Nevada Archery Mule Deer

[Big Fin]

Lots of guys have sent me PMs in the last week, and I apologize for being late in replying. Really, I had a good excuse. I was in Nevada filming an early season archery mule deer hunt.

Earlier this summer, I wrote a quick thread about the struggles of drawing a Nevada tag. Lucky for me, NVLongbow offered to apply separately, and if we drew, we would hunt together, and if only one drew, the other would come to help out.

Here is where I posted the prelude to this hunt - Nevada Deer Tag Draw.

Needless to say, I didn't draw as a non-resident, but Longbow drew as a resident. So in keeping up with the promise, I loaded the wagons last Thursday and headed to Nevada, for a day of scouting and five and a half days of hunting/filming.

This was a leftover tag, so we didn't have much in the way of expectations. The biologist asked why we would hunt in that part of the unit, and I explained that the area he recommended was a wilderness area, and I could not get a filming permit for that area. He left the phone conversation with a comment something like, "Good luck, 'cause you're gonna need it."

Not deterred, Longbow and I, a camera guy, and good friend Jereep, headed to the isolated mountains of northeast Nevada, hoping to find more deer than we would find hunters, but realistically expecting the opposite to be true.

Day 1 - Scouting day:

This day was reserved for trying to find the two deer I was lead to believe may exist in the mountain range. Obviously, deer exist in all these mountains, but the biologist painted a pretty bleak picture.

We got to the top of the mountain, which according to the GPS was over 10,200' and commenced to glassing at sunrise. While walking to the best vantage point, we stumbled on two velvet bucks. A tight-racked 4X3 and a wide 3X3. Wow, what surprise.

After that, we glassed until our eyes hurt, finding nothing but lots of horses, and a bunch of elk. Lots of elk live in this area. Either that, or the only elk in the mountain range wanted to be movie stars, so they followed us around in hopes of being filmed.

Longbow had arrived a few days earlier to scout and had not glassed much, but rather spent his time finding the water holes shown on the maps and hoping to located some "unknowns". He had two trail cameras, and we went to check them. Lots of horses, cattle, and elk. Not a deer to be found in the 100+ pics.

We re-set the cameras on new sources that might actually have a deer in the vicinity. Lots of miles were traveled, and not too much confidence that we would find many deer to film.

But, the camp was set, and we were hunting. What more could a guy ask for in early August?

When you camp in Nevada, don't expect much for shade or wind protection. I wasn't about to haul this wall tent the 1,000' up to to the top of that ridge.



Longbow is the true On Your Own guy. From tuning and tweaking his longbow, and as shown here, putting the edge on his Woodsman three blade broadheads.



A few practice arrows right at dark, as the sun sets before opening day. The light was so cool, I had to take a pic, even if it was distracting Longbow's shooting.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Looks like this is going to be a good one. When will this episode air?

 

[BOHNTR]

Yup......this is one I definitely want to see. Awesome intro.....

 

[1_pointer]

Can't wait to hear 'The Rest of the Story"...

 

[Big Fin]

Day 2 - Opening Day:

As with all hunts, opening day is filled with anticipation. Even though I was not the tag holder, I had trouble sleeping the night before. When I lose that excitement of what the following day will bring, it will be time to hang it up.

We were up well before daylight, and Longbow brewed some of his patented Cornhusker coffee for all to share. I am a breakfast guy, but since everyone else in camp was not, I didn't want to slow down the procession to satisfy my aching stomach.

We headed up the switchback to its end. Then climbed out and headed off to the glassing points we knew would give us the best advantage of seeing bucks headed to their beds.

Well, a small correction to that. You need to have some bucks around for them to head to their beds.

Longbow was certain we would intercept those bucks in the same place we had stumbled onto them yesterday. So, we quietly snuck down the ridge to the little sage-filled saddle they had been on the previous morning. It is tough to be real quiet, when you have a hunter, two spotters, and a camera guy and his tripod. The bucks may have been there, but by the time the OYOA circus train rambled down the ridge, even the birds were alarmed. Needless to say, no deer where we had hoped to find them.

