on the other side of the river! lol!
Here is a pic of the last leg of our drag; when we got to the river we decided to 'float' the buck back to the truck...
By the way, Dont believe it when they tell you Danner boots are waterproof...Both peakfreak and I were wearing Danners, and BOTH of our feet got wet! lol!
After we got peakfreaks deer back to camp, a lady we had seen earlier pulled up to our camp and knocked on the door. When we opened the door, she excitedly said "you wanna do a moose?" "You guys said you wanted to do a moose!" Peak Sr. got quite a chuckle out of that mental picture! She said that an elderly hunter and his wife had killed a moose in the river, and since we were already wet, we spent the rest of the day helping the elderly couple recover their moose. The husband had shot the bull,and it had gotten down across the river and into the willows before it expired. They didnt know how they would get the bull out of the willows, and they were so grateful for the help, it made us feel good to be able to help them. We finally got their bull taken care of. It was back to the hunt the next day!
So now things were working out just as I had planned... peakfreak had tagged out, so now I had TWO spotters looking for a buck for me! HEHE
The next morning we made our plan, and were all glassing into different drainages, when peakfreak called me over. 'Freak Sr. had once again spotted a buck that they thought I needed to take a look at. When I looked through the Zeiss spotting scope, I saw a buck that looked more like a Brahma bull than a deer! After about 3 seconds of looking at the buck, I said "Yeah, I'll shoot him." He was a big mature, muscled up buck with dark heavy horns that came out two or three inches past his ears.
He was 700 yards or so away, so peakfreak and I moved closer while 'freak Sr. stayed at the spotting scope. As we were moving in on the buck he had decided to start up the mountain away from us. When we got as close as we were going to get, I quickly ranged him, and told peakfreak that he was already over 500 yards away. Peak quickly set up his spotter to get a better look at the deer. "How does he look?" I said. "He looks Good!" was peaks' reply. "No, is he a 3 x 3, or just a 2 on the left side". I wanted to make sure this was a buck that I wanted to kill. "He's a big 3." "Are you sure?" Was my reply "yes! Good fronts. Good symmetry... You better shoot him if you are going to!" My thoughts turned to my 10 yr old huntin buddy at home. I had promised him that I wouldnt be as picky this year, and that the first mature heavy horned buck outside his ears that I found I would kill..."Range him again for me". "I cant get a reading", peak said, "he's too far for my rangefinder". "Here, use mine". I tossed him my Leica 1200... "587 yards" he said..."you can make that shot!" I held my 600 yd. reticle on the buck as he continued to move up the mountain, waiting for a shot opportunity. The buck stopped, strongly quartering away, and looked back at us, exposing his shoulder and neck. It was good enough. I touched the trigger, and before my gun settled back on my pack after the recoil, peak said "you nailed him...Great shot!" The deer didnt budge.
After a couple of high fives, Peak Sr. made it over to us. How far was that shot? We ranged him where he lay...600 yds. More high fives. All the time and money spent on working up loads, getting our guns set up; and all those hours and rounds shooting on the range had sure payed off for both peakfreak and me!
Here are a few pics of my buck:
Me and Peakfreak with my buck:
By the way, for those that care, he grosses 168 0/8 (green) as a 3x3!
It was a GREAT time! You wont find a couple of better guys to hunt with than Peakfreak and 'Freak Sr.
Thanks again for finding this buck for me,and thanks for making this trip so fun and memorable 'freaks! Next time we will have 3 tags to fill!
------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, I'll shoot him"
Peakfreak Sr. came along as our official 'spotter'.
Here are a couple pics of Peakfreak Sr. earning his keep.
About as beautiful a country to hunt in as a guy could ask for!
With it raining on the drive all the way up to Wyoming, we were hoping for fridgid temps, and a little snow when we arrived, but except for some scattered flurries off and on, it just didnt happen for us.
Day one found us riding around in the Ranger, as I was getting the 'freak boys aquainted with the area. (I had hunted this same area last year). All the rain had some of the roads pretty sloppy, and with the colder temps in Wyo, we found out that the tire pressure was a little low in the Ranger tires. We discovered this about ten miles from camp when we peeled 3 of the four tires off the rims! After a little walking, some locals gave us a lift back to camp. We took the truck back to the Ranger, removed the three bad tires, and the 'freaks decided to drive to the nearest town the next day to try and get the tires cleaned up and re-mounted.
Here is a pic after they returned with the tires
With a couple of days already shot, it was time to get serious!
