water crossing !!

[blacktailcrzy]

i was wanting to start a thread about the great lengths people have gone to in order to ether retrieve there game across the water or cross to make a stalk for a shot. over the years it seems that where ever i go there is a river in my way and am wondering if any one eles has the same luck.                     
                                              LETS HEAR SOME STORIES

[Skyvalhunter]

I once shot this 4 point buck at the top of this ridge, well within 20 yards of the top. There was 2 inches of snow and when the deer went down he kept going down to the tune of 1500 feet. All I could do was watch the buck disappear thru the brush and over cliffs. I called a buddy on the phone and had him come to a trail that was on the other side of the valley. In the bottom of the valley was steep walls to a creek then a 100 yards up the other side was the trail. When I followed the slide marks down the hill and no longer any more snowI found the buck. Instead of a 4X4 the fall broke off part of one side and he was a 4x2.  I had my friend bring a rope and we high lined him across the creek then had to cut the deer in half to get him up the hill to the trail. Would have been so much easier if he had just stayed on top then I could have drug him down the ridge. I did a self mount on the rack for the memories.

[HunterJim]

Back in '87 or '88 I was a lot younger, with a lot fewer brains.  Shot a spike (pre- antler restriction era) across the Grande Rhonde River.  Being young and relatively new to hunting I was very happy that I had a deer down, until I realized there was no way to recover it without getting wet.  My buddy and I waded across the river, stomach deep.  Gut the deer and tied a rope to it to help us drag it back.  Wasn't thinking again when it spun in the river with the cavity side facing up stream.  Cavity filled with water and it took off down stream really fast.  Pulled us both off our feet.  After 20-30 yards we regained a foot hold and made it back to the other side, cold, wet, shivering.  Found the first place that served adult beverages and went in to celebrate and warm up.... yes, both of us still fully dressed with wet clothes.  Ever since then I always make sure of a recovery plan before taking any shot.

[blacktailcrzy]

i will share one of mine. this year in okangon i was mule deer hunting and i spoted a really tall thick buck way up the mountain with 4-5 does on this  bench on other side of the river and my hunting partner told me to just forget about it because it was impossible to get to but i just could not get him off my mind so then i rolled up my pants and tried to cross but i was a whole hell of alot deeper colder and faster moving then i thot so i sat there trying to think of a plan to get across. then a hour later i remember some gold diggers lower on the river so i went down and asked if i could use there boat the following morning if i left 15 or so dollars in the boat and they kindly said yes. sens it was late and was starting to get dark so i watched the buck till it  got to dark had it beded down with its does on the same ridge and then i woke up crossed the river in the dark started the mile or so hike up and around him then i got right on his does and they busted out and stopped and looked at me and the buck was not with them and he must of moved of during he night but he was no wear on the hill side and i had a spotter watching so i know he did not sneak out on me but all in all if that river was not ther i would have my tall buck the first night.

[JimmyHoffa]

I try to pick crossings before hand, during scouting.  That way, the issue of 'should I shoot' is a non-issue.  One thing that helps, especially in the late season is to build your fire before you cross the river.  I also use try to use a large stick for leaning into when crossing the river.

[Dan-o]

Not my retrieve, but did you see the pics that were racing around the internet a couple years ago of a big bull elk that fell deep into a crevace in some rocks?

They ended up having to bring pulleys etc and it was very impressive.   I'm not sure I could have retrieved that bull......

[bobcat]

In 1989 I was hunting alone in the Teanaway unit. I had hiked straight up the hill from the North Fork Teanaway River about a half a mile and ended up shooting a nice 2x2 muley. I was only 21 and didn't have a lot of experience deer hunting and of course, I wasn't very well prepared for actually getting an animal out if I got one. I had a knife and a little rope but not much more. All I could do was to drag it straight down the hill and even that was much harder than I thought it would be. By the time I made it to the bottom of the hill I was pretty well worn out. My vehicle (1980 Chevy Citation  ) was parked upriver on my side of the river, where I had driven across a bridge and parked the car, but being that it was slightly uphill, I found I couldn't drag the deer in that direction. The road was just across the river so I did the only thing I could do, and dropped it off about a 4 foot bank into the river, and jumped in behind it. I don't remember it being all that difficult getting it across the river, but it was waist deep and being late October, it was pretty cold. I was then able to walk up the road to the bridge, and the car, and drive back to the deer. The final challenge was getting that damn deer in the trunk of the car. Looked a lot easier than it was. If only I knew then what I know now- I could have, at the minimum, cut that deer in half, but I never even considered it. I will never drag another deer out unless it's only a couple hundred yards or less, and downhill.

[TeacherMan]

I remember one time hunting up in the Bumping and seeing a herd of elk on the other side of the river and trying to cross it with my bow. I got about 1/2 way across and a cow stepped out of the willows on the bank at about 30 yards and I was almost chest deep in water, no shot at all. I worked up a little closer and was able to draw my bow but the water was pushing on me so hard I couldn't steady my shot. I let it down and they all ended up walking away.  

[sakoshooter]

I remember one time hunting up in the Bumping and seeing a herd of elk on the other side of the river and trying to cross it with my bow. I got about 1/2 way across and a cow stepped out of the wilows on the bank at about 30 yards and I was almost chest deep in water, no shot at all. I worked up a little closer and was able to draw my bow but the water was pushing on me so hard I couldn't steady my shot. I let it down and they all ended up walking away. 

That Bumping can get going pretty good at times. So can Deep Cr.

[Schwag173]

Depending on your river, I recommend keeping a small boat in camp in case you need it.  I have a high-quality 2-man inflatable for just that reason (stay away from the nylon junk, you'll regret it).  I've recovered three elk across a 50-yard wide river, all three were quartered and two were in total darkness.  I discovered that placing a chem-light at my landing-sites on either bank made life a lot less stressful while rowing across the current.  As for current, stick to the patches of flat-water even if it means hiking to your elk and always wear a PFD. 

[Skyvalhunter]

With the light weight rafts like an Alpacka or one of them a guy could get say half the animal in the raft and have another person with a rope tied to the front and float it across.
One time I shot this blacktail in this alder patch above the river. A buddy and me pulled the deer down to the river. We then got a couple hundred feet of rope and tied it to the deer. The river was pretty swift so we wrapped the other end around a tree and pulled the deer in. With the current and rope being around the tree the deer just swung over to the shore on our side. But without that rope wrapped around the tree it surely would have pulled us in. Sure had a clean deer though,  
But a word to the wise is not to used those Seveylor(sp) trail models and tie the rope to the rope holding rings as they pull out of the raft and the raft sinks!!

[Killmore]

Went on a guided spring bear hunt in idaho (shepp ranch) three years ago, At breakfast the guide said that this morning we'll be riding the mules up the trail by the creek and there's places that if there is a bear we might not be able to pursue because of the creek and the terain.. So couple mile's out and there's a bear on the hill side above the creek. I said, can we get across the creek, and the guide said no problem. So I shoot the bear and it come's rolling down the hill and gets stuck on a little bush. So we have to cross this creek and it's waist deep, Before crossing we took off day packs and anything else we didn't want to get wet, even left the rifle.  This was the end of April and that water was COLD..and waist deep..but we survived..

[Skyvalhunter]

Did you talk in a high voice for a while?

[Killmore]

Yep the boy's went into hibernation!!