Deja Vous...

[Wildabeest]

All over again...

First day of what’s hopefully becoming a tradition for my son and I to hunt MT the week of Thanksgiving. I didn’t do a full write up on our hunt last year, but did post about it on an existing thread.

Would you rather - Trophy solo or Shooter w/buddy

I think people today are afraid of being alone for extended periods. It's a great way to find out what you're made of. I'd take a doe solo. Just for the personal lessons I'd learn!

www.hunttalk.com

We only had buck deer tags last year, and it was his first hunt ever, so pretty cool that we were both able to have bucks on the ground the morning of our first day.

Today was the first day of a 9 day hunt in MT. Unlike last year, we put in for more tags this year, so we both have Big Game Combo (any elk and buck deer) and Deer B (doe) tags. We are fortunate to own some property in MT that gives us access to two different sections of State Trust lands that don’t otherwise have public access. On the plus side, these tracts have very light hunting pressure, but on the negative side each is only 1 square mile so the critters are either there or they aren’t. Completely surrounded by private, so it’s not your typical “big country” western hunt.

I grew up stand and still hunting back east, and it’s something that I’m very comfortable with, and it turns out both of these public lands parcels are very well suited to that style of hunt. One of the parcels has had some selective thinning done on the timber, so it provides good cover for both predator and prey, as well as providing good opportunities to spot game close in before they spot you if you are meticulous with how you move through it. Last year our day 1 plan was to get into the public, then split off and he was going to work around it in a clockwise manner and I was going to work around counter-clockwise and see what happened. The hope was that one of us would see something and get a shot, or we would perhaps push some game towards one or the other. As discussed in the post about last year, that strategy paid off with my son taking his first deer less than 2 hrs in, then I took one as well while we were gutting his.

Last year...

 

[Wildabeest]

So fast forward to this year...

We got into Bozeman last night and after getting settled I started talking with my son about how he wanted to hunt this year. He had several ideas, but for the first day he said “why don’t we just do what we did last year and see how that goes.” I agreed that would be a good plan, but said “I think we were pretty lucky last year, so don’t get your hopes up too high.” He said “that’s cool, I’m just glad to be here with you.”. So all was good.

So we head out at zero dark thirty this morning, only to get held up by a train on the track we need to cross to get to our spot. Not just one, but two. One headed west that was plugging along, and another headed east that was just sitting there. Ugh! I assumed it was due to two trains not being able to go through the tunnel at the same time. Anyway, 30 minutes later, all trains were cleared and we arrived at our spot albeit 30 minutes later than planned and already 10 mins after legal shooting light. So much for being in the woods at first light!

We decided to stick to our plan. We hiked in together, and then split off to do our clockwise / counter-clockwise method of working this small piece of public land. About an hour in, we are both about 1/2 mile on our treks and got to a spot where we could see each other on opposite ridges. A quick wave of acknowledgement and we proceeded on. Less than 30 mins later, I hear a shot. Then about 20 seconds later another. I knew we were the only ones in there, so I knew it was him. I assumed he either missed with his first shot, or needed a follow up to finish it off.

I got out my phone to txt him. It was exactly 9:00am. I chuckled to myself because the same thing happened last year. I heard him shoot, got out my phone, and it was exactly 9:00am. So I txt him “one down?”. His response:

 

[Wildabeest]

So at this point we’re probably about 1/2 mile apart. So I start heading over to where he is to help him. When I reach him, he’s less than 100 yds. from where we shot our deer last year. Deja vous * 2. We do some congratulating, say thanks to God for his blessings and take a picture.


Given we are only about 1/4 mile from the truck and it’s all downhill in snow (just like last year), we decide we’ll gut the deer and drag them out.

 

[Wildabeest]

Since last year was his first year hunting, I did the gutting and he watched. This year, he was up for the task with just a little coaching from me. We got them both gutted and were discussing our plan for dragging them out, when he points over my shoulder and says “Deer!”. I turn around and a doe is walking straight towards us at about 50 yard. Our rifles are laying against a log about 20ft from us in the direction I was facing away from where the deer is coming in. So I just walk straight there, pick up my rifle and turn back around. At this point the doe is now at about 30 yds broadside. 140 grain 270 Accubond did it’s thing and we now had 3 down - all within about 30 yards of each other. Deja vous.

 

[publichunter1]

That's one heck of a trip so far. Glad y'all are having such a good time. I hope the luck continues with the other deer and elk tags.

