Post by: RubblesPH on February 08, 2008, 12:33:40 PM
Post by: Ridgerunner on February 08, 2008, 12:38:02 PM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on February 08, 2008, 12:38:58 PM
Post by: popeshawnpaul on February 08, 2008, 12:43:06 PM
What an amazing experience to get to hunt all alone in the snow for huge rutting bucks. Some day maybe I'll get the raffle tag...
Is there a story?
shawn
Post by: dbllunger on February 08, 2008, 12:44:18 PM
Post by: UBA on February 08, 2008, 12:46:35 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 08, 2008, 01:00:55 PM
Post by: popeshawnpaul on February 08, 2008, 01:06:29 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 08, 2008, 01:13:53 PM
Post by: popeshawnpaul on February 08, 2008, 01:16:37 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 08, 2008, 01:35:18 PM
Post by: GoldTip on February 08, 2008, 01:40:19 PM
Post by: Drop Tine on February 08, 2008, 01:56:26 PM
Post by: boneaddict on February 08, 2008, 02:09:50 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 08, 2008, 02:29:15 PM
I was the lucky recipient of the 2005 WA Raffle Tag. I live in Tri-Cities, WA and have been visiting this web-site for a couple years. As a result I've gotten some good information from the site, helped some others out on their hunts and met some great people. I wanted to thank Sam Kolb for sharing his insight from last years raffle tag experience. His advice to not "chase rainbows" all over the state was right on the money! It seems that many people have seen or know where there is a potential 200" class buck and you can spend the entire four months chasing those rainbows. Although I do have to admit that I couldn't help chasing down a few of those leads (38" buck behind Wenatchee Wall-Mart, 32" non-typical in the Desert Unit, 31 point Cactus buck in the Desert Unit...just to name a few) only to be disappointed. The end result was spending considerable time on the phone and in the field and concentrating my efforts in the later part of December in the Entiat Unit.
O.K. - here is the story, I'll try to keep it short. On my third trip to the Entiat Unit I arrived on December 15th and ran into the Governors tag holder and another gentleman who was helping him out. Not sure of their arrangement, but both seemed to be great guys. They said that they had been there for 11 days, doubled up on a snowmobile in the low temps! They hadn't seen a buck that would go in the 180's and were looking for something in the 190's. Their experience in the unit seemed to hold true to what I had been seeing during my previous trips to the unit and what several friends had experienced during bow season. I also spoke with a WF&G Biologist and he stated that they had just flown the unit on Dec. 9th in a helicopter for 6 hours, assessed approximately 2000 deer and thought that there might be one buck that would go in the 190's. And no, he didn't tell me where that buck was.
During the 5 days of hunting prior to shooting my buck I had three different friends with me, Brett Gorrel being the one with me when we spotted the buck. I was not guided by any outfitter and it was a total DIY hunt.
Late in the evening of the 19th, the weather was changing and there was freezing rain. The truck had chains on and the roads we getting pretty dangerous with ice. I had hunted for 5 full (sun up to sun down) days and only seen two other bucks that would go in the 170's. We spotted this buck on a ridgeline with several does and 2 other small bucks. We glassed him, did a quick field judge, ranged him, remembered the comment from Sam (I was never able to find the big bucks twice), and took the shot. After the shot, I heard it connect with the buck and he started slowly walking towards the top of the ridge. I took another shot that hit just under his chest and he went to running up and over the ridge.
We hiked up the ridge and found a great blood trail blowing out both sides of the buck onto the snow, down into what is said to be the nastiest canyon in the unit. We tracked the buck down the hill in thigh deep snow for about 100 yards and decided to return in the morning when we had some packs, daylight and necessities necessary for survival if we had to spend the night. We came off the hill, talked to a couple of locals that we had met earlier on the trip and they advised us not to try to walk out of the canyon trough the bottom since it was pretty much sheer cliffs in some areas. The buck had to be packed back out the top of the canyon. One of the locals (Frank) volunteered to come to the ridgeline the next morning to see where we were going in and to advise us where we should come out. After a sleepless night, Brett and I picked Frank up at daybreak and all three of us decided to track the buck down the mountain. We lost the blood trail about 3/4 of the way down the canyon, but were able to pick it up again after we split up and walked down another 200 yards. We spent about an hour and a half locating the buck and after pictures, capeing and boneing out the meat; we spent the next four plus hours climbing back to the top of the ridge.
