The Year was 2004........

[Ridgerunner]

Great stories and a great thread guys, hopefully others will pitch in as well.  M_ray I may hopefully have some bear meat for you this summer if all goes well, I want a bruin and would be willing to share the spoils with you.  So we'll see. 

[archery288]

congrats on the nice deer mark! and a great story!

[DeKuma]

BTW Muleyslyr you had a great 04 nice job!

and DeKuma that is a great buck I'm sorry for your loss ... you have something on your wall that will remind you everyday of all the good times you had with your brother!

Thanks M_Ray.  It is a great reminder, though it does bring up memories always not so good.  Call it "Johnny Buck".
My 2005 deer is next to it on the wall, so that helps take the emphasis away.

[HuntingFanatic]

I do believe this was one of my first posts on this forums..............sorry for its length. Ha I actually cut alot off too!

Date: 2nd week of the 2004 season.
Area: unit 224

"The First Sighting"

Around the magical 9 o'clock hour. I'm struggling to stay in my morning stand. Praying that the rising sun will shine down on my back to warm me up. I notice A few does to my left across a rocky draw feeding on an open hillside about 450 yards away. Five minutes later, out of the aspens at the bottom of the hill came "The Buck". Head down almost crawling up the hill. Within the first second of seeing him I knew  I wanted him. I watched him for a few minutes hoping that he would stray my way. He did not. I wanted him bad. I decided to put a stalk on him. I slowly rose to my feet, shivering. I made it 20 yards before an overlooked doe that was bedded between me and him busted me and ruined my fun. All I could do is sit down and watch as he trotted over the ridge straight away from me. Pausing right before he crested the ridge, looking back at me as if he knew that that sight would haunt me the rest of the day...and week.

"Big Buck: Take Two!"

The next morning I decide to take my morning stand closer to where I had seen "The Buck". Time around 9 am....again. This time the cold was bearable because I knew there was a possibility he would show himself again. Then.....There he was ! This time he was on the far ridge about 600 yards away. Moving steadily up the ridge toward the steep and thick backside. He had been spotted by another hunter who was trying to scramble up the ridge behind him, losing ground the entire time. I watched as he slipped out of sight. Feeling bad for the hunter in pursuit because he had not realized that it was a lost cause yet. But then again....I didn't feel bad. Because I just knew I would see him again the next day.

"Big Buck: The Climax"

I awoke the next day before my alarm went off. I was eager to jump out of my warm sleeping bag. It was my 30th birthday and I had a feeling it was going to be special. I decide to sit with my dad in our normal spot. We were not in our morning stand for long before we saw him again. Again he was on the far ridge about 600 yards away. This time he was just grazing and milling around the same little saddle. We watched him for a bit. Payed attention to our immediate area. I kept looking back every 30 seconds or so  before he disappeared. Knowing the area and the hunting pressure it receives we decided that there was a great possibility he would be pushed our way. We waited. I watched a hunter working his way towards the last known location of this deer and us. I thought our plan was coming together. Then the hunter stopped 2 ridges away and went back the way he came. It had been at least an hour and a half since we had last seen "The Buck". I sat a talked with my dad. Tested the wind with a Marlboro. We decided that it was time to go get him, assuming he was still there. It took over an hour to work our way above where we had seen him last. Wind in our face the entire time. We moved so slow a slug could have beat us to where we wanted to be. We spent the next Half hour slowly walking down the ridge looking at every possible escape route he had. No sign of him. We decided to look over one last small hump before sitting again. Then my dad said "There he is." I Immediately saw a big, black void broadside behind a sage brush about 125 yards away. He was staring at us. We were not busted...but he sensed something was not right. I raised my rifle. "He's got eye guards" i whispered.  "Take him" my dad says. Buck fever has its grip on me. I am shaking like aspen leaves in the wind(probably sounded like them too with my knees banging together) After what seemed like an eternity(most likely 15 seconds) I had to lower my rifle, Brace my strap around my elbow, and take a gigantic breath. No good....still shaking badly. He quartered towards me one step. That's when I remember thinking that I am not going to let this guy just walk away. The shakes left. And I shot. I saw him take one step in my scope and then he disappeared. I was almost certain I made a good shot. But then I was shaking again. And I remembered how I was shaking before he took a step. The doubt kicked in. I went to the left thinking I could possible see him bounding up the hill past our original stand and into the sights of another deserving hunter. But nothing. We went to where he was. No visible blood. We criss crossed the ridge for 10 minutes until I came to a fence line about 75 yards down ridge. That's where I saw his antlers sticking out the side of a sage brush. I was spent. I could only sit and watch my dad gut my deer. It was absolutely the best hunt I could have ever wished for. This was my once in a lifetime buck. He was definitely not the biggest (23.5 inch spread, 165 lbs hanging at the butcher) but he sure was the best in my mind!

[WAcoueshunter]

Here's my 2004 buck...

I'll add the story and more pics when I've got some more time.

