Does, Dudes, and Butt Sniffin' Bucks - Colorado 3rd Season

[TOGIE]

This hunt really starts in August. It was at that time that beginnings of fires in Colorado that I paid no mind to would flourish into multiple months of intensity, followed by multiple more fires, some of them alarming and record breaking.

I initially paid no mind as I figured these fires would surely be no issue come November. The firefighters would fight bravely and the snow would eventually fall.

But nobody realized how our lack of precipitation would persist and how the winds would continually roar these fires on an eastward march, all the way through October.

Me driving back from Wyoming, my unit nearby, in September:



Me driving back from the grocery store, right near our place, much further south, in October. There is typically a very vast panorama of Rocky Mountain peaks in this view:



And then, later in October, a view from right near our place looking north. The march of the fire continues - no one had any idea how much worse it would get with another nearby fire that was gearing up to gobble up 100,000 acres of forest in a day, destroying homes and threatening towns along the way:




All of the National Forest land was closed by USFS order, from the Wyoming border down to Denver, with the threat of severe fires starting being too great for officials to bear.

CPW made clear for tag holders affected by these fires that we could turn in our tags and get our money and preference points back. There was some state land to hunt, but not tons, and I was preparing to start the paper work to turn in my tag and get a preference point.

 

[NDGuy]

Following because the title reminds me of a low quality snuff film kids would find in their dad's closet. lol

 

[TOGIE]

I consulted my hunting partner, who was indifferent if we attempted the hunt or not on the state land available to us, which CPW kept open. Though, I was very discouraged. Obviously 2020 has been quite a year, and after a very miserable and lonely elk hunt, not having drawn any Wyoming tags for the first time since I started hunting now 4 years ago, and seeing these fires create a real problem for our 3rd season deer hunt, I was starting to feel that 2020 would just be a bye-year.

One of my good friends who hunts and has hunted the state land in this unit strongly encouraged me to go. With the thought that many of the hunters would have and would continue to turn in their tags, I drummed up the motivation to do this hunt.

Planning continued and before we knew it, the Friday before season came and we were packing up our individual vehicles to meet up north and continue onward in one vehicle. My hunting partner had three days, I had five, and I would drop him off at his car down south and continue the hunt by myself if I had an unfilled tag three days later.

After parking his vehicle at my brother's house and packing up my truck with his gear, we grabbed a pizza at one of our favorite spots and drove towards our unit:



That day before season, Friday, we quickly set up camp and hiked in to do a quick scout. We didn't go far, but we saw action:



About 2 hrs before sunset the does came out above our immediately opposing ridge to feed on the south facing grass. Lot's of them. In total we counted 12. Little did we know that piles of does would be the theme of our next two days.



Finally two young bucks emerged. Very young bucks... but this trip was about filling tags - I promised myself and my hunting partner that the first legal buck we could get a shot on, we would shoot. The bucks were certainly fired up about the does: following a particular one about, constantly leaning in for a butt sniff, classic teenagers... the beginnings of the rut were evident, and only a mile from the truck, we felt good about tomorrow.

We hiked back before dark, heated up some chicken chili, drank a couple White Claws and hit the sack after long conversations about everything there is talk about. Great friends that you don't see as often anymore due to life, marriages, first borns, and jobs produce those great conversations quickly when you're finally outside, sitting on ridges, and laying in tents together.

Tomorrow was coming quickly. But we were concerned how close to the truck we saw those deer. We were still unsure what the crowding would like. How many people thought like we did, that perhaps a lot of folks folded and turned in the tags and the state land wouldn't be a giant cluster?

 

[TOGIE]

We stirred in our tent as our alarms went off on opening morning at about 4:15. We lay there working up the courage to get up and start putting clothes on. Before either of us even sat up a truck pulls into the parking area (yes, also the camping area). We bolted up. Another truck rolls in, and yet one more. We also weren't the only ones camping here. We start hurrying.

We boiled some water real quick for instant coffee, made sure we had all of our gear, pulled out the rifles and got to hiking, coffee in hand.

We got up to our same glassing knob from the night before about a mile from the truck, hoping we would be the only ones once at the top.

