Vanish and FireTiger's Journal - Season 6
- Thread starter vanish
- Start date
Here we go! None of the bucks in this video are going to get someone looking for a big rack excited, but they sure were fun for me to watch! The first two bucks are fairly small, then the second two are a bit bigger. You even get to hear my sexy, cold voice. One might say I was underdressed for sitting in the shadows. 
[video=youtube_share;5Ehc8QxJ678]https://youtu.be/5Ehc8QxJ678[/video]
[video=youtube_share;5Ehc8QxJ678]https://youtu.be/5Ehc8QxJ678[/video]
Here we are, opening day!
We got up early and I made a pancake breakfast by special request. Since my wife was out pronghorn hunting, I had stolen the cast iron skillet.
Arriving at our parking spot a bit later than I had hoped, we noticed it was empty ... sweet! We were going to be a few minutes past legal shooting light by the time we got to the places we wanted to start ( I was climbing a large bald knob while my dad was headed to a saddle ) but we knew we might see deer on the way, and we did. Immediately, we spotted two small bucks. Though it was still too dark to shoot, they were smaller than what we were looking for ( we both wanted to target a buck with at least 4 points on a side ).
I made it to my knob about 10 minutes later than I had hoped, and began to glass. It was a beautiful, crisp morning. However, there were no deer out in or on the edges of the sage. I spent an hour up there before I decided I had to try a different location. On my way to the second glassing spot, I came across 5 does out feeding. Another 30 minutes of glassing didn't turn up anything. As the aspens still had most of their leaves, I decided I needed to get into the timber where I had seen deer before.
Not 100 yards in, I saw a doe. And then another. And then a group of 6, with a few small bucks. It was closing in on 9am at this point, so I knew I didn't have much time before they bedded down. I ended up finding 23 deer in the timber before 9:30am, but none of them were what I was looking for. Around 10:00am I busted a buck out of his bed that finally had something to look at, but he still wasn't all that big. I hit my favorite spots all the way up and down the mountain, turning up only does! I finally met up with my dad around 1:00pm and had some lunch. He had those two small bucks come through his saddle, and jumped one deer, but that was it. Not exactly the opening morning we were dreaming about...
We got up early and I made a pancake breakfast by special request. Since my wife was out pronghorn hunting, I had stolen the cast iron skillet.
Arriving at our parking spot a bit later than I had hoped, we noticed it was empty ... sweet! We were going to be a few minutes past legal shooting light by the time we got to the places we wanted to start ( I was climbing a large bald knob while my dad was headed to a saddle ) but we knew we might see deer on the way, and we did. Immediately, we spotted two small bucks. Though it was still too dark to shoot, they were smaller than what we were looking for ( we both wanted to target a buck with at least 4 points on a side ).
I made it to my knob about 10 minutes later than I had hoped, and began to glass. It was a beautiful, crisp morning. However, there were no deer out in or on the edges of the sage. I spent an hour up there before I decided I had to try a different location. On my way to the second glassing spot, I came across 5 does out feeding. Another 30 minutes of glassing didn't turn up anything. As the aspens still had most of their leaves, I decided I needed to get into the timber where I had seen deer before.
Not 100 yards in, I saw a doe. And then another. And then a group of 6, with a few small bucks. It was closing in on 9am at this point, so I knew I didn't have much time before they bedded down. I ended up finding 23 deer in the timber before 9:30am, but none of them were what I was looking for. Around 10:00am I busted a buck out of his bed that finally had something to look at, but he still wasn't all that big. I hit my favorite spots all the way up and down the mountain, turning up only does! I finally met up with my dad around 1:00pm and had some lunch. He had those two small bucks come through his saddle, and jumped one deer, but that was it. Not exactly the opening morning we were dreaming about...
After some lunch, we decide to try still hunting the north faces of the micro-ridges near the fringe of the timber. Keep in mind, neither of us has ever taken a mule deer, so we're just kind of guessing. My dad takes the high side and I am downhill from him about 50 yards. The second ridge we try has some mature aspen and mixed spruces. This feels right to me and sure enough, within 5 minutes, I see a buck stand up about 25 yards ahead of me. He's too small, and eventually makes his way straight away from us. Continuing down that ridge, I see a second deer, but can't make out buck/doe through the timber. As we pass through an opening, two bucks jump out from the timber and into the sage, and drop into some willows. I race out after them and get in position for a shot, but they never come up the other side of the willows.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my dad has a buck at 30 yards. Instead of just shooting (we still don't know what he was thinking), he tries to signal to me. Of course, I wasn't in position where he expected. The buck has enough of the movement and trots right through where I had been before I went into the open. I hear him crunching behind me, turn, and see my first shooter buck of the day. Curses! He passes by in the open at ~120 yards and I fire off-hand, missing by several feet. I start cursing myself for 1.) taking a shot I had no business taking, and 2.) wasting the opportunity as mulies often stop and look back, or I could have at least repositioned where I had a more stable shot.