[WDFW-SUX]

 

[Dman]

  I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back  

  I took my 2nd best blacktail, an even 100" nice tall dark horned 3x3 with eyeguard buck out of Vail in 2004. I hunted nearly every single day of the season, evening's weekend's, you name it, in hike in areas of Vail primarily, fell asleep and missed an opportunity at a decent buck coming upwind (A.D.D. I guess). Finally, the very last day of late buck, I headed out at dark in a monsoon. Hardly anyone was at the gate that AM, I believe I was 3rd to 4th in line. I got set up on a cut I thought might produce in bad weather, limiting other's visibility. After getting absolutely soaked for an hour, I bagged out of that cut and hit another side spur I wanted to hit before anyone else did about 1/2 mile down the road, it was a newer, one year old cut. I got out and glassed and immediately saw a doe come out of the bottom, unaware of me. I kept watching and about a minute or two later the big boy steps out following her up the hillside, angling at a .90 degree angle to me about 120 yards away. I'm on top of the hill with the wind blowing at 60-70mph with huge drops and I shoot right over his back, he doesn't even flinch but keeps right after the doe. about 1/2 way up the hill, I hit him stepping out from behind a brush pile, a double lung shot, but he just hunched up, so I put another through his heart and he went down. I have a mount of him, but I am going to try to post a field pic later off of my old camcorder if I can. I was back to the gate by 8:30AM and the game checker told me that was the 2nd nicest buck taken that season, other than a 4x5 out of Vail.

[M_ray]

I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back 

What's wrong Dman the 80's catch up with ya there? 

[M_ray]

Great stories and a great thread guys, hopefully others will pitch in as well.  M_ray I may hopefully have some bear meat for you this summer if all goes well, I want a bruin and would be willing to share the spoils with you.  So we'll see. 

Hey you got it! Maybe we'll go together 2 are better than one!

[E-Town Hunter]

2004 was a pretty good year for us also. This picture is my cousin's buck (on the left) and me and mine on the right. Opening morning we headed out to a spot we have had pretty good luck with in the past. My cousin dropped my brother and I off and drove up to a point we were supposed to me up at just before day light. It wasn't more than 45 minutes later I herd a shot down below me and I thought damn...that *censored* got lucky again after we put on the walk. I eventually made my way down and saw him and his 4 year old son dragging his deer off the hill down to his truck. I reluctantly congratulated him  and helped him load the deer into the back of his truck.

As we were standing by his truck getting a drink, his son said "dad...dad...deer!" Somewhat startled we turned around to see two nice bucks running across an open pasture. We later ranged their distance at about 300 yards, there was no doubt they were legal bucks both about identical size racks. I took aim at the buck trotting behind the first buck and shot. I saw the buck stumble and began to get pretty shaky. The next shot missed completely and finally the third shot hit its mark. The buck went down.

The other buck continued through the pasture and up the hill. I was hoping my brother who was still up there was going to cross paths with it. Just as the deer was cresting the top of the hill I saw mt brother not more than 100 yards from the deer. I did all I could to signal to him where the deer was but he was completely oblivious. I still give him a hard time about that to this day!

Next it was just a matter of driving up to the deer and taking care of business. Needless to say my brother was feeling pretty bummed out that he missed out. It made for a short hunting season being done by 8 am opening day. Fortunately we were able to get my brother his buck as well about 3 in the afternoon on the last day.

[M_ray]

Thanks Ridgerunner! nice idea for the post and nice buck you got there I had seen it but not sure I knew the story. 

[Dman]

 

I had to research a little, couldn't remember that far back 

What's wrong Dman the 80's catch up with ya there? 

 I think they did, I looked at the video and it was from 2003!

 Here's my 2004 season: I had gone salmon fishing in September and got the worst cold I ever had. I was still sick my modfire opener when we went over to our EWa. spot and unbelievably, it began to rain, and rain... and rain, and -jesus will it ever stop raining? We had to dig irrigation ditches through camp so our tent's wouldn't have standing water. I ended up catching pneumonia, but still went out driving the roads (not my usual approach) with my cousin opening day, who had just sprained his ankle, swollen to nearly twice normal size, so we were in bad shape between us. We lucked out and found this guy off of a spur rubbing his antler's and I dropped him. I ended up being sick for two more months after that, so I was thankful I got him on the first morning, I was laid up a while after.

[Dman]

 My cousin with the 3x3 (3rd tine on the right is covered).
You can see the ditches in the photo between the tents.

[huntnphool]

Great stories and picks guys. 04 started out with bad news when I found out I hadn't drawn Montana. One of only a few years that I havn't so I'm not complaing. The good news was that my brother did draw so I was going anyway, he can't go without his older brother keeping him from getting trigger happy. Well here in Washington we hunted the last week of the general season and did okay. On the first day we were out we saw loads of small bucks, several legals but nothing we wanted to put a tag on. Sitting at frist light I spotted some does below me in the bottom of the draw I hike to every morning. I watched them for about an hour, glassing all around but kept checking those does to see if they had anything big hanging out in one of the finger draws they were feeding near. All of a sudden a buck came out of some of thickest crap you can imagine. I put the scope on him but he ended up being only a 3 point, heavy and dark but not what I was looking for. Ended up hiking back to the truck and met my brother who also saw several bucks but nothing substantial. It was like this the entire week until the evening before the last day. We were heading home after the next morning hunt and decided that if my brother saw a 4 point he would take it for our freazers, no matter how big. Well as luck would have it we had one pop over the hill that evening, same place as HuntingFanatic You didn't think you were the only one there did you
The very next morning that same 3 point was still in the same draw thicket so I packed up my gear and decided to walk down and get a closer look at him. At about 300 yards I got on the radio and asked my bro what he thought about me tagging a 3 point, he laughed and said he would rib me for years, so I got within 200 and dropped him. When my bro got over to me he said he would have taken him the first day, he ended up being an old buck, long tines and heavy, bigger than his 4 so he couldn't say crap
 A couple weeks later I drug his ass over to Montana to one of my honey holes and he dropped the buck in the last pic on the first day, we headed home feeling we did okay even though we both struck out on elk.

[huntnphool]

Hey Fanatic, does this area look familiar