Author Topic: PathfinderJR's 2012 Muley (Read 10524 times)

Pathfinder101 · « **on:** October 28, 2012, 08:09:57 AM »

I have to start off this post by apologizing to my Hunt-wa bretheren for being very absent from the forum this season. The 2012 hunting season hasn't exactly shaken out the way I hoped it would, but at least I can post some success for the youngster.
For those of you who don't know, I retired from the US Army last year after 21 years and took a position teaching at the local high school. With my new job has come a raft of certifications and classes that seem to have hit their peak this year. To make a long story short, on opening day PathfinderJR and I were not sitting on a hillside behind spotting scopes waiting for daylight. Instead, I was sitting in a miserable, warm, well lit classroom listening to lectures on education theory and mentally banging my head against the drywall. I promise, that will be the extent of my complaining, as I am glad for my job, and I actually love teaching.
The day AFTER opening day did find us hiking in the dark out to the area we planned to glass. On the walk out from the truck, we spotted a deer sillouetted several hundred yards away in the slowly greying sky. So, with the wind in our favor, but no cover, we decided to stop and set up our optics. It was a good thing we did, because there was a herd of over 20 mule deer working their way up the hill that we had planned to hike up and glass. So, as daylight began to reveal the feeding deer, we hunkered down in the wheat stubble and prayed that we wouldn't spook them.
In the group there were several legal bucks. None of them were really big, but PathfinderJR had a full football schedule for the following week (plus we had an impending Montana antelope hunt we were leaving for on Wednesday), so he just had his sights set on a respectable 3 point this year. As we glassed from about 600 yards, two of the 3x3s started getting testy with each other. Soon a gentle sparring match ensued, so we focused in on the show and tried to get some pictures through the spotter. After a few minutes of sparring, the two youngsters really got irritated with each other and the sparring turned into an out-and-out shoving match. This lasted the better part of 5 minutes until one buck managed to gain the upper hand. While the victorious buck followed the rest of the herd over the hill to bed down (around 8:30am), the beaten buck pouted and stayed on the hillside with a single doe. Not wanting to spook the two deer, we stayed pinned down in our glassing position while they fed.
After about 20 minutes, the two deer fed behind a knob that hid us from their sight. I asked Justin in the "whupped" 3x3 was good enough for his tag and he said it was, so we started our stalk. When we crawled to the top of the knob I spotted the doe and ranged her at 300 yards. We could see the ears and antlers of the buck, feeding a few yards closer. I wispered the doe's range to JR as he pulled out the bipod legs and moved about 20 yards to my left to get a clear view of the feeding buck. As he moved, the doe spotted him and went to full alert. The buck put his head up too, and I got a range of 275 yards, but JR was too far from me to whisper the information to him. "Oh well," I thought. "He'll figure it close enough. He knows the doe is 300, and the buck is closer."
I watched JR get into position behind the rifle and shifted my binos back to the buck to watch him crumble. Broadside, 275 yards...JR could make this shot in his sleep...I already mentally started figuring out that I could nearly drive the truck right up to where this buck was going to die...Gutted out by 9:30...hanging in the garage by noon...cool...I'll have all afternoon to find a buck for myself...
The sharp blast of the .270 broke me out of my thoughts. In disbelief I watched dirt fly up behind the buck over his back. In a few seconds, the buck and doe were both gone and JR was looking at me, confused.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I don't know" He said. "I held high...."
"Why did you hold high?" I said. "He was less than 300 yards, and your rifle is 2 1/2" high at 100."
"I thought he was 350 yards" JR said. "I held over his back."
"350 yards!!??" I said, shocked. "I told you that doe was only 300, and the buck was closer."
Silence for a moment.

"Oh yeah. You did...." He mumbled at his feet.

Part II to be continued...

Pathfinder101 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2012, 08:34:20 AM »

