2017 Hunt Report and Meat Pole Contest - Win a $300 or $100 Gift Certificate
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IronRanger
Member
They grow up quick, enjoy every minute that you can.
Hatrick
Well-Known Member
What caliber is the bear rifle?
45/70!
johnhhernan
Well-Known Member
He did well, one shot at 1044 yards, in the neck with a 300RUM at 2975 FPS with a berger 210 gn bullet. He hit it in the neck it was a pretty ethical shot ithe bull went straight to the ground but when we were skinning the skull for a european mount we found the bullet lodged about an inch from the ear hole in the skull. We feel we got such an opprtunity due to karma you might say and here's why:
This hunt has 500K acres, 4 other hunters, well the day before we were glassing this area and a millenial ( which is a 20-29 year old) shows up 100 feet from us, they get out of their truck and they start to glass not 100 feet from us, so like dumb hunters we struck up a conversation with them and mentioned we saw monster bull as soon as I said that they turned away from us and started to talk so I decided to drop my brother off at the gate. Where the bull was is a wild life escapement area. Walk-in area only. So I dropped him off and came back to the "high point where we were glassing from originally, the plan was to talk him into the bull with our rino 2 way radios. I arrived at the high point guess who was glassing right where we were. Yep, you guessed the 2 millenial's. So I set up my spotting scope and started to locate my brother and talk him into the bull. Well the snow rolled in and I lost sight of my brother. The millenial's took off and went to where the bull was the snow let up and I saw to orange spots start walking into where my brother was. I then picked up my equipment to go find my brother. I told him to hide from the millenial's so he did. I drove down to the walk in area and I caught up with my brother and we walked to the clear cut I last saw the bull. Well we walked down the road and spotted a cow we backed up and devised a plan on how we were going to proceed so before we could put a sneak on that bull something spooked the bull and the other 15 cows. So we turned around to leave because at this point the hunt was over in that area. We started to head out and heard talking behind us, yep, the millenial's where behind us so they were the ones that scared them away. Needless to say my brother was a little preturbed. We muttered to each other well we now know what startled the elk. The millenial's caught up to us. I asked my brother if he knew the difference between a millenial and our generation ( we are in our 50's) he replies no, I do no, what is it? I replied if someone was glassing a clear cut what would you have done he replied, well I would've turned away and went to another area because there is 500K acres of good elk hunting land, I said oh I would've also. The millenials replied oh we thought you were going for a different bull. I replied, really? So we dropped it because it could've escalated quickly. We got back to our truck and I stared at their tires with several different thoughts but I refused the temptations of deflating their tires. We were angry my brother said lets not get worked up over it. He said if we
So the next morning came around and that bull had crossed over into the area we were glassing from and it was 1044 yards away at an 18% angle down from us I must mention it was 22.25 MOA away from us. The bull was behind a stump and 2 steps away from disappearing into the tall stuff. The only thing he had a shot on was its neck or the hind legs. We decided we need to take the shot on the neck, he went prone made his adjustments squeezed the trigger and the bull dropped straight to the ground and guess who showed up after the kill, yep, the millenial, but grandpa was with the millenial this time not his other millenial buddy. So we told them that we were done with this area that you can hunt in this clear cut today and grandpa said what do you mean by that. I told him that his hunting buddy (grandson) walked right in our hunt yesterday he turns to his grandson and I quote I taught you better than that. PS we aren't hippies so I don't really like using the word karma but I do feel what comes around goes around. Thanks for letting me tell our story in this forum. Let me know if I uploaded the pic wrong. I bet the millenial's could load a pic up easier than I...LOL
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couesaddict
Well-Known Member
My wife and I doubled up this year on muleys. Her second deer ever scored 157-1/2". First was a small coues last year. I ended up with my personal best at 181" and a 1 shot 575yd. Both were taken with my new 270 Sherman and 170 bergers. A cartridge and smith that I learned about solely from this site. We each put the bullet right behind the shoulder and had almost no meat loss so the freezer is totally full
walter351
Well-Known Member
nchunter182
Well-Known Member
This was not a long range hunt by any means, but wanted to add my story also. Sometimes up close and personal can really get the heart rate up! These pictures are of the buck I tagged this week here in Ohio during the archery season. This is my best deer I have ever taken with either a gun or a bow so I'm very happy with it.
