My Gardner late tag - hunting at the High School Dance

[davew]

Dawn broke on the fourth morning of my Gardner late tag mule deer hunt.  This was the third morning of making the long hike in the dark to this nondescript ridgeline.   My hopes were high based on deer sightings in preseason scouting trips and the previous two days.  Five minutes into the first morning, I’d seen a 4x5 buck at this exact spot that was the kind of deer that gives this unit its reputation.  Unfortunately, driving rain and fogged up glasses made me pass up the long shot because I wasn’t sure I could make it.  And who wants to put in for this tag for years and then use it up in five minutes?  Since then, I’d seen numerous does and enough lovesick fork horns that I’d begun to think of this spot as the High School Dance. 

As it became light enough to see, a doe was feeding just below me to the left.  A few minutes later, a big bodied deer appeared to the right.  Big rack.  I brought the binoculars up, and damn, another fork horn.  I let him cruise by, and then slowly began to work my way down one side of the ridge.  I’d only gone a hundred yards when four deer appeared ahead.  Three doe and a good sized buck were feeding their way up a gully towards a saddle in my ridge.  It was too far to shoot from there, but an easy stalk.  All I had to do was cross the top of the ridge to the other side, then sneak down the back side of the ridge to a good shooting position above the saddle.  I belly crawled across the ten yards of open ridge top, then got to my feet to move towards the saddle.  Movement below caught my eye.  A doe was looking right at me from 50 yards away.  We stared each other down for a few minutes before she trotted off, thankfully away from the saddle.  Things were still good. 

I continued down the back side of the ridge towards the saddle, moving fast.  I’d gone a hundred yards when the flicker of an ear in the brush caught my eye.  I froze, and a doe, spike and small fork horn appeared in front of me, heading along the ridge towards the saddle from the other direction.   I was stuck.  These deer were between me and my shooting position.  I waited them out, but they were moving slowly and it took them a long time to walk out of sight.  I moved further down the ridge, then crawled to the spot overlooking the saddle.  Nothing. 

I dropped into the saddle and headed towards the gully where I had first seen the buck.  Slow step by slow step, I continued into the gully.  Eventually, I could see the whole thing.   Empty.  I was too late.  The gully and saddle were crisscrossed with fresh tracks, so it wasn’t obvious where they had gone. 

I could see back from where I had come from and the buck and does weren’t there.  They had to either have crossed the saddle before I had gotten there or moved off along the ridge in front of me.  I decided to continue along my ridge and hope for the best.  I made it back to the top and continued to sneak along.  I’d gone about 200 yards when movement on an intersecting ridge about 600 yards ahead caught my eye.  A doe and small fork horn were moving along the crest, heading for the junction with my ridge.  Through my binoculars, I noticed another shape behind them.  There’s my buck!

Once again, I had a good route for the stalk.  Continuing along my path would put me in a good spot to shoot where the ridges joined.  I dropped out of sight of the deer, moving as fast and quietly as I could.  Uh oh, busted again!  A doe and fawn 200 yards ahead on my ridge were staring right at me.  I was stuck.  I was waiting them out, hoping they’d go away on their own, when I felt the wind shift onto the back of my neck.  The doe and fawn caught my scent and took off.  They trotted down my ridge past the intersection point.  I peeked over at the other ridge and saw nothing.   Crap. 
Knowing my buck had to be ahead of me, probably on the back side of the intersecting ridge where it broadened into a small bowl, I kept moving forward.  I crested the intersection point and dropped down into the edge of the bowl.  Busted again!  The doe and fawn from earlier were there, watching my every move.  I was trapped there for at least 10 minutes until the two deer moved off, not liking what they were seeing. 

I began to traverse left along the intersecting ridge about 100 yards below the crest.  I could see left up to the crest and right far into the bowl.  About 300 yards below me, at the edge of some thick timber, a large bodied deer appeared.  The rack was obvious.  I brought the binoculars up, and saw it was good sized, but not giant, 4x4 standing broadside to me.  I decided to take him instead of my target buck.  Unfortunately, I was in brush too thick to go prone.  There was no good rest available.   I got the rifle up, safety off, using my hiking pole as a monopod.  The crosshairs danced around behind the front shoulder.  I knew I could hit it, but wasn’t 100% sure of a kill shot.  The last thing I wanted was to follow up a wounded buck into a deep valley far from my truck.  I let it walk.  After a minute or so, it ducked back into the timber and was gone. 

My focus changed back to the target buck.  I continued to traverse along the hillside.  After going only a short distance, a twig cracked uphill from me.  My buck stood up from a bed just 50 yards above me.  It knew I was there, but wasn’t too spooked.  It started to walk uphill towards the crest of the ridge.  It was now or never.  I did a quick, split-second gut check – was this the deer I wanted?  Yup!  This was a shot even an old guy with glasses can make.  I put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and squeezed.  My season was over. 

I quartered the buck and loaded up for the pack out to the truck.  Carrying it all in one load, I made it about ¾ mile before I decided that 62 year old men should not be doing this.  I dropped half the meat, and made it the couple of miles back to the truck with the rest.  Returning with my big mountaineering pack and a full set of hiking poles to make the job easier, I got the rest out just as full darkness set in.  I still can’t help feeling that I’m getting a little too old for this. 

Despite the obvious decline in the Methow mule deer herd, my Gardner late tag hunt was everything I could have wished for.  I got to see lots of deer actively moving in the rut, and never saw another hunter in the woods.  The large number of small bucks I encountered makes me feel relatively optimistic about future seasons.   I did meet another tagholder at a trailhead one afternoon.  He was a great guy.  I don’t determine the quality of a hunt with a tape measure, so I am very happy with my 3x3.  I probably could have gotten a bigger one if I’d stuck with it a few more days, but that may have caused some issues on the home front.  Happy wife, happy life. 

Good luck to the other 2023 late tag holders.  I hope your experience is as enjoyable as mine.  I plan to keep applying, so maybe I’ll get another chance at this tag in the future. 

[blackveltbowhunter]

Congrats! Great buck and nice write up!

[Falcon]

Dave

Congrats on your hunt.   Your write up was awesome and makes me ponder why I hunt.
I appreciate the fact that everyone has a different view on what their trophy standard is.

I believe you found yours

[boneaddict]

That was a great story and write up Thank you!

[Wingin it]

Congratulations! Great write up too. 

[Alchase]

Thank you for sharing, nice buck

[30.06]

Great sportsmanship passing on the big ones. It seems like they only come out when its nasty or they stay in the shadows. I enjoyed the fantastic Pic with Winchester as well. Congratulations on hunting honorably and well!

[OutHouse]

Way to keep truckin' Dave despite the body issues etc. I second the great pic comment with the Winny ultralight on the deer! Thank you for sharing!

[Jpmiller]

Awesome story, awesome buck, and I don't know that there's a more attractive rifle you could be carrying around the woods.

[Dan-o]

Awesome story, awesome buck, and I don't know that there's a more attractive rifle you could be carrying around the woods.

All of that.   
Glad you ha such a great adventure.
Thanks for sharing.

[bigmacc]

👍 Great animal, great picture, great write up. The trifecta👍 congratulations.

[highside74]

54 posts since 2009 and you drop a great hunt story on us just like that. Thank you and great job.

[bearhunter99]

Great write up!  Good looking buck too!


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[Mtnwalker]

54 posts since 2009 and you drop a great hunt story on us just like that. Thank you and great job.

 

[Bowhunter3]

A good read like this is my favorite thing about this forum. Congrats