Colorado/Montana Deer 4,000 mile round trip!

[go4steelhd]

My wife and I had 3rd season Colorado deer tags for an easy to draw unit. I was excited for this trip and hoped we would both get deer and be able to take my son on the stalks. The weather was cold and windy so my wife went on most stalks by her self.
Day one: Scouted and found one real nice four point and a few small ones.

Day two: This was the opener and my wife had been giving me a lot of pressure all year for not ever letting her go after a big buck if I have a tag. So I set back with my son behind the spotting scope and prayed this would turn out. I spotted two deer in the twilight chasing each other less than 150 yards from where they were the day before. So I left my wife know where I seen them and to begin her stalk. After about a half hour this buck and 10 does went into a small draw. I watched her get on top of the ridge and walk into it just out of my sight and I hear a gun shot I seen the does run out but no buck he was a 170ish 26” wide 4x4. I was super excited and waited for my wife to pop up and signal me the buck was down. Some time passed and she came out on the next ridge and started glassing.  my heart sank. It was not her that shot it was another group shooting at another buck less than 300 yards from her. Soon she catches up with the buck again at 265 yards and could not get on him good in the deep sage. She just sits there and glasses. Soon this buck circled around her and began feeding in the open cheat grass 150 yards to her left. She stayed focused on where she last seen him and never turned her head. I watched the buck feeding away from her for 20 minutes. I loaded my son in the truck and figured I could get within 400 yards of where I last seen the buck.(There was hunters everywhere and I new this buck would get hammered soon. As I pulled up to a knob where I figured I could see the buck, I looked down and he was 100 yards away trotting. Their was a dad and his son set up to take this buck. A few minutes later they dropped him
I pick up my wife and we head to a new area. We found a large heavy three point and a small four point with some does a mile away. My wife takes off after them. She got off course and ended up about half a mile right of them after a few mile hike she came back to the truck. I let her know what happened and showed her the deer again on the spotting scope. She took off after them again. They ended up seeing her at 150 yards and getting out of there.
This day ended with no shots and she stalked 4 different 4 point
Day three: She had three stalks on four points no shots. I went after a really BIG buck I seen running. When I got to where I seen him last sky lined it turned to private. So I was unable to pursue this buck.
Day four: She stalked two four points no shots
Day five: We all went on the stalk she had a few chances at the two four points from the day before but didn’t feel good with the shot.
 

[go4steelhd]

Later that afternoon she spotted a four point with some does and we talked over her best strategy. This buck was about half a mile away. I dropped her off and she began her stalk and I went and set up the spotting scope on a perch with my son. Some other hunters seen the buck but not her and began to stalk it as well. Soon they seen her and they turned around and let her hunt the buck She pushed this buck around for a while and all but one of the twenty does ran off.  The buck and doe Bedded about 250 yards from her. She layed down and waited for them to get up. He eventually stood and she dropped him in his tracks!!! I grabbed my pack board, toys, and lunch for my son and went up to congratulate her. She was soooooo proud. This is only her second buck that she has done the stalk completely on her own and harvested the animal. I also used this as a chance to tech her how to gut, quarter, and bone out a deer.

[go4steelhd]

Her buck

[Boss .300 winmag]

Congrats to the huntress.👍 I see his genes were passed on. 🤣

[go4steelhd]

Day 6: I seen I was number three on the Montana alternate list. So we went after a few bucks we had seen the last few days. I walked out to a perch in the dark to view where the deer had been at daylight the last few days. The buck I was looking was not there but their was a little better four point with the does now. I started making my stalk, when I got to about 220 yards their was some deer I did not know where there and they busted out. I got on a high point and Layed down waiting for this buck to stop running and be clear of the does. This heard had 30+ deer. The buck never did stop and I did not take a shot he went onto private. After this we went to another area and seen a nice 3 point main frame with a kicker. I looked at this deer for a while and finally passed. That evening I found a four point that was outside his ears. I made a stalk on this buck and took it.

[go4steelhd]

My buck
We seen lots and lots of deer like probably 100-300 a day. I have never seen this amount of pressure deer hunting. But there was lots of deer.

[go4steelhd]

The next morning I got a call from Montana F&G that I was up for a deer tag. So we headed up to montana. I would only have two full days to hunt. I seen a nice buck before I picked up my tag. YES he was on public  The next day I went and looked for that buck. He was a heavy 25 inch 4 point. I found him In the ditch along the rd. At about 10 yards. I was looking for more of a fair hunt so I kept driving and figured I would let him get up on the hill then make a stalk. Well before that happened another two trucks pulled up. I think they where going to shoot it out the window until they seen me Any how he blew out onto private. I passed  two small four points. Then I seen a buck about a mile and half away that had impressive width on some block management. I gathered my gear and headed after him. It was about zero and windy. I was about half way thru the stalk when I seen some other guys coming in as well. They seen me and left Twice in the same year to have people be respectful of you already perusing the animal first, this is really really cool and rare. I was a lot closer to the buck then they where but it still surprises me. Any how I crawl into 230 yards and wait. I can see the does bedded but not the buck. They all stand up and I see the buck. He is really wide but not tall like what I thought he was. So I watched them feed for a while.  I made my mind up to take this buck. I shot and hit the buck and he ran at me. He did not go down. I got on him again and squeeze the trigger nothing. I figured I must have not jacked the last shell out. So I cycled the action and squeeze the trigger.  Nothing!!!! I have a jammed empty case in the barrel. 
This is not good. I tryed every thing I could think of while I walked with the buck. After cycling the action at least 100 times it kicked the shell out. I had walked and ran with this buck for a long ways before that happened. I now was able to put a fresh round in and put the buck down. I lost my range finder and phone during  this treck. This was honestly the worst hunting experience I have had. I felt horrible having a crippled animal and not being able to put it down ASAP. I am glad I was able to recover the deer because I was not sure this would happen for a while.

[go4steelhd]

MT buck

After packing this buck I went and traced my tracks in the snow and found my phone first and my range finder a while later. They had flow out while I was running to keep up with the buck.

[Muleyslyr]

Nice! You had a good year dude. Congrats to you and your family. Great pics!

[blackveltbowhunter]

  Awesome adventure congrats

[Dan-o]

Thanks for sharing your great adventure.

[elkrack]

Looks like another great season in the books for you. Congrats 

[oldschool]

 Nice bucks and glad you found your deer

[lipripper]

Thats a great family vacation !!! Way better than Hawaii !

[cedarriver]

Wow those are some great bucks and great memories! Congrats!