I was hunting from a climbing tree stand about 25' off the ground when I hear something walking up behind me. I wanted to turn and look but was afraid I'd get busted from the movement, so I sat and waited. The deer finally walked past me about 10 yards out but it was on my right side. I saw right away it was a shooter so I started turning myself to the right so I could get my bow (left) arm lined up with it. I was sitting down and didn't have time, or want the movement of standing up, so somehow I got twisted around enough to get lined up. As I was raising and drawing the bow I realized that in a few more steps he would behind some brush and I wouldn't have a shot. I grunted at him and he stopped just as I was finishing my draw. Since he was quartering away and less than 20 yards away, the 20 yard pin settled in towards the back of the rib cage and the arrow went on its way. The deer hopped, kicked, went about 15 yards and stood there looking around. I knew I didn't miss so I just sat and watched. After a few seconds, the deer started getting wobbly and fell to the ground. I ranged the deer at 36 yards where he fell.
After collecting my composure and gear I climbed down the tree. I walked over to where the deer was standing when I shot and found the arrow. A clean pass through. Over to check the deer and saw it was even better than I had first thought!
This is a picture of the area where the deer was standing. He stopped in the small opening near the base of the tree at the bottom center of the picture. He was walking to the left so you can see that very shortly he would be behind brush and present no shot. That's him laying on the ground center left of the picture.
Just as I first found him. Laid the arrow on him for scale. Using Slick Trick broadheads and they really do the job. You can't see the exit wound because it's just under his front leg right by the front of the breast bone.
Here is a better picture of the antlers. I'm working on a European mount right now and will make a nice addition to my bear and antelope mounts!
Thanks,
Jay
I was hunting from a climbing tree stand about 25' off the ground when I hear something walking up behind me. I wanted to turn and look but was afraid I'd get busted from the movement, so I sat and waited. The deer finally walked past me about 10 yards out but it was on my right side. I saw right away it was a shooter so I started turning myself to the right so I could get my bow (left) arm lined up with it. I was sitting down and didn't have time, or want the movement of standing up, so somehow I got twisted around enough to get lined up. As I was raising and drawing the bow I realized that in a few more steps he would behind some brush and I wouldn't have a shot. I grunted at him and he stopped just as I was finishing my draw. Since he was quartering away and less than 20 yards away, the 20 yard pin settled in towards the back of the rib cage and the arrow went on its way. The deer hopped, kicked, went about 15 yards and stood there looking around. I knew I didn't miss so I just sat and watched. After a few seconds, the deer started getting wobbly and fell to the ground. I ranged the deer at 36 yards where he fell.
After collecting my composure and gear I climbed down the tree. I walked over to where the deer was standing when I shot and found the arrow. A clean pass through. Over to check the deer and saw it was even better than I had first thought!
This is a picture of the area where the deer was standing. He stopped in the small opening near the base of the tree at the bottom center of the picture. He was walking to the left so you can see that very shortly he would be behind brush and present no shot. That's him laying on the ground center left of the picture.
Here is a better picture of the antlers. I'm working on a European mount right now and will make a nice addition to my bear and antelope mounts!
Thanks,
Jay
brant89
Well-Known Member
My apologies as this is going to be a long post...
Two years ago my stepdad and I embarked on our first western big game hunt, chasing antelope in eastern Wyoming. Our only regret was that we didn't take my mom and my wife, so this year we decided to remedy that. With a one year old daughter and my pregnant wife going back to school, the logistics of this trip were a bit of a headache and my wife would only have two days to hunt, but more on that later.