We regroup and laugh about what had just happened. I tell my dad I had left a cache of glassing stuff back a little ways that I wanted to pick up before we moved any further away. Just to be sure, even though I saw the bullet hit the dirt, I go check over where the buck had been running. As I hit the timber, I see the two deer that had gone to the willows. The must have used the willows as a highway. Neither is all that big, so I keep moving. I'm walking through some young aspens with a spruce here and there. The aspens have lost their leaves in this area, so its pretty warm, but its darn thick. As I go from spruce to spruce, I see a deer stand up at 30 yards. I check him with my binos and I can see its a buck, with what looks to be a good-enough-for-me frame. I can't actually count points as even though he's close, there's a lot of small trees and I can only see bits of him.
I shoulder my rifle and aim for the off-side shoulder, one of the few area I could see. BANG! He doesn't move one bit. What the heck? I watch for a couple of minutes and nothing happens. I can just see his eye peering at me. I couldn't have missed at this range, could I? BANG! This time, the buck moves a step forward, but that's it. Now, I don't want to go walking around here as I'm already very close and the ground is a mess with leaves and this low pine cover, but I'm not sure what else to do. I give it approximately 5 minutes before I start to move in. Finally, at about 20 yards, he turns to the right and starts walking off. Nooo! He exposes his other side. BANG! This time he flops over dead.
I honestly don't know why he didn't just fall over on the first shot. He ended up with two bullets quartering into his off side shoulder and the finishing one through the heart. None of the bullets exited, which I found strange. I'm not sure if I was hitting brush and not knowing it or what. You can see just what kind of messy timber I am talking about in the photos! On the plus side, I was less than 200 yards from my gear cache. I had walked by within 40 yards of where he was bedded 5 hours prior!
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my dad has a buck at 30 yards. Instead of just shooting (we still don't know what he was thinking), he tries to signal to me. Of course, I wasn't in position where he expected. The buck has enough of the movement and trots right through where I had been before I went into the open. I hear him crunching behind me, turn, and see my first shooter buck of the day. Curses! He passes by in the open at ~120 yards and I fire off-hand, missing by several feet. I start cursing myself for 1.) taking a shot I had no business taking, and 2.) wasting the opportunity as mulies often stop and look back, or I could have at least repositioned where I had a more stable shot.
We regroup and laugh about what had just happened. I tell my dad I had left a cache of glassing stuff back a little ways that I wanted to pick up before we moved any further away. Just to be sure, even though I saw the bullet hit the dirt, I go check over where the buck had been running. As I hit the timber, I see the two deer that had gone to the willows. The must have used the willows as a highway. Neither is all that big, so I keep moving. I'm walking through some young aspens with a spruce here and there. The aspens have lost their leaves in this area, so its pretty warm, but its darn thick. As I go from spruce to spruce, I see a deer stand up at 30 yards. I check him with my binos and I can see its a buck, with what looks to be a good-enough-for-me frame. I can't actually count points as even though he's close, there's a lot of small trees and I can only see bits of him.
I shoulder my rifle and aim for the off-side shoulder, one of the few area I could see. BANG! He doesn't move one bit. What the heck? I watch for a couple of minutes and nothing happens. I can just see his eye peering at me. I couldn't have missed at this range, could I? BANG! This time, the buck moves a step forward, but that's it. Now, I don't want to go walking around here as I'm already very close and the ground is a mess with leaves and this low pine cover, but I'm not sure what else to do. I give it approximately 5 minutes before I start to move in. Finally, at about 20 yards, he turns to the right and starts walking off. Nooo! He exposes his other side. BANG! This time he flops over dead.
