Finally getting around to this - been a long fall.
My hunting season this year has been quite different.
I started here in Washington with muzzy deer. Got camp set up around noon the day before opener and headed out to see what I could find. As is a common theme among all of us deer hunters the numbers have been hammered pretty hard. I spent all afternoon behind the binocs and spotting scope and could not find even a doe. Finally a little before dark I found a small bunch. A hand full of does/fawns and two bucks that I was pretty sure were crab-claw 2x3's. Dinks but legal.
Next morning i was at my glassing spot an hour before the sun came up listening to the coyotes greet the sunrise. My morning hunt did not turn up a single deer. In the hay day it would have been dozens in that amount of time - what a shame. Finally about 1 I found 9 does/fawns but no horns.
Went back to the trailer for a bite to eat and back out glassing all I could see. About 4 I decided to go see if I could find the two bucks from the afternoon before. It took a while but I did find the same ones. Only this time I could not be sure they had that crab-claw3 on one side. I watched them for about an hour. As the evening came on the two bucks started sparing a little. After a couple of just tinking horns for a bit, an all-out fight started. They were kicking up dust and brush and really going at it. I was watching them in the scope when a BIG buck walked right up to them and it all broke up. I said to myself there is a whole lot of legal there and hatched a quick plan.
I hurried to the truck and drove up the road a bit to get out of sight of them, grabbed my pack and was off. There was a ravine between me and the deer and ran over to it and headed over to them. I climbed out and had a little sagebrush rise still between us. Still hurring I got closer then crawled then belly crawled. I could not see them and hoped they had not moved. There was a massive boulder in front of me and that was as far as I could go. I got to it and peeked around, I could see a few does that had laid down and one of the little bucks was standing and had me busted looking right at me. I backed up, got on my knees and peeked over the top of the boulder. They were all laying down except the one small buck. I had successfully made the stalk and the big buck was bedded less than 20 yards from me. I raised my gun resting on the boulder and aimed right where his neck connected to his body. At the shot when the smoke cleared it was like he just laid his head down. GOT HIM - right in the neck. All of the rest of the deer jumped up and just stood there. They finally ran off and I could not believe how big this buck actually was. Later taped out an honest 28 inches wide and heavy. My best muzzy buck and the widest as well. I gutted and cut it in half and went and got my sled. It was 9 that night when I had it in the truck and headed back to the trailer. Was midnight by the time I had it skinned and in game bags, ate and got cleaned up. Slept in the next morning with a big bacon and eggs breakfast.
With Washington done the next weekend headed to Idaho for whitetail. It was then that the misadventures began. My first afternoon I deiced to go to my honey hole. Just does came out. It is about an hour back to the truck and coming out in the dark. Almost to the truck I was climbing up the steep road bank in some really tall grass when my left foot found a hole about a foot and half deep. I fell backward and sideways on my pack and gun. Finally got out of my pack and leg out of the hole. I knew my ankle was tweaked but right then was not bad. By the time I got back to the trailer could not bear weight. It was BAD. I could barely walk the next day but decided to hunt anyway. Picked stands next to the road so I could hobble there. Did see a buck and missed.
When I got home figured I better check my scope and went to my range. Yup discovered that I actually had broken the scope mount in the fall. Got it repaired and sighted back in. Made three more trips back to Idaho but my ankle dogged me the whole time. I can best describe my Idaho hunts as a Cluster - had 5 opportunities in total at bucks and blew them all. First time in a dozen years with no Idaho whitetail. But with the ankle, I was not able to hunt like I really like to. Got to make some sort of excuse....
Its been about two months and my ankle is better but still twinges some - Oh well.
Elk was a bust again - saw one track in three days. Hope it comes back in a year or two.
Only had two pics of the buck that are even close to decent.
Didn't get to hunt with my son this year, which sucks. Did get a few days in Idaho with a couple of buddies which was pretty fun. Even though there were some mishaps - All in all it was a good big game season. On to birds and winter fishing, I guess.....
