Success in the Desert

[Thehuntingdad33]

Always striving to out do yourself and kill a bigger buck than the last one can be a bit of a slippery slope.  If you do not stay grounded, it can lead you down a path of disappointment.  For us, it's always been about the hunt, being careful to not be so focused on the prize that you miss the joy in the journey.  The journey is where most of the memories are made.  With an amazing Idaho buck already to his credit this year, the plan for this very difficult draw tag was to at least find something in the same class.  It didn't have to be bigger.  He never set a goal on the number of points or how well it scored.  He just wanted to kill a buck that was a good representation of what the unit could produce. 

It can take well over a decade to draw this coveted tag.  Some hunters have been putting in for twenty years and still haven't drawn it.  Needless to say we were pretty excited to see "Selected" when we checked the results last spring.  The Desert Unit, to those who are unfamiliar, is the area off to your right as you travel east on I-90 from Goerge to Moses Lake.  It is a mix of private land, mostly agricultural circles, and  public land covered in sage, irrigation canals, scattered ponds and cattails.  It is a limited draw so on this particular hunt, Logan would have only a handful of other hunters to compete with in the 35,000 acres of public land.  The season is only nine days so we planned on using all of them if need be. 

It's funny how a person's mind operates, especially after the fifth day in a row of waking up at 4:55 a.m, hiking 10 miles through sand and old growth sage, back tracking miles because you couldn't get around another swamp or canal, glassing until your eyes hurt, dodging blood thirsty mosquitos, being whipped in the face with sage all day, with nothing more than sore knees and a couple glimpses at average bucks to show for it.  Doubt can really start to creep in. Within 24 hours we went from, "I can't believe we only get four more days to hunt," to "I can't believe we still have to do this for four more days!"  It becomes a grind, like getting up and going to work.  Those big, Desert Ghost's are out there, unfortunately they are some of the smartest bucks I've ever seen

Every mile or so there will be a raised sand dune that sticks up ten feet higher than the rest of the terrain.  The best way to hunt this area is to hike to the nearest dune, climb up near the top, but not so high that your silhouette stands out above the top, and sit and glass until your eyes can't take it anymore.  If you get lazy and silhouette yourself, any deer within a mile will see you and you're busted.  I told you they are smart.  Once you decide to move on, you find your next dune and make a plan to navigate the sage to get there.  You have to plan your route because with all the cattail marshes and Russian Olive trees, you will most certainly hit a dead end if you don't. This is how you end up logging 10 miles a day. 

On day 6 we were back in an area where we had been seeing the most deer activity.  Shortly after daylight we spotted a buck and watched him for a minute before he vanished in the sage.  These bucks are masters of disguise.  Several times we would spot a buck, take one step closer to get a better look and they would disappear without a trace.  One day, after 12 miles of hiking, I spotted two separate bucks that all I did was look away for a second to get Logan's attention and when I looked back, poof... they're gone!  I actually began to question my sanity that day.  I seriously thought I could be losing my mind.

Around noon we took a break and sat on the end of what I guess you could call a ridge and rifled through our packs, searching for whatever stray candy bar we could find for lunch.  We had bought everything to make sandwiches the night before but after the third snooze alarm went off, there wasn't the time or the motivation to build one.  We were contemplating our next move when  I glanced over to my right and saw what appeared to be a buck moving through the sage at 600 or 700 yards.  I knew it was a pretty good one but couldn't get a second look before it disappeared in the sage, imagine that.  But unlike most of the 17 bucks prior, this one actually reappeared.  There was no need to study it, he was the buck Logan came here for.  I ranged him at 640 yards, the same distance as his buck in Idaho.  With the wind blowing at a steady 15 mph the shot was too risky.  The second the buck disappeared over the rise, Logan took off running across the flat.  It was pointless for me to attempt to keep up.  I watched him as he crept up to the top and it was clear by his body language that the buck was still there.  Within seconds he deployed his bi-pod, sat down and steadied himself for a shot, and fired.  The sound of his .300 Win Mag going off was such a sweet ending to our emotional rollercoaster in the Desert.

Going into this hunt we were not sure what to believe.  We heard people say you will be done in a day.  Others were only a little less optimistic, saying we wouldn't be there all week.   I've done this long enough to know there is a fair amount of luck involved in killing a mature buck.  I don't care how good your tag is.  Some people believe you make your own luck.  I don't.  The only thing you have control over is the amount of time and effort you put into it.  We approached this hunt with the law of averages in mind; spend as much time as possible out there and our chances at crossing paths with one of these legendary bucks would go up every hour.  I would like to say that there was some great lesson learned here about hard work, dedication and the reward, but that would be a reach.    Life is hard.  It's also not fair.  I have always said that hunting teaches a person some of the greatest lessons about life. You are going to fail way more than you will succeed so concentrate on what you can control.  That's it.  In this case, perseverance, and a great deal of luck, is why we got this buck. 

Reflecting back on the 6 days in the Desert, we had an amazing trip.  We saw 18 bucks and more does than you could count.  We picked up antler sheds, enjoyed camp and a week long supply of buck stew.  We also met some great people along the way too, like Pheasant Bob & Quail Bobby.  Two longtime buddies who rarely miss a weekend of bird hunting.  We sat around their camp one day after a morning hunt and swapped stories over a cold beer and a zip lock full of pre-cooked bacon. 

The Desert is an amazing place.  It is truly a love/hate relationship.  From a far, it is just a sage filled desert.  But when you dive into it, especially 52 miles worth, you really begin to see the remarkable beauty that it holds.  And if you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of one of these elusive Desert Ghost's...

[frazierw]

Greta buck and a great story!  Congratulations

[buckfvr]

Great buck, great write up !

[storyteller]

Great job of capturing  the trip for  us to enjoy, great  looking  buck

[pd]

OP, I don't care about the deer (I lie, of course), but I love your writing.  Thank you for the excellent story.

[highside74]

I mean, I guess if you are into big bucks that one would work. 

Nice job boys

[Lincoln4]

Nice buck!  And thanks for taking the time for a great write-up.

[huntnfmly]

Congrats great buck and write up thanks for sharing

[Buckhunter24]

Greta buck and a great story!  Congratulations

 

[boneaddict]

Nice one.  I’m glad you guys had a great hunt out of it.  That’s really the point isn’t it?  Well done!

[Mfowl]

Great buck and story! Congrats! Thanks for sharing!

[wheels1]

Congrats awesome buck

[Ridgerunner]

Great buck and a great write up too


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[teanawayslayer]

Great buck! And an even better write up! Thanks for sharing

[CaNINE]

Great buck