Second Annual Halloween Buck; Trick or Treat Part 2

JoseCuervo

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For those with short memories.... Last year Ovis and I went hunting on Halloween, with a bit of pressure to be back in time for him to take his daughter Trick or Treating.... Here is the story for those who want to read....

Last Year's Halloween Buck......

Well, this year, Ovis' daughter is a bit farther away, as in Arkansas, so it made it a bit more of a challenge.... He ended up driving out on Friday, and I think he was thinking pretty hard about hunting with my daughter (GirlGunner) and I. It was her 12th Birthday on Friday, so we had to go hunting. We took a "Trophy" buck, story later...

So, with Ovis on the road to Arkansas, I was left to my own to keep the Halloween tradition alive. I rolled out of bed at 4am (really 3am) and hit the road. A couple of hours later, I was at the end of the road, also known as the base of the Mountain. :eek:

I was a bit slow getting out of the rig, as the heater was comfy, until some headlights started coming. That was my cue to beat it, and head up the Mountain. For the next two hours, it was straight up, with glassing during breaks for breath. I heard some shots behind me, so I am guessing the late risers got something close to the pick-up. :mad:

I was able to glass a couple of groups of does, and watch them for a bit, but for the most part, I kept climbing. Eventually I hit the boulder field at the top of the Mountain, and had to do about a 1/4 mile of scrambling on the rocks. The snow for the last few days had melted and re-froze, so at one point, I had a 4 foot long Ice Chute I had to slide down. There is a nice bowl on the back side of the summit, which at times, can be worth the risk to life and limb of bouldering through the top.

I finally got to where I could see the bowl, and nothing was there. All that work... :( The snow started coming down, and I kind of got to white-out conditions in the fog/wind/snow. I decided to move, and about 75 yards I jumped a little Forked Horn. He was spared, as it was too much work to mess with a "freezer filler" that far up the hill.

I kept going, the snow kind of let up, and I decided to make a big circle, and descend down a ridge to the West of the one I ascended. I came over the top and sat down to glass and eat a PBJ sandwich.

After a few minutes, I spotted a deer, but the angle was bad, I had to lay sideways to look under trees and around trees. I saw tall horns, and then he dissappeared. I then moved down to a rock, trying to get a view, but he would not come out.

I then moved up, and could see his body, but not able to get a good shot. Finally, about 1/2 way between the two spots, I was able to find a place to rest my gun on a big ol' burnt Ponderosa, and with one hand, I was able to steady the gun and the crosshairs.

Halloween04.sized.jpg


Last year, Ovis and I had a smaller buck to pack out, and a less steep (but brushier) pack. This year, without Ovis, it was a bit longer pack, way heavier deer, much steeper and one less person. I miss ol' Ovis, and he has only been gone 2 days....
shhh.gif


A long day, and I am ready for November (as that is Elk month!!!!!)

Happy Halloween!!!
 
Yeah I remember the jack in the box buck. Nice buck Elkgunner. good prop job with the sticks also.Very nice buck. Congrats man. :cool:
Ovis would be proud i'm sure. ;)
 
Gunner, Cool buck !!!! You should have Called !! I would have helped ya pack it out After Packing mine out yesterday . Lots of deer being wacked in the last 2 days.


Congrats on the buck.
 
Not sure which was the bigger "trophy", this buck, or the one my daughter killed on Friday, her 12th birthday.
ButtonBuck.sized.jpg


All in all, it was a great weekend for deer hunting, and my primary goal for the season was to get my daughter her first deer, and we got that done on the only day she could hunt for the year, due to Soccer, Birthday, and Basketball.

The other fun thing about the Halloween buck was that I was by myself, and not worried about helping anybody, hurrying for anybody, or other "pressures". Sometimes I think I get caught up worrying about others, from my kids to buddies to my dad, and sometimes forget to quit worrying and just hunt. :cool:

Moosie,
I did think about calling you for the help on packing the buck out, but I knew you would just forward the request on to Wylee... ;) Actually, for some reason, about 1/2 way up the hill, I realized I still had my cell phone in a pocket, and tried to find service, no luck. I also had an Archie Comic book in my pack, leftover from Friday's hunt... :eek:

Thanks for all the comments.
 
Thats funny, I had a archie comic book in my pack too....and 2 sets of cloth's and a tent, and a dutch oven, and a..... (Well everything except a hunttalk.com hat, a camera and my camcorder ... ;) I wouldn't foward the request, I'd want to know myself were you got it


Tell Little "t" congrats !!
 
Congrats! That's a nice buck. I wish my Halloween would've been that fun, instead I was crawling around on the roof.
 
The tradition lives on...Great job Elkgunner!!!

I bet the muscles were sore on Monday. The only thing aching on my body was my butt from sitting on it for 36 hours.

The wife wants to know if you were late getting home for trick or treat.
She won't let it go Gunner. :D Women.....

Congrats to you and Girlgunner again.

Send me some more pics if you got them (small ones though...I'm living in a dial-up world now).

[email protected]
 
Way to go Gunner. I congratulated you earlier in a PM, but thought I better get in here as well. I love the forks and color of your rack (deer of course). Also, many congrats to your daughter. You are starting her off on the right foot. I wish my dad had thought of it -- to young to hunt in Idaho, let's go to Africa. That is awesome that she was able to go out on her birthday and kill a deer.
 
Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

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