Dreaming Bout Hunting

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dreaminbouthuntin

Guest
Hunting isn't just a fall activity, for me, it's a year round love affair with the big game that call the west home.

I started out this year with dreams of finally tagging a big buck with my long bow, but it was short lived with an injury to my right shoulder. With time on my hands, i decided to try out compound bows. To my amazement, they were not as bad as some had made them out to be.
After months of research and shooting every bow i could find, i finally settled on the new Mathews EZ7. It was smooth, no hand shock, and fit my style. Now, i am dreaming of getting a big buck with my compound.

Up next, scouting the area I would like to hunt for Mule deer!

Http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/5173images-3.jpeg
 
As i have found in recent years, usually the best way to find out what kind of deer one particular unit holds is to look for sheds and get a feel for the quality of buck the area may hold.
I pre scouted some areas I would like to shed hunt. However with the winter the west has had, I was forced to postpone many hikes.
While I waited for the snow to melt, i continued to better myself with my new bow. The differences between a long bow and a compound are exasperating. Sights, releases, rests, arrows, ect. The list of things i would need were exhausting.
Finally the snow had melted enough to get out and look for some sheds. To my suprise the bucks stayed higher than I had expected. Here are a few i found on my first trip out.

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From what I had found, i was excited to see the unit produced good genetics and the potential for a monster or two.

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The hopes of finding bigger sheds kept me smiling while more snow covered the open slopes.

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Can't wait to get back out and do more scouting and shed hunting.
 
Is everyone as happy as I am to finally see some sunshine and warmer weather?

I was able to get back out and do more scouting! In one trip I covered 20 miles in 12 hours and found 20 sheds and two dead heads. One of the dead heads was a buck I watched last season all the way into January and lost track of him. Now I know why I couldn't relocate him. He had succum to the bitter cold and deep snow. I was really hoping to get a chance at this buck, but it just wasn't ment to be. All in all it was a good day.

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Looking forward to some antler growth on the bucks soon!
 
Howdy again fellow hunters. With the weather warming, my shed hunting addiction is getting the better of me even though I have been battling the flu.
I also couldn't help myself and had to go shoot my bow, and boy did I pay for it. It was worth it though! The views were incredible and I did find a few wild turkeys.
I found a new area to shed hunt in the unit I want to focus on for bow season. It paid off! Not so much in quantity sheds, but it produced quality sheds. I am getting really excited for bow season now. The bow is deadly accurate and zeroed in out to 50 yards.
I have had a growing concern with the amount of winter kill I have seen. And at times seems to be alot to take in. After all, they are the future. I spoke with other sportsman and they have expressed concern as well. But I will remain positive and do my part with conservation. One of my mottos: leave it better than how you found it.

Hope all of you are enjoying your spring and enjoy the pics! Happy hunting!
More to come soon!

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Hunting season is almost upon us. Four months till archery opener for Elk and Deer. Still waiting to see if I drew any tags this year or will be hunting general. Because this Mule Deer hunt I am doing is OTC Archery DIY Public Land the odds are stacked against me. But this is why we hunt isn't it? The drive and the passion to scout, hunt, and lord willing harvest an animal. The work and preparation involved makes it all the sweeter. Long days, sore muscles, wore out boots from hundreds of miles in steep, rocky terrain. The intoxicating sweet smell of buck brush after a summer rain. Fawns and calves running and playing in an open meadow atop a mountain. These things, upon many others attribute to the unwavering loyalty I have to the wilderness and its wildlife.
Conserving these things for the future generations is vital. I question what the woods will be like for my kids and their kids. Will it be as open and free as it has been for me? Am I doing all I can to preserve it for them?
I ask myself these questions and hope I am doing all I can for generations to come. I want them to enjoy the pleasures of the wilderness as I have and experience the wonders this earth has to give. I want them to have even better hunting opportunities.
On that note, I have put together a big photo thread I hope you all enjoy.

This is the Bridger Mountain Rage. We were scouting for elk there recently. Beautiful Country!

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Looks like heaven is shining right down on the mountain range.

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My favorite Mountain Spring near Yellowstone Park.

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Buffalo outside the Park Boundary. Big Bulls!

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Two Big Bulls kicking back and filling the tank.

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Big Horn Sheep in the Gallatin N.F.

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Mule Deer bucks still packen rack as of 4/24/11

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Heavy, high and tight 3x3 Mule Deer

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Very nice symmetrical four point Mule Deer

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Bull Elk

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Two point buck with doe's

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Cow Elk in the High Country

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Backcountry Waterfall

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The Wilderness

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Until Next time. Happy Hunting!
 