So, we set up on the rocks to glass. The mountain spilled down below us a couple thousand feet, creating lush drainages on the north and east sides, where wild horses and elk feed without concern of our presence. In spite of the commanding view of the habitat below, no deer were spotted. My mind wandered back to the comments of the biologist, and though this highest country looked like classic mule deer country, maybe the biologist was right.

I lived in Nevada for six years and have hunted it many times since leaving in 1990, and have never seen Nevada as green as it is this year. Longbow talked about how this summer was filled with continual rain storms, and that our tactics of focusing on water might not work, as the moisture had given many small pockets for the animals to get their needed supply, scattering them across far more landscape than a normal dry summer would cause.

We sat until the high-altitude sun became so intense, we no longer found any value in the cost-benefit of staying there and glassing. Cost being the sunburn and windburn, benefit being the remote possibility of spotting a deer this late in the morning.

By noon, we had retreated to camp, seeking shade. Naps were in order for all. A quick meal, later in the afternoon, followed by replenishing the camelbacks, and we were ready for our evening pursuits.

This plan was a little different. Longbow and the camera guy would head to a blind on a cattle-troden waterhole. It was the logical watering place for deer we had seen the day before. Hope was that these deer needed to water at least once a day.

I headed back to the knife ridge to watch the basin to the east, knowing the sun would drop and shade this side of the mountain first. Jereep would glass some basins on the other side of the ridge.

Longbow had sat the blind for very little time, when swarming masses of bull flies and hot sun drove him, and the camera man, to the higher ridge near where I was glassing. Seeing how hot it was were I was sitting, I could only imagine the suffering they were enduring in that enclosed black hut, so it did not surprise me to see them heading my way.

I had not been on my rock for but an hour, when I noticed a really nice elk bedded at the base of some cliffs, in shade provided by a few Mountain Mahoganies. I had never seen elk bed in such spots, but had always found it to be a great type of location for mule deer.

The wind on the point of this peak howled as you could expect of being above 10,000', as the thermals rose from the baking desert floor below. Wind of this degree makes it hard to glass from far distances, as the scope and tripod shake, no matter how hard you try to stabilize it.

Finally, as the sun crept behind the mountain, the wind died down and I could actually glass a little bit better. I went back to the elk, who was now standing. I turned up the magnification, and almost fell off the cliff.

I yelled at Longbow to get over here. That was not an elk, but the second biggest mule deer I have ever seen in Nevada. He was wide and tall. Deep forks were visible from the 1,500 yards distance that separated us.

Now what to do? We whistled Jereep over, and he put his optics on the deer, and we huddled.

To drop off this ridge would take us down 1,800 feet of vertical elevation. We would have to reach the next saddle, climb up that smaller ridge, and circle above, using the rock wall for our protection. We had about an hour and a half of daylight, but knowing Nevada shooting time ends at sunset (not a half-hour after sunset, as is the case in most states), it seemed we did not have enough time to make a play on this guy.

We watched and admired him, hoping he would feed closer to us, giving us a better option. No luck. He fed down through some mahoganies and around the toe of the rock ledge, out of sight. He had made the decision for us.

Fortunately, Longbow and the camera guy had spotted three other nice bucks on their way over to me. These bucks were in a basin just around the point from where I was. Given we had lost our opportunity on the big guy, we decided to use the last hour of light to try a plan on the three bucks closer by.

As we peaked over the first ridge, we could make out the parts of deer that by now, had worked their way below, and in the timber. They were still up feeding, but it looked like they were ready to bed for the evening.

A bad wind direction really did not give us much chance. It was decided that Longbow and I, and the camera guy, would circle the basin and set up down wind of the bucks. Jereep would stay higher and keep an eye on them.