We were. We settled in to sip coffee and await the sun, hoping to see deer pop on the hills before us. We were greeted with an excellent sunrise



But, then, instead of deer popping on the hillsides, dudes started appearing from every direction. We watched a guy trod across the ridge in front of that we saw all the deer on the night before, right at first light. Then shortly after three more hiked up behind us on our glassing knob, saw us, and continued down the ridge. Another further below on our ride, another walked through the bowl above us that our ridge and the opposing ridge come together to create.

No deer.

I guess the new deer hunting trend is to wander around aimlessly sky lining yourself on a ridge at first light.... we were cursing, to say the least.

Our fears were realized. We waited about another hour and set up to move further and higher.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pack my work phone for opening day as my phone's battery can barely make it to noon anymore. I kept it off most the day and pictures are sparse.

We trodded further.

Mid morning we saw a bigger 3 point buck meandering his way over a ridge opposite us with about 6 does. They topped the ridge into the timber on the north side. Knowing there were meadows over there we dropped into the canyon to make our way up the ridge and maybe find them.

At the bottom of the canyon I look down valley and spot a doe about 1000 yards down feeding in the canyon bottom. I want to move down there and see if she has a buck hanging with her. My buddy convinces me it's better to move after a known entity, the three point buck. Not a lone doe that may or may not have a buck with her.

The buck and his does are never seen again. By nightfall we end up being in range of nearly 7 more does, and no bucks to be found. We are pretty dejected for only being done with day 1.

We trudge back to camp in the dark via an unknown route that ends up being a nightmare. Dejected and tired we quickly hit the sack, motivated to go much deeper tomorrow.

 

[El Jason]

I guess the new deer hunting trend is to wander around aimlessly sky lining yourself on a ridge at first light.... we were cursing, to say the least.

Funny, but true and not a new trend. Just recurring.

drank a couple White Claws

I will be petitioning @Ben Lamb to deduct 5,280 stars for this action.

How many people thought like we did, that perhaps a lot of folks folded and turned in the tags and the state land wouldn't be a giant cluster?

I"ve had this go both ways. It's a crap shoot.

Keep it coming!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Great title! Excited to see how this unfolds.

 

[Ben Lamb]

So let it be written. So let it be done. Point deduction employed.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@Ben Lamb and @JLS would be pretty hilarious if Ben was allowed to unilaterally and arbitrarily change points onpoint might come back just so he could ask to be banned again in disgust.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@TOGIE I’m awarding full points restored for title and narrative pictorials.

 

[El Jason]

@TOGIE I’m awarding full points restored for title and narrative pictorials.

Object. If there was a LaCroix involved there would be a penalty of 122,989 points.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Object. If there was a LaCroix involved there would be a penalty of 122,989 points.

That’s racist

 

[MTLabrador]

Object. If there was a LaCroix involved there would be a penalty of 122,989 points.

Sustained.

 

[Ben Lamb]

@TOGIE I’m awarding full points restored for title and narrative pictorials.

 

[El Jason]

I almost blew beer out my nose....

 

[LuketheDog]

But, then, instead of deer popping on the hillsides, dudes started appearing from every direction. We watched a guy trod across the ridge in front of that we saw all the deer on the night before, right at first light. Then shortly after three more hiked up behind us on our glassing knob, saw us, and continued down the ridge. Another further below on our ride, another walked through the bowl above us that our ridge and the opposing ridge come together to create.

No deer.


We trudge back to camp in the dark via an unknown route that ends up being a nightmare. Dejected and tired we quickly hit the sack, motivated to go much deeper tomorrow.

Alas, I have sat in that same spot, likely looked at many of those same does, and that is typically how the game gets played up there...but the riff-raff usually clears out after a few days...

 

[TOGIE]

We woke to no more trucks pulling in. But the wind was howling. We discussed maybe sleeping in figuring deer would largely be sheltering from the gale.

But that exact conversation quickly turned into "well yeah, they'll be sheltering on leeward slopes" and we knew the leeward slopes would be the east facing slopes. We bucked up, dressed warmly, made our coffee, and started out, determined to get much deeper into the area of public we had in search of bedded up deer.

We choose a low elevation route to get the 3.5 or so miles we needed to hike, and from there we would work up high to glass east facing slopes. We made it as far as we could before first light and just sat where we were about 20 minutes before shooting light to wait out the dawn and see what we saw.

