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Author Topic: The Year was 2004........  (Read 11342 times)

Offline Ridgerunner

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The Year was 2004........
« on: March 06, 2008, 08:26:05 AM »
I thought it would be fun to throw out a season and have guys post their stories, memorable moments and pictures from that year.  I just randomly selected 2004 to get things started.  Kind of like sitting around a campfire and telling the good stories of hunts gone by. So lets hear some stories and see some pictures, I'll get a story up here later today.

Offline Ridgerunner

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2008, 08:39:04 AM »
This was the first year that had children when hunting season came around.  With twins at home that were only 5 months old come September time in the hills was going to be limited this fall.  I talked my wife into letting me head to the hills for a quick high hunt with a buddy.  I knew if I got into the country I knew that I would have a chance to be successful.  It was shaping up to be my only hunt of the year.  Long story short, we didn’t make it to the original destination, ended up camping in mouseville, and didn’t kill a buck.  Didn’t even see one.  First time that has happened in that country for me.  We did kill a few mice though, hard not to when they are running around everywhere, within 5 minutes of setting our packs down they were getting into our packs, glaring at us from the tree branches.  It was nuts.  So we had a brief mousehunt that night running around with our flashlights and headlamps killing as many as we could.  Looking back we probably should have picked up the packs and moved on but it was late and time was short. 

After mopping around the house for a few weeks I decided I would at least get out on the opener, we had dinner plans that night with friends and my wife didn’t want me to do any overnight trips.  So opening morning I woke up real early drove over to eastern WA and met up with a buddy who had done some scouting and found some decent bucks.  The weather that morning was wet and foggy with visability extremely limited.  Didn’t see any bucks that morning but had 4-5 does that came within 5 yards of me without knowing I was there.  Pretty amazing.  Finally time came to bail for the day and on the way out we caught a 3x4 with a doe in a small meadow.  Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth I decided that was my buck for the year.  Of course now I was going to be late for the dinner we had plans.  Oh well, nothing like rolling up to the house at the same time as our guests with a buck in the back of the truck and being all bloody. 

Just goes to show get out there, you never know how things are going to work out for you.

 

Offline WAcoyotehunter

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2008, 08:41:18 AM »
I was a senior in college and hunting ALL the time.   I was in Iowa and had loads of Whitetails around.  I was after one in particular that my father in law had seen during harvest.  I hadn't seen this deer yet, but had found loads of sign in a small area.
 My college roomate was a bowhunter also.  He was dating my sister and we spent the night at my house to hunt this deer the next morning.  It was my tenth day straight after this buck, and i still hadn't laid eyes on him.  Randal stayed up too late the night before (  >:(  ) and over slept- I left him and sat in the spot that i had planned to put him.  When i got out of the stand to leave I slipped down a CRP field and saw this buck sparring with a little buck- he was distracted enough to let me sneak into ~30 yards and I arrowed him.   I'm assuming he was the deer i'd been after the whole season- he's 176" with 14 scorable points
I was a good feeling waking Randal up to tell him that story!!  

Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2008, 08:41:31 AM »
Great idea Ridgerunner, 04 was a good year I'll have to dig out some pics though and get back to you on this one. Believe it or not I didn't own a digital then ... I was definitely behind the curve on that one but I had this waterproof 35 mm pentax that just kept on working so why change!
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Offline archery288

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2008, 08:42:57 AM »
I had glassed a big 3 point blacktail buck up under a rock clif on the edge of a berry field on september 3rd... I was about 3/4 of a mile away and began to close in and sneak up the backside of the ridge the buck was on.  Now I was in the main part of the berry field and hiking up the edge of a rock bluff towards the buck.  I was about 100 to 150 yards from the buck and glanced over into the berry field and spotted a bear!  I quickly sat down as I was in the open and dropped my pack and crawled out to the edge of the bluff to watch the bear.  It began feeding towards me and after 2 hours it was finally within shooting range.  I figured it would walk right under the bluff about 30 yards below and that would be my shot.  All of a sudden I lost sight of the bear and peaked over the edge and he was no where to be seen!?  :dunno: I stepped back and looked down a little schute and I could see his ear.  Within about 10 seconds the bear was at the top of the schute and only 7 yards from me where I double lunged him! He turned and ran down the schute some 20 yards or so, and that was it! The country was so steep he rolled about 200 yards down the hill before he came to a stop in some trees.  (On september 1st, I had taken my first bear in the same berry field with a rifle, and then my dad took on about a mile away in another berry field on the 2nd, and then I took this one on the 3rd.)  that was a good year for bear!

