unit 39 late hunt

I

ID_hunter27

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just wondering how everyone's hunt is goin?

mine has been up and down my first outing.

started out about 6am driven down to the spot i wanted to check out well i wasnt even 15 miles from home and my alternator took a crap which caused the battery to go. that was fun waiting for help in the freezing cold and snow the rest of the day was a bust

the next day woke up and headed out and my window in a bag tore off in the wind so i was frozen for the next 30 mins of the drive but then cut fresh elk track in the snow just never caught up to them after about 3 miles of walking and busting my butt and breaking a few nocks i called that trip good.

the next time i went out was last Sunday.

so i get up to my spot get out and am getting my gear when i look up the hill and well damn there's a deer that put a rush to things
i get up the hill and have him at 40 yards i draw and bump my release with my jacket that arrow went who knows where after about 20 minutes of looking for it and watching where the deer went i came up with my plan. while circling the big draw i look over down into another draw on the other side down hill towards the river and see 4 deer the 5 then 10 then holy 16 this is gonna be fun 3 good bucks i can see and 13 doe ok well wait and watch for now they drop off the other side of the ridge and im after them i got about 50 yards above them as there moving slowly come to draw and the wind kicks up hard probably 25 mile hours winds if not more well im busted now but they cant smell me so there just standing there.
they go over that ridge down into another canyon and bed i play this game for 3 more hours and get into a spot where i have a shot at 4 of them one buck and 3 doe. im at the very top of a draw with the wind and a 40 yard shot i draw and wait the deer are slowly moving around out of the wind in the bottom and the worst happens the wind kicked up good and knocked my arrow off my rest as i bring the bow down i get busted as i sit and watch the four move away well that four turned into 12 and the 12 turned into 20 i call it good at that point the group has to many eyes and there on to me good now. i go back to the truck and i have no gas pedal i pop my hood and my throttle cable has came loose and my bolt is gone from where it connects to the carb great i look in the back of the truck and my dad took the tool box lucky i found some old wire and rigged it to get home now im off tomorrow to continue the most difficult hunt ive ever had hopefully i have paid my dues by now but i doubt it
 
Wow!... I hope your luck turns around! Was home for a couple days and took my daughter out looking for animals and got some pics of some does and a 4 pointer similar to the one I shot opening day of reg archery season this year, only looked from the road as she's only 2 and was a little chilly. Inlaws said that they've been seeing elk on a daily basis and 100-200deer a day with some nice bucks but haven't gotten close enough to anything yet. They all got there 44cows already so are not pursuing elk in 39 only admiring. So glad to hear the animals are back this year in our late area, they must have taken a break last year. **Sorry to everyone I promised pictures to, computer at the house was having problems, one thing after another so hopefully I'll have this years pics up by next season lol. GOOD LUCK 39 HUNTERS HOPE TO SEE SOME PICS SOON
 
Got to get a few hours in yesterday after work ran into about 150 elk and a few deer all in the same field. Now if I can get them to cross the road onto huntable land
 
man i had a 100 head of elk coming right to me and when the bull was 40 yards away walking down the trail the wind switched and that was that and when they ran they jumped a nice muley i couldn't relocate. I've had some sweet luck this year let me tell ya
 
I went out today I sat in one spot for two hours and the bull was slowly coming in and then some dude in a white dodge decides that private property is his play ground and drives right up to the elk and they go the complete opposite direction. So I change spot as I'm walking to elk I spotted not paying any attention in the world bow strapped in my bag and just cruisen trying to get to the spot I think there goin, when I look up in a small draw 40 yards away the elk sit well #####. Watch them drop two canyons over. Well I move up the canyon a bit and on my way down there's forty elk in the same spot I put the stalk on and the wind bit me again miss due to wind gusts these forty elk followed the same tracks as the 15 I saw about an hour earlier
 
Geee sounds like both of you had some adrenaline pumping fun!! Id-hunter did those spots help? Haven't talked to inlaws lately to see if they tagged, probably call them later.
 
ya i had a beautiful 4x at ten yards but there was no deer hunting on the land i was on. no never made it there i never got the truck fixed. thanks for the help though.
 
here is 39 horn for ya all.The deer was 57 yards the elk was 82.
2797103_2028.jpg

8894103_2030.jpg
 
Critterstalker: great job! Nice lookin animals, glad to see you got a full freezer for the long winter ahead. id-hunter: no problem sounds like ya had a blast especially with that close encounter.
 
Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing. Actually nice to see pics not just stories. Great Job!
 
Now I have to say obviously you are capabale of making the shot, but did you really mean the Elk was at 82 yards when you shot it with your Bow? just curious. Thank you.
 
Posted on another thread, but why not add it to this one.

Nice shot on the deer and the Elk.. I can shoot 80, but I don't think I would.

Mine was 47 yards and I made a great shot on him.


8335photo.jpg
 
Great job to all. Muley's with a bow must not be easy. Heck it's hard from me to get within 400yds...maybe because I'm old. This warm weather and no snow must hamper the late stick hunt aye?
 
WAPITI39 yes 82 yards. that is my max yardage I had 10-15 cows and one 5 point with this same bull but they where at 86 and beyond. I know my range and the conditions where as close to perfect as possible. This is my third animal at 80 all three where one shot kills.It helps that I've been laid off and on again for the last couple of years and get a lot of shooting time in.
 
I've lost one and that was shot at 50 yards.We got it on video looked like it didn't penetrate very far probably only got one lung.Was shot an hour before dark tracked it till one in the morning then came back first thing in the morning and followed the blood trail until we couldn't find any more. then we spent 3-4 more hours combing through the brush hoping to find it. worst 24hrs hunting ever.So in 20 years of hunting I lost one deer rifle/archery. So how many have you wounded jetsled?
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-04-11 AT 09:45PM (MST)[p]I'm calling bull$hit on your 1, I wouldn't admit it either. But, to answer your question -1 less than you.

P.S. You keep up the 80+ yard shots, you'll be wounding a lot more than that in the near future. 80+ yards, I still can't wrap my mind around what your thinking??

I had to edit this as I re-read your post, I see you said only 1 deer. Well how many elk? I know you'll never spit out the truth but sometimes the truth hurts.
 
80 is pushing it quite a bit . +1 jetsled. been hearing a lot of " i stuck 'um but couldn't find 'um " stories since the 39 archery started. not aimed at good archers !!
 
Especially with technology these days 80 is the new 50. With better sights, more let off etc etc it allows the bowhunter to be more deadly from further away. I'm younger than alot on here but growing up it was bare bow or the old "iron sights" with no fiber optics and wed only shoot out to 50. I have lost a few animals due to circumstances such as last year lost a beautiful 3pointer at 40 yards cause he turned at the last second, but the year before I drilled a (in my opinion Nice) 4x5 at 78 yards with a steep up hill shot and hit dead center of his heart, dropped within 20 yards of where he was. Must have the proper set up and be a good ethical minded hunter who can shoot well and I'll approve 80+ yards given the right circumstances. Imho
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-05-11 AT 09:30AM (MST)[p]my only question to the long range archery shots is not a matter of hitting the target it's penetration. some of you guys with the latest and greatest equipment can hit 3-d targets out to a hundred yards everytime. but you aren't going to get pass through penetration everytime. and jumping the string is also more likely, unless you are shooting 150 pound draw weight bows at 600-700 fps.
 
Very good point Beavis, but from my experience for penetration still depends on that circumstance. I've had a few at 35-40 yards that have not been complete pass throughs, have had one that was a double shoulder blade and was a pass through and stripped two of my fletchings off, and the 78up hill I had was a pass through with 3 broken ribs. So in my opinion its a little hard to predict what will happen on any shot taken with a bow at an animal. A little feedback on what my preference for shooting: I like it light and low profile at 85gr broadheads, gold tip hunter xt arrows with hp vanes, older Hoyt striker bow that's heavy as hell, wisker bisquit, and true glow ?uper end model forget model. And I haven't checked my fps in years so currently no idea but 68lb draw with at most 75% let off. Old school yes but is a great setup. But yes a slight increased chance of one jumping the string but 60 to 80 yards is only a fraction more of a second.
 
Down range kinetic energy is still plenty on todays bows. I use a software program that actually tells you what the down range FPS and KE is out to whatever distance you want. I can't remember the exact number on the KE but at 100yards my KE was still higher than some people's initial KE. I shoot 80lbs though and complete pass throughs are pretty stardard.

