That time of year that I look forward to the most, hunting Mule Deer in Montana in November! This year I was finally able to get my cousin to go back with me. We've been hunting together our entire lives and have had many a memorable hunts but I was excited to take him back to Montana with me. Last few years I've been going back solo and have become accustomed to making the long drive and spending the week by myself and this would be his first time hunting out of state.
Weather was just about as perfect as you could hope for. Snowed the week before we got there and was in the teens all week with a low of -4 one morning. Little bucks were holding small groups of Does and rutting pretty good. The bigger bucks we were finding either roaming by themselves or with a buddy, and usually right at dusk. After passing on several bucks that we agreed would be worth coming back later in the week for if we weren't finding any better bucks, I decided to fill my tag with this guy on the third evening. After glassing him him from a ridge top I had 45min of light left to hustle down the ridge and locate him and get a shot. Not knowing exactly how big he was, other than he was worth trying to get a better look at, I made my decision when I looked over a nob and saw him at 200yds. Literally 10min before legal shooting light was up I found him in my scope and ended my hunt. After two hours of work in the pitch ass dark getting him up the draw I was able to at least get a pic of him. Good respectable buck for the area.
Some of the country we got to look over. Yeah I know, awesome country huh!
Next morning was pretty uneventful with a couple of smaller 4pts and a the usual groups of smaller deer. we decided to take a mid day break and heat up a bowl of homemade chili and thaw out a bit. Couldn't even have a beer with lunch cuz it'd freeze into slush as soon as it was opened. Was a balmy 12 degrees around noon here...
I took the opportunity of having to unload my deer from the night before so we could reach the essentials to get the stove fired up and got a daylight photo of him before I took the hide off. Check out his nose, still frozen crooked from the night before..lol
That evening found a great spot to sit and glass as the sun was setting. Actually glassed up two great bucks about an hour before dark, one probably low 170's and other pushing that 180" mark, but my cousin felt they were just too far and in too nasty of a spot to try and force a stalk before dark.
That night at dinner my we were talking about some of the Whitetail areas around there. Never having shot a Whitetail, much less hunted for them, he says if he finds a dandy one he'd gladly pop it. with that said I told him of a spot I knew and made a game plan for first light. if this didn't work we were headed back to were we had seen the other good bucks from earlier in the week we passed up. Plan worked perfect and as daylight broke he smoked his first Montana deer and it was indeed a dandy.
Just another great trip back east and finally got to spend it with my cousin and show him the reason I go back year after year. We'll be back again next year.