We made our circle, and in doing so, lost sight of the bucks. Jereep gave us signals that the bucks had moved even further down, and in spite of our efforts, we did not get far enough below to gain a favorable wind. Shortly after, I heard the thumping of stotting deer, that told me the bucks had winded us and our opportunity for the evening had passed. Jereep hustled over to give the play by play, and as suspected, the swirling winds that accompany changing evening temps, was our demise.

Oh well, one day down and four to go, and we had already seen more deer than we had expected to see in the entire trip.

A great rock to glass from, but be careful Fin, that first step is a big one.



Was sure this quiver would have one less arrow by the end of the day.



The sun sets on a great day in the sage of Nevada's high country.

 

[1_pointer]

Good luck!! I'm digging the near real time updates, keep 'em coming!

 

[Spitz]

Great pics and narrative as always Fin. Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[JFWRC]

Great sutff Randy. When you headed south for the speed goats!!!

Jimbo

 

[Big Fin]

Day 3 - Why We Hunt

Seeing the three bucks in the smaller basin last night, we figured we were on to something. Not that one sighting constitutes a pattern, but it seemed like a more predictable possibility.

In the dark, we headed up the switchback, parked the rig, and headed off to the small basin where the three bucks had disappeared the night before. We hoped the bucks would be nearby. Sure enough, at first light, we saw them grazing out in the opening above where they had disappeared last night.

The wind was coming down the slope from our angle. We had no cover to hide all four of us. Time for some creativity. Creativity means breaking out Bessy the Moo Cow.

I popped two Moo Cows out of the pack, assembled the legs, and told the guys I was sure we could get close behind these cows. Longbow and Jereep had only seen these in action from the TV episodes. They looked at me and the camera guy with suspicious glares. We replied with the "get in line and get ready" look.

As is always the case, chuckles abound when I break out Bessy. I told Longbow to follow behind me, and Jereep would lead the other Moo Cow for the camera guy. Off we go.

We rounded the crest, and immediately, the deer were looking our direction. After all, there is really no cover, other than foot-tall mountain sage, so it is not like stealth would work in this situation.

Being in the lead, I immediately stopped to let the deer figure out what we were. We stood still at 250 yards, for about five minutes. After that time, the bucks went back to feeding their way towards the timber line. We moved at an angle that would intercept their path of travel. Moving when they fed, and stopping when they seemed alert.

It was working as planned. We were now withing 120 yards, and in the middle of the basin. Our biggest obstacle was a doe that came from nowhere and was now trying to investigate what these two black objects were.

We side-hilled across the basin, as the wind blew downslope, from our left to our right. Our trajectory would take us right to the trail the deer seemed to be feeding down. Yet, this doe was feeding toward us, and would soon be to are direct left, and uphill. With no third dimension to the decoys, she soon caught a side profile of us, and spooked toward the bucks. Not being welcomed, the smallest buck chased her off as his two pals continued feeding. Whew, that was a close call.

As we started across the last half of the basin, the wind became very fickle. It was a strong downhill wind when we started this stalk, but was not switching to many directions. We tried to be as cautious as possible, but the deer we seeming more and more concerned. They were constantly testing the wind, which told me they were suspicious.

Without many other options, I told Longbow we would head for the spot where it looked like the deer trail would enter the timber in the avalanche chute. We made tracks for that spot. As we got nearer, the wind got much worse. On the sunlit side of this basin, the wind was going completely uphill, and our path was taking use directly below them.

We waited until they went back to feeding. We were now 75 yards away. Out of someplace, the old doe had returned to the group. The younger buck again chased her off, and this time, down hill toward our set-up. She ran past us at 35 yards and stood behind us, trying again to figure out what we were.

This nice 4X3, stood looking at her and us, then went back to feeding toward his two older friends. I told Longbow this 50 yard shot might be as close as we get. He peeked through the decoy window and told me we needed at least 15 more yards for an uphill shot such as this.