Offline archery288

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2008, 08:45:52 AM »
Congrats ridgerunner and WAcoyotehunter - those r nice animals!!!  :tup:

Offline WAcoyotehunter

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2008, 08:46:09 AM »
What the heck did you do with all those bears?  I killed my first this year and i don't know if i'll take another...just don;t know what to do with one?  :dunno:

Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2008, 08:48:50 AM »
WOW WAcoyotehunter I was typing while you posted that is a pig of a whitetail congrats! And BTW Jon nice job on those bear, I love Bear meat!
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Offline archery288

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2008, 08:49:21 AM »
I had my one with the bow mounted 3/4 body and put it on the wall because it was a big bear, and bleached the skulls on all of them.  As for the meat, we had saugsage, steaks, and hamburger made out of them and ate them all.  Wasn't bad meat by any means, and tasted like berrys to be honest.  But, I haven't seriously hunted them since for the reason you just asked! haha

Offline wastickslinger

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2008, 09:07:17 AM »
2004 was the shortest hunting season i ever had in my life I think, but very memorable. My wife was 4 months pregnant, I had a good friends wedding on opening day of muzzleload, and I had not even had time to scout. After the wedding my wife and I went for a quick evening drive. I was going to pop the first legal buck we found. Spotted a dinky 3 about 400 yards off and we decided to put the sneak on. My wife was up for a little hike so she snuck along with the video camera. As we closed in, to my suprise there was a better buck with the small 3 point. My wife behind the camera, I asked if she was on him? "Ya I can see him, go ahead". Kaboom, buck humps up and trots over the hill. I knew it was a good hit. It was about 30 min before dark so we decided to watch the video back real quick to see how good the shot was. She was right on him, until the kaboom, she flinched. No kill shot. Oh well I knew it was a good shot. Just before it was too dark to see we snuck over the hill. My wife spotted him about 70 yards out. Still had his head up and I didnt want to be tracking a buck in the dark if he got up and decided to move. I aimed for his throat,as you can see it hit him a little higher. Right in the eye. Needless to say it was over. Wife went and got the truck while I took the buck down to the road. Great memory. Not a bad buck for 2 hours of deer hunting for the year.

Sorry for the pictures. We had the video camera but no digital camers.

Offline Muleyslyr

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2008, 09:47:47 AM »
Good idea ridge.....we even got a rare ridge photo!  ;)  Kinda neat to see what everyone was doing that year.

M_Ray....I'm with ya.....I didn't have the digital yet either.  These were scanned awile ago.  Almost as bad as the old Polaroids.

For me I had a pretty good year.  Started out going to Wyoming for deer and Antelope.  I shot this buck on October 4th....which happened to be my wedding anniversary.  I considered myself pretty damn lucky to be there doing that and have my wife still at home when I got back. :)  (I did send her some flowers to her work while I was there. ;))



I also took this Antelope the day before.  The picture obviously sucks and doesn't do the buck any justice, but he is incredibly heavy and has an 18" spread.  My best Antelope to date.



Then came back home and had the late tag for the Chiwawa.  That pretty much sucked.  It was cool because my Dad had a tag also and we spent a lot of time hittin' it hard but the weather totally sucked that year.  We spent 6 days up there first trip, came back home for a couple days and spent the last 5 up there.  Foggy nearly everyday....unbelievable!  I ended up taking this buck on the last afternoon of the last day....(for all you hunter orange guys.....yes I had it on.  I also had a day pack, binoculars, etc....  :))






Offline DeKuma

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2008, 10:29:12 AM »
For me 2004 was bittersweet, to say the least.

