devon deer
Well-known member
Hi All,
OK, as i thought the Elk hunt would be tough, but as i did the deer hunt first i shall report on that first.
We visited an area out east on BLM land, strange weather, one of the days it was 70f!
I did begin to wonder why i packed all my wet weather gear and thermal base layers.
Anyway using a spotting scope a herd of mule deer were located, mainly does but a couple of bucks were seen amongst them, one with quite a nice head and the other with just one antler.
So off we went in pursuit, they must have been at least 2 miles away when they went behind a hill out of sight, at which point another small group came into view, my buddy said there is a better buck amongst them, but we had no idea where the other group had gone, so being extra careful we did a huge 3 mile stalk and found both groups again, the lead doe suspected something was up but didnt panic, we went out of sight again and then decided to crawl, holy crap, what the hell is a thing called a prickly pear! still finding the bloody things in my legs back in the UK! When we reappeared the doe had taken the now merged groups further away, so i ranged the nice buck, 404 yards, now that would be the longest shot i had ever taken, i waited until the doe's moved out of the way, the buck was thrashing a bush, and i squeezed the trigger, buck down!
Now to the Elk hunt, i had been watching your weather for weeks, 2 weeks prior to arrival heavy snow, great thinks me, then when we arrive, no snow, which obviously meant we had to go higher which was a problem for my ex-smoking buddy who just couldnt keep up, and on one outing said he felt 'dizzy' and wanted to go back down, puffing on his inhalers.
So that limited me, but on the 2 times i went out without him i saw Elk, sadly all cow's and i had a bull tag, then came the snow, sod's law we had to go home then!
But i have total respect for you Elk hunters, that is the hardest thing i have ever done in my life, you are a tough bunch!
So i went home with my Elk tag intact but had a great time and met some fantastic people.
I would love to return one day but the lady in doors has said NO!
But i just need to work on her a bit, perhaps a holiday somewhere hot?
Here are a couple of pics from the deer hunt.
Thanks for all your help and advice over the past year.
Cheers
Richard
OK, as i thought the Elk hunt would be tough, but as i did the deer hunt first i shall report on that first.
We visited an area out east on BLM land, strange weather, one of the days it was 70f!
I did begin to wonder why i packed all my wet weather gear and thermal base layers.
Anyway using a spotting scope a herd of mule deer were located, mainly does but a couple of bucks were seen amongst them, one with quite a nice head and the other with just one antler.
So off we went in pursuit, they must have been at least 2 miles away when they went behind a hill out of sight, at which point another small group came into view, my buddy said there is a better buck amongst them, but we had no idea where the other group had gone, so being extra careful we did a huge 3 mile stalk and found both groups again, the lead doe suspected something was up but didnt panic, we went out of sight again and then decided to crawl, holy crap, what the hell is a thing called a prickly pear! still finding the bloody things in my legs back in the UK! When we reappeared the doe had taken the now merged groups further away, so i ranged the nice buck, 404 yards, now that would be the longest shot i had ever taken, i waited until the doe's moved out of the way, the buck was thrashing a bush, and i squeezed the trigger, buck down!
Now to the Elk hunt, i had been watching your weather for weeks, 2 weeks prior to arrival heavy snow, great thinks me, then when we arrive, no snow, which obviously meant we had to go higher which was a problem for my ex-smoking buddy who just couldnt keep up, and on one outing said he felt 'dizzy' and wanted to go back down, puffing on his inhalers.
So that limited me, but on the 2 times i went out without him i saw Elk, sadly all cow's and i had a bull tag, then came the snow, sod's law we had to go home then!
But i have total respect for you Elk hunters, that is the hardest thing i have ever done in my life, you are a tough bunch!
So i went home with my Elk tag intact but had a great time and met some fantastic people.
I would love to return one day but the lady in doors has said NO!
But i just need to work on her a bit, perhaps a holiday somewhere hot?
Here are a couple of pics from the deer hunt.
Thanks for all your help and advice over the past year.
Cheers
Richard
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