We paused to plan a strategy. Within an instant, the wind shifted directly from us to the deer, and in three quick lopes, they were into the timber and the safety of the avalanche chute.

Not the outcome we had hoped for, but it became apparent that the Moo Cow would work, if we could get a steady wind. We headed back to the vehicles and in the process, encountered the crazy doe, once again. We got within range of her, and used the opportunity to practice our decoy tactics, all the while laughing at her reactions.

This stalk had taken a little over an hour of our morning. We drove to the next spot and headed out to a ridge where we could glass the basin where the big buck was yesterday. We parked and headed out to the big rock outcrops. I had my scope set up for all of a couple minutes, and instantly found the big guy bedded within ten yards of where he had been the day before.

Talk about exciting. We now had the full day to plan a strategy on this buck. We all glassed him, and estimates of width ranged from 27' to 29". I have no idea how tall he was, but is the tallest mule deer buck I have seen in a long time, if ever. His front forks were deep, and for him to look that heavy from that far, he must have some extraordinary mass.

We watched as he got up and started to browse. For over an hour, we watched him pick the freshest and greenest pieces, as he grazed away from us. He now was reaching a gap in the big rock wall across and south of us. He circled below that gap for ten minutes, then quickly bounded up the rocks and disappeared in the massive grove of mahogany on the rock bench.

Talk about mixed emotions. I was disappointed that he did not give us an opportunity to go after him, but very glad we did not drop down that steep face, a thousand feet, only have him vanish as we made our approach.

We have all had it happen while hunting. The big one makes his appearance once or twice, and we don't get him.

After much more glassing, we headed back to camp for water, food and shade. That was much needed and put everyone to sleep, in quick order.

The evening plan was to drive around the mountain and glass the mahoganies where this guy disappeared. Longbow had a camera set up on a waterhole over there, so he decided to place a blind on that waterhole and see what came in. I scaled the ridge and headed east, giving me an angle where I could see every opening where the big boy may have bedded.

An entire evening was spent on this side of the mounting. No deer spotted, but lots of elk, including two very nice bulls.

We retreated to camp in the dark, tired, worn, and frustrated by this old boy, who unfortunately would never be seen again, over the remaining three days.

This archery mule deer hunting is fun. Challenging and frustrating, but fun as anything I know of.

Tomorrow would be our chance for victory. I hope.

Somewhere in those mahoganies lies a big, big, buck.



The sun is taking its toll on my fair Scandinavian complexion.



Sun setting on Camp Longbow.

 

[Buschy]

Awesome! I can't wait for the day three narrative. I am pleased to hear the Bessy is working so well!!!!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Good stuff BFin..... I have been spending quite a bit of time in that part of Nevada this summer, and it is amazing how green and how much water there is this year. The deer (and antelope) are scattered. Only the Elk are easy to find.

 

[Grizzley]

Great Posts...Bessy??? Have not heard of that before...most likely because I am new to the Bowhunting Muleys...Buschy will this work in the Badlands of ND?

 

[elk_hunter]

Awesome!!! Give us more...and kill that big bastard already!!

 

[Big Fin]

Day 4 - Time For Some Action

Longbow now had that "Time for putting meat in the freezer" look in his eyes. If ever there is a guy who can convey that look of hunter's hunger, it is the Cornhusker himself, Longbow.

The wind blew so hard, all night long, I thought the tent was coming down, or flying away. If there is one problem with high mountain sage basins of Nevada, it is lack of shade and shelter from the wind. I drug myself out of bed, thinking I may as well join Longbow and the crew, as I wasn't getting much sleep in this type of weather.

At first light, we were trekking toward the basin where we had been seeing the three bucks with some consistency. The camera guy set up and told us to work our way toward him and provide a different angle. In doing that, I was able to glass the far side of the basin, and there were our three guys feeding along, like nothing had happened the night before.