After a few reassuring pats on the back and some encouragement, we geared up to go after the first herd of deer that had gone over the hill to bed down.
I had an idea where they would probably bed, but thought that the rifle shot might have moved them. We crossed the field into a large piece of DNR ground that is seeded in native grass and climbed into the canyon that I figured they would bed. We caught a glimpse of the tail end of the herd slipping out of the canyon headed north. Giving them time to bed down again we decided that they would likely bed down in the tall grass overlooking the other large canyon on the DNR ground. After waiting a while to let them get settled, we began our stalk.
By 10:00 we were several miles hike from where we had taken the first shot, climbing the steep hill that we hoped would put us on the back side of the knob where I thought the herd might be bedded. Huffing and puffing we crested the hill and dipped into the saddle. I was about to stop so we could catch our breath before making the final 300 yard stalk to where I suspected the deer had bedded down when suddenly we were looking into the face of JR's buck, bedded less than 50 yards to our left in the waist-high grass. JR was carrying my 7mm Mag (we were expecting a 300 plus yard shot), which he quickly threw up to find the buck in the scope. "That's him." was all he needed to hear. The grass we were standing in was too tall for him to use his bipod, so he pushed out his left hip and rested his elbow on it for an offhand shot. The 7mm barked and the buck flopped over in his bed, the 168 grain bullet drawing a long crease along the hair on his back (he was bedded facing away from us and looking back over his shoulder), entering at the base of his neck and exiting the opposite side. As a general rule, I don't like to shoot offhand at game, particularly in this open country where shots are typically long, vegetation is short, and a bipod-supported 300 yard shot is generally a better bet than a 100 yard offhand "hail Mary", but JR had done a lot of offhand shooting this year (competitive 3-position air rifle), and like I said, the grass was too tall on that hill to use the bipod.
After congratulations, backslaps, hugs and some celebratory pictures, the work began. JR had killed this buck as far back on the DNR land as you could get, neccessitating a 3 mile hike back to the truck, returning with the deer cart, and then a long, hard, uphill/downhill pull out to the road. From dead-deer-on-the-ground to buck-in-the-truck was a grueling 6 hour ordeal that ended in just enough time for me to drag myself on a fruitless evening hunt.
The 3x3 (I don't count eyeguards) muley was a young healthy buck that was better than he had looked at 600 yards in the spotting scope. When we put the tape to him back home his spread stetched to just under 22", making him JR's best mule deer buck to date.

Wea300mag · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2012, 09:02:50 AM »

Nice work JR, congrats!

runamuk · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2012, 09:05:07 AM »

congrats Jr. nice buck

jackelope · « **Reply #4 on:** October 28, 2012, 09:14:51 AM »

Way to go kid. That's a good one(again)

ellensburgpo · « **Reply #5 on:** October 28, 2012, 09:30:20 AM »

Nice job little man.

oldleclercrd · « **Reply #6 on:** October 28, 2012, 10:01:41 AM »

Nice work Jr.

hogsniper · « **Reply #7 on:** October 28, 2012, 10:16:16 AM »

Great buck!

SemperFidelis97 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 28, 2012, 10:56:07 AM »

Great buck congrats to the young man.

Cascade · « **Reply #9 on:** October 28, 2012, 11:10:03 AM »

Nice job JR!

Michelle_Nelson · « **Reply #10 on:** October 28, 2012, 01:05:15 PM »

Thats a good looking buck!

Kowsrule30 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 28, 2012, 01:16:05 PM »

Congrats!!!!

Skyvalhunter · « **Reply #12 on:** October 28, 2012, 01:18:50 PM »

Love to see the smile on the boys face!!

BOOM!! · « **Reply #13 on:** October 28, 2012, 01:26:07 PM »

That's a beauty!

3nails · « **Reply #14 on:** October 28, 2012, 01:33:59 PM »

Nice buck for the young man! Freaked me out for a second though when at first glance I thought he had a huge earing in his right ear.

X-Force · « **Reply #15 on:** October 28, 2012, 02:50:38 PM »

Congrats JR!

Blacktail Sniper · « **Reply #16 on:** October 28, 2012, 03:15:16 PM »

Nice!!

ShaneTyTrey · « **Reply #17 on:** October 28, 2012, 07:59:54 PM »

Nice buck, much congrats jr

BIGMIKE · « **Reply #18 on:** October 28, 2012, 10:30:46 PM »

congrats to JR on a fine anima :tup:l. I believe Pathfinder has to tell us the story about his Buck...

carpsniperg2 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 29, 2012, 12:45:34 AM »

jmx369 · « **Reply #20 on:** October 29, 2012, 02:37:28 AM »

Congrats to you and your son. That is a nice buck, both of you should be proud!

Pathfinder101 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 29, 2012, 01:00:46 PM »

Quote from: BIGMIKE on October 28, 2012, 10:30:46 PM

congrats to JR on a fine anima :tup:l. I believe Pathfinder has to tell us the story about his Buck...

Thanks guys.
Bigmike, Not muych to tell on mine. I'll probably put it on the end of my boo-hoo story of how we just ate two Montana antelope tags.

I'll get to it soon.

elkoholic1 · « **Reply #22 on:** October 29, 2012, 01:04:53 PM »

nice job congrats to u!!!

Woodchuck · « **Reply #23 on:** October 29, 2012, 01:12:35 PM »

When does Jr start selling lessons to the rest of us old farts?

That young man has had some awesome success.

Pathfinder101 · « **Reply #24 on:** October 30, 2012, 07:02:44 PM »

Quote from: Pathfinder101 on October 29, 2012, 01:00:46 PM

Quote from: BIGMIKE on October 28, 2012, 10:30:46 PM
congrats to JR on a fine anima :tup:l. I believe Pathfinder has to tell us the story about his Buck...

Thanks guys.
Bigmike, Not muych to tell on mine. I'll probably put it on the end of my boo-hoo story of how we just ate two Montana antelope tags. I'll get to it soon.

Here it is. http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,108729.0.html

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Author Topic: PathfinderJR's 2012 Muley (Read 10524 times)

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