West Blue Mts. Foot hills

[teanawayslayer]

Saw my first legal buck today but let him walk.  He was about this size.  Smaller forks on top but better eyegauds.

man he’s perfectly symmetrical! I’m not sure I would’ve let him walk 

[borntoslay]

Here's an old one to get the juices flowing. The big ones are down low hiding in the Crp up king grade 🤣

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[Rainier10]

Just got my daughters buck from this hunt. Good luck tag holders.

[HntnFsh]

That's awesome!

[D-Rock425]

Well I'm 90% sure I missed at buck this afternoon.  Looked for blood for an hour 30 of that was in the dark and came up with nothing.  Deer was right on the edge of field and bailed back down the hill so I didn't get to see much of a reaction.  Heading back in the morning to keep searching to be 100% sure.   

[RileyH]

Well I'm 90% sure I missed at buck this afternoon.  Looked for blood for an hour 30 of that was in the dark and came up with nothing.  Deer was right on the edge of field and bailed back down the hill so I didn't get to see much of a reaction.  Heading back in the morning to keep searching to be 100% sure.   

Keep after it, I missed two this year before connecting!

[HntnFsh]

Well I'm 90% sure I missed at buck this afternoon.  Looked for blood for an hour 30 of that was in the dark and came up with nothing.  Deer was right on the edge of field and bailed back down the hill so I didn't get to see much of a reaction.  Heading back in the morning to keep searching to be 100% sure.   

Best of luck to you!

[HntnFsh]

A lot less action today. Saw a small basket rack 4. Then a nicer buck that looked decent but was chasing a doe across a field and was a 1/2 mile away in no time. Just before dark saw another decent buck, but he was also chasing a doe through some timber. No chance at a shot.
Almost took a very small sort of 3x3 this morning just because it was so unique. Small fork with an eye gaurd on 1 side. Small fork on the other. Its forks were so close to the base they looked like eye guards.But it also had about a 3 inch spike coming out about 1/2 way between its main and its eye on the left side!

One more go at it in the morning for a few hours before heading home.

[Mfowl]

Good luck! Rootin for ya!

[Rainier10]

My daughter shot hers in the last two hours as we were headed out. It can happen at anytime.

[HntnFsh]

Been meaning to get on here and share the last bit of my Blue mountains Foothills west tag experience. Just been crazy busy.

So Thursday morning was my last chance. We got up the hill to a fine skiff of snow. As the morning progressed the snow picked up and put a nice little layer of white down. I thought it would be good for my grand finale. But there really werent many deer moving. Saw a half dozen does. About 10 a.m. I told my son its time to head down the hill and for home. At the last bit of feel free to hunt area I spotted a couple deer about a 1/2 mile away just below the brim of the field. Through the glasses we could see it was decent buck. He was in hot pursuit of a doe. In no time he was  several hundred yards further away and still moving. Also a little further down in the draw. I decided he was worth a closer look so I headed out in the best route I could find to keep me out of sight. I finally got to where I wanted to be and looked over the edge. Nothing. I stayed just up from the edge of the berm and walked further out. Looking over the edge every 50 yards or so. Finally looked over the edge and he was about 150 yards out. Standing facing me. He was a decent 3 point with great height and mass, but not very wide. I pulled up the rifle and centered the cross hairs for the shot. Watched him through the scope for several seconds. Lowered my rifle and watched him bound away!

I went on this hunt for several reasons. The experience, and being able to spend 5 days with my son seeing lots of animals and several bucks. Also the hope of harvesting a wallhanger. Meaning hopefully a really good 3 but preferably 4 point with eye guards that just looked great. Looking back on it, I had that opportunity my first real morning of hunting. Found 2 really nice wide, heavy bucks that would have been great specimens. As an added bonus they were easy shots and close to the road. I passed on both of those bucks mostly because I wasnt ready for the hunt to end. But I also felt  I would have other good opportunities. Well, over the next several days I had lots of opportunities. But almost all small basket rack 3 and 4 points. I did see a few other really nice bucks, but they had no intention of letting me have a chance at harvesting them. I could have taken several meat bucks, but that wasnt what I was over there for. Plus I have a lot of elk meat in my freezer so I wasnt under any pressure to add to it. As far as deer go I went home empty handed. As far as the hunt and experience goes, it was awesome! Ive been fortunate to have harvested a lot of animals in my life. I still love doing that, but its gotten to the point the experience is more important than the harvest. The harvest is a bonus.

I met a few people while I was there. They were very helpful and friendly. I got a lot of good help and suggestions from the Huntwa crew. I had several people reach out to me unexpectedly while I was over there by text and pm with lots of good info. I can't thank all of you enough for helping to make this an incredible experience. Because of all of you I was able to come home from what I would consider a succesful hunt!

 

[HntnFsh]

I also had 3 days to hunt late buck around home. Passed up 3 spikes and a nice branched buck. Maybe next year will be a harvest year!

[Rainier10]

Sounds like a very successful year. Thanks for the update on how the season ended. Fun hunts don’t always end with a notched tag.

[Bob33]

Great write up. A hunt can be rewarding without harvest. One of the best hunts of my life was spent in the Blues chasing elk. Ten days and no shot fired but a hunt I will always cherish.

[boneaddict]

I applaud you with how you ended the hunt.      I’m glad you met your goals of the hunt