It was awhile back now 6 years?. We were hunting our favorite area and had seen a few small bucks.
We had our usual large camp and hunters had come and gone with no luck.
There was just three of us left in camp. All us over 65. There was a fellow camped just above us who we had got to know. The season was 11 days I think. About 8 days in the three of us were with in a 1/4 mile of each other. One of my buddies ran into our neighbor and the stopped to visit for a minute on the hill. The neighbor stepped behind a tree to take a leak and about that time a legal buck showed himself.
My buddy shot it and called for help. Well I was up the mountain and couldn’t hear very good but our other buddy heard the call and hiked over to help our shooter.
During the next hour there scratching radio talk and I picked up that they were dragging a buck out but the shooter was having chest pains.
To compound things I could see on my Rhino that they were dragging out the long way. So I hurried to help. Well they got the deer to the truck before I got there and we took it to camp to dress out.
The shooters pains let up and was feeling better.
The next day the shooter left for home with his deer and than there was two of us. My other buddy hunted one more day and than left to go to Montana.
Now I am alone. Just the camp and me, a wall tent and cook shack I do have a buddy coming over to help break camp at the end.
I love time in the wall tent and don’t mind camping alone. While we were hunting the day before another friend from the west side had stopped by and put stak and chocolate pie in our cooler for my up coming birthday.
Well my first day alone was my birthday. I got up,cooked breakfast and set out hunt. Parked the truck and started out on my favorite route around the mountain.
I set down about 10 am and watched a bottom , tha moved on.
As I was walking a deer trail I come upon three shooter bucks, 17 inches or bigger. Two jumped down hill, but one came up on the trail I was on, walking away from me at about 60 yards.
Just before going over a rise in the trail he stopped. I will never forget that pose. Quartered slightly looking at me over his back. I leaned against a tree and shot.
When I recovered he was gone. I went to where he was standing , no deer, no blood, nothing.
I decided to move up and over the rise, and sure enough he laid dead.
I did a quick field dress , checked my rhino which confirmed there was a cat trail about 100 yards down. I drug the deer down to it and along it to the south towards a gravel pit.
Just before the gravel pit I see a bear moving towards me down hill. I dump my gunrunner pack and pull out the rifle, but I was t fast enough.
I got the deer to bank above the gravel pit. I knew that this year they had forgot to lock the gate, so I decided I was going to make a quick dash in with truck to get the deer.
I left the deer hiked out to the main road. My truck was a mile around the mountain. But two guys picked me up and gave me a ride.
I got back to the gate and got through to the deer, rolled him off the bank on to the tailgate and back to camp I went.
Used a come along to get him hung and dressed him out. Real proud of myself for killing a deer on my birthday I set down alone to steak, chocolate pie, and Diet Pepsi. With a roaring campfire.
I relived the hunt. And settled in that I had three days left to relax and talk to my buck.
Than the phone rang. It was my wife, she had come home from work and found our back door kicked in and the house ransacked. I told I would start home in the morining.
Got up at 3 am broke down camp and left for home.
Photo my deer on pack frame my wife did.
And a photo of my last two buds in camp and the deer they got.
Oops sorry missed the brief part.
