Pathfinder101's 2011 Deer Hunt

[Pathfinder101]

2011 was starting to look like a bad year for deer hunting for me.  First, as many of you know, I retired from the Army.  That, in itself should have made for more and better hunting, but instead I embarked on a second career, this time as a teacher.  As much as I love my new job (teaching ROTC at the high school and coaching the rifle team), it does not leave a lot of time off in the fall for hunting.  I only managed to squeeze out 4 days (two Saturdays and two Sundays) for archery elk this year.  Though I did get to do some scouting this summer, I knew my deer hunting time was going to be severely limited.
To top it all off, 3 days before opening day, I learned that I had been signed up for some mandatory training that will take place one Saturday a month for the next two years.  And guess when the first class was being held....?  ..Yup, October 15th, an hour and a half from my house, from 8:00 am until 5:30 pm...

So, opening morning I was up early, in my pickup, heading out in the dark....to class...

Of course, I didn't have to be in the classroom until 8 (give-or-take a few minutes I figured... ), so I took a short detour (I did have my rifle and orange in the truck....y'know...for protection...) and figured I would drive down one of the roads in the general direction of the town I was headed to, mostly just to count pickups.  It was about 5 minutes before shooting light when I saw the deer's sillouette, just below a ridgeline, about 200 yards from the truck.  Even in the semi-dark, through a dirty corner of the windshield I could tell it was a buck, just by the body size.  I stopped and pulled up the binos.  He was conservatively 25"-26" wide, nice forks, heavy, but not overly tall.  Definitely the nicest mule deer I have seen in that area, in or out of the season.  We watched each other for a few minutes, and he sauntered down into a draw .  I glanced at my watch.  an hour to get to class...class was about 50 minutes away...awwlll what the hell.  I shut off the truck , loaded my rifle and went to cross the road.  Only one hill seperated us.  And I saw the No Trespassing sign...  
The area that I was in is 90% Feel Free To Hunt, on both sides of the road for almost the whole road...except for one peice.  And of course, he was on it...
So, after banging my head on the sign 3 or 4 times, I unloaded, got back in the truck, backed up a little to a better vantage point, and found him again.  He was now at 100 yards, and working his way slowly to the road.  If he crossed the road, he would be in the Feel Free To Hunt land.  So, I pulled forward to where he couldn't see me again, got out, loaded my rifle, and started to sneak up the road, hoping to intercept him. 
I spotted antler tips crossing the road just below the rise in front of me.  He was now llegal..  I dropped down into a crouch, and walked towards where I saw him cross.  Lo and behold, I walked right up on him at 50 yards.  Unfortunately, he heard me coming though, and all I was treated to was a view of his a$$, and his (now ridiculously wide and heavy looking) rack, as he trotted away...  I could have "buttholed him", but I decided not to for several reasons, not the least of which is Karma...

I chased him around a bit, got a couple more glimpses of him, was about 10 minutes late to class, ...and basically that was my opening day...
NMore to come....

[Pathfinder101]

Sunday, I had the entire day to hunt.  I was basically back in the same area, but I never did see that big buck again.  I am sure he dug a hole, waited until dark, snuck back into his little private-land-sanctuary, and did not show his face in the light of day again until October 24th.
There were plenty of deer moving though, and I had a pretty eventful day.  At one point I did manage to get on a bachelor herd of bucks, stalked to within 300 yards and almost shot a 4x4.  I was several miles back from the road, and though they were on public land there were no other hunters out there, and I wasn't worried aobut not being able to find them again.  So, I passed.  I wanted to see what came out after things calmed down later in the week.
Unfortunately, between my coaching schedule and my wife throwing out her back, I wasn't able to get back out again until Wednesday.  When I did, I was able to locate the bachelor herd again (now missing the 4x4), pulled a stalk to 321 yards, but again elected to pass.  Now, I wanted to try to find that 4x4 that I had passed on Sunday.  One of the bucks in the bachelor herd was a 2x4.  I only saw him when he was bedded, and only from a side-view, and from that angle, he was not impressive.  Short, crabby tines on his 4 point side, and a tall, crabby 2 point on the other (I couldn't tell if he grew that way, or if he broke it off sparring).  I honestly didn't even consider shooting him.  The other bucks in the herd were 3x3s and 2x2s.  I decided to come back the next morning and try to find the 4x4 that I was looking for.
I hiked in the next morning in the dark, and as it started getting light, I saw a lone buck, working his way towards me on a ridge about 800 yards away.  I pulled up the binos, saw he looked like a good buck and cut the distance to about 500 yards, then set up the spotting scope.  It was the 2x4 from the night before, but now he was walking towards me, and I could clearly see that I had misjudged him the night before.  He was fairly tallk, and though his tines were not good, he was pretty wide, in fact, he was outside his ears.  "Oh, crap."  I thought.  "I should have shot him last night". 
Still, he looked like he was in a good position to intercept him, so I checked the wind, packed up my scope and took off to cut him off. 
...more to come...

[Ripper]

Good God! Whats with you people, I've seen more of these threads this year than ever before. Thanks for you service in the military. NOW GET WRITING!!!

[Ripper]

OK you posted part 2 before my post. Thanks....... I'm waiting on the edge of my seat...........