Since my stepdad and I both had deer tags as well, we set off on our 20 hour drive from southern Michigan to Wyoming a couple days early to get some scouting in before opening day. I had done some internet scouting with onXmaps and was able to locate an area that looked like a perfect travel route for deer through the open plains, and sure enough we located a shooter mule deer in the exact location I had marked from 1200 miles away...two days before opening day. We watched him until the light faded and never saw the deer again. The day before the season opener we located multiple antelope and mule deer bucks, and were feeling pretty good about the week ahead.
On opening morning we spotted the same group of antelope from the day previous, and they bedded down about 1100yd from our vantage point. We decided to put a stalk on them knowing it was a longshot due to the steep terrain between us and them. Long story short, our fears were confirmed and after 40 minutes of hiking there was not an antelope in sight. So we hiked the 3 miles back to the truck and headed to the area I had killed my first antelope two years ago. As we crested the first hill we noticed a doe and a small buck in a large bowl headed our way, with a nice shooter trailing close behind. The antelope closed to within shooting range but the tall sage brush prevented us from getting a clear shot. Although they had spotted us, their curiosity got the better of them and they continued to close the distance. Finally after several position changes, some belly crawling, and no less than a dozen cactus needles in my knees, elbows, and thighs, my mom connected on her first antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor at 225yd.
With an antelope in the freezer we turned our sights on deer. In the next couple of days we were able to locate a few small mule deer bucks but nothing worth putting a stalk on. We were
Two years ago my stepdad and I embarked on our first western big game hunt, chasing antelope in eastern Wyoming. Our only regret was that we didn't take my mom and my wife, so this year we decided to remedy that. With a one year old daughter and my pregnant wife going back to school, the logistics of this trip were a bit of a headache and my wife would only have two days to hunt, but more on that later.
Since my stepdad and I both had deer tags as well, we set off on our 20 hour drive from southern Michigan to Wyoming a couple days early to get some scouting in before opening day. I had done some internet scouting with onXmaps and was able to locate an area that looked like a perfect travel route for deer through the open plains, and sure enough we located a shooter mule deer in the exact location I had marked from 1200 miles away...two days before opening day. We watched him until the light faded and never saw the deer again. The day before the season opener we located multiple antelope and mule deer bucks, and were feeling pretty good about the week ahead.
On opening morning we spotted the same group of antelope from the day previous, and they bedded down about 1100yd from our vantage point. We decided to put a stalk on them knowing it was a longshot due to the steep terrain between us and them. Long story short, our fears were confirmed and after 40 minutes of hiking there was not an antelope in sight. So we hiked the 3 miles back to the truck and headed to the area I had killed my first antelope two years ago. As we crested the first hill we noticed a doe and a small buck in a large bowl headed our way, with a nice shooter trailing close behind. The antelope closed to within shooting range but the tall sage brush prevented us from getting a clear shot. Although they had spotted us, their curiosity got the better of them and they continued to close the distance. Finally after several position changes, some belly crawling, and no less than a dozen cactus needles in my knees, elbows, and thighs, my mom connected on her first antelope with a 6.5 Creedmoor at 225yd.
With an antelope in the freezer we turned our sights on deer. In the next couple of days we were able to locate a few small mule deer bucks but nothing worth putting a stalk on. We were
getting a little discouraged and since there was a break in the wind we decided we should see about stretching the legs on my new 300 win mag and look for some antelope. We went back to where my mom had killer her buck and spotted some does just out of reach at about 900yd and a definite shooter buck that was way out of range at 1400+. We decided again to make the stalk on the big buck and had just packed our gear back up when a hunter across the valley jumped a beautiful whitetail buck and doe that were headed our way. At about 5-600yd out we lost sight of them behind a hill, so we set up an ambush for them when they crested the ridge which should have provided a 300-350yd shot. Due to a slight oversight in the terrain (there was only one place to cross the ridge and we were on it) the deer popped up 60yd in front of us. I swung quickly, centered the crosshair on the bucks shoulder, and just as the trigger is about to break I remembered; I never chambered a round. I'm sure you can guess the rest, while working the action the deer bolted down the valley and disappeared. After beating myself up for a few minutes we decided to chase after them. A short distance down the ridge we noticed the far group of antelope that we had originally set out for were now making their way towards us. They were covering ground quickly so I did what any hunter SHOULD do; I chambered a round. The larger buck of the group trailed behind three does without even the slightest consideration of us being there. He paused for a moment to rest, and at a little over 200yd my 300 win mag rang out. He bolted, front leg dragging as proof that the 200gr ELD-X made its mark, and he expired quickly.