My brother was battling alcoholism since I can remember.  He used to hunt with us all the time, but stopped many years ago.
Opening weekend we were in the mountains and seeing lots of deer, but no shot opportunities.  As my step-mom and my daughter had to get back for work and school on Monday, we came back to camp long before dark.  We said our goodbyes, then my dad and I grabbed a bite to eat and were just getting ready to leave camp.  As I was strapping on my pack, our good friend showed up in his truck.  We had been teasing him about coming out and being our camp cook.  He got out of his truck and we knew something was wrong.  He then told us that my brother was found dead the night before.  My dad fell to the ground adn it was all I could do to take care of him.  We decided to rush home and just leave the camp right where it was and home no one messed with it. 
We spent the next week doing funeral prep and the likes.  Then he was cremated.  Once that was all done, we realized that we still had to go back and pack camp!  Immediately after the memorial where we spread some of his ashes, we jumped in my truck and headed east.  Driving over we decided to take some of his ashes to the top of the ridge and spread them. 
Next morning found us at the ridge.  We each took some time to be alone and deal with our issues.  I was talking to my brother, sort of praying and the likes.  Asking where he wanted his ashes.  There was deer track all over in the snow, but I kep getting pulled towards a rock outcropping away from the trail.  I decided to go where I thought my brother must want me to go.  Just as I stepped on the outcropping, there below me was a bachelor group of 5 bucks.  I took a quick scan and picked the first legal on I could and fired.
Spent the next day and a half getting the deer out, and my dad out.  Old codger followed me down the 1500 feet I had to go to get the deer out.  Talk about steep!  :o  I almost left the deer several times, just to get the old man out.  It was the biggest deer up to that point for either one of us, so we were excited, but sad that Johnny was not there with us........

Sorry it is so long....
- Scott

Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2008, 10:32:44 AM »
 Well my first hunt of 04 was the Wa muzzleloader opener, this was defiantly one of my most memorable hunts not that I killed a monster but the hunt was great and the shot was one of my best.
Tmike and I were able to secure about 5 or 6 sections of mostly sage to hunt in Eastern Wa. on the first night in there we found a group of 4 bucks together all were leagal 3 and 4 point with one being a real nice and heavy 4 point. the next couple of days found ourselves with quite a few close calls on nice bucks but nothing to show for our efforts.

About the third morning we sat a bit apart on the highest points we could find when I spotted a 4 point all alone feeding at about a mile out and I watch where he beds. So off I go making a big huge circle around him to get the wind right and when I get to about 220 yards I realize he has picked a spot with knee high sage all around him except the clump he is in! So I can either wait him out and hope he comes my way or try to slip in because about 30 yards from him is a piece of sage that I can keep between us for cover and if I can get there I'll have all day and I know I'll get a great shot at him. So when I call tmike on the radio he Say's he'll keep an eye on him to see which direction he goes when I fuzz him ... Thanks man my partner has allot of faith in me!  :chuckle: but about 2 1/2 hrs later and crawling on my hands and knees I make it to the bush 30 yards away only to get a 20 minute reprive before tmike's comment turns into reality. I got a little anxious being that close and moved a bit to see if I could slip one in and up he comes and blows out  :DOH:. So off I go running the same direction parallel to him not right on his back track and everytime he stopped he I would too and he looked back the way he came not towards me. Well this goes on for a mile and a half until he meets up with a Doe, Fawn and a 1x2 buck which I think settled him right down and finally gave me an opportunity to get a range on him(124 yards) and get on my stixx and just as if I planned it he stops perfectly broadside and looks at me I touch it off and I know it's good right away cause he bucks and runs with his nose is about 2" from the ground and he's going down hard! When I get up to him I find out I heart shot him! I was so stoked I call tmike and said did you see which way he was heading " no I took a nap! did ya get something?" yeah ... yeah I got something!


Not a monster but a memorable hunt nonetheless!

