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My hunting story.............
A little more than 3 weeks ago, I had no rifle tag for the year. I missed out on a Wyoming tag and held only a Utah archery. The wife says I seemed cranky......hmmmm......maybe. But I wasn't giving up and was watching the Colorado reissue list real close and ready to pounce. In the third week of August, one of the tags that was on my radar popped up when I was checking things as I walked to my car in the Walmart parking lot. I moved quick and scored an early rifle tag. Awesome!
I'd never been to the unit before, but that is in large part why I wanted the tag. I wanted to see something different. Within a couple of days I was on the road for a 4 day scouting trip. I picked an area and packed in in the dark for a 4 morning and 3 evening adventure. During the trip I moved a lot each day and on the final morning I found a big 4x5. When I first saw him I was really excited. I knew he was probably a fantastic buck for the area, and he became my target buck.
I arrived at my trailhead 3 hours before daylight on Friday and packed in for a day of scouting and then hunting until I got the big 4x5. I didn't want my hunt to end too soon, but it was still a bit stressful not finding the 4x5 until Monday morning, when I located him on the other side of the high ridge where I really didn't expect to find him. Surprise, surprise......
On that Monday morning, I was happy to have found the buck, but while looking at him I just wasn't super excited and I didn't really want to be done hunting. So, I passed on the buck and moved on. I just wanted to checkout another spot and see if I could maybe find a bit better buck.
On Tuesday, I packed up camp and bailed. Stayed in a hotel that night and packed into another area on Wednesday. Did two days in the other spot and wasn't impressed at all. On Friday, I had a decision to make, go somewhere else and keep looking or go back and try to find the 4x5 again and see if I could get him during the last two days of the hunt.
The 4x5 was for sure a great buck. Not a beast, but still a darn good trophy and I figured if I could find him on one of the last two days of the hunt, I'd be plenty happy to take him.
On Friday night after packing out of the other area, I loaded a pack with all my day gear plus a lightweight air pad and my lightweight quilt. The plan was to sleep under a rock on the 12,500 foot ridge on Saturday night if need be. The goal was to be light enough that if I did take the buck, I could pack him and all my gear out in one trip.
On Saturday morning, a big 4x4 I had seen earlier in the hunt showed himself. He looked good and had me quite tempted, but then he disappeared into the trees and so I hustled up the ridge to look into another basin for the 4x5. Surprise!!! There he was, feeding with 4 or 5 other bucks right out in the sun. I wouldn't have expected that, but there he was. I quickly began moving along the ridge to get within a comfortable range. I ended up laying down and prepping for a shot at about 400 yards straight down the mountain. (I later found that I probably could have gotten closer, and should have.)
My first shot missed. Yep, I missed him. Luckily for me, the bucks all just stood there trying to figure out where the shot came from. With my 2nd shot, I hit him and I believe knocked him down, but he got back up and just stood there sick. I could see a bullet hole in his side. The 3rd shot also hit and he dropped and all the other bucks got out of there. He laid there for about a minute, then began dragging himself down the hill and another shot finished him.
It felt great to have scored on a dandy buck and a buck I found scouting and worked my butt off with lots of hiking and packing. It was a fantastic hunt, mostly because I love the backpacking and the hard work and that thin air and the solitude I had for much of the hunt. Good times!!!!
The 4x4
Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
@mm_founder on Instagram
LIKE MonsterMuleys.com
on Facebook!
A little more than 3 weeks ago, I had no rifle tag for the year. I missed out on a Wyoming tag and held only a Utah archery. The wife says I seemed cranky......hmmmm......maybe. But I wasn't giving up and was watching the Colorado reissue list real close and ready to pounce. In the third week of August, one of the tags that was on my radar popped up when I was checking things as I walked to my car in the Walmart parking lot. I moved quick and scored an early rifle tag. Awesome!
I'd never been to the unit before, but that is in large part why I wanted the tag. I wanted to see something different. Within a couple of days I was on the road for a 4 day scouting trip. I picked an area and packed in in the dark for a 4 morning and 3 evening adventure. During the trip I moved a lot each day and on the final morning I found a big 4x5. When I first saw him I was really excited. I knew he was probably a fantastic buck for the area, and he became my target buck.
I arrived at my trailhead 3 hours before daylight on Friday and packed in for a day of scouting and then hunting until I got the big 4x5. I didn't want my hunt to end too soon, but it was still a bit stressful not finding the 4x5 until Monday morning, when I located him on the other side of the high ridge where I really didn't expect to find him. Surprise, surprise......
On that Monday morning, I was happy to have found the buck, but while looking at him I just wasn't super excited and I didn't really want to be done hunting. So, I passed on the buck and moved on. I just wanted to checkout another spot and see if I could maybe find a bit better buck.
On Tuesday, I packed up camp and bailed. Stayed in a hotel that night and packed into another area on Wednesday. Did two days in the other spot and wasn't impressed at all. On Friday, I had a decision to make, go somewhere else and keep looking or go back and try to find the 4x5 again and see if I could get him during the last two days of the hunt.
The 4x5 was for sure a great buck. Not a beast, but still a darn good trophy and I figured if I could find him on one of the last two days of the hunt, I'd be plenty happy to take him.
On Friday night after packing out of the other area, I loaded a pack with all my day gear plus a lightweight air pad and my lightweight quilt. The plan was to sleep under a rock on the 12,500 foot ridge on Saturday night if need be. The goal was to be light enough that if I did take the buck, I could pack him and all my gear out in one trip.
On Saturday morning, a big 4x4 I had seen earlier in the hunt showed himself. He looked good and had me quite tempted, but then he disappeared into the trees and so I hustled up the ridge to look into another basin for the 4x5. Surprise!!! There he was, feeding with 4 or 5 other bucks right out in the sun. I wouldn't have expected that, but there he was. I quickly began moving along the ridge to get within a comfortable range. I ended up laying down and prepping for a shot at about 400 yards straight down the mountain. (I later found that I probably could have gotten closer, and should have.)
My first shot missed. Yep, I missed him. Luckily for me, the bucks all just stood there trying to figure out where the shot came from. With my 2nd shot, I hit him and I believe knocked him down, but he got back up and just stood there sick. I could see a bullet hole in his side. The 3rd shot also hit and he dropped and all the other bucks got out of there. He laid there for about a minute, then began dragging himself down the hill and another shot finished him.
It felt great to have scored on a dandy buck and a buck I found scouting and worked my butt off with lots of hiking and packing. It was a fantastic hunt, mostly because I love the backpacking and the hard work and that thin air and the solitude I had for much of the hunt. Good times!!!!
The 4x4
Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
@mm_founder on Instagram
LIKE MonsterMuleys.com
on Facebook!