With brutal winds ripping across the plains we decided to hike the hills and stay in the trees to search for mule deer. This proved to be extremely effective and saw about a dozen mule deer, but nothing we were interested in taking. On our way out we crested a ridge and I spotted a buck thrashing a pine tree about 80yd away. We could tell from the height of his rack that he was the size we had been looking for. I have never experienced the level of ground shrinkage as I did on that day when my stepdad squeezed the trigger on his 6.5, but we were successful nonetheless and we had our first taste of mule deer in our packs.
The next day we spotted elk, a coyote, and a porcupine but no deer; which provided a nice day of rest since my wife and daughter were to arrive in Casper at just before midnight that night. My daughter did wonderfully on her first plane flight and everyone arrived safely. The clock was now ticking with only two days to get my wife on an antelope which were growing increasingly weary. We went back to were my mom and I had killed our two bucks earlier that week. The area that had a seemingly endless amount of antelope was now barren, save for one little buck that kept about 1000yd between us and him at all times. With no time to waste we decided to change locations. On our drive we spotted a herd of antelope that had been bumped by a group of deer hunters about 450yd off the road, contemplating their next move. We stopped at a location where we were out of sight and began our stalk. This herd seemed extremely nervous and we found ourselves changing direction several times during our 100+ yards of belly crawling. I should also remind you that my wife is just starting to show at this point which makes any crawling on her part an impressive feat. We finally get a clear line of sight on the herd that is now moving nearly straight away from us. We are unable to locate a big buck in the group, but I remind my wife that it may be now or never. We dial the scope up 3.5MOA, she scans the group one last time and picks out a small buck near the back of the herd. I remind her to hold 1MOA right as she is settling the 300 win mag into the rear bag. At the time I did not know which animal she had chosen, it became immediately apparent when the rifle cracked and the buck hit the dirt at 366yd. My wife had killed her first antelope and had bragging rights for the longest kill on this particular hunt.
With all four of us tagging one buck each, the hunt was a great success and we are so grateful to have been able to share the experience as a family.
With brutal winds ripping across the plains we decided to hike the hills and stay in the trees to search for mule deer. This proved to be extremely effective and saw about a dozen mule deer, but nothing we were interested in taking. On our way out we crested a ridge and I spotted a buck thrashing a pine tree about 80yd away. We could tell from the height of his rack that he was the size we had been looking for. I have never experienced the level of ground shrinkage as I did on that day when my stepdad squeezed the trigger on his 6.5, but we were successful nonetheless and we had our first taste of mule deer in our packs.
The next day we spotted elk, a coyote, and a porcupine but no deer; which provided a nice day of rest since my wife and daughter were to arrive in Casper at just before midnight that night. My daughter did wonderfully on her first plane flight and everyone arrived safely. The clock was now ticking with only two days to get my wife on an antelope which were growing increasingly weary. We went back to were my mom and I had killed our two bucks earlier that week. The area that had a seemingly endless amount of antelope was now barren, save for one little buck that kept about 1000yd between us and him at all times. With no time to waste we decided to change locations. On our drive we spotted a herd of antelope that had been bumped by a group of deer hunters about 450yd off the road, contemplating their next move. We stopped at a location where we were out of sight and began our stalk. This herd seemed extremely nervous and we found ourselves changing direction several times during our 100+ yards of belly crawling. I should also remind you that my wife is just starting to show at this point which makes any crawling on her part an impressive feat. We finally get a clear line of sight on the herd that is now moving nearly straight away from us. We are unable to locate a big buck in the group, but I remind my wife that it may be now or never. We dial the scope up 3.5MOA, she scans the group one last time and picks out a small buck near the back of the herd. I remind her to hold 1MOA right as she is settling the 300 win mag into the rear bag. At the time I did not know which animal she had chosen, it became immediately apparent when the rifle cracked and the buck hit the dirt at 366yd. My wife had killed her first antelope and had bragging rights for the longest kill on this particular hunt.