The weather is getting better, slowly but surely. With gas prices still high, it has limited my scouting. I had been debating for years if I should get a trail camera or not to save on fuel and wear and tear on my truck. The cost of a camera VS the cost of fuel... its a never ending debate. I have never had a trail camera. I prefer to go out, hike and enjoy the scenery but is the time and cost justifiable?
I have been seaching online for a good camera and a reasonable cost for me. It seems the more I search and read reviews the more I just want to take my regular camera and hike till I bump something. So many options to choose from. LED's, Flash/No Flash, Computer uploading, view from a cell phone, ect. There are alot of manufacturers also to choose from. After debating it, I think getting a trail camera would be more cost effective. Not sure when the economy will rebound, but it has really hit home. I'm just happy to have a job when most do not.


Unfortunatly I haven't been able to shoot my new bow lately. This wet weather and wind doesn't help. I suppose instead of scouting yesterday I should have went and shot, but with temps in the 70's and the sun shining.. who wouldn't want to be in the hills.
An area I scouted last year yielded four big bucks, however I did not draw a tag, so the scouting didn't do me much good. Except for this year, I'm bow hunting! I decided to go back to the same area I found the bucks last year and what do ya know.. there they were. They're usual bedding area is still covered with snow, so they had made their way over the other side of the mountain to another aspen grove to bed. I was able to get a few pictures, but not of the best quality. I figured they were over 3/4 of a mile away from my position. I looked for ways to get closer for some better pictures but those old boys are smart. No way could I get closer unless I climbed over the mountain and dropped down from above. That would have taken several hours and it was getting dark.
Ideas started running through my head on how to bow hunt these bucks.

Do I camp in the area or drive in everyday? It's a long hike in.. camping in the area sounds good.

If they stick around this grove, how do I approach them?

If I am lucky enough to harvest one, how do I get it out?

With those thoughts running through my head, my excitement for bow season to hurry up and get here intensefied! Its hard to explain into words sometimes the feelings I have when I spot bucks or when I'm gearing up to go hunt them. All I can say is I have serious butterflies swarming my stomach! I don't think I have ever been so excited to go hunt before. DIY, Public Land, the hopes of finally harvesting a buck with a bow.. can't wait!!

Enjoy the little clip I put together!

Until Next time..

http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1448/Scouting-for-Mule-Deer
 
RE: Dreaming Bout Hunting..

As I have waited, wondering if I had drawn a hard to draw Mule Deer tag, I reminiced about where I would go, how I would hunt it. Day dreaming about the tag made it hard to get anything of importance done. I figured my wait time would be intolerable and long.
I my suprise and everyone's, my luck had finally changed! After years of dissapointment, I HAD DRAW THE MULE DEER TAG OF MY DREAMS! No OTC hunt for mule deer this year! SUCSESS!!
Its June and I am already in scouting mode. Too early? Probably.. but man, the fun is just begining!
As I figured, most of the bigger bucks are still in the early stages of antler growth, so its too soon to tell what each deers potential is going to be. I took a long hike in some rugged country to look for anything.. No, this trip I didn't find a big one, but found alot of promise! Including a very healthy Moose Cow and her bull calf from last year that was just begining to grow his new antlers.

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Badgers were not is short supply. I found two very big badgers hanging around there home. I'm not one to mess with a badger, those teeth are pretty intimidating, but my curiosity got the better of me and I was able to snap some pretty neat shots of them "smiling" and showing those pearly whites!

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As I left the badgers to there business, I saw a young buck in the distance and decided to put a Bow hunting stalk on him to see how close I could get. As I crawled through the sage brush I heard an all to familiar hiss... yep, a bull snake. I'll be honest, I am scared to death of snakes. I like the fact the bull snakes eat rattlers, but its still a snake in my book. I couldn't muster getting a picture of it. I just wanted out of there ASAP!
As I got closer and closer to the young buck, still undetected, I reached for my camera to take some pictures.. no camera. I had dropped it back at the bull snake. Great. I crawled back luckly to find my camera and the snake had moved on. Now I was back practice stalking this young buck. To my suprise I got within 20 yards of the young muley. He posed a few pics and wandered off. He may have been small, but it was a rush.

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It was nice to see and smell the new flowers blooming on the hill sides. After a long difficult winter, they were a welcomed sight. As I snapped some pics of the flowers, a unique moth was resting on a small bush. One I had never seen before.
Before I knew it the sun was setting on a perfect day.

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When I returned home I found a suprise in my backyard. It was a young doe that had grown up in my pasture last year. She had returned. She is about as tame as a dog, so she is safe on my place. I was able to walk within 10 yards and get some nice photos of her.

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Happy Hunting!
 
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