Free: Contests & Raffles.
What was the range on the elk in the first picture?
Mule Deer are specialist at concealment. A few years ago, I started down a ridge I hunt all the time. Fog thick enough that 50 to 75 yards was as far as you could see and between the rain and the fog blowing through, the visibility was going from 10 to 15 yards to 50 to 75 and back to 10 to 15 every 30 seconds or so. I stepped away from a sapling just far enough to get a view of the crest of the ridge because I'd found bucks laying there before when it was raining. There was a spindly 3 point standing up next to a large Ponderosa pine about 70 yards below me. The buck didn't know I was there so I just figured I'd have some fun and see just how close I could get. With my back to the saplings, I stayed as tight to the cover as I could without brushing up against it and slowly cut the distance in half. At this point, to get closer, I was going to have to step away from the cover behind me. When the buck turned it's head and looked directly down the ridge, I figured with the noise of the rain and the fact that I was above the deer and my scent should be going up hill away from the animal, I started to slowly step away from the cover. I was able to cover 10 to 15 feet. The deer was still oblivious to my presence and I figured that was close enough and stopped and stood still. I had spent the last 15 minutes focused on my feet, the deer and whether I would brush up against anything. At this point as I started to take in all of my surroundings and as I pivoted my head, I saw movement behind and over my left shoulder as a monster mule deer buck stood up at about 10 yards away from behind a dead fall with branches sticking in all directions. He'd actually been laying amongst all of the dead limbs on the uphill side of the deadfall trunk. I realized afterwards, as I stepped away from the saplings, if I had turned my head and looked to my left, I'd have been looking right at him. Had the buck jumped at that point, I may have gotten a shot. With the buck waiting until I was below him, his second or third jump put him over an edge and going into thick timber above me. The only lesson or lessons I learned from that episode are first, deer are smart, next, when hunting, never get fixated on anything and then last, hunting is the most fun a person can have legally. The few times in my life when I've been up close and personal with a really big deer, there is nothing else in life that is more exciting than that to me. Good luck out there!And yes, the spindly three point was legal and had my goal been to bring home a deer, I could have shot him. I guess my goal is to spend and enjoy my time in the outdoors and if the right situation presents itself, maybe I bring home a deer or a bear.
Hey all, I'm in a similar boat myself. Didn't grow up with guns at all, so no hunting in the family. I started whitetail hunting in 2021 in the NE corner. Got lucky with a buck the first year, but skunked the last two seasons. I keep trying to find a good "how to" podcast for basic hunting strategy but can't seem to find one specific to whitetails in the PNW. Have you found anything good along those lines?