I honestly don't know why he didn't just fall over on the first shot. He ended up with two bullets quartering into his off side shoulder and the finishing one through the heart. None of the bullets exited, which I found strange. I'm not sure if I was hitting brush and not knowing it or what. You can see just what kind of messy timber I am talking about in the photos! On the plus side, I was less than 200 yards from my gear cache. I had walked by within 40 yards of where he was bedded 5 hours prior!
bowhuntmontana
Well-known member
Nice deer and great story so far!
We spent the next two hours breaking him down and packing him out. It was about 2 miles back to the lot, but more than half of that was along an old logging road, making it fairly easy. My dad took the backstraps, and I had the rest, putting my pack just over 100 pounds. I had never carried this much weight at once before, but I had been training for packing (mostly for elk) all summer and it wasn't too bad. Trekking poles would have been nice (they were in the car where they were useless...), but I carried the gun anyway.
After getting my deer hanging back at camp, I returned to watch for deer for my dad. We would be hunting where I had video'd the bucks the day before, looking for Buck #3 or #4. Before I made it to him, I spotted two bucks, with what looked to be a pretty good one, on the back side of a ridge connected to the bowl he was watching. When I finally caught up with him, I told him about this buck, and that we'd need to cover a little over 500 yards to get a shot. He said he was beat, and hopefully the buck would feed into where we were located... Noooooo! But if that's what you need, Dad. I glassed up a bunch of deer that night, but only those same two small bucks from the morning.
The next morning, we were not alone. A family of 4 all had tags for the area. Due to the direction they were headed, I changed my plans for the morning and decided to go glass a big ridge. The problem is the ridge is to the east, so I would need to be below the sun line. As I worked my way towards a usable spot, I heard three gun shots. The family had taken the two small bucks we had been passing on. Pushing onward, I saw a whole bunch of does here and there, but no bucks. Finally I was in position to glass the ridge. It didn't take me long to find two deer, but it was hard to make out what they were, as they were still in the shadows. They were up near the top of the ridge and would hit the sun line any minute. As the first deer crossed, his enormous antlers glinted in the sun. Holy moly! The second was smaller, but still leagues above what I had seen the last two days.
However, there was a problem. It wouldn't be long before they were on private property if they continued that direction. I would have to save this information for the next morning. There's no way my Dad could make it up there in time if he was standing next to me, let alone the fact that he was 1/2 mile or more away. I'm not even sure I could have made it there in time.
He wanted to whitetail style hunt it that day and recover a bit from the hiking the day before. I could understand where he was coming from. I went to go watch a saddle and film some pronghorn (still editing that video!) for a couple of hours. It was pushing 80 degrees so we bailed back to camp for a bit and returned around 4pm.
That evening, we watched that same draw, and I also checked out several other nearby draws. Not a single deer came out of the woodwork. Yikes!
The next morning, we were not alone. A family of 4 all had tags for the area. Due to the direction they were headed, I changed my plans for the morning and decided to go glass a big ridge. The problem is the ridge is to the east, so I would need to be below the sun line. As I worked my way towards a usable spot, I heard three gun shots. The family had taken the two small bucks we had been passing on. Pushing onward, I saw a whole bunch of does here and there, but no bucks. Finally I was in position to glass the ridge. It didn't take me long to find two deer, but it was hard to make out what they were, as they were still in the shadows. They were up near the top of the ridge and would hit the sun line any minute. As the first deer crossed, his enormous antlers glinted in the sun. Holy moly! The second was smaller, but still leagues above what I had seen the last two days.
However, there was a problem. It wouldn't be long before they were on private property if they continued that direction. I would have to save this information for the next morning. There's no way my Dad could make it up there in time if he was standing next to me, let alone the fact that he was 1/2 mile or more away. I'm not even sure I could have made it there in time.
He wanted to whitetail style hunt it that day and recover a bit from the hiking the day before. I could understand where he was coming from. I went to go watch a saddle and film some pronghorn (still editing that video!) for a couple of hours. It was pushing 80 degrees so we bailed back to camp for a bit and returned around 4pm.
That evening, we watched that same draw, and I also checked out several other nearby draws. Not a single deer came out of the woodwork. Yikes!
Wednesday morning I told my Dad, at first light we either need to go watch the ridge where I had seen the two big bucks, or we need to get back into the timber where I got my deer before they bed down, as they're feeding in the young aspens. They've been pushed out of this first area we're hunting. Well, he sort of agreed, but he wanted to sit in another one of the spots he liked for the first hour. Well, that meant I would go glass not too far from him.
