eelgrass
Long Time Member
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It was a tough season this year in Kali. We had hot weather early and the deer were really laying tight. It seemed the first two hours in the morning and the last hour before dark were your only chance to catch one out in the open . In between, you either have to push them out, or just go sit somewhere and hope one decided to get up and move a little and give you a shot.
I tried still hunting an old cut over one day and did jump a few deer. I could hear them moving out ahead of me, but never laid eyes on any of them. It was logged about 8 years ago and it's almost too thick. The cut over is on a fairly steep hillside that runs down to the creek. The opposite side of the creek is just as steep, but is solid timber.
Well, being the intelligent, experienced, and cunning hunter that I am, I formulated a fool proof plan. Instead of hunting through the cut over, I decided to take the opposite side and find a spot in the timber where I could sit and watch the cut across the creek. I would sit there and glass the last four hours of the day. I found the perfect spot with a blow down to use as a rest, and started glassing. A quick scan revealed nothing, so I did what every great hunter does. I made a grid in my mind and started picking apart the landscape. Nothing! So I did what every patient hunter does, and took a nap.
I woke up about an hour later and the sun had gone down over the mountain behind me. This gave me a fresh look without all the shadows. Within about two minutes, Bingo, there he is! Bedded in that thick Manzanita brush under that big rock! Right where you'd think he should be! I can't tell how big he is because all I can see are the main beams. This late in the season I decide to take him and be happy! My rangefinder says 233 yards, and one shot with my .300 Winny lays him down.
Thanks for letting me share my 2009 season!
The first photo is a backlit photo through my fiberglass garage door. Cool photo, I think.
My 2009 "brush buck". If you look close, you'll see that he is actually a 4X4!
I tried still hunting an old cut over one day and did jump a few deer. I could hear them moving out ahead of me, but never laid eyes on any of them. It was logged about 8 years ago and it's almost too thick. The cut over is on a fairly steep hillside that runs down to the creek. The opposite side of the creek is just as steep, but is solid timber.
Well, being the intelligent, experienced, and cunning hunter that I am, I formulated a fool proof plan. Instead of hunting through the cut over, I decided to take the opposite side and find a spot in the timber where I could sit and watch the cut across the creek. I would sit there and glass the last four hours of the day. I found the perfect spot with a blow down to use as a rest, and started glassing. A quick scan revealed nothing, so I did what every great hunter does. I made a grid in my mind and started picking apart the landscape. Nothing! So I did what every patient hunter does, and took a nap.
I woke up about an hour later and the sun had gone down over the mountain behind me. This gave me a fresh look without all the shadows. Within about two minutes, Bingo, there he is! Bedded in that thick Manzanita brush under that big rock! Right where you'd think he should be! I can't tell how big he is because all I can see are the main beams. This late in the season I decide to take him and be happy! My rangefinder says 233 yards, and one shot with my .300 Winny lays him down.
Thanks for letting me share my 2009 season!
The first photo is a backlit photo through my fiberglass garage door. Cool photo, I think.
My 2009 "brush buck". If you look close, you'll see that he is actually a 4X4!
thats quite the hunt it sounds like. The only reason i laugh so hard is because its happened to me before. I didn't acctually "lay him down" but looked at that darn branch for a good chunk of time before i realized i was about to shoot at a stick. Thanks for the post.