The wind continued to howl, and it was a chilly wind. It wasn't long before we were shaking from the cold. We gave first light about 30-35 minutes and continued onward.

We gained a little bit of elevation and stopped to glass and eat some breakfast and finish our coffee while we looked for deer. We kept this brief because we couldn't see a ton of ground and it wasn't the direction we wanted to be glassing. We continued upwards, still with no clear goal on where exactly we were going.

I catch a doe to our left out of the corner of my eye running across a slope opposite a saddle we're hiking. She must've seen us. We're now the assholes trudging around sky lined on a slope early in the morning. She's alone. She drops over the top of the ridge.

We continue up and make it to the top of the block of hills we're hiking up - small knobs separated by gentle and flat ridges maybe 3/4 of a mile north to south. We hike along on it's eastern face which is a steep accordion ridged slope. We slowly work over each ridge hoping to see deer out in the open.

We slowly top a small high angled ridge and I spot two does feeding out in the open on the opposing slope, 170 yards away. We drop and we watch, hoping they've anchored a buck nearby.

About 5 minutes into watching them I realize the wind has suddenly stopped hitting my face. I look back down at the does, their heads have popped up and are looking directly at us. They start trotting over the ridge and carry three more unseen does with them. No bucks.

We continue and make it up to where we want to sit and look for bedded animals.



We get ready for a long sit. Eat some more food and treat ourselves to some smokeless tobacco. We talk for a long time. Back to conversations about life and everything in between.

It's getting to be about 10:45 when my buddy says "deer."

 

[Bigjay73]

Thats just wrong

 

[Elkdog]

Ah man, don’t stop now!

 

[TOGIE]

I should note, my buddy had insisted on opening day that I take first shot. I continually protested this because I had more days than he did. He insisted. His argument was largely that I planned this hunt, I planned the tag we would apply for, and where we would go in the unit. But I also don't think he was ignoring the fact that I am more obsessed with hunting than he is and that internally I want to shoot a buck, any buck, more than he does. All that was true, but it felt so wrong to be the first shooter on day one when I have 5 days to hunt and he has 3... 2.5 really.

The second day we re-discussed and agreed he would take first shot, he only had one morning left to hunt after today. Then he needed to get back to his two year old and pregnant wife.

These deer we just saw I guess to be about 3/4 of a mile away. Later onX would confirm this nearly correct. They're far, a little too for my 10x bino's and his 8x to learn much about them.

We find them in the first little valley from the left in front of us:



We watch them intently. They are doing what deer do - meandering slowly, seemingly without purpose, from bush to bush. It almost seems as though each bush surprises them, as if though they didn't know it was there, and they have to go stick there face in it for a taste while grabbing grass in between.

I'm confident they are does. Though shortly 2 more appear, and then 1 more appears. Five total. I am confident they are does too. There is at least one yearling in the group.

At last, after almost an hour I finally notice a 6th doe. At least we are confident they are all does. But we could be wrong. However, a buck right now at this time of the day doesn't make sense.

They meander a little further up valley and bed down. I am constantly counting them. Though knowing they are bedding down and with confidence they are does we decide to start focusing on the rest of the country before us. But we are very interested in these does.


This picture contains 4 of those bedded down does. I'll give you the first one. The 5th and 6th were bedded maybe 60 yards down hill, out of this piture.




With those does put to bed for the day and the wind still blowing, not howling anymore though, we settle in the leeward side of our knob to relax and wait. The wind is still cold and sitting watching for deer quickly is zapping the warmth from us.

We eat a late lunch, nap a little, talk some more, walk around on the east side of our ridge to keep blood moving. We complain there is no place to poop up here on this exposed ridge, and then we stupidly put more tobacco in our lips.... (it's a stronger kickstarter of bowel movements than coffee, for those that don't understand..).

Starting around 2:30 or so, we get back up on our knob to glass hard into the evening. The shadows have already become noticeably long, we see the does stirring a little.

It's time to start watching.

 

[El Jason]

We complain there is no place to poop up here on this exposed ridge, and then we stupidly put more tobacco in our lips.... (it's a stronger kickstarter of bowel movements than coffee, for those that don't understand..).

DEFCON 1