Calif. Hunter
Active member
'cuz there ain't no picture of me with a buck this year. I got back from New Mexico late last night, empty-handed. I could have shot a buck any day in the past week, but there was nothing that met my goal. It wasn't that lofty a goal - just a 24-inch or better buck, with good mass and some height. I saw dozens of spikes, does, forkies and small 3x3s each and every day. Just no big boys in my sights.
Day one - Moe missed a pretty heavy 4x4 - 3 times. First at 100 yards and last at 20 yards. Yep, I was pushing the herd ftom another draw and the buck was too busy worrying about me to watch where he was being shot at. I got busted by an old doe and she led the deer back around the tip of the ridge I had been working. I never saw the buck, but Dave and Moe did. A nice day. I hiked hard and covered about 6 miles of hilly country, despite gasping for air. It is hard to go from 50 feet above sea level to 6,000 feet. I was pleased, so far, with my ability to cover ground.
Day Two - rain. All day. I spent the first two hours sitting in the rain, watching a dirt tank area that has shown a lot of activity, by all the sign. I gave up on that and started working the draws and ridges at 8:30 AM. High temp of about 49, but hiking is hard work. I was soaking wet inside ny "breathable" rain gear. Covered 12 miles, just saw a few does and forkies. I was thankful that I had brought an old cowboy hat to wear, as it kept the rain off the back of my neck and off my glasses.
A couple valleys and several miles from me, Jorge missed a running buck at about 150 yards. Of course, it was the gun's fault.
Day three - occasional cloudbursts, intermingled with heavy fog. A terible day for hunting. We could only see about 40 yards at best. Needless to say, not much sighted despite a lot of walking.
Day four -Better visibility after 7:00 AM when the fog lifted. I saw a few does, forkies, spikes and small 3x3s, but nothing I wanted. On another ranch, Jason (a ranchowner we had met) was driving Jorges 4-door F-350 4x4 truck with Jorge in shotgun and Mike in the back seat. Jason thought he saw a deer and pulled out his spotting scope, pulling over by the side of the dirt road. At about time, a Ford Fiesta, full of drunk teenagers, doing 60 mph, t-boned them on the passenger side at the rear door. The kids all bailed out and started running like a covey of Chukar. Jason grabbed Jorge's rifle, thinking "I might have to kill me a couple of them." Jason thought they might have been going to jump them. Fortunately, the kids all stopped when they realized that there was nowhere to run to for about 15 miles. The Fiesta was full of rifles and beer cans. They took off the rear axle of Jorge's truck when they hit it, but thank God, no one was hurt. If they had been driving Jason's truck, the kids would have been killed. Jason has a 0ne-ton Dodge cab with a half-inch plate of steel welded on the frame as a flatbed. it wpould have taken the top of the Fiesta off, along with the kids' heads.
By the time the Highway Patrol gets there two hours later, the kids have gotten their story together. The one they say was driving wasn't, but he passes all the field sobriety tests, including a breathalyzer. The kid gets cited for "open container" and a ride home.
We are all just glad that nobody got hurt.
More on following days later today or tomorrow morning.
Day one - Moe missed a pretty heavy 4x4 - 3 times. First at 100 yards and last at 20 yards. Yep, I was pushing the herd ftom another draw and the buck was too busy worrying about me to watch where he was being shot at. I got busted by an old doe and she led the deer back around the tip of the ridge I had been working. I never saw the buck, but Dave and Moe did. A nice day. I hiked hard and covered about 6 miles of hilly country, despite gasping for air. It is hard to go from 50 feet above sea level to 6,000 feet. I was pleased, so far, with my ability to cover ground.
Day Two - rain. All day. I spent the first two hours sitting in the rain, watching a dirt tank area that has shown a lot of activity, by all the sign. I gave up on that and started working the draws and ridges at 8:30 AM. High temp of about 49, but hiking is hard work. I was soaking wet inside ny "breathable" rain gear. Covered 12 miles, just saw a few does and forkies. I was thankful that I had brought an old cowboy hat to wear, as it kept the rain off the back of my neck and off my glasses.
A couple valleys and several miles from me, Jorge missed a running buck at about 150 yards. Of course, it was the gun's fault.
Day three - occasional cloudbursts, intermingled with heavy fog. A terible day for hunting. We could only see about 40 yards at best. Needless to say, not much sighted despite a lot of walking.
Day four -Better visibility after 7:00 AM when the fog lifted. I saw a few does, forkies, spikes and small 3x3s, but nothing I wanted. On another ranch, Jason (a ranchowner we had met) was driving Jorges 4-door F-350 4x4 truck with Jorge in shotgun and Mike in the back seat. Jason thought he saw a deer and pulled out his spotting scope, pulling over by the side of the dirt road. At about time, a Ford Fiesta, full of drunk teenagers, doing 60 mph, t-boned them on the passenger side at the rear door. The kids all bailed out and started running like a covey of Chukar. Jason grabbed Jorge's rifle, thinking "I might have to kill me a couple of them." Jason thought they might have been going to jump them. Fortunately, the kids all stopped when they realized that there was nowhere to run to for about 15 miles. The Fiesta was full of rifles and beer cans. They took off the rear axle of Jorge's truck when they hit it, but thank God, no one was hurt. If they had been driving Jason's truck, the kids would have been killed. Jason has a 0ne-ton Dodge cab with a half-inch plate of steel welded on the frame as a flatbed. it wpould have taken the top of the Fiesta off, along with the kids' heads.
By the time the Highway Patrol gets there two hours later, the kids have gotten their story together. The one they say was driving wasn't, but he passes all the field sobriety tests, including a breathalyzer. The kid gets cited for "open container" and a ride home.
More on following days later today or tomorrow morning.