Muleyslyr what I did here which I think works better for me is I took a digital picture of my original picture then uploaded it seems to have come out pretty good.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2008, 11:11:08 AM by M_ray »
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2008, 11:03:30 AM »
Also in 04 tmike and I were drawn for a Union County Oregon whitetail muzzleloader hunt in the rut. We stayed with a friend in Elgin as base camp and hunted hard for 8 days. We even passed on Thankgiving dinner and went out to hunt instead! Well we saw some good bucks and on the opener tmike passed a decent 8 pointer wanting something better. Throughout the week we kept running into this buck in an area and we just couldn't get a shot off on him on separate occasions we both had him at like 15 yards but he was hauling a$$! As we are driving in on the 7th morning to try a spot higher up we see him again following a doe ... I bail out of the truck and get set up but all I have is an a$$ shot going up through the trees so I pass. tmike informs me it's time for his morning duties so I grab my stuff and tell him to do it down the road and I'll just go up and sit inside the tree line at least until he gets back ... great choice BTW!  ;)

I get up the hill and slip into some dark timber and figure I'll just find a thick spot and sit there ... well I get board with this pretty quickly and decide to sidehill in the direction the buck had gone. I stop again and remember I had bought that Primos can before this hunt and thought what the hell! I turn it over a couple of times thinking to myself I cant believe these things would come into this thing ... it sounds like a baby crying! well just then I get HUFFED at but it's directly below me, crap! how did they knob me that quickly? Just then out of the left corner of my eye in the direction the buck and doe had gone I catch movement. It's the doe! and she's bringing him right back to me they disappear into a little gully that was between us and this gives me a chance to get my gun on my knee. When they appear she walks on the trail 10 yards from me and he comes right behind her with his nose on the floor I give him the cheesy little midwest treestand mouth grunt and he stops BOOM I drop him right there! Again not a hog like some of you show off on here but I had been on 2 permit hunts before this ... one in Sled Springs Oregon and one in the Desert (archery) in Wa, and this was my first permit success I had so I decided to mount him so I will allways remember this hunt!


« Last Edit: March 06, 2008, 08:49:00 PM by M_ray »
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


MB

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Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2008, 11:08:55 AM »
BTW Muleyslyr you had a great 04 nice job!

and DeKuma that is a great buck I'm sorry for your loss ... you have something on your wall that will remind you everyday of all the good times you had with your brother!
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


MB

Growing old is mandatory ... Growing up is optional!

Offline Ridgerunner

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2008, 11:15:30 AM »
Great stories and a great thread guys, hopefully others will pitch in as well.  M_ray I may hopefully have some bear meat for you this summer if all goes well, I want a bruin and would be willing to share the spoils with you.  So we'll see. 

Offline archery288

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #16 on: March 06, 2008, 12:30:40 PM »
congrats on the nice deer mark! and a great story!

Offline DeKuma

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2008, 02:02:22 PM »
BTW Muleyslyr you had a great 04 nice job!

and DeKuma that is a great buck I'm sorry for your loss ... you have something on your wall that will remind you everyday of all the good times you had with your brother!

Thanks M_Ray.  It is a great reminder, though it does bring up memories always not so good.  Call it "Johnny Buck".
My 2005 deer is next to it on the wall, so that helps take the emphasis away.
- Scott

Offline HuntingFanatic

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2008, 03:31:35 PM »
I do believe this was one of my first posts on this forums..............sorry for its length. Ha I actually cut alot off too!

Date: 2nd week of the 2004 season.
Area: unit 224

"The First Sighting"

Around the magical 9 o'clock hour. I'm struggling to stay in my morning stand. Praying that the rising sun will shine down on my back to warm me up. I notice A few does to my left across a rocky draw feeding on an open hillside about 450 yards away. Five minutes later, out of the aspens at the bottom of the hill came "The Buck". Head down almost crawling up the hill. Within the first second of seeing him I knew  I wanted him. I watched him for a few minutes hoping that he would stray my way. He did not. I wanted him bad. I decided to put a stalk on him. I slowly rose to my feet, shivering. I made it 20 yards before an overlooked doe that was bedded between me and him busted me and ruined my fun. All I could do is sit down and watch as he trotted over the ridge straight away from me. Pausing right before he crested the ridge, looking back at me as if he knew that that sight would haunt me the rest of the day...and week.