I wasn't seeing anything close by, but I caught two butts halfway up the ridge where I had seen the big deer the day before. I clipped off half a mile or more to get a better view. By the time I got where I could see antlers, there were 8 deer feeding; 4 does and 4 big bucks, with the lead deer being the giant I had seen the day before. However, we were going to run into the same problem. They were now 80% or more of the way up the ridge and would go bed on the private land. Dang ... maybe he will learn!
We regrouped and worked towards the timber where I got my buck. Immediately upon turning uphill we saw a doe, and another, etc. I could tell they were just getting ready to bed down and it would be another tough day. I took him through one of my favorite draws, but nobody was home. We made it 100 yards past that draw when a buck jumped up and ran into the timber ahead of us. As we watched bits of him disappear through the timber, something hadn't quite seemed right. I told my dad "I think another buck was bedded with him, and he went downhill." If there was another buck, he may not have seen us, and bailed simply from the shock of the other deer jumping up.
I tip toed to the edge of the hill and peered down. Using my binoculars, I scanned the area and bam ... there he was, and close! Maybe 50 yards. He looked like a reasonable buck, and he was standing broadside. I motioned my dad to come over, there's a buck below me. I might have been a bit too excited, as the deer turned and started to walk to my left and quartering away.
By the time my dad got to the edge, the buck was at about 80 yards, but in more open terrain. My dad raised his rifle...
I wasn't seeing anything close by, but I caught two butts halfway up the ridge where I had seen the big deer the day before. I clipped off half a mile or more to get a better view. By the time I got where I could see antlers, there were 8 deer feeding; 4 does and 4 big bucks, with the lead deer being the giant I had seen the day before. However, we were going to run into the same problem. They were now 80% or more of the way up the ridge and would go bed on the private land. Dang ... maybe he will learn!
We regrouped and worked towards the timber where I got my buck. Immediately upon turning uphill we saw a doe, and another, etc. I could tell they were just getting ready to bed down and it would be another tough day. I took him through one of my favorite draws, but nobody was home. We made it 100 yards past that draw when a buck jumped up and ran into the timber ahead of us. As we watched bits of him disappear through the timber, something hadn't quite seemed right. I told my dad "I think another buck was bedded with him, and he went downhill." If there was another buck, he may not have seen us, and bailed simply from the shock of the other deer jumping up.
I tip toed to the edge of the hill and peered down. Using my binoculars, I scanned the area and bam ... there he was, and close! Maybe 50 yards. He looked like a reasonable buck, and he was standing broadside. I motioned my dad to come over, there's a buck below me. I might have been a bit too excited, as the deer turned and started to walk to my left and quartering away.
By the time my dad got to the edge, the buck was at about 80 yards, but in more open terrain. My dad raised his rifle...
And that deer just walked straight behind a tree and never showed again. He was half a second from his demise. Oh well, I guess we get to keep on hunting.
We continued pushing upwards through where I had seen deer feeding before, but nothing was found. Eventually, we came to one of my favorite saddles and took a lunch break. Dad doesn't usually go quite this far.
After a rest and a sandwich, we started making our way down the north facing slopes. Not 200 yards later we ran into a couple of deer, but they were does. I knew the next draw coming up was full of deadfall, so I had my Dad stick to the fringe while I worked my way along the inside edge of the pines. Sure enough, 3 bucks, including one bruiser, busted out of there, but they were directly between us, so no initial shot. The big buck definitely had a better idea of people and blew out of there with his little buddies, never stopping.
As we rounded into the next draw, it appeared too warm to be holding bedded deer. Neither of us were being as careful as normal, and right in the middle of a step I caught antlers. Sure enough, as soon as my foot hit the crunchy leaves, that deer turned and trotted out of there. It was simply too thick for a shot in these young aspens.
We continued working these north faces, but the trees changed and didn't seem to be holding deer. I didn't come out of there empty handed, though, nearly impaling myself on this dead-head.
Unfortunately, my Dad had some family obligations and would have to leave that afternoon. I convinced him to work the ridge where we had seen the 3 bucks on opening day. It didn't take long before I saw my dad give the buck signal. He motioned for me to move slowly along the top of the ridge. I made it about 30 yards when I started hearing the tap tap of deer feet. Odd, it was coming above and moving behind me. I turned to see the cutest little mule deer buck I had ever seen. He might have had 4 inch spikes ... maybe. I pulled his own trick on him, circling above and then down, and got to under 10 yards from him, hiding in a small pine cluster.