Also, over 50 yards they don't hear the string. 20-50 is where you worry about them jumping the string.

80 yards would be a max for me but I've practiced to 125 and have pin adjustability and arrow clearance to 130. I would never shoot that far on an animal, but practicing at that distance makes 60 yards that much easier.
 
Yoyaks last statement hit the nail on the head. If you practice at 100 then 60-70 yd shots are quite a bit easier. I've only taken two animals with a bow. My first one was a doe, and this year my first buck. My original distance was 45-50 yds. I had monster pins that covered a beachball at 40 yds, and was only shooting ~265 fps. This last spring I got a new strother and I'm shooting 326 fps on 388 grain arrows and with .010" pins I extended my range to 70 yds but practiced at 80 4-5 days a week. I shot my buck at 52 yds downhill and it was a chipshot. Three years ago with my old setup that would've been pushing it for me.

I will say though it takes a lot of practice to shoot that range, and you have to have some natural gifts such as good hand eye coordination, eyesight, and a solid rangefinder lol. I know some guys I wouldn't trust with a 30 yd shot and they are shooting brand new 300+ fps bows. They are just crappy shots...
 
Yall said it. Congrats on your first buck with a bow! Yep know lots of guys to with brand new bows but can't hit the broadside of a barn, the bow doesn't make the man although it does make it easier lol
 
I kinda got caught up in the archery discussion and forgot the whole point of this thread.

CONGRATS TO YOU GUYS WHO HARVESTED. ANY ANIMAL WITH A BOW IS A TROPHY IN MY BOOK.
 
Jetsled The reason I didn't say anything about elk,antelope,moose,pigs,sheep,goats,is because obviously I didn't wound any of these animals! using your reasoning I've shot at and wounded all these other animals because I didn't mention them either.GROW UP! I watched a show last week where they shot two antelope one at 119 yards and the other at 115 yards to me that seems crazy. Bevis I'm shooting a 425gr arrow @ 285fps. The one deer I lost I was using a 380gr arrow @ 300fps that convinced me to go back to the heavier arrows.I have had no problem with penetration since .The year I was using the lighter arrows for more speed I had a antelope and a whitetail doe in Montana duck the arrow at 20 yards. One knew I was there the other had no clue head down feeding.All the other game I've shot from 40-80 yards no string jumping. half of them where looking right at me.This leads me to believe that at those ranges the noise from the shot is not that startling unlike the close range shots. In the end everyone is entitled to their opinions
 
Critterstalker,

I have been stretching my reach with a rifle for the past 5 years. I have slowly increased from 300 yards to 600 yards over that time. I have well proven equipment, that has enough energy for proper terminal performance, with some room to spare. I practice a lot and my personal limit is based on the results of that practice. I have a half dozen friends and family that can attest to this, though the only judge I need is my conscience, as I can not stand the thought of wounded game.

My point is as long as you are limiting yourself to what you and your equipment are capable of routinely making ethical kill shots on then that is where your limit should be. Just because others either can not do the same, do not take the time to get proficient enough, or have not invested in the right equipment does not make them any more right. I think in general most people are not prepared when they carry their weapon of choice into the field, so after reading a number of your responses you seem to clearly have your head in the right place. It seems you know what your equipment is capable of at the ranges you feel proficient at and you practice. You have made necessary adjustments based on real world experiences. Thanks for sharing and Congrats.
 
You can practice, practice, and practice some more but one thing will always stay the same.........80+ yard archery shots=Wounded Animals! At 80+ yards an animal can cough, sneeze, fart, and your looking at a wounded animal, your window is just to small. Don't take it personal, your not the only arrow flinging, game wounder out there. And I am by no means arguing that your equipment can't kill game at those distances, but is it really worth it? It's really sad that with the evolving and improving of our archery equipment we are wounding more and more game every year. If you want to shoot at that distance and farther put your bow down and pick up a rifle. One last thing, don't insult all of our intellectual levels by claiming you shoot 80+ yards (from the sounds of it fairly often), and have only wounded one animal.


