I just wanted to put out a thanks for all the help that I got on my archery hunt in the Rubys.
I got 5 scouting trips to the area and 4 to the wilderness area. I got some great advice from the guys here in the NV forum, as well as some PMs.
I was able to do most of my scouting trips from my Street bike. So if you saw a red crotch rocket at the trail head and wondered ?what moron rode that thing up there?, it was me. (45 MPG saved a ton of money) All the scouting trips where productive, and I managed to find bucks everywhere. I tried all the suggested access points and found some areas that I didn't think there would be anybody during season and the areas that seemed to be conducive to bow hunting. I found a road that would shorten my hike in by 12 miles, so I assumed that come opening day I would be able to drive to the end of that road and start my hunt, but to my surprise the Forest service road crossed some private land and I ended up having to take the long way in, and WOW that was a really long tough hike. There were 7 other trucks at the trail head and I worried that the bucks I had patterned would be gone, but to my surprise there wasn?t anybody hunting the 7 draws that I had planned on hunting. Unfortunately I got a shot at a nice buck on opening day, and with his matrix like moves the arrow missed his vitals and I was left tracking a wounded buck for the next two day. He stopped bleeding after about 600 yards, and I knew the arrow didn't do enough damage to put him down, but I kept trying to get him. After losing his tracks when he mixed with some other bucks I started glassing up bucks and started sneaking in on them with hopes that my buck was with them. I ended up sneaking in on 8 groups of bucks over the next two days, and didn't take a shot because they weren't the buck I had wounded. This was super frustrating, and exhausting since every sneak seemed like I had to climb all the way to the top of the mountain to get the wind right, then halfway back down. At the end of that hunt I planned on quitting hunting and selling all my archery gear. After a few days at home my senses came back and I got prepared for another attempt at finding ?my buck?.
Then I got down to some research on how to get access to the road I wanted to access. I can't thank the gal at the Elko Assessor?s office enough. She helped my with the property ID, then got me the names of the old owners and from there a little more research got me intact with the Correct tribe, and I then knew how much it would cost me to cross there 100 yards of land. This led me a chat with one of the forest service guys, and he suggested a different access point, and a little known cow trail that might get me where I wanted to go. I can't thank that guy enough. I wish I would have caught his name because his advice cut my hike down to 3 miles. So 2 weeks after the opening I went back to the area that I thought my buck would go to heal up. I spent another day and a half looking for him and not shooting other good bucks (very frustrating). Then by a stroke of luck I found my buck bedded down out in the open. I made a great sneak in on him, but could only get to 82 yards away. I could see that his wound had healed up and was just fine. I made a last ditch effort and crawled straight to him. He jumped up and ran over the top of the ridge. After that I felt comfortable going after other bucks. I then spent the next 3.5 days having a ton of fun trying to get in on bucks. Somehow I messed up stalk after stalk, but was loving it. On the last day of my hunt I had 3 large groups of bucks all bedded in the bottom of one canyon. I had been putting off going down there for 3 days because there were just too many eyes and ears. Over 40 bucks and 15 does. But on the last day I sat down and really sorted through the bucks and found 2 real nice ones that I figured was worth the risk of blowing all the deer out of the area. Somehow I made the sneak of a life time past quit a few smaller bucks and does. There were several times that I just knew it was going to be over, but each time a deer would get up and run off there would be no snort and they would lay back down. I finally got to the rock pile and out of the trees. I could see dark line down the spine spine and right horn of the buck I wanted, but with all the low hanging branches I couldn't? get a shot. I proceeded to climb to the top of the rock and get to the edge. Finally a opening in the trees and a clear lane to shoot through. The buck was lying with his legs out so all I had was a thin target. I didn't like the thought of having to get past the spine, or relying on the spine for a kill, so I waited for him to get up on his elbows. I swear this took an hour. Then I got my chance for a shot. Range finder says 37 yards and its steep, so I split the 20-30 pin and let the arrow go, just to see it hit a low branch that I thought it would go under?.my thought then was are you freaking kidding me, and thinking every swear word I know. Somehow the largest buck in the group didn't run off like the little bucks did. The big buck proceeds to lay down in the exact same spot as the buck before..HOLLY COW a second chance!
This buck put his legs right out like he was ready for some sleep. This left me with the decision of shoot the spine/6? vital window, or risk the branch again?. I decided to take the shot. I stayed on my knees to ensure I missed the branch, split the pins and let the arrow go just to watch it sail over him by 2 inches.(guess I should have adjusted and shot it for less than 20yrds) The arrow hit a large rock and all the deer in the valley took off in a huge dust storm.:-(
I didn't get a buck this year, but I had more fun than should probably be allowed. I managed to hike almost the whole ruby crest trail in sections, as well as meet some great people. I'll add some pics from the experience. I wish I would have taken more pics of all the bucks I snuck in on but didn't take a shot. I kept leaving the camera in my pack. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the guys who have gotten bucks with a bow in the Rubys. I don't know how many times I thought ?if I had a rifle...?. Maybe next year I'll put in for a rifle tag? I cant help but think I would feel like I cheated if I go back to the rifle after 8 years of doing it with a bow.