As Sam eluded to in a previous post on this thread, there is a considerable amount of pressure that comes with the tag....weather conditions (fog, white outs, etc), dangerous roads, vacation time, expense, family obligations, stress of the "once in a lifetime opportunity" and the belief by many that because your hunting the Winter Range there will be several 190-200" class bucks to sort through in every canyon. It's just not the case. PLEASE, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining by any means!! What a tag!!!
I know it is hard to tell from the pictures, but the buck is a 5x5 (not counting eyeguards) and will make an exceptional mount with its winter hide. It was great experience and one that I will always have great memories to share with old acquaintances and newly acquired friends. I wanted to thank all of you who contributed to the success of this experience.
Post by: Bigshooter on February 08, 2008, 02:30:18 PM
Post by: huntnphool on February 08, 2008, 04:28:50 PM
Post by: huntnphool on February 08, 2008, 04:58:03 PM
Post by: Hunting Cowboy on February 08, 2008, 07:33:30 PM
Post by: PacificNWhunter on February 09, 2008, 02:57:45 PM
Post by: Coasthunterjay on February 09, 2008, 03:21:06 PM
Post by: Wea300mag on February 09, 2008, 04:33:58 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 09, 2008, 04:58:26 PM
Wea300mag.....you know what I'm talking about - all those 180+ bucks blocking my shots on all those 200+ bucks. Kinda like shooting fish in a barrel :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
Post by: Coasthunterjay on February 09, 2008, 05:53:13 PM
thats were i grew up atleast. my parents still live there..i am there about once a month though......but im up in this cold God forsakin place called PORT ANGELES, lol......ide like to come back, but unfortunatly the Coast guard Aviation doesnt have any stations over there :(....but i figure being stationed here in PA is about ten eimes better than the last job i had....i worked down in central america doing anti-narcotics and migration, BLAAHHH.....
but nice to meat you man.......great deer again
Post by: RubblesPH on February 09, 2008, 06:54:32 PM
Your welcome to stop by and have a cold one.....
Post by: Skyvalhunter on February 09, 2008, 07:52:06 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on February 10, 2008, 08:28:03 PM
Post by: boneaddict on February 11, 2008, 07:03:19 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on February 11, 2008, 08:26:29 AM
Post by: RubblesPH on May 29, 2008, 10:06:30 PM
Post by: LongTatLaw on May 29, 2008, 10:29:51 PM
looks like a great buck to me!
Post by: bucklucky on May 29, 2008, 11:18:47 PM
Post by: boneaddict on May 30, 2008, 05:57:28 AM
Post by: cascademountainhunter on May 30, 2008, 06:57:41 AM
congrats
Post by: RubblesPH on May 30, 2008, 08:02:42 AM
The game room is pretty full and extended out into the living area and shop....I got a great wife that will go hunting when she draws a good tag.
Post by: zackmioli on May 30, 2008, 08:03:44 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on May 30, 2008, 08:42:35 AM
Post by: RubblesPH on May 30, 2008, 08:48:29 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on May 30, 2008, 08:56:34 AM
Post by: RubblesPH on May 30, 2008, 11:28:30 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on May 30, 2008, 12:35:23 PM
Post by: Muleyslyr on May 31, 2008, 12:20:52 PM
Post by: Muleyslyr on May 31, 2008, 12:21:52 PM
Post by: boneaddict on May 31, 2008, 12:26:46 PM
Post by: RubblesPH on May 31, 2008, 01:02:53 PM
http://www.peysertaxidermy.com/
He used a whitetail form and put a a mule deer head on it. He delivered the head on his way bear hunting (the boy had baseball and I have to go to a funeral today or I'd be with him), but couldn't fit the tree and pedestal under the canopy with his four wheeler.
I think we still need to make some adjustments on the branches, add some more needles and then we'll add the rock to it.
It will be sitting in the opposite corner of the CO buck I had him mount. The field pic of that buck is in the 5 point thread. We used the same pedestal and put an aspen tree behind it with gold leaves and some rocks/dirt with fallen leaves in it. Looks great, at leaset in my opinion!
Post by: boneaddict on May 31, 2008, 01:05:49 PM
Good idea about the form. Mule deer forms are so blah compared to some of the musculature of the whities. Again, turned out nice.
Post by: bucklucky on May 31, 2008, 03:55:27 PM