Blacktailbc
Well-known member
Well....Kind of. So my buddy and I left our wyoming deer hunt a couple days early. Just in time to pack into a high country spot in colorado I had hunted once back in 2005. We got there in time to look around friday night, and we were encouraged when we saw 6 or 7 bucks. I had a deer tag, and my buddy had an elk tag.
We got up early and hiked up to a bench that looked up to a ridgeline, just before daylight. I had forgoten how far away this bench was......it was still 1000 yds up to where the deer were hanging out. It was pretty wide open, with small strips of timber. So we had to hoof it another 800-1000 yds up, and as many of you know, at 11,000 ft., that just doesn't happen very fast. By the time we got to the top there had already been a few shots around the canyon we were in..........and I thought maybe we were kind of screwed.
I decided to walk this ridgeline that had small draws all the way down it. We were hoofing it pretty fast, trying to cover some ground, and find a decent buck before they went to bed. On the second to last draw, I spotted a good 4 pt with tall back forks walking over the ridge about 100 yds out. He went over the ridge before I could get a shot. So I left my pack with my sherpa and decided to try and catch up. What the hell, the magic hour of morning was almost burnt anyway. When i crested the ridge it felt like my lungs were bleeding. I caught movement below me. 3 Bucks were sneaking below me through some small christmas trees, one was a nice tall 4 pt. The angle was bad, and I could only see their heads. I sprinted up about 30 feet and had them at about 30 yds. They saw me at the last minute, and stopped, with that "oh crap" look. I centered on the biggest one and fired. He went straight down.........and down.........and down. I strolled over the crest of the ridge further, and this took me about 45 seconds. When I looked down he was still rolling
When I got to him I could see he was busted up. The ground was frozen, and very steep. Fortunately we found both back forks intact, and it should be an easy fix.
The buck did not look particularly old to me, but his body was extra large. We packed him back to the truck and decided to go to town for a beer instead of going after elk. We were just too tired. We had been gone for 3 weeks and it was time to go home. All in all a great fall.
A look at where he rolled. He rolled from this spot, down to below those small trees in the bottom.
Although he doesn't look it to me. I scored him twice at just over 175" gross. I guess long tines count for something.
We got up early and hiked up to a bench that looked up to a ridgeline, just before daylight. I had forgoten how far away this bench was......it was still 1000 yds up to where the deer were hanging out. It was pretty wide open, with small strips of timber. So we had to hoof it another 800-1000 yds up, and as many of you know, at 11,000 ft., that just doesn't happen very fast. By the time we got to the top there had already been a few shots around the canyon we were in..........and I thought maybe we were kind of screwed.
I decided to walk this ridgeline that had small draws all the way down it. We were hoofing it pretty fast, trying to cover some ground, and find a decent buck before they went to bed. On the second to last draw, I spotted a good 4 pt with tall back forks walking over the ridge about 100 yds out. He went over the ridge before I could get a shot. So I left my pack with my sherpa and decided to try and catch up. What the hell, the magic hour of morning was almost burnt anyway. When i crested the ridge it felt like my lungs were bleeding. I caught movement below me. 3 Bucks were sneaking below me through some small christmas trees, one was a nice tall 4 pt. The angle was bad, and I could only see their heads. I sprinted up about 30 feet and had them at about 30 yds. They saw me at the last minute, and stopped, with that "oh crap" look. I centered on the biggest one and fired. He went straight down.........and down.........and down. I strolled over the crest of the ridge further, and this took me about 45 seconds. When I looked down he was still rolling
When I got to him I could see he was busted up. The ground was frozen, and very steep. Fortunately we found both back forks intact, and it should be an easy fix.The buck did not look particularly old to me, but his body was extra large. We packed him back to the truck and decided to go to town for a beer instead of going after elk. We were just too tired. We had been gone for 3 weeks and it was time to go home. All in all a great fall.
A look at where he rolled. He rolled from this spot, down to below those small trees in the bottom.
Although he doesn't look it to me. I scored him twice at just over 175" gross. I guess long tines count for something.