Jereep was further down the mountain, so we took off with one Moo Cow and three guys behind it. Learning from our mistake of the previous day, we decided to go at a slighter angle and see if we could catch them before the wind got squirrely.

Just like yesterday, we were quickly within 120 yards. This time, they seemed more relaxed.

We played the wind as carefully as possible. We were now so close, that any strange noise or movement would be easily detected, and we would lose our chance.

I looked at Longbow, and he asked if we could get another twenty yards. So, onward we went. We moved to a small bush and dropped the camera guy off there, as if any action were to happen, he could film it from that close vantage point.

Step by step, we eased down this tight growing low sage. Trying to be as careful as possible. Our wind was a consistent cross hill wind. We were moving down to them, just sixty yards below, and the wind was treating us well, moving from our right to our left.

Longbow pointed to a dead tree laying in the sage, and indicated he would shoot from there. The lead buck as a really nice and tall 4X4. If we were to get so lucky as to get to where Longbow could put an arrow in him, this would be the greatest filming accomplishment of the series.

It is hard to explain how slowly and carefully we moved. The deer were just feeding and paying no attention to us, even though from their downhill position, we were skylined, but they have probably seen skylined cows before, so they continued to graze with ease.

As we got to the downed tree, the deer had moved another ten yards. Since we had moved fifteen yards, we had netted five yards of distance. This was going to be close, as to whether or not we could net enough yards before they made the timber at the edge of this basin.

Longbow pointed to a big green spot of flowers. I slowly eased the decoy down to that point. Longbow tapped me on the shoulder and nodded. He reached for an arrow.

A beautiful velvet horned 4X3 fed just below us, completely oblivious to what danger was nearby. After all, when was the last time a deer was killed by a Black Angus?

I watched the deer carefully, as Longbow pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked it on the string. I turned to him, thinking this deer was about fifty yards away, but with this steep grade, probably thirty-five horizontal yards, upon which gravity would exert its pull.

Longbow nodded, which was a sign for me to move the decoy out of his shooting lane, and he would draw and release. I moved slowly to my left. The deer continued to feed, while one of his buddies eyed the movement no longer disguised by the Moo Cow.

My heart raced as Longbow started his draw. As he did so, the deer looked up, but not too alarmed. In mid-draw, Longbow let down. His instincts told him that this was slightly beyond his comfort range.

All the deer looked at us, and looked at each other. The old guy, the big 4X4, had seen enough. He gave us one last look, turned, and walked down the trail that would take him to a thick bedding area in the timber. His friends, trusting the old boy's judgment, followed behind.

Longbow looked at me as if he thought he had let me down. I smiled, gave him a big backslap, and looked to the sky, giving thanks that I was in this place, at this time, doing what I was doing. I doubt I could have spent the last hour doing anything more intense than what we had done.

I was so excited. We had proven we could get up on fully alert deer, as they fed. Not bedded deer, but deer that were very keen to everything going on.

Longbow apologized for not using a compound, as he knows that he would have had a couple shots by know. I told him apologies were not necessary. What we were doing was so challenging and to get that close, was so much fun, I really couldn't care if an arrow was ever released.

This was the most eyeball to eyeball hunting I have ever done. If you have not done it, you owe it to yourself to try it. Whether or not you are crazy enough to throw in the additional challenge of using primitive tackle, is up to you, but whether longbow or compound, stalking deer behind a cow is something I will do every year.

I think Longbow thought I had lost my marbles. I was ecstatic. He has known me long enough to understand that I am usually "one crank short of fully wound," so he shrugged it off as Fin being Fin.

We headed back across the basin, hoping to hook up with Jereep, and see what he had seen for the morning. Not much to report.

The afternoon sun continued to toast us. We repeated our routine of sleeping and re-hydrating. Jereep got the idea that he had to run to civilization for purposes of a phone call. I got the great idea to jump in and bring a cooler full of ice cream bars back to camp. We returned three hours later, with a fine cooler of the most cherished ice cream you have ever seen.