With all four of us tagging one buck each, the hunt was a great success and we are so grateful to have been able to share the experience as a family.
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Long range indeed for the East would be 150m. Most of the group is shooting so long, I was intimidated by hunting in NM in Oct for Bull Elk. Finally had my opportunity (and connected) on a nice 6x5 mature NM bull... at 45 yards. I'll post the story and pics another time. Nice work!
I posted earlier in this thread about my daughters first hunt with a crossbow and the success we had.
This was a major milestone, great experience for both of us (see previous post for the story).
Two weeks ago I went out alone prior to gun season. My daughter had a friend over and decided that she wanted to play instead of going out in the woods.
So, I had a doe come out and I was watching her for a while thinking cool a doe. I kicked three deer on my way into the woods so I wasn't expecting to see anything that morning. She hung around for a while eating in the filed then all of a sudden she went back into the woods from where she came. I thought I must have been busted and oh well. It was nice to see something. About 5 min later this guy came out all alone. I have seen him a few time and I was hoping that my daughter would get a chance at him but I couldn't pass him up this time. I figured with gun season the following weekend I am sure he would be taken and it wouldn't be by us. I was able to get him to stop at 50 yards, I took the shot with my bow. I saw the impact and knew I had a solid shot. As I was getting out of my blind the doe came back out into the filed and came within 20 yards of me as I was standing there on the edge of the field. I though that was odd, then she slowly walked off into the field. I found him quickly and he didn't go far. As I was standing next to him a nice 6 pointer was standing there 30 yards away watching me. I was thinking to my self there deer are sure acting odd normally they are always skittish. Here he is:
The opener of gun season in Wisconsin was this past weekend. My daughter was going to shoot here bolt action Ruger in .223. My requirement for her was that she had to be able to put 10 rounds in a 2" circle at 100 yards before she could hunt.
She was able to pass that benchmark, so she was good to go. She loaded her own rounds for the hunt as well. Lapua brass, 65gr Sierra Game King rounds loaded over Varget.
Saturday morning in Southern Wisconsin was 32 degrees with rain and snow.
Where I setup I as assuming that if we were luck enough we would have something come out at 20-30 yards from the right and we should have a good opportunity.
We were sitting at the base of a V in a trail with a ridge to our left along with a field and down hill slope to our right. The deer have typically come from the right up the hill and into the field.
Well this guy shortly after 8 am came walking down the trail to our left. As soon as I saw him, I told her to get ready. He cut through the woods and, and told her he would come out on the right side of the V. If he comes out there we would have an opportunity at him. Sure enough he got onto that trail with his backside to us. I started grunting at him. He turned broadside. I could hear my daughter take a couple of deep breaths to calm down. She took the shot.
I saw a puff of fur high center on the deer and he took off down the hill. My heart sank. I thought she may have made a bad shot and we wouldn't find him.
We got out of the blind and discovered that he was 75 yards from where she shot. We found his tracks and spot of blood. My daughter started following the blood trail. We went down the hill and across an access road. 20 yards on the other side of the road we found him. We where on him within a couple of minutes from shooting him.
She had a perfect shot right behind the front shoulder. The exit was high center. The deer went less than 70 yards from where she shot him.
