Better Late Than Never

[blackveltbowhunter]

  I have been on here a while, but still have trouble with the whole posting pictures thing, ( although I love looking at all your guys and gals pics). Anyway I hope i got it figured out. My original plan was to post the whole, season after the season, but my season didn't officially end until the 22nd of december, then the holidays, work and well ...... Here we are.

   To summarize- 2010 was an AWESOME year for me. Although I didn't kill any Monsters in the horn department all the animals were hard earned, taste amazing, and have special memories attached to them. It was also an extra special year cuz although I normally hunt solo and actually took all of my animals this year alone; I was able to share camp and hunt with some awesome companions who took some nice animals as well. And let me share in their success.

    I started off my fall season with a backcountry solo hunt in oregon, ( it was supposed to be 3 of us,but the other bagged out), in country I had never been to. The scenery was awsome, and it snowed 3-4 inches of snow opening day, but the foggy conditions prevented effective glassing. I set up camp about 9 miles in planning to hang out and see if the weather would break. During a slight lift in the fog I spotted this buck just out of camp about 700 - 800 yards up a rockslide, he was with 4 other bucks and looked good enough for me given the otc tag and genetics in this area. The only problem was it was 4:00 pm and I knew there was no way to make a stalk that evening.
   The following morning I headed down to where I could glass the area the bucks had been in and try to turn them up. The weather was still cold but the fog had lifted and the sun was poking through the clouds every so often. After 3 hrs of glassing and not turning up any shooter bucks, I decided to head up the rock slide and cut the bucks tracks to get an idea of where they went. The snow had subsided in the night and although faint at times the bucks tracks were still fairly visible. Fast foreward 4 hrs. Its midafternoon and I'm 38 yards from the buck from the night before feeding among some dark timber, as his head goes down to feed I draw back slowly, and put my 40 yard pin low on the last rib as he quarters away. At the shot the buck jumps up and I see the spray of blood in the snow marking his departure. He doesnt make it 60 yards. After boning him out I realize based on my map and compass heading, the buck made a large circle and is only about half a mile from my camp. Sweeet! I get him back to camp that evening and hang the meat. Its funny how good mountain house and instant coffee taste when your dog tired staring at a hard earned velvet mulie. The following day was long getting the buck and camp back to the truck, but it was an incredible feeling!


    Onto the pics...

 

[buck man]

  Those are awsome pics! Real talent! Congrats on a great buck. Gotta love Oregon. B

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats on a hard earned buck Way to put the time in and get it done

[blackveltbowhunter]

    The next deer hunt up was Wyoming, after a great elk season ( will post in elk section ) and a break in early october I was ready to get after it again. This was my second time hunting the area and going with some great buds made it that much sweeter. Its a gun hunt, although with my shooting skills I look for 250 yds or less. I know some guys are saying WHAT!!! But thats just me, I dont shoot rifles enough to be comfortable at extended ranges. Its also alot of fun cuz coming back to a cabin, hot food and shower every night is very nice. Although we hunt hard, for me its different than archery hunting which is my first love. Its more laid back, i'll pass on alot of bucks and while getting a "BIG" would be nice, im here for the experience.
    Well long story short we hunted hard for five days with sunny cold weather, not the best to get the bigger guys down out of the wilderness. I passed a nice buck opening day I guessed 150 class or so hoping to find better, well it didn't happen. After that buck we saw nothing but forked horns and spikes for 4 solid days. finally some weather came in but time was winding down, day five of a six day hunt and we were all ready to shoot something. We hit the trail with wind and snow blowing hard, and got to saddle where we could look down several finger ridges. The weather finally let up a bit around 1030 or so and I spotted half dozen deer feeding on the hillside across from us one of which was a buck with four points on one side. Not a mature buck mind you but better than the forkys we had been seeing. I ranged him at 312 yards, the pard get sets up over his pack and lets her rip dropping the buck in its tracks which promptly slides to the bottom of the hell hole. Oh Well we are PUMPED!!!! Get the buck boned out and packed back the 2.5 miles to the truck. Its now about 2:00
   We decide we have time to drive to another trailhead close by and run up to a saddle thats about 3 miles in but its fairly gradual. After making it up there I spot a buck of the same caliber my pard just shot about 600 - 650 yards out. We discuss our options, my other pard is there with a valid tag and contemplates taking a shot, after further review he decides against it. Good choice.The bucks position would require a long sweep around the backside of the ridge which would require a moderate climb to get into what I felt was a comfortable range. I offer him the buck since theyre is still one morning left to hunt. He looks at me like im crazy and says, "we'll never make into postition in an hour".  I look at him and say " you don't know if you dont go". And im off at a trot. I make my way up to the top of the ridge and break over the other side out of sight of the deer. now its fairly a gradual incline and im moving quickly to beat the fading light. Creep over the last knob I see the buck has got up and fed about a hundred yards out into the open, I also realize that there is plenty of daylight left and calm down a bit. The buck is feeding behind a ragged blown down pine tree ranged at 149 yards, which gives me an opportunity to set up my pack and get a solid seated position with the rifle over the pack. As the buck feeds out from behind the blowdown the crosshairs find the crease in the bucks shoulder at the shot the buck crumples in a heap. I attempt to reload only to find my bolt is frozen shut, get it open, chamber another round but its not needed as the buck lays motionless. Twice in one day i am PUMPED!!! HE wasn't huge but if he had been he would be just as dead. Everything went perfect.
   The following day our last tag was filled just before dark with a forked horn  sorry no pics=( of that one. They are on a different camera since mine went dead after only three shots of my buck, thanks to the 15 degree weather.
   Another great year in Wyoming. Learned alot and had a great time.