The evening was a complete bust. Whether it was the deer not cooperating, or just us starting to lose our edge, I am not sure. Whatever the case, faces in camp we rather long, as we had lost our reliable group of deer, and all attempts to locate others seemed to have disappeared.

With two days left, the strategy sessions would take on new focus.


A camera guy more than earning his keep. I am thankful not to be lugging that setup and the pack full of accessories, up an down these mountains.


The meadows where most the action seems to be taking place.



Longbow toasting the great stalk of the day.



Sun setting on another successful day in the Nevada mountains.

 

[Big Fin]

Day 5 - Time is drawing near

Well, after the consistent effort of the previous days, we were sure we would have more luck in the meadows up high. We awoke to another hurricane force wind, that made of an even worse night of sleep.

After a quick cup of coffee, we decided to charge up the ridge and wait for sunlight to reveal our bucks doing what they had done each day. Well, someone forgot to tell the bucks that part of the plan. They were nowhere to be found.

This would be the fourth day of five days of hunting and to be pitched a curve at this point was not good. We decided to head over the ridges and out on the rocks to glass for the big guy from our first couple days. Each day we would hike to those rock outcrops, expecting to see him again. But, nothing.

Jereep was frantically signaling us to get over to where he was at. Seems our bucks had dropped lower down the mountain. Had we looked close, we could have probably glassed them from camp.

This put us a little late in the morning, but we now had a fix on them, and we made a plan. We would come from above with the wind in our face. Once again, we broke out Ol' Bessy and slowly closed the gap to 100 yards.

The grade to reach them we very steep, rocky, and noisy. Try as we may to keep quiet, we made more noise than the average cow. But, the deer slowly fed toward the timber, not seeming too concerned.

We were now paralleling them across the hill, hoping they would take the game trail that angled closer our direction. Again, the big 4X4 was in the lead. For whatever reason, he decided he wanted to bed down lower in the thicker timber. He lead the bucks lower down the hill, into the small patch of dark timber, even closer to camp.

Once in the shade of the dark timber, the winds again started swirling up and down the slope. We caught a glimpse of the bucks moving down below us. It was much quieter in the soft pine needle blanket of this dark timber. Yet, we were not having any luck locating our guys.

We decided to make a big loop to our west and drop down in front, hoping to intercept. Upon reaching a better filming opening, we set up and waited, and waited, and .......

Finally, it became apparent that they were not coming. We stalked slowly toward where we thought they would be. Longbow tapped my shoulder and pointed down the hill about five yards. There in the duff of pine needles and sand were three sets of tracks taking long bounds down the hill.

Damn it, it looked like this time, they had really winded us, and as mule deer do, headed to the next county, once their noses confirmed human danger. We probably shouldn't have taken the gamble of getting out in front, when the wind in the trees was swirling as it was. But, sometimes you try something aggressive, for a change of pace and it works out. And, sometimes it doesn't.

We drug our long faces back to camp and looked for water, food, and rest. Longbow and Jereep decided before a nap, they would go check a camera that Longbow had moved to a man made wildlife guzzler the previous afternoon. Sounded like a good plan to me, so long as it allowed me to sleep.

They returned with big smiles. Two forkies and one 26" 3X3 were on the camera card. After five days of checking camera cards and moving the two cameras to different water sources, these were the first deer pictures of the week. Now what to do?

Longbow decided we would risk the evening hunt in the meadows above camp, just in case we had not spooked those deer too far. If that failed, the last day would be a morning in a blind over the guzzler to our north.

Sounded like a good plan.

Before I even had closed my eyes, or so it seemed, the camera guy rousted us out of our mid-day nap and marched us to an old mining camp for a few hours of interviews. Yup, this TV stuff is actually work, with very little rest.

That evening, we spent glassing all the meadows above camp and over the crest of the mountain. As mule deer often do, they decided they had enough of our games, and never appeared to our eyes, before night fall came.