Sorry for hijacking this thread! I hope I am not in the minority in my opinion, since this is essentially a bow hunting thread.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-06-11 AT 07:21PM (MST)[p] jetsled! NO not everyone who can pick up a bow should go out and start shooting at 80+ yards it took a lot of practice to feel comfortable at any range past 40yards.There is no range that you can't wound an animal at.People make bad shots at any range. Generally because of a lack of PRACTICE. I've shot at 3 animals at 80 yards all one arrow kills.Don't insult me and call me a lair when you don't know me from adam! And this is why I don't post on the internet to many idiots hiding behind their keyboards spouting off nonsense.
 
I agree you can wound animals at any range, but what you don't seem to be able to wrap your mind around is the fact that, at that range it's out of your control. You can execute down to a tee, do everything in your control to make a perfect shot, but remember your not shooting at an orange circle at the range. No amount of PRACTICE can make up for the unforeseeable scenario that can occur with an 80+ pot shot. I think a lot of archers get caught up in the fact that the bows are better, the arrows are better, and they see themselves executing these amazing shots at the range. Keep em' at the range! To many problems can occur with a 400 grain 30 inch piece of carbon sailing 80+ yards. I don't even want to start with all the scenarios and problems that can occur at that distance. Hahaha spouting off nonsense, I want to be on the record saying your a horrible example for other archers, and if you keep up the 80+ yard shots the number of wounded animals on your resume is growing to grow exponentially.
 
Jetsled,

I sincerely disagree with your view. You don't know the guy, and you have ZERO reason to call BS with his kills. Only reason you're sore I'm guessing is because you're thinking; "There's NO WAY I could ever kill anything at 80 yds with my bow... he's gotta be lying!" If not then I apologize. But that is exactly how its coming across.

I agree, a lot of things can go wrong at 80 yds, and I myself would never shoot at anything over 70... but in order to shoot that long you have to have the discipline to say "No, this isn't the right situation for this long of a shot!".

If there is a crosswind blowing more than 5 mph, my max distance shrinks to 50 yds, if the buck is moving, that distance shrinks even farther. But an unawares buck at 70 yds with no wind is a high percentage shot, just as high as my 50 yd shots in a 5 mph crosswind.
 
I do agree with the wind factor, it can do some funky things. I will also agree with a slight movement like a feeding deer taking a step forward or moving to attention but were only talking like a foot difference at broadside so either your gunna completely miss or your gunna have a fatal shot given everything else went as planned, even at most a liver with one lung would definitely be fatal but not desired so there for the hunter should make a responsible ethical confident shot given the specific circumstances as previously stated. What's the difference between a 50yd shot and an 80yd shot= 30yds= 90ft so if your shooting 300+ fps that only gives like an extra like 1/4SEC for error. So the way i see it is the odds are in the hunters hands.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-07-11 AT 07:24PM (MST)[p]well jetsled you stick to your range limit and I'll stick to mine. And I'll keep on filling my freeze:p PS here's the other 2 80 yard shots they just stood there until the arrow hit them through the heart.
72309_first_bow_kill_005.jpg
654639_elk&deer_024.jpg

as already said, in the right conditions with the right shooter it's possible.
 
It really bothers me that some folks seem to think that sailing arrows at 80+ yards is acceptable. I guess everyone has their own opinion(s)and feels comfortable at different ranges. I just see to many potential problems (out of your control)at that distance regardless of practice and or equipment. But just remember WHEN, not if it happens, I TOLD YOU SO!

I don't know if everyone is seeing what I am seeing but I sure don't see a heart shot on the deer, I could be wrong but I am just not seeing it unless you got no pass through and little penetration. You have one broken arrow in your quiver, so again please don't insult our intelligence. Worse, I see a frontal shot on the elk. Man, you are a piece of work, now your taking 80+ yard frontal shots on ELK. Just stop with the BS.
 
once again flapping your noise maker when you have no clue to what the real story is. the deer was almost a pass through after cutting ribs going in and out the far side with only the fletchings still in the deer. the entrance on the elk was from the side that you can't see and buried the broadhead into the leg bone on the opposite side. Just because you lie every chance you get jetsled doesn't mean everyone else is too.It must suck going through life like that.
 