[blackveltbowhunter]

    The late blacktail season, is always one of my most anticipated hunts. Even more so cuz we had secured access on a bunch of private ground with two nice bucks on it. Then, tragedy; the owner of the property called and said that one of the bucks had been shot during gun season on adjacent ground, and the 4 point had been hit by a car. Was believed still alive but I figured his patterns may be altered a bit. Any how after several sits in the stands and only small buck sightings, and two trips to Grayback chasing benchies with no success. I was beginning to think tag soup may be in order again this year. I decided to head out vail country to a spot I hadn't been in a couple years, but seems to consistently hold late does around christmas, with bucks in tow. So I figure WTH give it a shot. Besides while sitting in a treestand may be the best way to kill big bucks, i still really enjoy getting little ones from the ground on foot. So with this attitude I headed out and arrived at the gate an hour before daylight. After making it up to my destination which read mile marker 6 + I sat down to glass. Well as many of you are aware the scenery changes and the timber I was intending to hunt had been slicked off. So I sat down and glassed several hundred acres of clear cuts with no bucks being turned up. Since I was on top of the hill I figured working my way back towards the truck from the top and droping back down making a large circle instead of just backtracking would be a more efficient use of calories.
   Looking behind me there was large patch of big timber just up the hill, with lots of fresh tracks heading into it. I checked the wind and figured if by circling around the timber a bit should put the wind steady in my favor. While working my way around to get into position, It occured to me that there had been a road going from the top of the clearcut I was in down towards the timber I wanted to hunt that could make for quiet travel. Once on the road I was pleased to see it had a lot of blown over branches and appeared to have seen little recent use. I began searching for sign and a place to head off the road deeper into the timber. While moving along the strong smell of estrous hung in the air, at first I thought I was "smelling" things.LOL. But after the third or fourth whiff I slowed down further cuz it was unmistakeable. Having traveled about a hundred yards, and coming up to a bend in the road with a bunch of second growth alders lining the sides, i caught a flicker of movement in the timber maybe 20 yards in front of me, and out stepped this little fork, oblivious to my presence as were his three cohorts spaced randomly throughout this little oasis of alder and ferns covered by a canopy of doug firs. My only problem? He was plenty close but due to the screen of branches directly in front of me off the road there was no clear shot. After some minor repositioning that took 15 min I had manuevered about 15 yards through the alders as the buck made his way over next to one of the does. Now he is still twenty yards or so but he is in a depression, which blocks a clear shot to his vitals. Finally he moves out of the depression and his head goes behind an alder tree for the split second I need to get drawn. The buck stops with his head low and turns like a dog like he is getting ready to bed down. On his second turn he stops quartered away, I have a window but its a small one. I tuck my 20 yard pin buried in the sweet spot and trigger the release. Although I dont see the arrow hit him threw the follow thru, his body reaction and the tell tale sound of an arrow slicing through a ribcage is information that is replayed over and over in my head while I wait the 30 min and let the adrenaline drain out of my body. After unsuccessfully attempting to locate my arrow I take up the trail by following his footprints in the forest duff. 15 yard from where he was hit I find first blood.A pink/red foamy spray that is all but a guarantee. 40 yards further I see his white belly laid over in the ferns. WHAT A HUNT. A long pack out loaded down with meat, and the monkey off my back thats been following me around for the last four years chasing the wily blacktail. I was one happy hunter!

[LittleJohn]

Way to go!!!!
Love the DIY Oregon hunt. Its pretty cool going solo and getting it done
John(bow shop)

[jager]

That is the s**t right there man! That Oregon hunt looks fun. Love the weeze. Good job...nice animals and nice write up!  

[blackveltbowhunter]

Thanks guys the oregon hunt was a " feel food " hunt for sure.

[blackveltbowhunter]

 I mean "" Good" 

[400out]

Very good! Thanks for posting the stories and pictures, especially the mink that's frikin awesome  Nice bucks too 

[ldjbuff]

Great post and nice bucks!!

[PacificNWhunter]

Awesome post! Congrats!

[lokidog]

Very good! Thanks for posting the stories and pictures, especially the mink that's frikin awesome  Nice bucks too 

I believe it is a weasel in its white phase, also known as an ermine.  Cool photo.  Nice hunt stories.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Very good! Thanks for posting the stories and pictures, especially the mink that's frikin awesome  Nice bucks too 

I believe it is a weasel in its white phase, also known as an ermine.  Cool photo.  Nice hunt stories.

   Thats correct its a weasel in the white phase.

[AKBowman]

Man what a season. You are a good hunter. Goes to show you the guys who spend the time in the woods scouting and hunting are the guys who are successful most often.

Makes me feel better that I am not the only one struggling to kill a BT buck in the late archery season!

Nice bucks cant wait to read your elk hunting bit.