We retreated to camp in the late hours, really feeling that we had messed up a great opportunity. Had Longbow not agreed to have this hunt filmed and filmed in the manner where we put a camera guy right on his hip, he would have no doubt punched a tag by this time. Yet, he kept laughing and smiling, telling how much fun he was having and trying to hide the bionic knee problem that had now swollen to near volleyball size.

We were now convinced that we had blown out our three bucks. So, the next logical plan was to get up real early and place a blind near the guzzler for a morning hunt.

That was the last thought I had, until the alarm range the next morning. Early the next morning.


A camera guy sleeping in the crotch of a tree, that if it failed, would send him about 80' down the face of the mountain.



This is the extent of shade at camp.



Notice how the camera guy has Longbow doing his interview in such a healthy location?


How did someone get a 40 ton Stamp Mill up this goat trail to 9,000' elevation. Some tough dudes, those miners were.



A moon rise above camp was so bright, it pretty much blocked out any stars.

 

[Big Fin]

Day 6 - A time for all good bucks to stand and be accounted for.

Well, it was earlier today than any other day. We had to motor north to the guzzler and get the blind set up well before daylight.

I would sit in the blind with Longbow and film him as he drew on a deer. The other camera guy would sit on a perch above the guzzler and get the "Skycam" angle.

Longbow had noted from the tracks and pictures, how the deer had been coming in. We set up the blind just downwind of their angle of approach.

It seemed like forever, before the sun finally started peaking over the ridge and shedding some ambient light on the ground in front of the blind.

Just as if on schedule, the nice 3X3 starts coming down the hill. The wind is howling, and he is looking very spooked. The fact that a new object had appeared over his water hole the night before, probably doesn't help.

He looks for a long time, standing behind a tree, only to decided he doesn't like what he sees and we are left with nothing for the sound of wind continuing to beat at the blind.

Dejected, we sit for another hour and a half before calling off the morning hunt. As we pack up and drive down the road, Jereep is frantically trying to get our attention. The trio of bucks had come out that morning in a meadow even closer to camp than they had been previously.

We pulled up and glassed, as they were just entering the timber. The good news was that they were not scared away, and if luck held, they may graze out exactly where we wanted them for the evening.

Rather than pressure them now, we decided to hold off and place all our bets on the last evening. A plan was hatched and we then proceeded to help Jereep pack his stuff, so he could return to work the following morning. After that, we took turns napping and glassing the meadow from camp to make sure the bucks did not leave the north-facing patch of trees.

At about 4:00 pm, I was on post, and I thought I noticed a reddish-brown object mingling on the edge of the timber. Yup, our boys had accepted the invititation.

I sounded revelry and awoke the troops. The plan laid out earlier in the day would work perfectly. Longbow and the camera guy would get above the deer, as the afternoon winds were still quite predictable. I would hang low, and when they got in place, I would try to move the deer along the game trail Longbow would be positioned on.

I was not sure this would work, but in my experiments with the Moo Cow, if you go straight at the animals, they do have a tendency to move straight away. I would try to do this in a manner that caused them to slowly graze off, back to the sanctuary of the timber.

Once I glassed Longbow to be in position, I started toward the deer. They were undisturbed and cared not about what I was doing. Dang it, I wanted them to be somewhat nervous. I dropped out of their site and closed the distance even closer.

Now they were at full alert. I was down hill and almost down wind of them. I expected they would move off toward the timber, where Longbow was now strategically placed slightly upwind of the trail they had been using for entering and exiting the timber.

I slowly crept toward them, trying to keep them between me and the timber. I eased up the next forty yards, and the big 4X4 started to walk quickly away from the timber. What the heck. He was walking downwind, not upwind, and walking right for a road, with a good hour of hunting light remaining. I couldn't believe our luck. Obviously, I am not very good at trying to slowly bump deer to another hunter.