"Big Buck: Take Two!"

The next morning I decide to take my morning stand closer to where I had seen "The Buck". Time around 9 am....again. This time the cold was bearable because I knew there was a possibility he would show himself again. Then.....There he was ! This time he was on the far ridge about 600 yards away. Moving steadily up the ridge toward the steep and thick backside. He had been spotted by another hunter who was trying to scramble up the ridge behind him, losing ground the entire time. I watched as he slipped out of sight. Feeling bad for the hunter in pursuit because he had not realized that it was a lost cause yet. But then again....I didn't feel bad. Because I just knew I would see him again the next day.

"Big Buck: The Climax"

I awoke the next day before my alarm went off. I was eager to jump out of my warm sleeping bag. It was my 30th birthday and I had a feeling it was going to be special. I decide to sit with my dad in our normal spot. We were not in our morning stand for long before we saw him again. Again he was on the far ridge about 600 yards away. This time he was just grazing and milling around the same little saddle. We watched him for a bit. Payed attention to our immediate area. I kept looking back every 30 seconds or so  before he disappeared. Knowing the area and the hunting pressure it receives we decided that there was a great possibility he would be pushed our way. We waited. I watched a hunter working his way towards the last known location of this deer and us. I thought our plan was coming together. Then the hunter stopped 2 ridges away and went back the way he came. It had been at least an hour and a half since we had last seen "The Buck". I sat a talked with my dad. Tested the wind with a Marlboro. We decided that it was time to go get him, assuming he was still there. It took over an hour to work our way above where we had seen him last. Wind in our face the entire time. We moved so slow a slug could have beat us to where we wanted to be. We spent the next Half hour slowly walking down the ridge looking at every possible escape route he had. No sign of him. We decided to look over one last small hump before sitting again. Then my dad said "There he is." I Immediately saw a big, black void broadside behind a sage brush about 125 yards away. He was staring at us. We were not busted...but he sensed something was not right. I raised my rifle. "He's got eye guards" i whispered.  "Take him" my dad says. Buck fever has its grip on me. I am shaking like aspen leaves in the wind(probably sounded like them too with my knees banging together) After what seemed like an eternity(most likely 15 seconds) I had to lower my rifle, Brace my strap around my elbow, and take a gigantic breath. No good....still shaking badly. He quartered towards me one step. That's when I remember thinking that I am not going to let this guy just walk away. The shakes left. And I shot. I saw him take one step in my scope and then he disappeared. I was almost certain I made a good shot. But then I was shaking again. And I remembered how I was shaking before he took a step. The doubt kicked in. I went to the left thinking I could possible see him bounding up the hill past our original stand and into the sights of another deserving hunter. But nothing. We went to where he was. No visible blood. We criss crossed the ridge for 10 minutes until I came to a fence line about 75 yards down ridge. That's where I saw his antlers sticking out the side of a sage brush. I was spent. I could only sit and watch my dad gut my deer. It was absolutely the best hunt I could have ever wished for. This was my once in a lifetime buck. He was definitely not the biggest (23.5 inch spread, 165 lbs hanging at the butcher) but he sure was the best in my mind!

Offline WAcoueshunter

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2008, 03:54:13 PM »
Here's my 2004 buck... ;)

I'll add the story and more pics when I've got some more time.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2008, 04:36:15 PM by WAcoueshunter »

Offline WDFW-SUX

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #20 on: March 06, 2008, 04:12:19 PM »
 :chuckle:
THE WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE SUCKS MORE THAN EVER..........