Thanks again for all of the help this year.
JB
I got 5 scouting trips to the area and 4 to the wilderness area. I got some great advice from the guys here in the NV forum, as well as some PMs.
I was able to do most of my scouting trips from my Street bike. So if you saw a red crotch rocket at the trail head and wondered ?what moron rode that thing up there?, it was me. (45 MPG saved a ton of money) All the scouting trips where productive, and I managed to find bucks everywhere. I tried all the suggested access points and found some areas that I didn't think there would be anybody during season and the areas that seemed to be conducive to bow hunting. I found a road that would shorten my hike in by 12 miles, so I assumed that come opening day I would be able to drive to the end of that road and start my hunt, but to my surprise the Forest service road crossed some private land and I ended up having to take the long way in, and WOW that was a really long tough hike. There were 7 other trucks at the trail head and I worried that the bucks I had patterned would be gone, but to my surprise there wasn?t anybody hunting the 7 draws that I had planned on hunting. Unfortunately I got a shot at a nice buck on opening day, and with his matrix like moves the arrow missed his vitals and I was left tracking a wounded buck for the next two day. He stopped bleeding after about 600 yards, and I knew the arrow didn't do enough damage to put him down, but I kept trying to get him. After losing his tracks when he mixed with some other bucks I started glassing up bucks and started sneaking in on them with hopes that my buck was with them. I ended up sneaking in on 8 groups of bucks over the next two days, and didn't take a shot because they weren't the buck I had wounded. This was super frustrating, and exhausting since every sneak seemed like I had to climb all the way to the top of the mountain to get the wind right, then halfway back down. At the end of that hunt I planned on quitting hunting and selling all my archery gear. After a few days at home my senses came back and I got prepared for another attempt at finding ?my buck?.
Then I got down to some research on how to get access to the road I wanted to access. I can't thank the gal at the Elko Assessor?s office enough. She helped my with the property ID, then got me the names of the old owners and from there a little more research got me intact with the Correct tribe, and I then knew how much it would cost me to cross there 100 yards of land. This led me a chat with one of the forest service guys, and he suggested a different access point, and a little known cow trail that might get me where I wanted to go. I can't thank that guy enough. I wish I would have caught his name because his advice cut my hike down to 3 miles. So 2 weeks after the opening I went back to the area that I thought my buck would go to heal up. I spent another day and a half looking for him and not shooting other good bucks (very frustrating). Then by a stroke of luck I found my buck bedded down out in the open. I made a great sneak in on him, but could only get to 82 yards away. I could see that his wound had healed up and was just fine. I made a last ditch effort and crawled straight to him. He jumped up and ran over the top of the ridge. After that I felt comfortable going after other bucks. I then spent the next 3.5 days having a ton of fun trying to get in on bucks. Somehow I messed up stalk after stalk, but was loving it. On the last day of my hunt I had 3 large groups of bucks all bedded in the bottom of one canyon. I had been putting off going down there for 3 days because there were just too many eyes and ears. Over 40 bucks and 15 does. But on the last day I sat down and really sorted through the bucks and found 2 real nice ones that I figured was worth the risk of blowing all the deer out of the area. Somehow I made the sneak of a life time past quit a few smaller bucks and does. There were several times that I just knew it was going to be over, but each time a deer would get up and run off there would be no snort and they would lay back down. I finally got to the rock pile and out of the trees. I could see dark line down the spine spine and right horn of the buck I wanted, but with all the low hanging branches I couldn't? get a shot. I proceeded to climb to the top of the rock and get to the edge. Finally a opening in the trees and a clear lane to shoot through. The buck was lying with his legs out so all I had was a thin target. I didn't like the thought of having to get past the spine, or relying on the spine for a kill, so I waited for him to get up on his elbows. I swear this took an hour. Then I got my chance for a shot. Range finder says 37 yards and its steep, so I split the 20-30 pin and let the arrow go, just to see it hit a low branch that I thought it would go under?.my thought then was are you freaking kidding me, and thinking every swear word I know. Somehow the largest buck in the group didn't run off like the little bucks did. The big buck proceeds to lay down in the exact same spot as the buck before..HOLLY COW a second chance!
This buck put his legs right out like he was ready for some sleep. This left me with the decision of shoot the spine/6? vital window, or risk the branch again?. I decided to take the shot. I stayed on my knees to ensure I missed the branch, split the pins and let the arrow go just to watch it sail over him by 2 inches.(guess I should have adjusted and shot it for less than 20yrds) The arrow hit a large rock and all the deer in the valley took off in a huge dust storm.:-( I didn't get a buck this year, but I had more fun than should probably be allowed. I managed to hike almost the whole ruby crest trail in sections, as well as meet some great people. I'll add some pics from the experience. I wish I would have taken more pics of all the bucks I snuck in on but didn't take a shot. I kept leaving the camera in my pack. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the guys who have gotten bucks with a bow in the Rubys. I don't know how many times I thought ?if I had a rifle...?. Maybe next year I'll put in for a rifle tag? I cant help but think I would feel like I cheated if I go back to the rifle after 8 years of doing it with a bow.
Thanks again for all of the help this year.
JB