Longbow and I huddled again. I had watched the deer bed in the small patch of spruce in the next basin. It was agreed he would go above them, and I would try to bump them again. By now, the sun had crossed over the peaks, fully shading this east side of the mountain.

As I dropped in the basin, a stiff cool breeze was coming down hill. That would not be good for the position I watched Longbow take. With time burning, I dropped off the ridge and made a line toward the small spruce patch. Bessy and I walked quickly and noisily through the trees, emerging on the other side, to the site of the three bucks bedded seventy yards away. They looked undisturbed. Give me a break.

I walked straight at them, hoping they would move uphill, but knowing the wind did not favor that possibility. The big buck rose from his bed and stotted down to my right a mere 35 yards. His pals followed suit, all of whom stopped and gave me the last farewell, and making me wish for a tag and my compound bow.

Off they went, to the basin from which they came. I had given up hope. Longbow and the camera guy indicated that they would drop down and meet me on the switchback. I stood around, realizing that shooting time was coming to a close, and Longbow's tag was still in tact.

I walked over to an old berm and decided to glass the meadow where the deer had trotted to. I could not see them. They must have made it to the timber on the far side. I waited a few more minutes, as Longbow came down the hill.

I noticed some movement on the opposite side of some trees maybe twenty yards below and right me. I quickly realized the bucks were right in those trees. I dropped down and watched from behind the berm, continuously looking up the hill for Longbow.

As he rounded the last corner, he could see me waving frantically. He hustled to my position. He probably figured I was jerking his chain, but he took a look for himself, and by now, the deer had cleared the trees and were about fifty yards below.

Longbow knocked an arrow and side-hilled to the right. The deer we slowly moving off. Longbow peeked over a clump of sage and the closest buck squared straight towards him. The big 4X4 continued to feed broadside, unalarmed, but a little further down the hill. Longbow looked at me, and I was giving him the shoot signal.

From my position, it looked like he could rope them. I watched as Longbow rose to his knee. The closer buck looked directly at him.

As Longbow drew back, the big 4X4 raised his head to see what had his pals so spooked. I watched through the binos as the arrow released and flew straight toward the big buck.

When the arrow dropped just under the deer, I knew the shot may have been slightly further than I had estimated. I kept an eye on the deer and Longbow of the next ten minutes. The deer had stotted 100 yards down the basin and went back to feeding. I was not sure if what my eyes had told me was correct.

At his signal, I moved over to join Longbow. My excitement was hard to contain. He seemed disappointed. He confirmed that he thought the shot was low. Yet, he spent the next hour on hands and knees, with flashlight, looking for any trace of blood or hair.

So, the hunt ended with an arrow being released. Longbow will never admit this, but I suspect if not for my excitement level, he would have probably held off and hoped for a closer shot. A mere five yards closer probably would have made the difference.

I could go on and on about the things I learned from this hunt. Those were many.

The one thing I take most from this hunt is that Longbow is one hell of a hunter. He struggled up an down steep grades, in hot windy conditions, on a new titanium knee. He relished the challenge of trying to make that extra 25 yards needed for primitive equipment, and never did he have anything but compliments for those of us compound shooters. As our attempts to capture it on film complicated his strategies and considerations, he complained not once, but instead laughed at the additional hurdles it created. He did not focus on the kill, but on the hunt, on time spent together, and on the next time one of us will get to help the other on a hunt. And we shook hands with a promise to have even more fun when we both have tags to archery hunt muleys in New Mexico this winter.

And when we parted company and headed for our respective homes, the only thing I could say to Longbow was, "Thanks for being my friend."

 

[----]

That was an awesome read Fin, thanks for bringing us along.

 

[upper deck]

Once again Randy if the this episode turns out anything like your story telling it should be a hit.

 

[1_pointer]

You guys need to put out a newsletter!!! Great story and good writing!!

 

[Carl]

Great story and effort guys, I'll look forward to seeing the video on this one.