Offline Dman

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #21 on: March 06, 2008, 04:15:43 PM »
  I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back  :chuckle:

  I took my 2nd best blacktail, an even 100" nice tall dark horned 3x3 with eyeguard buck out of Vail in 2004. I hunted nearly every single day of the season, evening's weekend's, you name it, in hike in areas of Vail primarily, fell asleep and missed an opportunity at a decent buck coming upwind (A.D.D. I guess). Finally, the very last day of late buck, I headed out at dark in a monsoon. Hardly anyone was at the gate that AM, I believe I was 3rd to 4th in line. I got set up on a cut I thought might produce in bad weather, limiting other's visibility. After getting absolutely soaked for an hour, I bagged out of that cut and hit another side spur I wanted to hit before anyone else did about 1/2 mile down the road, it was a newer, one year old cut. I got out and glassed and immediately saw a doe come out of the bottom, unaware of me. I kept watching and about a minute or two later the big boy steps out following her up the hillside, angling at a .90 degree angle to me about 120 yards away. I'm on top of the hill with the wind blowing at 60-70mph with huge drops and I shoot right over his back, he doesn't even flinch but keeps right after the doe. about 1/2 way up the hill, I hit him stepping out from behind a brush pile, a double lung shot, but he just hunched up, so I put another through his heart and he went down. I have a mount of him, but I am going to try to post a field pic later off of my old camcorder if I can. I was back to the gate by 8:30AM and the game checker told me that was the 2nd nicest buck taken that season, other than a 4x5 out of Vail.

Offline M_ray

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #22 on: March 06, 2008, 06:52:01 PM »
Quote
I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back 

What's wrong Dman the 80's catch up with ya there?  :P
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #23 on: March 06, 2008, 06:54:08 PM »
Great stories and a great thread guys, hopefully others will pitch in as well.  M_ray I may hopefully have some bear meat for you this summer if all goes well, I want a bruin and would be willing to share the spoils with you.  So we'll see. 

Hey you got it! Maybe we'll go together 2 are better than one!
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #24 on: March 06, 2008, 07:19:39 PM »


2004 was a pretty good year for us also. This picture is my cousin's buck (on the left) and me and mine on the right. Opening morning we headed out to a spot we have had pretty good luck with in the past. My cousin dropped my brother and I off and drove up to a point we were supposed to me up at just before day light. It wasn't more than 45 minutes later I herd a shot down below me and I thought damn...that *censored* got lucky again after we put on the walk. I eventually made my way down and saw him and his 4 year old son dragging his deer off the hill down to his truck. I reluctantly congratulated him  :) and helped him load the deer into the back of his truck.

As we were standing by his truck getting a drink, his son said "dad...dad...deer!" Somewhat startled we turned around to see two nice bucks running across an open pasture. We later ranged their distance at about 300 yards, there was no doubt they were legal bucks both about identical size racks. I took aim at the buck trotting behind the first buck and shot. I saw the buck stumble and began to get pretty shaky. The next shot missed completely and finally the third shot hit its mark. The buck went down.

The other buck continued through the pasture and up the hill. I was hoping my brother who was still up there was going to cross paths with it. Just as the deer was cresting the top of the hill I saw mt brother not more than 100 yards from the deer. I did all I could to signal to him where the deer was but he was completely oblivious. I still give him a hard time about that to this day!

Next it was just a matter of driving up to the deer and taking care of business. Needless to say my brother was feeling pretty bummed out that he missed out. It made for a short hunting season being done by 8 am opening day. Fortunately we were able to get my brother his buck as well about 3 in the afternoon on the last day.


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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #25 on: March 06, 2008, 08:58:35 PM »
Thanks Ridgerunner! nice idea for the post and nice buck you got there I had seen it but not sure I knew the story.  :)
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are not those of HW Management, Admins, Mods or Myself... But they are the opinions of Elvis who has revealed them to me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...


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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #26 on: March 06, 2008, 09:14:41 PM »
 
Quote
I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back 

What's wrong Dman the 80's catch up with ya there?  :P
:chuckle:
 I think they did, I looked at the video and it was from 2003!

