2 Okanogan Whitetails!!

[KimberRich]

So it's taken me 2 weeks to get the time to get this story and pics up!! 

We have been going over once a month since Aug. to check the game camera's to see what we had roaming around our area.  We drove over and set up camp on the 16th and checked the cameras and were happy to see pictures of 6 different bucks.  1 spike Mulie, 2 different spike WT, a 2x2 WT, a small 3x3 WT, and a nice 5x5 WT.  All the WT in the same general area.

Opening morning comes and my partner and I are deciding where we want to go for the morning hunt..  I drew a WT doe tag and with all the deer activity we've seen scouting and on the cameras I'm confident we can find one so I give him first option and he chooses a little knob looking down into a wet area where the camera had caught a bunch of deer coming and going. I hike out to our main spot where we have built a blind on a rock face overlooking some nice draws.  This is where we've killed most out deer in the past couple years but after a couple hours sitting and not seeing anything moving I decide to get up and work my way towards him.  Maybe push something by him.

I get within 250 yards of him and cant quite see him yet, and I hear a BANG!  I'm close enough that I hear the deer take a hop and crash into the brush.  I'm thinking YEAH!! buck down.  Just then he gets on the radio and says there is another buck, a much larger one, trotting up the hill above him that had spooked upon the shot.  I look and look and try to get in position but never see it.  His buck has the left main beam broke off a couple inches above the eye guard.  Shot him at about 75 yards quartering towards him with a .257 Wthby Mag.  It was a short drag and lucky enough all downhill.  We had him hung and skinned by noon and were hoping we could find a Doe that evening and it would make for one hell of an opening day!  But the rain and fog socked in about 230 and you couldn't see 50 feet so we called it a night and hoped for the best in the morning.

That night night we debated where I should hunt the next morning..  Our normal spot or the same little area he shot his and we had seen all the activity.  I opted for the little area where he had been.  It's one of the only spots that holds moisture for quite a ways so also holds deer.  I hike in an hour before shooting light and set up on a steep face about 20 feet above the area and wait.  The wind is swirling all around and I'm not optimistic but trying to think positive!  At 6:55 this buck walked through the timber in front of me at about 90 yards.  I put up my bino's and he saw the movement and froze.. Staring at me..  Only thing going through my mind was... You dummy, you knew it was a deer why didn't you raise your rifle not your bino's.  After a 15 second stare off he dropped his head and continued down the trail.  There was a dense willow bush about 15 feet across the he was going to walk behind so as soon as he did I cranked my scope up, got a solid rest, and flipped the safety off.  He walked from behind the bush and stopped quartering towards me between 2 trees.  BANG! He jumped and took off stright away from me.  Staggering just before he went out of sight.  He didn't go 50 yards and was piled up.  Turned out to be the nice 5x5 WT that we had gotten on film.

We shot some pics, hung him up and skinned him and broke camp by 11 Sunday morning.  Got home early enough that I got to save 3 days vacation time for bird hunting or something later this year!!! Was a great season and couldn't ask for anything more.

[Machias]

Great photos, LOVE the last one!!

[300ShortMag]

That last pic is freakin awesome!

[carpsniperg2]

congrats

[KimberRich]

Took me about 10 tries with my little camera to get everythign lined up right and clear..  There were actually 5 mulie does there but I zoomed in on the biggest one.  I've had numerous people tell me it looks like a video game!

[CoryTDF]

A little high and to the right for my liking. J/K that is a great photo.

[KimberRich]

Definitely high and right but I was just trying to snap as many shots as I could before she took off.  Next time I'll put the crosshairs on the heart.. 

[saylean]

Right on. Congrats on the whiteys!

[Track-er]

You make it sound easy huntin whities. I was over there for a week and saw a lot of tails going the other way.


                                  Mike

[BLKBEARKLR]

nice bucks, love that last picture.  Will be over there on the 13th in that area hopefully will have some good luck over there also.

[400out]

I like the last one too but I would pull it down a little   nice bucks congrats

[Birdguy]

It really does not get much better then that. The hunt was short but the time was great. We have had and will certainly have harder hunts, but it is sure nice to have an easy one every few years to boost the ego. How often do you set into hunting season with the greatest plans only to have it ALL unravel by mid morning opening day ? This hunt was a great opportunity to put a little meat in the freezer and post a few pictures on hunt-wa  . Tough to beat. Hopefully it is this good next year, when the kids come to get their first deer.

[Blacklab]

Took me about 10 tries with my little camera to get everythign lined up right and clear..  There were actually 5 mulie does there but I zoomed in on the biggest one.  I've had numerous people tell me it looks like a video game!

That was my first thought.
Great looking bucks btw (wink)

[shag]

Allright.  Last photo a Ruger took it down right??  What cal/bullet??

[KimberRich]

Allright.  Last photo a Ruger took it down right??  What cal/bullet??

Ruger?!?! No Rugers for me.  It's a Kimber Model 84 in .243.  Thats a mule deer doe in the picture which I didn't have a tag for.  I shoot a 100 grain Spire point Core-Locked Bullet.  Can't remember which brand bullet I used in that load..  Either Barnes or Speer.