We re-grouped and I asked my Dad about the spike, but he said he hadn't seen it. The one he had been pointing to was a very nice buck, and moved out into the open. He got into the willows before my Dad could get on him. Dang! I knew there would be deer on this ridge. My Dad was excited though, as this was the biggest buck he had seen yet. He knew where he would be hunting, assuming he could make it back up there after family was taken care of.
We headed back around 3:00 and packed up camp. It was 84 degrees, so my Dad opted not to hunt that evening, hoping for a weather change for his return. I was on the road by 4:30. FireTiger still had one day left on her muzzleloader tag and had missed again that day. I decided she needed some moral support, and maybe a bit of help analyzing the problem with her misses. Besides, we both had rifle tags starting on Saturday. I stashed my deer in the freezer, took a quick shower, unloaded extra gear and grabbed gas and dinner.
375 miles from deer camp, I finally made it to her pronghorn camp at 12:30am.
We continued pushing upwards through where I had seen deer feeding before, but nothing was found. Eventually, we came to one of my favorite saddles and took a lunch break. Dad doesn't usually go quite this far.
After a rest and a sandwich, we started making our way down the north facing slopes. Not 200 yards later we ran into a couple of deer, but they were does. I knew the next draw coming up was full of deadfall, so I had my Dad stick to the fringe while I worked my way along the inside edge of the pines. Sure enough, 3 bucks, including one bruiser, busted out of there, but they were directly between us, so no initial shot. The big buck definitely had a better idea of people and blew out of there with his little buddies, never stopping.
As we rounded into the next draw, it appeared too warm to be holding bedded deer. Neither of us were being as careful as normal, and right in the middle of a step I caught antlers. Sure enough, as soon as my foot hit the crunchy leaves, that deer turned and trotted out of there. It was simply too thick for a shot in these young aspens.
We continued working these north faces, but the trees changed and didn't seem to be holding deer. I didn't come out of there empty handed, though, nearly impaling myself on this dead-head.
Unfortunately, my Dad had some family obligations and would have to leave that afternoon. I convinced him to work the ridge where we had seen the 3 bucks on opening day. It didn't take long before I saw my dad give the buck signal. He motioned for me to move slowly along the top of the ridge. I made it about 30 yards when I started hearing the tap tap of deer feet. Odd, it was coming above and moving behind me. I turned to see the cutest little mule deer buck I had ever seen. He might have had 4 inch spikes ... maybe. I pulled his own trick on him, circling above and then down, and got to under 10 yards from him, hiding in a small pine cluster.
We re-grouped and I asked my Dad about the spike, but he said he hadn't seen it. The one he had been pointing to was a very nice buck, and moved out into the open. He got into the willows before my Dad could get on him. Dang! I knew there would be deer on this ridge. My Dad was excited though, as this was the biggest buck he had seen yet. He knew where he would be hunting, assuming he could make it back up there after family was taken care of.
We headed back around 3:00 and packed up camp. It was 84 degrees, so my Dad opted not to hunt that evening, hoping for a weather change for his return. I was on the road by 4:30. FireTiger still had one day left on her muzzleloader tag and had missed again that day. I decided she needed some moral support, and maybe a bit of help analyzing the problem with her misses. Besides, we both had rifle tags starting on Saturday. I stashed my deer in the freezer, took a quick shower, unloaded extra gear and grabbed gas and dinner.
375 miles from deer camp, I finally made it to her pronghorn camp at 12:30am.
We checked her gun and noticed immediately that her rear sight had been knocked out of alignment!
Thursday morning we headed in with the attitude of any buck will do. We had two spotted, a larger one at 1 mile and a smaller one closer, about 1/2 mile. We closed to 400 yards when she told me about her secret trick that had 8 bucks under 100 yards over the course of the hunt. She crawled forward while I executed her plan. It worked like a charm! The little buck came racing in to 40 yards and she put one in him. He immediately bedded down and we sat, waiting for him to expire (it looked like a liver hit).
While waiting on him, I was watching others in the distance, and saw a coyote shadowing them. Then, the coyote bolted and disappeared. Two minutes later, her buck jumped up and began to hobble off (oh crap, reload!), but didn't make it 100 yards when the coyote pounced and tackled him by the neck! This freaked my wife out. She finished reloading and I grabbed the gun with the intention of knocking down the coyote. They were wrestling, with the coyote winning sometimes and the pronghorn goring him others.
