Well it's always with a bittersweet emotion that I get to announce that deer season is done for me for 2016. (At least in WA, maybe I get lucky and get to ID again this year...
) I was able to seal the deal again on a Whatcom County alpine blacktail. Not as big as the last couple years and not my target buck, but with my limited time this year, I'm not complaining at all.
As usual, hunting season started for me with preseason scouting and it wasn't long until I had a hit list buck to go after.
I had relatively little time scouting but planned to take the first 5 days to camp solo in the alpine in search of my hit list buck. After all the rain I got last year, I was smart and stashed a big tarp to cover my tent and cut some firewood to keep under a tarp so I would have dry firewood, that was definitely a lifesaver!
August 31 came and I took off work early to get camp set up before dark. It literally poured down rain almost the entire hunt, and I was sure glad to have the tarp again! Last year it rained/snowed most days and snowed every night. This year it was just rain, rain, and more rain!!! The dry firewood and tarp was definitely a lifesaver.
Opening morning came with a lot of rain! I laid in bed that morning listening to the deafening sound of rain on my tarp and just knowing that I would be soaked. I put on all my rain gear and my crampons and made my way into the alpine slowly working my way past out to the meadows where I was used to seeing deer. Along the way I got to check my trail cameras for the first time. First camera had 3 deer including a couple smaller bucks from an hour before daylight, a good way to start. Second camera (also the one that always got my hit list buck that summer had no pictures at all. Third camera had about 100 pictures including my hitlist buck but he hadn't been there for 10 days. The entire morning I stillhunted, literally taking 3 steps at a time and then glassing for over 2 miles. By noon, I had not seen a single deer, just lots of fog and good looking country.
I staid out in the rain and fog the entire day and it wasn't until about an hour before dark that I saw my first doe. She kept looking behind her into the timber so I assumed there was another deer with her and I waited until dark to see what it was. Finally right at dark a second doe came out of the timber and they both fed away into the alpine. I was soaked and had a long hike back to camp in the dark.
The next day, I regrouped and did more of the same. More still hunting. More glassing. More rain. More fog.
By 3pm I'd seen 3 does and no bucks. And I was very wet!
At least I found some blueberries to munch on.
I actually texted a friend and told him it was a good thing there were no bears around because I was so sick of not seeing deer that I would probably shoot one. What do you know around 3pm I spot a bear feeding in the fog. The bear was actually in a relatively accessible spot and I thought: "Why not see how close you can get?"
After about a half hour stalk, I was 61 yards away from the bear. I was thinking, if I shoot a bear solo in here, I'm going to make sure it's a GREAT shot and a quick recovery, so I tried to get closer. At 54 yards, I kept trying to close the distance. At 45 yards I kept closing. Finally at 37 yards I was just waiting for him to step out from behind a tree. Of course the wind shifted and he bolted. I did see him a couple more times that afternoon but not in nearly as accessible of a spot so I never did get a shot at him.
That night, I still hunted again a different direction from camp only to come up empty. At sunset, I was glassing a basin behind camp watching the same bear feeding and a doe feeding when I happened to glance to the right and a spike and about a 120 class buck both step out of the timber at 300 yards. I tried moving closer but there was nothing but open country between me and them, they caught me moving and just turned right back around and went into the timber. Well at least I finally saw some bucks!
That night I talked with my wife and it was pretty clear I needed to cut my trip a bit short and go help out a bit with parenting. I got up the next morning and did a quick morning hunt in the direction the bucks from the night before had fed. I got into some REALLY steep country with actually a lot of deer sign but never did see them. I only saw one doe that morning. At least I knew where the deer were hanging out.
This was the not steep part of the country:
I made it home Saturday afternoon and was able to spend some time with my wife and son. Happy wife, happy life is totally true and an absolute no brainer for me. I knew if I wanted more time later in season, I needed to spend some time at home this weekend!
Plus it was a chance to dry out my gear!
I got the OK from my wife for a day trip on Labor Day and convinced my brother to set a 2am alarm to get to alpine by daylight. Of course the Sunday I was home was the only clear(ish) day of the weekend. On Monday we got treated to... you guessed it: more rain and fog!
Early in the morning, I caught a 3 point and 4 point buck feeding my direction at about 300 yards. Neither was very large but I would shoot the 4 point if he got close enough. It looked like they were going to feed down a game trail about 100 yards away from me so I tried to move closer so I could get a shot as they came by. Unfortunately they heard me moving and took off the other direction. I tried circling around and getting another view but I never did see them again.