[jackelope]

I sense a good old school banning coming on...on with the story.

Folks...you can pull these long drawn out stories all you want but when you log completely off of the site in between posts....
That is bad juju...
Now where's Pathfinder at, on with it!!!

[Pathfinder101]

As I crept over the hill, in what I thought would be a great postion to intercept the buck, I settled into a little nook in the CRP where I figured I was fairly covered up.  I took off my pack, set out the bipod on my rifle and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  After a little while a herd of does with a 2x3 came walking past.  I checked, and checked, and checked him again... definitely NOT the buck I was after.  I watched as they took the exact route below me that I had expected the 2x4 to take.  250 yards, in the open...easy shot.  I scotted around a little, trying to see if I had missed something (I was now on the open hillside, trying to see into all the little nooks and crannies in case he was hiding in there).  I kept glancing back at the 2x3 and the does as they worked their way up the far hillside to my right.  After a minute, I glanced at them again, and it looked like there was an extra deer with them.  I pulled up the binoculars and there he was....   I had been "ghosted".  Somehow, he had managed to walk right under my nose (I still cannot figure out how) without me seeing him until he was 500 yards away and about to crest the far hillside with the herd.  I started making a mental note of where they were headed so I could go find him that evening after work when I spotted another group of deer come out on a hillside about 700 yards away. 
I pulled up the binos and counted 5 does and a 2x2 buck.  As I was watching a 7th deer followed them over the hill.  Noting that he was a buck I pulled out my spotter and put it on him.  It was the 4x4 I had seen Sunday.  Though not a wide or tall as the 2x4 that had just ghosted me,  he had better points and mowas a little heavier, so I decided to try to come up with a stalk plan if he gave me the opportunity.  While I was watching his, he spotted me (remember, I was sitting in the open, on the side of a ridge) and immediately broke off from the does.  I watched him duck down into a draw that I couldn't see the bottom of.  I watched for 5 minutes and he didn't come out. " Bedded down"  I thought.  "Perfect".  So I checked the wind, and started my stalk. 
20 minutes later I crept into the draw I had seen him go into.  Nothing.  I walked all the way into the bottom, thinking perhaps he was tucked into a fold somewhere and that I had missed him.  Nothing.  I walked back up the hill a ways and started glassing.  Nothing.  "*censored*", I thought "Did I really get ghosted AGAIN?"  Twice in 30 minutes...?  I slowly started working my way towards a patch of what looked like tumbleweeds that had blown into a draw and collected there.  It didn't look like much cover, but it was the only thing in the draw that looked like it could hold a deer.  As I walked closer and closer towards it, I suddently noticed a small patch of white that looked out of place.  I pulled up the binos and looked... and realized that I was looking right into his face!
He was bedded down in the tumbleweeds (which were far talled, thicker and deeper than I had imagined), waiting for me to leave (which had almost worked by the way).  For about the next 45 seconds (which felt like 5 minutes) he watched me run around on the hillside like an idiot, trying to find a place where I was high enough to see down into his bed for a shot.  I finally perched my bipod legs on a sage bush, crouched down, and found him in my scope, still staring at me.  The 7mm Mag broke both his shoulders, flopping him over n his bed.  The shot was just a little under 200 yards ( 186 yards I ranged later).  As I walked up to him, he tried to get up, and not being sure that I had broken both shoulders, I shot him again in the neck.  It was 8:02 am. 
Not a monster buck, but certainly nothing to complain about.  Until I walked up to him, I had not noticed the 5th point on his right antler. 
The best part is that the wide 2x4 survived the season.  So, if a poacher or the winter doesn't get him (and we don't have much in the way of winter here), he'll be out there next year.  Bigger, wider, taller and hopfully with a full rack (maybe?).  I am going to try to stick with him and see if I can find him next summer. 
What is better than a season that gives you something to look forward to next season...?

[Pathfinder101]

Thanks for being so patient...   Next year I'll hire someone to type for me...  

Here's a couple more pics.  One of the bachelor herd on the hoof.  Sorry it's fuzzy, through the spotter.  The next pic is of his hiding spot, the tumbleweed thicket.  The last pic is of his bed.  6-8 inches deep in the dirt.  I wonder how many times he lay in it and watched hunters walk past him, just like I almost did...?

[Pathfinder101]

One more pic.  When I brought him home, TinyPathfinder had to help out with the whole skinning process.  He was fascinated, and wanted to touch and hold everything.  A little disappointed that I wouldn't let him use the knife  

I think we've got another future HUNTWA member....ya'think...?

[Ripper]

The last pic is my favorite. I love getting the little guys involved. Thanks for the great story and pics. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Congrats on a nice buck and great hunt.

[buck man]

Great story and pic. Gotta love the young hunters congrats

[runamuk]

Sweet looks like a great hunt congrats 

[Odell]

I like the hat! Nice buck also.

[bucklucky]

Awesome!

[Pathfinder101]

Thanks guys.  TinyPathfinder and I cleaned off the skull for a euro mount yesterday.  (Sorry Michelle...we boiled and picked it...I don't have any place that I could macerate one...and still stay married... )

[rasbo]

awesome buck,and the lil guy looks pretty serious about hunting