i guess i may as well chime in. i am opposed to long range archery and excessivly long range rifle , muzzy ect. are there guys that are nuts on everytime have their equipment down to a nats azz ? i am sure there are. however regardless of what anyone will tell me i will never be convinced that shooting long range is a givin as a 25 yard bow or 200 yard rifle shot should be. animals aren't stationary targets and can't be predicted everytime and the excessively long range, wind , gravity ect.magnifies this. having said that i am sure plenty of guys are very proficient and to them fine.

my problem is bragging about it, glorifying it. then every desperate hunter will be trying it. i have a buddy who just layed down a amount of money you could buy a nice used car with on a christiansen arms .300 rum. and nightforce scope ect.after watching long range hunter. problem is he is a horrible shot now. never shoots during the year, misses more deer and elk than i do chuckers. i feel if you make 800 yard rifle shots or 80 yard bow shots. salute ! but bragging on the internet will bring trouble.just enjoy your superiority and post pics without the range details.and if you do it's your right but don't be surprised not everyone will cheer. my 2 cents
 
+1 couldn't agree with you more beavis.

I guess that's what bothers me as much as you shooting at 80+ yards is the fact that you jump online and feel the need to flap your gums, or in your words your "noise maker" about it. Like I said before your a BAD example for fellow archers to follow. So please people if your reading this don't think 80+ yards is acceptable even with "practice, practice, practice".
 
Beavis/jetsled,

Give the guy a break...he didn't flap his gums gums first (jetsled did) and nor did he glorify anything. He simply posted the distances and pictures to share. He tried to answer Jetsled's questions. Instead jetsled calls him a liar and pretends to know it all by looking at a couple of pictures. If you don't like it just bite your tougne and don't comment. He didn't break any laws.
 
There are so many things that could be said about this long range discusion. Jetsled if you haven't noticed things can happen at any range and almost all bow hunters will lose an animal at some point in time. It happens. I've been bow hunting for 16 years and have wounded/lost 3 animals all of those shots were less than 30 yards.
There is one situation I remember taking a shot that I thought was absolutly perfect. Had a buck at 18 yards quartering away with his head down feeding. When I got to full draw he picked his head up, but went back to feeding. When I released the arrow this buck jumped left and the arrow complely missed. I saw that arrow go right through the patch of air I was aiming at. This arrow was going 300FPS only 18yds away. This one incodent has kept me from taking long shots, but it also stands as a reminder that they can move quickly at any distance.

Now the flip side, I have seen guys shoot deer at 80 yards with a bow, and the deer didn't jump or move at all. One of the guys shot at a deer several times before hitting it. I was going to walk down to the guy and give him a piece of my mind, but after seeing it was a clean kill and hearing his side of the story I walked away with a different perspective on the whole issue. Just because its not something I would do doesn't make it wrong.

If nothing else is learned from this thread,it should be just post your pics and leave the yardage out.

PS. Congrats on getting out there and getting your bucks.
 
Your story is exactly what I am talking about. So a guy shoots at a deer several times at 80+ yards, don't you see a problem there?? What are the odds that he is going to make a clean kill on his next shot, or his next shot, or better yet his next shot? He got lucky, that's the problem with these 80+ yard prayers. I never said you couldn't kill an animal at those distances, but MOST of the time its a prayer, plain and simple, to many factors out of the archers control. I understand losing animals at reasonable distances, its part of the game, but losing animals at 80+ yards is not part of the game. It's inexcusable. To make it black and white, it's out of range for an acceptable, clean, efficient bow kill.

I guess I was a little harsh on the fellow in the pictures. I am just so, so tired of hearing about these long shots some successful, some not. It shouldn't be a guessing game.
 
What I've learned from this thread is;

1. Don't talk about yardage...period
2. Listen to jetsled and don't pack a weapon. Just take a camera. There a too many things that are outta your control at any yardage, its just too risky, animals might die.

I couldn't resist.

jetsled- you've made your point
critterstalker- nice shootin, don't post yardages any more, k?

Now lets move on to some giant deer pictures like this site was intended for.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-09-11 AT 04:30PM (MST)[p]+3 Yoyak...........You pretty much summed it up.

Not many deer taken on the late hunt in 39 from what I have heard and seen, I did however see a few wounded ones......critterstalker and the rest of the 80+ yard bombers must have had camp set somewhere in or around the Badger Creek area.
 

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