 Here's my 2004 season: I had gone salmon fishing in September and got the worst cold I ever had. I was still sick my modfire opener when we went over to our EWa. spot and unbelievably, it began to rain, and rain... and rain, and -jesus will it ever stop raining? We had to dig irrigation ditches through camp so our tent's wouldn't have standing water. I ended up catching pneumonia, but still went out driving the roads (not my usual approach) with my cousin opening day, who had just sprained his ankle, swollen to nearly twice normal size, so we were in bad shape between us. We lucked out and found this guy off of a spur rubbing his antler's and I dropped him. I ended up being sick for two more months after that, so I was thankful I got him on the first morning, I was laid up a while after.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #27 on: March 06, 2008, 09:22:59 PM »
 My cousin with the 3x3 (3rd tine on the right is covered).
You can see the ditches in the photo between the tents.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #28 on: March 06, 2008, 09:51:57 PM »
Great stories and picks guys. 04 started out with bad news when I found out I hadn't drawn Montana. One of only a few years that I havn't so I'm not complaing. The good news was that my brother did draw so I was going anyway, he can't go without his older brother keeping him from getting trigger happy. Well here in Washington we hunted the last week of the general season and did okay. On the first day we were out we saw loads of small bucks, several legals but nothing we wanted to put a tag on. Sitting at frist light I spotted some does below me in the bottom of the draw I hike to every morning. I watched them for about an hour, glassing all around but kept checking those does to see if they had anything big hanging out in one of the finger draws they were feeding near. All of a sudden a buck came out of some of thickest crap you can imagine. I put the scope on him but he ended up being only a 3 point, heavy and dark but not what I was looking for. Ended up hiking back to the truck and met my brother who also saw several bucks but nothing substantial. It was like this the entire week until the evening before the last day. We were heading home after the next morning hunt and decided that if my brother saw a 4 point he would take it for our freazers, no matter how big. Well as luck would have it we had one pop over the hill that evening, same place as HuntingFanatic ;) You didn't think you were the only one there did you :chuckle:
The very next morning that same 3 point was still in the same draw thicket so I packed up my gear and decided to walk down and get a closer look at him. At about 300 yards I got on the radio and asked my bro what he thought about me tagging a 3 point, he laughed and said he would rib me for years, so I got within 200 and dropped him. When my bro got over to me he said he would have taken him the first day, he ended up being an old buck, long tines and heavy, bigger than his 4 so he couldn't say crap :chuckle:
 A couple weeks later I drug his ass over to Montana to one of my honey holes and he dropped the buck in the last pic on the first day, we headed home feeling we did okay even though we both struck out on elk.
The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first!

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #29 on: March 06, 2008, 10:02:10 PM »
Hey Fanatic, does this area look familiar ;)
The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first!

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #30 on: March 07, 2008, 12:05:23 AM »
memories............ the second pic is eerily familiar :dunno: I just wanna be sitting there on a cold, early november morning with a gun in my hand.  :hunter:

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #31 on: March 07, 2008, 05:45:27 AM »
 :) looks like HOME to me.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #32 on: March 07, 2008, 08:37:42 AM »
Thought you might like those. Both taken from the same spot, one over the right shoulder, the other down to the left.

 Sorry Bone, didn't mean to take a pic from your childhood backyard ;)
The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first!

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #33 on: March 07, 2008, 10:45:06 AM »
In 2004 we were hunting the Teanaway, but not where I got this buck.  If I remember right opening weekend was miserable, rainy with some snow mixed in.  I think i saw 3 deer all weekend when normally we would have seen a lot more in the area.  Being in college I only had the weekend to hunt so went back to school empty handed.  My dad and other hunting friend both got their bucks once the storm let up later in the week. 

I came back home for the last weekend hoping to shoot the first legal buck I saw.  We hiked up  into another drainage in the Teanaway in the dark where my dad used to hunt.  We got across the creek in the dark and up onto the first big bench of a steep hillside.  My dad told me to go ahead of him and continue up the ridge.  There was a skif of snow on the ground which made any deer stand out a lot better.  I crested the first little ridge and came up onto a large rock.  I looked about 100 yards up the ridge and spotted a buck, but was unsure how big it was because its head was down.  Once it picked its head up I counted 3 points.  I got a solid rest on a rock and hit the buck, but didn't drop it.  So i had shoot him once more to finish the job. 

Walking up to him with my dad was a funny story.  He didn't know how many points it had so when we got to the deer it was laying on its side with the 3 point and only the large spike side was available to see.  He's like.....you shot a spike oh my..... and I reassured him it was legal so we rolled it over and it had 3 points. 

