Montana...Finally (complete now)

[fishunt247]

I'm going to try to do this in one instillation, but we will see. If you read this before I get all four days on here, there are four days of story telling, so keep coming back. (I don't know how to lock it, or if I can)
Anyway, I finally got to redeem my high school graduation present this last week...as a 5th year college senior. I put in for the fall of 2004 with my dad, who had drawn Montana 4 out of the 6 previous years. What happens when I put in with him? It takes us until 2009 to draw it. To me, this came as no big surprise. I've drawn a doe tag when I was ten and a Peaches muzzleloader tag in 2005. Note: To anyone that wants to draw a tag, put in for a unit that I put in for...I'm one less guy you will have to compete with for that tag. And don't put in with me on a partner deal, ever, because you won't draw.
Knowing that I got drawn, I ran my plan to be gone for a week by all of my professors for the fall. "No problem, keep up with the reading," is what I was told. Come fall, one pitched a fit, but finally conceded and gave me the go ahead. So on the 14th, after a teacher's exam, Dad and I were off to Montana. We drove straight through to the motel, arrived around midnight, but sleep didn't come easy as I knew tomorrow could be the day that I woud shoot the biggest deer of my life.
DAY 1: Our plan for day one, being as it was all brand new country to us, was to drive around, get a feel for the land, and locate concentrations of deer. Around 9 oclock we glassed a few coulees that had numerous bucks, just too far to tell what they were for sure. So we looped around, got another angle on one side of one of the coulees. Dad located a couple bucks that deserved a closer look. "Probably not shooters, but we better go check ‘em out,” he said. Off we were, driving about ¾ of a mile closer so we could start our stalk. When we got over there, one buck disappeared, while the other 4pt was tall enough but only about 19 inches wide. Nothing I wanted to shoot on the first day. After looking at those bucks, we hiked over to the next coulee. We saw 3 4pts in that canyon, but again, nothing that screamed SHOOT ME, so the safety remained on. Now it was about one oclock, and the sun had moved around so we were looking right into it. We decided to back out, drive all the way around and hit the next three coulees from the west so the sun would be at our backs. We parked the truck on a flat, split up and walked to the edge of the coulee. The first one had a few does, but no bucks. As I came into the next one, I spotted a buck running a doe on the top of a knoll. This buck and I went rounds—I’d get the spotting scope out, he’d go behind the knoll; I’d put everything away and try to get another angle, he would come back out. After like ten minutes of this, and with another shooter buck feeding off to my left, I was getting annoyed. Then over the moonscape walked a great buck, one we figured would go around 170. That was all I needed to see; the stalk was on. I took my pack off 50 yards from the top and eased up to the edge. The wind was perfect (emphasizing the “was”) as I approached. Ten more yards and I’d be well within range. Just then, like God or the devil (not sure which) flipped the wind switch, it blew stiffly at my back. Before I could run to the top the big buck crested the hill, never to be seen again. Dad came over and met me, said he had the big one in his scope at 370 yards but couldn’t shoot because he knew I was stalking it. This time being the nice guy didn’t pay off, for either of us. We split up again, quickly headed into the next coulee to see if we could catch the deer. I no more than came around the corner of the hill and spotted a buck with a doe. I sat down, rested on my knees, and got him in my scope. “He’s a giant 3x4 I thought. Damn it.” But I took my pack off, threw it down and rested on it, just in case. He turned his head to leave the canyon and I saw he was a 4pt on both sides. “Good enough for me,” I thought, put the crosshairs on his spine where I thought it would go into his vitals (he was walking straight away), and touched off. I hit just to his left, and he bolted to his right when the bullet made dirt fly. I bolted another shell in, this time harnessing my excitement and squeezing, and dropped him. The bullet entered his spine, took out an 8 inch section, missed the guts and went through the lungs and heart. Couldn’t have been more perfect. We saw 19 bucks, and this one was the best that I had a shot opportunity at. The first day’s result: my biggest buck so far (and getting “temporarily misplaced” packing it out in the dark, and throwing up because I’d suddenly gotten sick).

