BigMIKE's Montana Mule Deer Hunt 2011

[BIGMIKE]

Late post, sorry I got busy with work and the holidays. Anyway here’s last year’s Montana hunt.
Last year’s hunting season was a special to me because my buddies and I were selected to hunt mule deer in Montana. I have been unsuccessful for the last 3 years so when we got selected I knew that we are in for a great hunting opportunity and good times.
My hunting buddies suggested going back to where they hunted the year before and basing on their success the previous year I was all in. We decided to take the boat lunch from Bone Trail Camp ground and hunt the far side of the Fort Peck reservoir.  I was told that game was plentiful and the chance of tagging a nice deer is always there.
    A couple of months prior to our trip I had bought my daughter a .243 savage from Sportco, Fife as a gift for passing the hunters education last summer.  I had taken her to the range a few times for her to get familiar with her new weapon in order for her to be comfortable shooting in a hunting situation. I could honestly say that I was impressed the way she handled the rifle. From zeroing to actual known distance target shooting she only missed one target from 50 yards all the way to 300 yards.  And from that point on I nicknamed her “shooter”.  We were invited to participate on a youth hunt which was sponsored by Gary Greenwalt of Wild Country Outdoors.  Weeks prior to her scheduled hunt we were ready until I found out that she will only be able to hunt 1 weekend out of the whole season due to school schedule. I was excited non- the less. I figure we would make the best out of what we have.  Wild country out fitters was very hospitable and catered to all the youth hunters that showed at their outfit.  My daughter and I did see a lot of deer but was not able to connect. I was just happy to be able to take my daughter out and spend time with her in the great outdoors. 
   Well, back to our Montana trip.  A couple of weeks prior to Thanks Giving we started our journey to eastern Montana. After 11 hours of driving straight we were crossing Rogers Pass and the weather was not good. It was blizzard conditions, I could barely make out the road due thick snow on the ground and the snow falling so thick made it almost impossible to see more than 50 yard s to the front. On our way down from the pass I was traveling at 40-45 miles per hour when my rear tires lost tractions.  My buddy was awaken when I yelled “F*%K” and by the time he opened his eyes we were going sideways towards a guard rail on the opposite lane. I tried to recover but the truck was not responding. We hit the guard rail and it pushed the rear end of the truck to the right straightening the vehicle and back on the highway. After about half a mile or so we decided to pull over to assess the damage to the truck. I was pissed about what just happen to say the lease. To my surprise the truck was perfectly fine and fully intact not a scratch on it. The built up snow on the side of the highway prevented us from hitting the actual guard rail.  I considered our selves lucky, I mean we beat the odds and survived a situation that could have ended our hunting trip in a heartbeat.  Relieved from the incident, we continued our journey to our destination. We made it to camp in about 16 hours of driving. The camp was set and ready for us to just move in. Two of our hunting partners showed up 2 days prior to us so all we have to do is set our own cot and we are ready to start hunting.
   We arrived around 10:00 AM and we are ready to hunt by 11:00 AM.  From a distance I can hear a boat traveling towards our direction. It was our friends coming in from a morning hunt to eat lunch and pick us up so we can join the hunt. That afternoon we decided to hunt the far side of the lake due to favorable weather conditions. The temperature was in the 20’s and the lake water was perfect for crossing.  We anchored the boat and off we went to the canyon. We split right off the bat giving each a sector to increase our odds of seeing deer.  After 4 hours of slow waking I was able to locate 2 herds of mule deer feeding in the open. No- shooters, the biggest buck out of the 2 groups were a 3x3. I was happy to see that deer’s were in groups of 5-9 that day. We got back to the boat, got loaded up and headed back to Camp for dinner.
