Not used to chasing whitetail in general, let alone in the Methow. After a couple days of learning the ebb and flow of the whitetail woods this one decided to make a mistake. Sat for 3 hours on the border of public and private. After 2 hours and 55 minutes of no deer and contemplating shooting myself, a doe popped out about 150 yards ahead of me. This tag is technically any deer, so temptation and an underutilized bird dog pup were knocking. Somehow, cool heads prevailed for the first time in my life. I watched her for a couple minutes when out of the corner of my eye I saw another deer moving in the private land.
Sure as can be it was a nice buck, but about 400 yards into the no go zone. I watched intently and saw he was sniffing the air and realized he was smelling "my doe". Like that he was on the move. I had only about 5 minutes of light but he was making ground. The last 100 yards he took at a sprint. He jumped the fence to the doe and the doe jumped back into the private. There was a patch of brush obscuring him and I fully expected him to jump back onto private. As luck would have it he took a couple steps back I guess to gear up for the fence jump. With an elbow on a fence post I sent one right through the boiler room and my tag was filled.
Very fun experience, rutting bucks in the snow, I have never had the pleasure of either. My biggest WT buck prior was a regressed forky in upstate New York, my dad's old stomping grounds and an awesome experience in and of itself (pack out in a canoe).
Pic was taken well after the kill, I had a buddy come to help get him in the truck. He has a huge body, rivaling my best mule deer (I myself am 250 pounds). Could not be more happy to take this mature whitetail in a unit not offering much public opportunity. That said, perhaps the best part is I have found a spot I can take my dad hunting in the future now that the hills and mountains of this valley are too much for him.
Oh, and the RUT IS ON!
