Zim
Very Active Member
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Well I am back from Gunnison. I had a very rough trip. A snow storm made things difficult. Broke a lug nut changing a tire and lost one day of scouting. Then rolled my jeep over on a sheet of ice they called a road. First auto accident in my life and it happened hours before the 5 day opener. Gal at the car rental place got out of bed at 9 PM to fix me up......thanks! Hiked through the snow 3 miles only to find crab claws and big 3x3's. Left there for a new area and the refrozen snow announced to every deer I was there. Finally found a good area with only 2 days of hunting left. Still lots of crab claws & 3x3's though. Spotted this one from 2 1/2 miles away and figured given the circumstances I better not get picky. He was in a very vulnerable location with 6 other bucks and 5 does. They were fighting, rubbing and chasing does from noon until 2:30 when I took him. Just drove my truck to the flat top power line clearing 200 yards behind their quakie patch. Walked down within 100 yards of the patch and waited. These bucks were so active I knew it was only a matter of time. While running off a smaller buck he walked right in my shooting lane. Just a 10 minute drive , 5 minute stalk, and 10 munute wait. 100 yard pack out job! Sweet. Lot better than the 3 mile deep spot I was in the day before. Heehee.
My buck is very narrow at only 22", but I am not complaining. Lucky just to find some decent tines, and got a couple cheaters as well. My shoulder got hurt in the roll over (didn't tell the cop of course!) and I was in pain with every move. Got home yesterday and tried to draw my bow. Yikes it was brutal. I'm gonna try to strengthen it with bungees so hopefully I can whitetail hunt here in Illinois the next couple weeks.
One good thing was disposing of my old jeep which I was running into the ground with expensive repairs anyway. It had 199,000 miles when it died. I got my money's worth out of that rig. Picked up a nicer one in Gunnison after the hunt.
My buck is very narrow at only 22", but I am not complaining. Lucky just to find some decent tines, and got a couple cheaters as well. My shoulder got hurt in the roll over (didn't tell the cop of course!) and I was in pain with every move. Got home yesterday and tried to draw my bow. Yikes it was brutal. I'm gonna try to strengthen it with bungees so hopefully I can whitetail hunt here in Illinois the next couple weeks.
One good thing was disposing of my old jeep which I was running into the ground with expensive repairs anyway. It had 199,000 miles when it died. I got my money's worth out of that rig. Picked up a nicer one in Gunnison after the hunt.