    Day two. We woke up around 4: AM in order to prepare breakfast and get something warm in our stomach because that morning when I stepped outside to take a leak I knew that the wind is going to be an issue. The wind was blowing 25-30 miles per hour making lake crossing dangerous. When there was enough light to see the lake we could see white caps so we decided to hunt our side of the lake.  After breakfast we drove to a spot not far from camp. We signed in a BLM area, we assigned areas to hunt to everyone, a few more minutes later after planning our own routes we stepped off hopping to see something worth shooting. After 5 hours of walking I was able to locate a herd of mule deer feeding from a distance and after sitting down and looking thru my bino I confirmed that one of them was a buck.  I automatically dropped down and leaned on a rock while continuing to observe the herd travel towards my direction. After about 30-45 minutes of so I realized that the buck is not a shooter. It was a young but wide 3x3.  So, I decided to start hunting towards the truck which at that time was about 6 miles away. I walk and walk without seeing another deer the whole time. 4 hours later I could make out the siluette of our parked truck I still have about 2 hours of day light left so I decided to take a detour and see if there is anything in the draw half a mile east of the truck. 
   On my way up the hill, it did not take me long before spotting a doe feeding in the low grounds on the other side of the hill I was on.  Remembering what I have seen on previous deer sightings I knew that this doe is not alone. I also recognized that the wind was in my favor for a stalk.  I quickly backed up and got set up out of sight, I pulled my video camera out and tri-pod set it up and started low crawling towards the top of the hill. I figure if I can’t get a deer at least I can get good footage of deer in the wilderness.  Once I got in to position I was looking down and observing the deer move from left to right approximately 150 yards out.  Initially I was able to locate 3 does but as the time go by more and more doe showed up in my sector of fire.  I noticed that there was a deer bedded down next to a dead bush and while I was trying to see if it was a buck I notice the branches of the bush had moved. It was a buck!!! Judging from a distance I notice that it was not the type of deer I was hoping to harvest so I grabbed my camera and hope that the deer would stand up and give me a good footage for the kids and  wife to watch when I get back home.  I zoomed in with my camera and noticed the eye guards, and in my head I started to justify to myself that this is a great buck to take.   I should have left when I had the chance. Anyway, after a few minutes of talking to myself, the meat hunter in me kicked in and I decided to take the buck. I centered the bedded buck in my camera, zoomed in and picked up my daughters .243. I turned the vortex diamond back  rifle scope all the way to 9x I extended my bi-pod and aim at the rutting  neck of the buck. After I got set up, I aim at the buck’s neck centering it and in line with the buck’s spinal cord. I inhaled, exhaled paused and squeezed the trigger. BOOM!!! Just like that the buck was down instantly, the deer died in its bed.  About 12 does appeared out of nowhere, some of the does hanged around and some took off as soon as they heard the rifle go off. I continued to videotape the general vicinity of the buck with does and after a few moments I packed my gear and I started walking towards my buck. He was not the biggest deer I saw during the whole time we were there but I was able document the whole hunt by myself which will remain in my collection for ever. Maybe one day I could show it to my grandchildren what their grandpa use to do when I was younger. I can’t wait. 
Everyone bagged a deer during our trip. We saw a lot of wild life; we saw elk, deer, rams, bear and even a snake. It was a trip we will all remember for the rest of our lives.  I can’t wait until next season.

[BIGMIKE]

pictures,

[BIGMIKE]

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[BIGMIKE]

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[BIGMIKE]

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[windygorge]

what a cool hunt.  amazing pics.

[benhuntin]

looks like a great hunt.  I want to try it but I heard the weather can be rough and the hunting has gone down hill lately.  We have a spot in central montana that produces pretty good and it is hard to leave it.

[Rufenit]

Thanks for the story and pictures, looks like you had a greate time.

[elkhorn]

Looks like a fun hunt.

[hambone]

looks like you guys had a great hunt and fun time congrats

[Hornseeker]

You guys had a great hunt! Congrats. Much better than my hunt upriver from you guys...

[BIGMIKE]

Got my 2011 Montana buck back from a friend that does taxi as a hobby. I think he can actually do this gig fo a living. What do you guys think???

[Kowsrule30]

Looks good....

[skybusterbo]

Nice buck and great pic's. 

[windygorge]