AAARGH! I Forgot Why It Is So Hard.

[tlbradford]

Here is something to read until Boneaddict post his story.

I missed the opener but was able to chase them around yesterday morning and afternoon, with a job site visit sandwiched in between.  It is the kind of work day I really enjoy. 

Hunt 1 - I got caught up in some roadwork so I was about a half hour late and the sun was up when I hit my hunting area.  I was hunting a large piece of state land roughly 1 mile wide and 3 miles long.  It is made up of steep draws, grass, sage, and rock bluffs.  I still hunted through some draws, checked around the stock tank, and hit the large draw which comes out of an alfalfa field.  It took a while since it is one of those hunts where you walk 10 yards, then glass the area carefully.  At around 9:00 I circle back around and am checking the other travel route into this bedding area.  It is really broken ground with tall sage, so I am glassing every couple of steps.  As I am looking at the horizon there is a twitch of an ear about 15 yards in front of me where there is a steep cut.  Up pops a bruiser 150-160 class muley.  About 27-28" wide, but about 30" tall with deep forks.  Of course he is alerted to me, his vitals are covered by a big piece of sage, and I have the binocs in one hand and all my arrows are still in the quiver.  Up pops 4-6 more bucks (I can't see all of them) and the stand around trying to figure out what is standing there looking at them.  I had the sun at my back and the wind to my advantage.  I take a knee and knock an arrow when there was a window of opportunity while they are looking away.  I have a smaller 3 point at 30 yards broadside but I am hoping for a shot at the big guy.  Normally I wouldn't pass up a shot at any buck.  They finally spook out of there at a fast walk without offering a shot.  I am really ticked off at myself for not having my head in the game.  I was planning on the next area I was going to hunt, looking over a perfect bedding area to glass more marginal country, and approaching a perfect cover are without an arrow knocked.     I wait a minute until they clear the horizon that make a long circle to try to get ahead of them with the hope they will try to circle downwind of me.  It is one of the three things these deer will do when spooked out of this area.  I chose the wrong option and did not see them again.

Stalk 1 - I walk hunt back to the truck and check some surrounding areas to see if the group I saw headed onto the adjacent sections.  I don't spot anything so I drive to the other side of the public land where they should be heading into, and I'll be hunting with the wind in my face instead of a cross breeze.  I get over a hill and sit next to some sage brush to glass the valley.  A doe jumps up a minute later and takes off at a run then slows to a walk.  What did I do?     A moment later I see a large coyote that spooked her.  About 5 minutes later I spot a bedded deer about a mile off.  There is no approach available to me so I just continue to watch.  Pretty soon it turns into 5 deer with at least one legal buck.  I can't count points but it has about a 20" x 20" frame.  After about 30 minutes they finally browse over the crest of the hill and I set off at a fast walk through the bottom, using the terrain to cover my approach.  I am heading towards my target area, but checking the draws to the left and right of me for deer as I hustle through there.  I catch a glimpse of one to my right and immediately drop to my butt behind some sage.  It is a nice 3x 4 browsing about 300 yards away.  I wasn't spotted.  I watch for a few minutes and up stands "Bruiser" and one of his other buddies.  I get a really great look at him before he lays back down.  The first buck I spotted continues to browse.  Finally it lays down and I slowly slide 20 feet to my right until I am behind the crest of the hill.  I get to about 150 yards away and drop my pack, marking it with an arrow from my quiver.  30 yards later I slip off my boots and mark those with an arrow too.  The wind changes slightly and I pause to reconsider the path of my stalk.  As I am doing so, a doe I hadn't seen trots off about 600 yards away from the bedded bucks.  I am praying she didn't alert them and that they stayed put.  I don't hear any hoof beats, but I don't want to peek over the edge of the hill to check on them.  I decide to approach from the top of the draw, so I duckwalk about a 1/4 mile to my right until I can stand up below the crest of the hill.  I head uphill for another 1/4 of a mile, and then back towards them 1/4 of a mile.  Now I am at the top of the draw probably 300 yards from the deer with a light crosswind.  Over the next hour I work my way through the cheat grass, sage an rocks.  Tumbleweeds are all over and every movement seems loud to me.  I get to a point where I think I am about 60 yards away from the bedded bucks.  I take another twenty minutes to get to 20 yards from where I think they are bedded.  I work another 10 yards closer and can't see anything.  I am beginning to doubt they are still there.  I turn to look behind me and try to get my bearings and now I believe I have already hunted through where they were bedded.  At that moment the wind swirls and 15 yards away up pops a buck, and then two more.  When they clear the sage he is 45 yards away, which is out of my comfort range.  The big guy went through the bottom of the draw and I never saw him.  They feed off into the distance and I am really dejected about not trusting my instincts and continuing my approach to where I thought they were.  I was impatient right at the end of the stalk and it may have cost me.  Plus my socks are full of cheat grass and I covered around a mile in my stocking feet.  I get my shoes and pack and head to my job meeting.

