hillsidehogz
Member
5 yrs ago I couldn't figure out were a huge bull elk kept disappearing to come archery season. So I started my Google Earth geek out sessions all winter long studying areas. That coming summer in August I took my stepson on his first scouting trip. We leave early enough to allow for a 2 hour hike in. We finally get on top & he is like your crazy! So after about 30 min of glassing I spot a lil 2pt. & nothing else around him so I start glassing elsewhere. Can't find anything so I go back to where I saw the 2pt. & see this guy!
[/IMG]So now I'm excited cause I love big muleys! I tell my stepson to look & he says I'm getting first shot opening day of rifle. So not a few min later this guy shows up!
[/IMG]At this point heck with the elk, I know where 2 big muleys live now. I hunted for these bucks during archery season with no luck. Rifle season opens & nobody is home. A week later we start our hike in & I hear some deer in the dry grass ahead of us, its to dark to see so we sit & wait. My stepson is getting trigger happy & wants to try his new gun on a deer rather than the paper he has been shooting. So I dig my 15x56 swarovskis our & can see them. All bucks but nothing big. He says I'm shooting the biggest one as soon as its light enough. What seemed to be an eternity finally passes by & we can see. I ranged the buck at 87 yrds. Confident as heck he says, so he pulls the trigger & down he goes. Nice first buck!
[/IMG] T/C Icon Weathershield in camo claims its first. This year I didn't get out to scout before the opener so we didn't know if the bucks made it or not. The opener came with a 320 yard miss for my stepson & then it got hot. I had a few days of during the 2nd week but it got extremely windy. I woke up & thought I can't hunt from here, so I went. I decided to hike in from the north since the wind would be to my advantage. About 2/3 the way up I took a seat & glassed the edges of the timber. Late in the morning I saw a huge buck feeding. I ranged him at 609 yrds. I closed the distance to 405 & that was as good as it was going to get. I settled in, got over my buck fever & squeezed one off. He was gone in one jump into the timber. I spent the next half my day tracking with no sign of blood or him struggling so I figured he was good to go & myself left wondering! It was the night before the closer & we got some fresh snow in the mountains. I was pumped! I took my stepson out of school for the day so we could both have a chance. I took a gamble & hiked up a ridge to the south. It took us a long time getting any elevation, the terrain wasn't what I had expected. We took a seat as the morning got twilight. There were deer out but no bucks! We decided to head up to the next bump & see what happens. That's when I spotted a nice buck bedded down. I asked my stepson if he wanted to go for him. He says yah of course, don't you! It was that the buck got up & feed into a pocket in the next canyon over. So we hi-tailed it to the bottom, shedded some clothes & gear & started up the other side. We finally got on top, I'm a lil nervous now & my sidekick keeps saying you see him yet, like every 1 min. We continued to hike down along the edge but nothing. We kept going very slowly when I spotted some deer in the open on opposite side of us. Nice 4 pt with few doe's. He keeps asking if we can just shoot him, not yet, he is plan b now. We probably go another 20 yards & there is our buck sneeking out the bottom. I hurry & get my stepboy setup & range him at 323 yrds as he stops to look back. Should be a done deal but he shot high. The buck just stood there for a 2nd shot, high again & now I'm looking at a big buck headed for timber. He says you going to help, I told him to wait a second & settle down & get ready cause I've experienced that sometimes these bucks will slowdown, he finally did & he missed again, at that time I squeeze one off & he piles up (got lucky). I'm actually kind of shocked & lil sad cause I wanted my stepboy to harvest a fine buck like this one. I hadn't really paid attention to the distance but was curious. He laid 457 yrds from us. After hiking over to him & some pics we got to work cleaning him up! Boy asks me how we getting him out?The next best thing, a huge cattle trail covered in snow to the bottom not far from the truck. He slid down the mountain beautifully. The funny part was trying to get him in the bed. After few exhausting attempts, I built a system out of rope, we finally got him!!
[/IMG] We didn't give up there. We after lunch hiked back up to the top, that was gruelling! The snow started to fall & I was getting excited again. I was spotting lots of deer but no shooters. We finally saw a buck very similar & went for it. After lots of sneaking & trying to get close all we could close the distance to was 519 yrds. I wouldn't let him take that shot not knowing his gun for that kind of shot. It was frustrating but still very fun. I hope he learned a few things as I know I did! CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS YEAR!!!
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