wilecoyote76
New member
I haven't hunted deer here in Idaho with a rifle for about six years so I was a bit excited to get out in the hills and make a go of it. My plan was to go out on the 10th with my youngest brother who had ran into a few good bucks during the archery season. Well, I make it to my brothers on Tuesday the 9th only to find out his wife had an emergency appointment to get their unborn baby turned since it was breech. It was then that I realized I was hunting alone on the opener. I reminded my brother many times that you don't have kids during hunting season for reasons just like this!
Opening morning came early and I parked in the spot I needed to be way earlier than anyone else. I started out by flashlight and spooked a coyote at close range that nearly scared the piss out of me. I reached my vantage point at around 6:45 am and watched all over as every road within miles had vehicle lights glaring away. I waited for first light and it seemed at 7:20 sharp, the war began. Shots were fired for about 10 minutes non-stop in all directions. I heard dome rustling below be only to see a 24" 2-point buck running balls out. Following it was another 23" three point and a few does and fawns. The next buck I saw was a cool four point with crab-claw fronts and big backs. I figured he was about 28" tall and unique. I would have taken a crack at him but I didn't know how wide he was. I then glassed up about 10 deer with 8 of them being bucks. All deer from forked horns to a nice 3x4. Things slowed down dramatically and before I knew it, the day was over.
After getting back to my folks' place, I realized my feet had taken the brunt of many miles on the mountain. I had blisters on my feet so the next day it was going to be New Balance running shoes or nothing. I took off with my old man and we met up with my brother about 45 minutes after leaving the house. I told my dad a big old buck was going down today only because I had left my digital camera in the Suburban.
We decided to hunt a burn area that showed a lot of sign since new growth was abundant. I don't think there were many places here in Idaho that didn't burn this year. We glassed a small 23" four point first off and my younger brother and I put a game plan together to see if we could get closer and take a look. Soon after finding this buck, he was joined by a big 2 point and a few other does. Shortly after glassing a pine draw that didn't burn, my brother spotted a nice buck about 675 yards away up the draw giving us the stare down. He took out the old Swarovski spotter and we thought the buck was about 26" wide but better than anything we had seen this far in the hunt. We knew we would have to close the distance between ourselves and this buck if we were going to make anything happen. We dropped down the canyon and back up another ridge directly between our first position and this deer. We make a go of it and just before topping the ridge, we got the shooting sticks ready and psyched ourselves up for the events to come.
The buck was at the edge of a big pocket of pines and we can't figure out why he went up the ridge instead of going into the pocket for protection. That was his first and only mistake as we got ready and steadied for the shot. My brother ranged it the buck at 350 yards and said we needed to act quickly or else. I cracked off the first round with the old .270 and hit the buck in the front shoulder but didn't put him down. The next shot came from my brother and the final shot was mine at 390 yards to put the buck down for good. I didn't see the buck go down due to the recoil of the gun and odd position of the shooting sticks but the "thwack" of the bullet was confirmation enough.
It took me a lot longer to get to the deer than my brother but I knew he was a good one when he started hootin' and hollerin' in elation. I finally made it up to the buck and I was shocked at the result. It was surreal and numbing knowing a big old buck was finally on the ground. My brother told me to get the camera and I told him, Ummm, sorry bud, it's in my Suburban....in town. Oh well. There's nothing I could do about it. We caped the dressed the deer out and my brother sat for a smoke and glassed a pocket for deer only to find what he thought was a small winter kill buck. Well, it was a winter kill but not a small buck at all. He headed off to retrieve his find while I soaked in the scenery and tried to wipe the huge smile off my face. I owe a big thanks to my brother for all his hard work and determination.
This buck is not the biggest but certainly not the smallest. I couldn't be happier since it's my biggest to date. He taped out at 29" and was dark horned due to the burnt trees in the area. Sorry, no field photos but here are some I took after cleaning up the skull for a european mount.
Opening morning came early and I parked in the spot I needed to be way earlier than anyone else. I started out by flashlight and spooked a coyote at close range that nearly scared the piss out of me. I reached my vantage point at around 6:45 am and watched all over as every road within miles had vehicle lights glaring away. I waited for first light and it seemed at 7:20 sharp, the war began. Shots were fired for about 10 minutes non-stop in all directions. I heard dome rustling below be only to see a 24" 2-point buck running balls out. Following it was another 23" three point and a few does and fawns. The next buck I saw was a cool four point with crab-claw fronts and big backs. I figured he was about 28" tall and unique. I would have taken a crack at him but I didn't know how wide he was. I then glassed up about 10 deer with 8 of them being bucks. All deer from forked horns to a nice 3x4. Things slowed down dramatically and before I knew it, the day was over.
After getting back to my folks' place, I realized my feet had taken the brunt of many miles on the mountain. I had blisters on my feet so the next day it was going to be New Balance running shoes or nothing. I took off with my old man and we met up with my brother about 45 minutes after leaving the house. I told my dad a big old buck was going down today only because I had left my digital camera in the Suburban.
We decided to hunt a burn area that showed a lot of sign since new growth was abundant. I don't think there were many places here in Idaho that didn't burn this year. We glassed a small 23" four point first off and my younger brother and I put a game plan together to see if we could get closer and take a look. Soon after finding this buck, he was joined by a big 2 point and a few other does. Shortly after glassing a pine draw that didn't burn, my brother spotted a nice buck about 675 yards away up the draw giving us the stare down. He took out the old Swarovski spotter and we thought the buck was about 26" wide but better than anything we had seen this far in the hunt. We knew we would have to close the distance between ourselves and this buck if we were going to make anything happen. We dropped down the canyon and back up another ridge directly between our first position and this deer. We make a go of it and just before topping the ridge, we got the shooting sticks ready and psyched ourselves up for the events to come.
The buck was at the edge of a big pocket of pines and we can't figure out why he went up the ridge instead of going into the pocket for protection. That was his first and only mistake as we got ready and steadied for the shot. My brother ranged it the buck at 350 yards and said we needed to act quickly or else. I cracked off the first round with the old .270 and hit the buck in the front shoulder but didn't put him down. The next shot came from my brother and the final shot was mine at 390 yards to put the buck down for good. I didn't see the buck go down due to the recoil of the gun and odd position of the shooting sticks but the "thwack" of the bullet was confirmation enough.
It took me a lot longer to get to the deer than my brother but I knew he was a good one when he started hootin' and hollerin' in elation. I finally made it up to the buck and I was shocked at the result. It was surreal and numbing knowing a big old buck was finally on the ground. My brother told me to get the camera and I told him, Ummm, sorry bud, it's in my Suburban....in town. Oh well. There's nothing I could do about it. We caped the dressed the deer out and my brother sat for a smoke and glassed a pocket for deer only to find what he thought was a small winter kill buck. Well, it was a winter kill but not a small buck at all. He headed off to retrieve his find while I soaked in the scenery and tried to wipe the huge smile off my face. I owe a big thanks to my brother for all his hard work and determination.
This buck is not the biggest but certainly not the smallest. I couldn't be happier since it's my biggest to date. He taped out at 29" and was dark horned due to the burnt trees in the area. Sorry, no field photos but here are some I took after cleaning up the skull for a european mount.