[fishunt247]

Here's the pictures of my buck

[fishunt247]

Another view and where I shot from. The white square it where I was sitting. 

[fishunt247]

DAY 2: This morning we decided to get all of our stuff revamped after the late night, take the deer to the butcher, and take in a good meal. We went out midday through the evening, only saw 4 bucks but took in some new country.

DAY 3: We decided, being as we were fresh and we’d given the deer a one day break, that we’d go back after the big buck from the first day. We covered every nook and cranny of the public land section where he was to no avail. We saw 17 bucks, one almost shooter, but Dad wanted one with mass and this one was a little shy there. We ended the day knowing that it was time to try another area and hunt new deer.

DAY 4: Today we decided to drive into a new area and check out some ground we had located on the map. Driving in we saw a real good buck with everything Dad was looking for, but after some (faulty) map reading we thought he was on private land. So we proceeded to the area we planned to hunt. Once we pulled to a vantage where we could see and glassing the area, we spotted 8 bucks, two that needed way closer looks. One was a 5pt on his right with an extra fork coming off of his G3, and a 4pt on his left with an extra fork coming off his G4. He would’ve been at least a 5pt on his left but his G2 was busted off about 8 inches up before it forked. Too bad. The other was a 25” 4pt with good mass that Dad was really after. After searching out every hidey hole around, we turned up 15 bucks including the one with extras, but no sign of the bigger one. We jumped the one with extras at 40 yards, but it was bedded on a steep dirt face and fell down when it tried to get up. It’s a shame it didn’t have a complete set or Dad would’ve made it roll back down the hill. In the evening, and after rechecking the map, we found that the first buck was on public land and decided to go hunt him. It was just one of those hunts when the hunting god’s bless you for your hard work and let things fall into place. He was the first deer we spotted, rubbing on a juniper, at 450 yards. In a 50mph crosswind, he decided he needed to get closer. We crawled to 300 yards, but the buck disappeared. We waited for him to feed back out, but were losing light fast. “I’m going to sneak over there,” Dad said, pointing to the bump to our left. I stayed put, still glassing for the buck. I watched Dad as he crawled the edge, glassed, and layed out prone. I knew he must see the buck, but 5 minutes went by and no shot. BOOM, he stays prone, then kneels up and glasses. I’m thinking, “What the *censored* happened?” So I back out and sneak over to where he is. “The doe came out of the draw, but the buck didn’t. I musta got him,” Dad told me, shaking, voice quivering a little. We put the spotting scope on the area, but no buck. We decided we had to get over there fast, it was getting dark. Once we got the where the deer was, no sign of him. “*censored*,” I’m thinking, “he missed.” We glassed, crept up one side of the draw, still nothing. Then three feet in front of us, where we had already glassed, is the buck laying stone dead in the grass. What a great sight. The shot was 364 yards in a savage crosswind, but that’s why you practice at long range so you can put the high shoulder shot on them no matter what.

We were pumped, two good bucks in 4 days of hunting. It was the best hunting trip I’ve ever been on. Next time we are hoping my brother and my mom can join us to make it a family event.

[fishunt247]

Dad's buck

[fishunt247]

Loaded down, headed for home

[fishunt247]

Montana sunsets go forever and span the whole horizon. I love it.

[fishunt247]

Dad trying to dig up a Yucca to plant at his house. Turns out it had a 200ft tap root, so he gave up after about ten minutes.

[Austrian Hunter]

Congrats, nice bucks. Man, I have to go and hunt Montana one year!

[saylean]

Great bucks man. Sounds like a great trip.

[LongTatLaw]

man,

great body on urs...

both are excellent deer bro!

what general area of Montanna were u in?

[Gobble]

Nice Bucks 

[CMG]

Very well done stories, thanks for posting! Congratulations on the two great looking MM bucks!

[carpsniperg2]

congrats

[fishunt247]

We were on the Missouri Breaks.