 

[Wildabeest]

I’m still in a bit of shock as to how similarly this all played out to last year’s hunt. Same small public land section, first morning, same strategy, exact same time, almost exact same spot, and then AGAIN to take another deer that walked in on us while gutting the first. What are the chances of that?

I’m also struggling with how do I convince my son that deer hunting is HARD! It’s always been hard for me. He’s got 4 hrs of hunting in, 3 shots and 3 deer. Ugh! LOL.

I still have a buck deer and elk tag, and he still has elk. So we are not done! We didn’t see much fresh elk sign on the section we hunted today, so heading over to the other State Trust section we have access to tomorrow to see if it’s any better there. Like I said, they’re either there or they aren’t. Hopefully I can at least fill my buck tag if we don’t find any elk.

I’m counting my blessings regardless. Having my son say “I’m just happy to be here with you” before we even got into the woods was the high point of the trip for me.

 

[F250]

Nice pile of venison !! I really like and agree with your hunting goals - not one mention of a numerical antler score. Just out hunting and having FUN !! Looking forward to tagging along for more days in the field with you guys !

 

[Wildabeest]

My son was supposed to fly to NC early Thanksgiving morning to arrive in time for holiday dinner with his mom. We woke up early on Wednesday to emails form Delta saying his flight was cancelled. So instead of hunting, Wednesday morning was spent trying to get him rebooked. He flew out Wednesday afternoon, but it killed the entire day from a hunting standpoint.

We got a pretty good snow on Wednesday as well. So I was in the woods at first light on Thursday doing my usual still hunt. There were lots of fresh tracks, so I decided that I was just going to get on the biggest track I found and follow it until I either found the critter or it left the public. I wasn’t sure if it would end up with finding a deer, but if nothing else it would give me a better sense of how deer moved around on the landscape.

So, of course, the biggest track I found went straight up the steepest grade. I followed it for about for almost an hour before it went into some thicker stuff, just short of the highest ridge, and intersected with a fresh cougar track. My attention then shifted to the cougar, and I lost the deer track.

By this time I was pretty much at the summit. I’d not really not explored what was on the back side of the ridge, so I decided to just go over the top and see what was there. Once on top, there was a fairly flat open meadow, and the wind was blowing about 30 mph. I wasn’t sure if my chills were because of the wind or the fresh cougar track! On the opposite side of the flat meadow was a drop off that opened onto a sloping sage meadow that ended in dark timber where the public turned into private. It all looked like good summer elk habitat, but similar to the rest of the area, I assumed the elk had moved out.

I hiked along the ridge where the flat meadow on top dropped into the sage meadow below, trying to scout them both. When I saw that I was approaching the boundary of the public, I cut back across the meadow to work my way back over the summit. As I did that, I came up on some fresh elk tracks that got my heart pumping a bit. Since we’d just had snow, and with the way the wind was blowing, I knew these track were only a couple of hours old. After working the area a bit, I determined there were two sets of tracks and I found two beds. The beds had crusted over, so I determined from that that the elk had likely moved out a couple of hours earlier. I assumed that since there were only two sets of tracks that they were likely bulls. But who knows. I was just excited to see some really fresh elk sign and know that I’d only missed them by a couple of hours.

I went back over the ridge and hunted the areas where we’d taken deer on Saturday. There was a lot of fresh deer tracks and scat on the new snow, but I did not see any deer despite all the sign. I hunted until legal light ended and called it a day.

Today was my last day, so I decided to get in well before shooting light and just head straight up and over the ridge to see if the elk were there again. I jumped a buck on the way up, but could not get a shot on him. Once on top, I combed the area for elk sign, but nothing other than what was there yesterday. Perhaps they were just passing through headed to their winter range.

I still hunted my way back out through the deer area, but did not see any. Called it a day around noon and then 7 hour drive back to UT.

Like many of you, I’ve always had a Thanksgiving tradition of reflecting on the things I’m most thankful for. Although I’m still longing to take my first elk, this trip provided much to be thankful for. Most importantly, I got to spend time hunting with my son. We took 3 deer - creating new memories and filling the freezer. We got to enjoy some amazing landscapes and scenery. And I feel like I learned a lot and got one small step closer to figuring this stuff out. The elk still elude me, but I’m thankful for that as well. It gives me something to look forward to for the next 10 months.

I hope you all can find the “thanks” in your hunting endeavors this year, regardless of the outcome.

 

[CPAjeff]

Congrats on the success and memories!