Fast forward to this last season and I shot another weird deer as you can see from the picture.  Who knows if there is some weird gene out there that is creating these bucks or if its something happening when they're in velvet....I seem to always find them though (the weird ones that is, I once shot a forked horn and the one antler was growing out of the bucks temple).

First pick is the 2004 buck second one is the 2007 buck.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #34 on: March 07, 2008, 10:51:45 AM »
At least you are taking htem out of the gene pool.  Good job on doing that.   ;)  That is wierd to kill two wierdo bucks like that so close together.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #35 on: March 07, 2008, 10:55:59 AM »
That's what I was thinking when I shot him....I told the guy that was with me this is how we manage our hunting area, it was my time again to shoot a werid one and get him out of the gene pool, he ate good.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #36 on: March 07, 2008, 11:09:10 AM »
I like wierd looking bucks better than symetrical ones, ...just different. Cool stories all.

Offline boneaddict

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #37 on: March 08, 2008, 11:00:41 AM »
You guys have seen them all but....



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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #38 on: March 08, 2008, 01:08:47 PM »
04 was very good for you Bone, going to be hard to beat that.
The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first!

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #39 on: March 08, 2008, 01:10:56 PM »
It was a GOOD year.  First out of state hunt to Idaho, with a moose and deer, and then to top it all off with Roseann and her elk.  That was the BEST.

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #40 on: March 08, 2008, 02:29:40 PM »
Man thhat second deer rack has to be some of the darkest I've ever seen. :o

Offline huntnphool

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #41 on: March 08, 2008, 02:33:07 PM »
Ya E-Town, almost all of my Methow Valley bucks have racks that dark as well, including the one I just posted from my 04 hunt.
The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first!

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #42 on: March 08, 2008, 08:52:48 PM »
2004 was a special year for me also.

I had been trying for a few years to harvest a mature muley with my bow.  I had been hunting the Okanogan area for 4 years trying to put a successful stalk on a mature buck.  Every year I would blow several stalks, I was having a ton of fun trying but was beginning to think I was just a smuck.  On my drive over to the East side in 04 I was giving myself the usual pep talk and reviewing the prior years mistakes.  In previous years I had been trying my stalks in the wide open ground, this year I decided I would focus on areas that had some decent cover, meaning rugged topography and/or timber.

On the opening day of the Late hunt near Omak I hit the trail in the dark and hunted my butt off, probably put on a good 8 - 10 miles.  I seen at least 50 deer but only a few small bucks.  I was was really getting disappointed in the lack of mature bucks.  I only had a couple hours of daylight left so I decided I would head down through a timbered hillside that I had seen bucks in during all the previous years.  When I hit that patch of timber I really felt like I was in the zone. As I was slowly slipping along I saw a buck get up out of his bed, he took a few steps forward and stuck his head in the brush.  I knew he was a good buck but I didn't think I could sneak an arrow through the thick brush.  Finally I found a small hole, estimated the yardage at 40 yds and let it fly.  I heard my arrow rattle through the brush behind the buck.  I thought "OH NO" how could I have missed, a few seconds later I hear the buck wheez and "Crash" he was down.  It had been a clean pass through right in the sweet spot.  I looked across the hill just in time to see him cart wheeling down the mountain, he rolled at least 3 hundred yards down the mountain, I was amazed he still had a rack. 

After some pictures I got to the task of caping and boning.  It was pitch dark before I got the task done.  After a 2 mile hike in the dark I ran into a camp on the opposite side of the mountain from my truck.  Luckily they were also bow hunters and were willing to give me a ride back to my truck. 

Coon


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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #43 on: March 08, 2008, 09:03:34 PM »
congrats coon!! thats a great buck!!!  :tup:

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Re: The Year was 2004........
« Reply #44 on: March 08, 2008, 10:18:35 PM »
Very nice buck.  Gotta love it though, when you hunt steep country they may fall where they stand but the roll a long ways down.  I've had that happen to two of my last 3 bucks.

 


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