About 11am I met back up with my brother who was bear hunting (no archery tag for deer.) He had just spotted 2 deer feeding way down low in the basin. Careful examination with my binoculars showed antlers on the bigger deer but we couldn't tell exactly how big he was. We both moved about 1000 yards closer and then I moved in for the stalk while my brother stayed behind to glass. We thought he had bedded down in some thick brush in the meadow.
As I closed the distance to about 300 yards I quickly noticed the "meadow" was chest high blueberries and the "thick brush" was 10-15 foot high mountain ash. If you've never been in that kind of terrain, I can assure you it is very noisy and hard to navigate. I was thinking to myself there is no way these deer are still going to be bedded when I get there and soon enough I hear movement above me and watch a really nice 3 point buck walk by at 100 yards in the blueberries. I was sure he was the buck and I'd spooked him but went to look on the other side of the mountain ash just to be sure the big guy wasn't still there. All I could see was brush so I turned back for the long hike back to my brother.
When I got to my bro he asked me why I hadn't shot the buck? I asked what he was talking about. My bro never saw the 3 point I was looking at. But apparently when I walked into the mountain ash, a big (120ish) buck stood up 20 feet away from me and took 4 bounds away then stopped at 20 yards to look back at me. Then he just walked away. Of course I never saw or heard the buck despite being so close.
Well 2 weeks past and I convinced my brother (and his brother in law this time) to set his alarm for 2am again so we can go high hunt the spot for a day with our rifles. This time he gets to deer hunt too. Again, he went one way and I went the other. Right at daylight I spot a doe feeding in a little pocket meadow through the brush. I slowly worked my way around the basin trying continuously glassing the windows through the timber trying to find a buck. After about 15 minutes I caught sight of a big bodied deer walking straight way from me. Upon glassing, I could tell he was a 4 point. He ended up bedding in some brush with just his head visible at about 400 yards giving me about 20 minutes to look at him and a smaller 3x4 that was with him as well.
The buck wasn't as big as my hit list buck but a solid 4x4 with a nice eye guard on one side. No anyone that's hunted with me before knows I'm not exactly the kind of hunter to pass on animals. I've definitely never passed on a 4 point before. After debating with myself for about 20 minutes, I decided to see if I could get close enough for a good shot. About this time the buck stands up and feeds over the hill.
I ended up dropping about 800 feet downhill in order to get the wind right. About this time it just starts pouring which is actually really good. The noise of the rain covers any sound I'm making and it really tends to hold your scent down. The winds had been swirling all morning so I was happy for that. I ended up working my way up a really steep avalanche chute constantly glassing and trying to catch a glimpse of the deer. I had one last little pocket meadow to look into and came around the edge of the ridge and saw a white butt in the brush. Sure enough it was my buck feeding at about 80 yards with NO CLUE I was there. (Thank you rain for once!)
I had my shooting sticks out but was having a hard time seeing his body over the brush. I spent about 2 minutes moving up hill, then down hill, then forward, then back, until finally I felt like I had a clear shot and a solid rest. He was quartering really hard towards me so I held my scope right on his shoulder and squeezed the shot. He dropped in his tracks! He did try lifting his head again so I gave one more insurance shot and he rolled down the hill and out of sight. At that time, a doe and the other buck both took off running down hill and with all the commotion I was afraid he had gotten up and run too. I only had to move about 40 yards closer for me to see my worries were unwarranted as he had just rolled to the closest log and was DOA.
As he lay:
I let my bro and buddy know that I had a buck down (they had heard my 2 shots and were anxiously waiting to hear from me.) My brother wanted to keep hunting, but my buddy said he'd come help me with the butcher job and the steep climb back up the hill (to where we can start packing down hill again.)
It continued to POUR the entire time we were butchering. Towards, the end, the wind picked up and it started to snow like crazy. We threw the deer in our packs and worked our way up the slippery hill. Every thing we owned was completely SOAKED!!!
We met up with my brother gave him some of our gear and headed down the hill. The "trail" down (not much of a trail) was literally a creek of water and mud. It was slow going putting lots of weight on our trekking poles just to be sure we didn't slide all the way down the hill. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way! It wouldn't be alpine blacktail deer hunting without rain, snow, wind, and mud!
Overall, he wasn't the biggest buck I saw this year but I knew I had limited time left this season to get into the high country and I am really not one to complain about an alpine 4 point blacktail and AMAZING organic meat in the freezer. Huge thanks to my brother and his bro-in-law for being there to help me pack out and of course to God for blessing me with safety and meat for the winter! Hopefully I still can wrangle up a few more days in alpine, helping other hunters and chasing bears with my bow!
Oh and I did get a ton of video of the hunt (although as normal, not of the kill shot.) I'll definitely be editing a video and posting on HuntWA later this year!