Stalk 2 - Same area, about 3:30.  Walking and glassing again and I spot 2 deer about a mile off.  They browse then bed on the shady side of soem sage brush.  I think it is a small buck and a doe.  I start to make the big downwind circle in hopes of coming up over the top of them and that my scent will carry over them.  There are no other approach options.  I check back every couple of hundred of yards and spot a deer that browses right where I need to go to look down on the deer.  It is a nice tall buck.  It beds down and I resume my circle.  Luckily, if there are no other deer and if these ones don't move I can walk to withing 40 yards unseen and upright.  I get to 300 yards away and in an adjacent draw and spot a little fawn, still with the faint hint of some spots.  It joins it sibling and I hope they remember that they are invisible and don't blow through where I need to be.  They stay put and I get to my spot, I sit down, take off my shoes, unload 4 arrows, switch one arrow so the fletching is by the top of the quiver and, knock an arrow.  I hear a limb get hit at the same spot the buck laid down.  I move to 20 yards away and see the tops of antlers rake a tree.  I take a knee and wait since they are pointing towards me.  A minute later he is at ten yards and it is a nice buck.  Think Longtats Oregon buck but a little taller and about 5" wider.  There is a buck right behind him, just slightly smaller.  At six yards the lead buck stops and gazes through my sage brush that is hiding me.  I remain motionless.  If he takes three steps to my left or right to get a better look, I will have a broadside shot at 6 yards.  If he ignores me I will have a broadside shot at two yards if I can draw (unlikely).  He stomps and I get nervous.  Instead of walking to my right he takes one big jump over a small 3' tall piece of sage brush.  He is at 10 yards with the brush over his vitals.  He walks quartering away for a few more yards.  When he looks away I stand to get a shooting lane.  He catches the movement and does not pause when I grunt at him.  At 50 yards he stands broadside with his buddy and looks back at me.  Too far.

So if you made it this far, I a started off poorly, and then got better by the end of the day.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and the best part was I did not see another hunter.   

Here are some pics in between my hunting.  I didn't pack a camera with me while hunting.

[tlbradford]

Do you see one or two deer?

[tlbradford]

Here is a 4x4.  Don't believe me?  I didn't see it until looking at pictures this morning.

[Hornseeker]

Sweet... I'll be chasing them tommorrow night - Monday!! WooooHooooo!

[Machias]

Hey unicorns do exists, look at the little buck in the bottom photo!  

[tlbradford]

I saw 5 fawns with spots.  It seems like there was a lot of does that must have been bred when they came into heat later in the year.  Here is a close-up of the fawn from the above photo.

[tlbradford]

Hey unicorns do exists, look at the little buck in the bottom photo!  

That guy is a monster isn't he?   

[KimberRich]

Awesome story and great pictures!!  Sounds like a great chunk of land and thats great you didn't see another hunter.  Good Luck and go get that big one!!!

[tlbradford]

I forgot to say how I met a friendly rattler on my way out.  He actually moved out of my way and before I stepped over the fence to get to my pick-up he gave me a nice little advanced warning.  Normally, he would be dead, but I didn't have the heart after he acted so nicely.   

[Echomules]

Great story, felt like I was sneaking along behind ya the whole way. Can't wait to "go" again.

[buckhorn2]

I guess thats why they call it huntin. You still have time to get the big one for bone tells his story. Sounds like bone doe;st like snakes either.

[jjhunter]

Sounds like a good hunt TL....you may want to work on your field judging though!  If he was 28" wide and 30" tall (that would equate to 20-23" G-2's) with deep forks, we are talking a 190's+ kind of buck!   That kind of frame gets you up there in a hurry, even if he's weak elsewhere.

[brianmtsinc]

TL - Awesome story!   
Thanks for sharing. 
My first day and a half was a bust, but I am heading out again Monday for two weeks to chase deer and elk. 
Keep us posted on your hunts!

[tlbradford]

Sounds like a good hunt TL....you may want to work on your field judging though!  If he was 28" wide and 30" tall (that would equate to 20-23" G-2's) with deep forks, we are talking a 190's+ kind of buck!   That kind of frame gets you up there in a hurry, even if he's weak elsewhere.

Dang it, now I'm going to have to put it on paper for a guess.  It didn't have the real deep back forks like you see on Phools Montana bucks, I would guess about 6".  Fronts about 11".  Hold on and I will see how he scores by my best guess once I put him to paper.  I will be the first to admit, I have never even thought about scoring until I got on here a couple of years ago.  I am usually pretty conservative though.  

[colockumelk]

I love the pics.  My favorite place to hunt muledeer is the sage brush/crp/wheat stubble as well.  Don't know why but I love it more than hunting them in the woods.