She was on cloud 9 and I couldn't have been happier. She walked up to the deer put her hand on him and said thank you deer for giving up your life so that we can continue with ours.
This has been a truly remarkable year for us and something I know I will never forget. I never had memories like this with my father so it makes it very special for me to be able to share the experience with her.
My rifle never left the safe this year. The wife thinks we should be done as the freezers are overfull. We have never had such a successful year and I can't wait for next season so that we can make new memories.
This was a major milestone, great experience for both of us (see previous post for the story).
Two weeks ago I went out alone prior to gun season. My daughter had a friend over and decided that she wanted to play instead of going out in the woods.
So, I had a doe come out and I was watching her for a while thinking cool a doe. I kicked three deer on my way into the woods so I wasn't expecting to see anything that morning. She hung around for a while eating in the filed then all of a sudden she went back into the woods from where she came. I thought I must have been busted and oh well. It was nice to see something. About 5 min later this guy came out all alone. I have seen him a few time and I was hoping that my daughter would get a chance at him but I couldn't pass him up this time. I figured with gun season the following weekend I am sure he would be taken and it wouldn't be by us. I was able to get him to stop at 50 yards, I took the shot with my bow. I saw the impact and knew I had a solid shot. As I was getting out of my blind the doe came back out into the filed and came within 20 yards of me as I was standing there on the edge of the field. I though that was odd, then she slowly walked off into the field. I found him quickly and he didn't go far. As I was standing next to him a nice 6 pointer was standing there 30 yards away watching me. I was thinking to my self there deer are sure acting odd normally they are always skittish. Here he is:
The opener of gun season in Wisconsin was this past weekend. My daughter was going to shoot here bolt action Ruger in .223. My requirement for her was that she had to be able to put 10 rounds in a 2" circle at 100 yards before she could hunt.
She was able to pass that benchmark, so she was good to go. She loaded her own rounds for the hunt as well. Lapua brass, 65gr Sierra Game King rounds loaded over Varget.
Saturday morning in Southern Wisconsin was 32 degrees with rain and snow.
Where I setup I as assuming that if we were luck enough we would have something come out at 20-30 yards from the right and we should have a good opportunity.
We were sitting at the base of a V in a trail with a ridge to our left along with a field and down hill slope to our right. The deer have typically come from the right up the hill and into the field.
Well this guy shortly after 8 am came walking down the trail to our left. As soon as I saw him, I told her to get ready. He cut through the woods and, and told her he would come out on the right side of the V. If he comes out there we would have an opportunity at him. Sure enough he got onto that trail with his backside to us. I started grunting at him. He turned broadside. I could hear my daughter take a couple of deep breaths to calm down. She took the shot.
I saw a puff of fur high center on the deer and he took off down the hill. My heart sank. I thought she may have made a bad shot and we wouldn't find him.
We got out of the blind and discovered that he was 75 yards from where she shot. We found his tracks and spot of blood. My daughter started following the blood trail. We went down the hill and across an access road. 20 yards on the other side of the road we found him. We where on him within a couple of minutes from shooting him.
She had a perfect shot right behind the front shoulder. The exit was high center. The deer went less than 70 yards from where she shot him.
She was on cloud 9 and I couldn't have been happier. She walked up to the deer put her hand on him and said thank you deer for giving up your life so that we can continue with ours.
This has been a truly remarkable year for us and something I know I will never forget. I never had memories like this with my father so it makes it very special for me to be able to share the experience with her.
My rifle never left the safe this year. The wife thinks we should be done as the freezers are overfull. We have never had such a successful year and I can't wait for next season so that we can make new memories.
High Plains Pirate
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2012
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Tikkashooter
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2017
- Messages
- 64
Hunted hard for 7 days general season wyoming. Didnt see a single person the entire season but it was still tough conditions, hot dry and windy so The deer were barely moving. Finally connected on this guy the last day of the season. 178 eld match out of my 300 wsm about 350 yards.
Crdbrdkiller
Member
Zac