The next morning, the 'freaks had seen a couple decent bucks, but Peak had opted to pass; when 'freak Sr. spotted a buck across the canyon that they wanted to get a better look at. After watching the buck for ten or fifteen minutes, Peak decided he was gonna kill the buck. They got as close as they could, ranged him at 470+ yards, and Peak prepared for the shot. As he readied himself, the excitement started to hit, and the adrenaline started flowing! Peak had to calm himself down a little! He took a few deep breaths, and ... Boom! Hammered him! On the shot, the deer started his deathrun down the mountain, and peakfreak hammered him with two more lethal shots, on the run, at over 460 yds. Pretty impressive shooting!
Here are a few pics of peakfreak with his buck:
The 'freak boys:
Me and peakfreak with his buck:
We decided to just 'git'er done' and drag the buck down the mountain, through the 400 yds of 6'high willows and thigh deep beaver sloughs, and across the river, instead of going back to camp and getting the packs....now we know why we never saw a soul hunting on the other side of the river! lol!
Here is a pic of the last leg of our drag; when we got to the river we decided to 'float' the buck back to the truck...
By the way, Dont believe it when they tell you Danner boots are waterproof...Both peakfreak and I were wearing Danners, and BOTH of our feet got wet! lol!
After we got peakfreaks deer back to camp, a lady we had seen earlier pulled up to our camp and knocked on the door. When we opened the door, she excitedly said "you wanna do a moose?" "You guys said you wanted to do a moose!" Peak Sr. got quite a chuckle out of that mental picture! She said that an elderly hunter and his wife had killed a moose in the river, and since we were already wet, we spent the rest of the day helping the elderly couple recover their moose. The husband had shot the bull,and it had gotten down across the river and into the willows before it expired. They didnt know how they would get the bull out of the willows, and they were so grateful for the help, it made us feel good to be able to help them. We finally got their bull taken care of. It was back to the hunt the next day!
So now things were working out just as I had planned... peakfreak had tagged out, so now I had TWO spotters looking for a buck for me! HEHE
The next morning we made our plan, and were all glassing into different drainages, when peakfreak called me over. 'Freak Sr. had once again spotted a buck that they thought I needed to take a look at. When I looked through the Zeiss spotting scope, I saw a buck that looked more like a Brahma bull than a deer! After about 3 seconds of looking at the buck, I said "Yeah, I'll shoot him." He was a big mature, muscled up buck with dark heavy horns that came out two or three inches past his ears.
He was 700 yards or so away, so peakfreak and I moved closer while 'freak Sr. stayed at the spotting scope. As we were moving in on the buck he had decided to start up the mountain away from us. When we got as close as we were going to get, I quickly ranged him, and told peakfreak that he was already over 500 yards away. Peak quickly set up his spotter to get a better look at the deer. "How does he look?" I said. "He looks Good!" was peaks' reply. "No, is he a 3 x 3, or just a 2 on the left side". I wanted to make sure this was a buck that I wanted to kill. "He's a big 3." "Are you sure?" Was my reply "yes! Good fronts. Good symmetry... You better shoot him if you are going to!" My thoughts turned to my 10 yr old huntin buddy at home. I had promised him that I wouldnt be as picky this year, and that the first mature heavy horned buck outside his ears that I found I would kill..."Range him again for me". "I cant get a reading", peak said, "he's too far for my rangefinder". "Here, use mine". I tossed him my Leica 1200... "587 yards" he said..."you can make that shot!" I held my 600 yd. reticle on the buck as he continued to move up the mountain, waiting for a shot opportunity. The buck stopped, strongly quartering away, and looked back at us, exposing his shoulder and neck. It was good enough. I touched the trigger, and before my gun settled back on my pack after the recoil, peak said "you nailed him...Great shot!" The deer didnt budge.
After a couple of high fives, Peak Sr. made it over to us. How far was that shot? We ranged him where he lay...600 yds. More high fives. All the time and money spent on working up loads, getting our guns set up; and all those hours and rounds shooting on the range had sure payed off for both peakfreak and me!
Here are a few pics of my buck:
Me and Peakfreak with my buck:
By the way, for those that care, he grosses 168 0/8 (green) as a 3x3!
It was a GREAT time! You wont find a couple of better guys to hunt with than Peakfreak and 'Freak Sr.
Thanks again for finding this buck for me,and thanks for making this trip so fun and memorable 'freaks! Next time we will have 3 tags to fill!
------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, I'll shoot him"
