M
MontanaTines
Guest
I almost had it all come together yesterday, and it would have been less than 100 yards from the truck!
I hunted a big steep drainage in the morning, climbed a nice steep avalanche chute after two bulls, but of course they were nowhere to be found when I got up there.
I made it back to the truck about 10:30 and thought maybe I'd find a whitetail doe to sneak on, on the way home. Sure enough as I'm leaving the parking area from the trailhead I spot a bedded doe a couple hundred yarda away. I drove the road and got out above her. I snuck down off the road and was within 40 yards trying to pick out where she was expecting her to jump up any second. I catch some movement below, which turns out to be a two cows moving up the small drainage right towards me. They moved by almost within range, as I'm trying to decide whether I want to shoot a cow or not, here comes the bull ambling along right behind them. The cows past above me and just to out of range 50-60 yards on the other side of the gully. The bull was going to follow the same path, I repositioned but the closest I could get and still have a shot was still 50 yards, because of thick brush. Sure enough the bull crashed through the creek bottom and appeared right where I expected, I drew, but wasn't able to stop him and guessed him a bit further than I would have liked. Still the cows had crossed the road above me and I knew the bull would follow suite, he had dissappeared into thick new growth. Remember my truck is on the road less than 100 yards above me. While trying to reposition for a closer shot I lost track of the bull which I assumed was still in the thick stuff. Anyways he snuck out of there somehow, his only route right up where the cows had gone and across the road.
"If" I had been able to get to the road when I saw the cows coming I could have easily snuck to intercept them and then the bull as they crossed the logging road within 100 yards of the truck. I considered myself lucky to catch them there at all, but it almost came together for the easiest pack out I can imagine! Sorry no pics, just thought you'd get a kick out of how you never know when and where it might all fall into place. Good luck to everyone.
I hunted a big steep drainage in the morning, climbed a nice steep avalanche chute after two bulls, but of course they were nowhere to be found when I got up there.
I made it back to the truck about 10:30 and thought maybe I'd find a whitetail doe to sneak on, on the way home. Sure enough as I'm leaving the parking area from the trailhead I spot a bedded doe a couple hundred yarda away. I drove the road and got out above her. I snuck down off the road and was within 40 yards trying to pick out where she was expecting her to jump up any second. I catch some movement below, which turns out to be a two cows moving up the small drainage right towards me. They moved by almost within range, as I'm trying to decide whether I want to shoot a cow or not, here comes the bull ambling along right behind them. The cows past above me and just to out of range 50-60 yards on the other side of the gully. The bull was going to follow the same path, I repositioned but the closest I could get and still have a shot was still 50 yards, because of thick brush. Sure enough the bull crashed through the creek bottom and appeared right where I expected, I drew, but wasn't able to stop him and guessed him a bit further than I would have liked. Still the cows had crossed the road above me and I knew the bull would follow suite, he had dissappeared into thick new growth. Remember my truck is on the road less than 100 yards above me. While trying to reposition for a closer shot I lost track of the bull which I assumed was still in the thick stuff. Anyways he snuck out of there somehow, his only route right up where the cows had gone and across the road.
"If" I had been able to get to the road when I saw the cows coming I could have easily snuck to intercept them and then the bull as they crossed the logging road within 100 yards of the truck. I considered myself lucky to catch them there at all, but it almost came together for the easiest pack out I can imagine! Sorry no pics, just thought you'd get a kick out of how you never know when and where it might all fall into place. Good luck to everyone.
