LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-16 AT 07:03PM (MST)[p]Our 2016 hunts came to a close today. I finished up my CO deer hunt with a cool looking buck. With a goal of 180+ I fell short, not to lack of effort. After seeing 132 bucks in 4 1/2 days of hunting, Bret and I spotted this buck and another that was by far the biggest I seen all year scouting/hunting.
With the wind and being right out in open we had to get out of sight and maneuver around them to a better position and close the gap. 441 yards in a 10-15 mph wind and not too good of a rest is beyond my range. Sneaking out over a nearby knob, 4 does were spotted out front about 300 yards away. No bucks though, until Bret spotted the smaller of the two walking over a little spine to check on the does.
I really wanted the bigger one and I'm sure he was 20 yards behind, however after what happened last night...
Last night we had a big ol' 3 point below us. He was feeding there for about 20 minutes. Finally I said I give it a couple more minutes, if nothing bigger comes out I will shoot him. Sure enough a buck we seen early in season pops out with two others. He was a nice 4x with really long beams that stuck way out. I literally ran right past the 3 point while Bret watched from the rock. He said he never moved while I ran by. Arriving at the bigger buck, I couldn't see him. I was within 200 yards of the wall he was on but couldn't find him. Looking at Bret I thought he was signaling the buck went down and to left. I headed that way. Soon Bret signaled to come back, they had ran off. If I seen the 3 point on way back I'd shoot. Didn't see him, was told he moved off to the side under heavy cover on my return trip. 2 birds in the bush vs 1 in the hand doesn't work so well...
The big buck was right in front of me, Bret was signaling to look down low in bottom of draw. After I headed left he said they ran straight up the wall and over the top. Never did see them.
So with that running through my head on the last day of hunt, my patience gone, I decided to shoot.
Wasn't my best day of shooting, so after about $12 worth of ammo my buck was on the ground.
Never did see the bigger buck run, he must have stayed on other side of spine and headed north into the "honey hole". Maybe Dad can get him next year if he draws
Here is a pic of Bret's buck from opening day. Bret actually passed him up after watching him for 5 minutes. After he walked away, he said I should have shot him. So off we went to find him. No luck, found a few other bucks and in chasing them we accidentally made a complete circle back to where we last seen him headed. We were both surprised to say the least to see that same dang buck standing out in the middle of a flat, displaying dominance over two other bucks. So narrowed the gap, and after a few shots, Bret had his buck down.
Not the greatest year for us and shooting.... lol
Dad finished his season up yesterday with a nice Whitetail off his property in MN. He seen 9 bucks and been getting the itch to get out fishing so he ended his season. He had a great year too!
I didn't share any pics/story from our AK moose hunt in September, hoping to get it published in magazine. However here is a couple pics...
I shared a short write up in WY section but here is a pic from our WY pronghorn hunt.
Last pic is from elk camp 1st season.
Dad grew up hunting whitetails and with one trip to MT for pronghorn in mid 70's and another to CO for elk in '78, he never imagined to hunt 4 states and 4 species in one year. Me neither... Was a great fall, 13 out of 14 tags were filled this year. Only a month or so away and the application process starts for next year....
Good luck to those of you with tags yet this fall.
Also, thanks to Bret for sharing the hunt with me. Been a rough couple months for me with other things. Wasn't in the best of moods out there on deer hunt but he kept my hopes up. Wasn't for Bret, I would have probably come home with tag soup.
Mntman
"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
With the wind and being right out in open we had to get out of sight and maneuver around them to a better position and close the gap. 441 yards in a 10-15 mph wind and not too good of a rest is beyond my range. Sneaking out over a nearby knob, 4 does were spotted out front about 300 yards away. No bucks though, until Bret spotted the smaller of the two walking over a little spine to check on the does.
I really wanted the bigger one and I'm sure he was 20 yards behind, however after what happened last night...
Last night we had a big ol' 3 point below us. He was feeding there for about 20 minutes. Finally I said I give it a couple more minutes, if nothing bigger comes out I will shoot him. Sure enough a buck we seen early in season pops out with two others. He was a nice 4x with really long beams that stuck way out. I literally ran right past the 3 point while Bret watched from the rock. He said he never moved while I ran by. Arriving at the bigger buck, I couldn't see him. I was within 200 yards of the wall he was on but couldn't find him. Looking at Bret I thought he was signaling the buck went down and to left. I headed that way. Soon Bret signaled to come back, they had ran off. If I seen the 3 point on way back I'd shoot. Didn't see him, was told he moved off to the side under heavy cover on my return trip. 2 birds in the bush vs 1 in the hand doesn't work so well...
The big buck was right in front of me, Bret was signaling to look down low in bottom of draw. After I headed left he said they ran straight up the wall and over the top. Never did see them.So with that running through my head on the last day of hunt, my patience gone, I decided to shoot.
Wasn't my best day of shooting, so after about $12 worth of ammo my buck was on the ground
.
Never did see the bigger buck run, he must have stayed on other side of spine and headed north into the "honey hole". Maybe Dad can get him next year if he draws
Here is a pic of Bret's buck from opening day. Bret actually passed him up after watching him for 5 minutes. After he walked away, he said I should have shot him. So off we went to find him. No luck, found a few other bucks and in chasing them we accidentally made a complete circle back to where we last seen him headed. We were both surprised to say the least to see that same dang buck standing out in the middle of a flat, displaying dominance over two other bucks. So narrowed the gap, and after a few shots, Bret had his buck down.
Not the greatest year for us and shooting.... lol
Dad finished his season up yesterday with a nice Whitetail off his property in MN. He seen 9 bucks and been getting the itch to get out fishing so he ended his season. He had a great year too!
I didn't share any pics/story from our AK moose hunt in September, hoping to get it published in magazine. However here is a couple pics...
I shared a short write up in WY section but here is a pic from our WY pronghorn hunt.
Last pic is from elk camp 1st season.
Dad grew up hunting whitetails and with one trip to MT for pronghorn in mid 70's and another to CO for elk in '78, he never imagined to hunt 4 states and 4 species in one year. Me neither...
Was a great fall, 13 out of 14 tags were filled this year. Only a month or so away and the application process starts for next year.... Good luck to those of you with tags yet this fall.
Also, thanks to Bret for sharing the hunt with me. Been a rough couple months for me with other things. Wasn't in the best of moods out there on deer hunt but he kept my hopes up. Wasn't for Bret, I would have probably come home with tag soup.
Mntman
"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
