Well, my season is over. Just returned from the Swakane yesterday, after a long hard hunt. I did not get my animal, but to me the trip was a success. Over the three day hunt, I was able to see tons of animals, make a few stalks, and hook a Friend on bow hunting (it was his first time). We put tons of miles on our boots in the snow, rain and everything in between. Monday it rained so long and hard my Gore Tex gave out.
We ended up seeing about 30-40 does and 6 bucks. Two of the bucks were quality animals. One was a wide, heavy 3x3 ( almost a twin to the one I posted in the best kills thread), the other a tall, deep forked 4x4.
I put stalks on both, but just could not seal the deal. The stalk on the 3x ended when two snow machines came up the road (a gated road) and spooked him and the small 4x4 he was with.
The highlight of my trip was the stalk on the 4x4 yesterday morning. We were on way out of one canyon to hunt a different one when we passed another truck on the road. He waved us down and asked if we were hunting. I said yes, and he told us there was a big buck bedded waaayyy up this steep canyon. He pointed out the canyon, gave us a land mark to find the buck and away we went. This is possibly one of the most courteous gestures I have ever experienced as he was also a hunter, he just didn't have his gear.
I decided the only way to get after this buck was to go up the canyon straight below him because it was so steep he would not be able to see me. I started up the canyon in a down pour. About 45min later, I am about 200yds below him. At this point I slow my climb way down to avoid giving away my position. Every once and a while I would have to stop to let does I could not see from the road feed out of the canyon, so they would not spook, and in turn spook the buck.
I finally made it to a point where I knew from landmarks, I would be about 30 yds from where he was bedded. Just about the time I start to peek over to get a range, 4 does come hauling ass out of the next canyon over. :bash:I decide to wait a minute to let them pass. This I find out later, was my big mistake. My buddy said when the does came over, the buck stood up...and repositioned. I peek over the edge to get a range and to my surprise, no buck. At this point all kinds of thoughts are going through my head. Did he bust a long time ago and I just climbed into this godforsaken canyon for nothing?
After a few minutes I stand up. I know better than to stand up unless you know for sure the deer is gone, but for some reason I do anyway. As soon as i stand I see hi mm standing, watching me at 80yds. :'(I am in shock at the size of this deer so I just stare. Hes only about 23-24" wide but hes at least as tall as he is wide. His front an back forks are what I estimate to be 12-14" deep. This is the biggest deer I have ever seen in real life, and all I can do is watch him walk away. Surprisingly I am not at all upset, I am quite satisfied. I did my best, had a great stalk, and came close to a real trophy.
On the way down, I had time to reflect on the last few days. I'm completely worn out, one knee is black and blue from the stalk, I have no animal, but I am happy as ever. Happy to be in the woods, happy to be healthy enough to climb these mountains. This is why I hunt, this is why I dream about deer, this is why I get excited 3 months before the season.