About the time I got into range, the pronghorn buck gave up the ghost. Before I could get a shot on the coyote, he bolted. Crazy!
First muzzleloader kill for my wife. She said she had passed on this buck twice during the week, as he was one of the smallest she had seen ... but she got it done!
Thursday morning we headed in with the attitude of any buck will do. We had two spotted, a larger one at 1 mile and a smaller one closer, about 1/2 mile. We closed to 400 yards when she told me about her secret trick that had 8 bucks under 100 yards over the course of the hunt. She crawled forward while I executed her plan. It worked like a charm! The little buck came racing in to 40 yards and she put one in him. He immediately bedded down and we sat, waiting for him to expire (it looked like a liver hit).
While waiting on him, I was watching others in the distance, and saw a coyote shadowing them. Then, the coyote bolted and disappeared. Two minutes later, her buck jumped up and began to hobble off (oh crap, reload!), but didn't make it 100 yards when the coyote pounced and tackled him by the neck! This freaked my wife out. She finished reloading and I grabbed the gun with the intention of knocking down the coyote. They were wrestling, with the coyote winning sometimes and the pronghorn goring him others.
About the time I got into range, the pronghorn buck gave up the ghost. Before I could get a shot on the coyote, he bolted. Crazy!
First muzzleloader kill for my wife. She said she had passed on this buck twice during the week, as he was one of the smallest she had seen ... but she got it done!
Friday was spent recovering from all the traveling and packing. We organized the two vehicles into one camp and one storage. Spent a little bit of time driving around the back side of where we were planning to hunt and saw a few pronghorn. As the amount of public land here is fairly small, the pressure is very high and its walk in only, its not like we could drive around scouting out bucks like one might do in Wyoming.
We got some lunch at a "local" diner and relaxed on the "beach" near camp. I spent some time playing with my digi-scope setup, taking photo of birds and bunnies. I'd probably hop up if a tarantula came my way while snoozing on the beach, too!
Ah, its finally time for the hunt that's beginning to become my favorite for the year. We pretty much only had one day to do this hunt, as Sunday we needed to butcher. Still, considering the animals FireTiger had seen during her muzzleloader hunt, I was going to hold out for at least a slightly older buck. She had a doe tag, so if we got the chance, we might try to for double.
I'll be honest, I can't remember every detail about the morning. We hiked in a couple of miles to a glassing location above some water, but we didn't see much in the first hour. About the time we started spotting animals, the trucks were working the place hard. We certainly didn't expect to see them back here a couple miles away from any road, and the nearby private land had more trucks than ever crawling on it. They DID nearly double the amount of rifle tags for the unit, so I wasn't entirely surprised, but it was making it very hard to plan a stalk. It seemed like every time we would get to 600 yards, there would be a truck driving in on the group we were working.
Finally, about 10:30 it seemed like most of the trucks either stopped driving around, or went home/into town for lunch. The hunt could finally begin! It was really heating up out there, and there was one constant I had noticed; the pronghorn were hitting the water hard. After a couple of failed 1 mile stalks, I convinced FireTiger that we should go set an ambush on a berm near the largest water source around. Before we even made it there, a group of pronghorn were coming at the water from the other side. We kept the berm between us and got into position. The buck was quite large for the area, and I was definitely keen on taking him. They never stopped moving, and never came closer than 450 yards. We have a shooting limit of about 320 yards. It was painful to watch that big buck get further away, but I couldn't come up with a plan to intercept them in this big open valley.
As we're now on the berm where we wanted to ambush, I glass the surrounding area. There's nothing around for miles! Argh! It really baking, so I just cover my head and lie down for a brief nap. I say to FireTiger that I'll give it 10 minutes and glass again. The 10 minutes goes by and I start looking out in the distance, and again nothing. As I begin to curse, lowering the binoculars, I look and there is a wide buck standing right there behind us drinking. 100 yards! I quickly say "I'm going to shoot." and put my tripod on the embankment. I'm quickly ( why quickly? He's close and has no idea we're here?! ) getting into position above the grass and finally have clearance.
BANG! A puff of sand 10 yards in front of me flies, and the buck starts to trot off. I can't believe I did that. I blew a golden opportunity. While I had clearance over the grass through my scope, my rifle, being a couple inches lower, did not. What a silly mistake that could have easily been avoided had I not rushed the whole situation. Through all my cussing, FireTiger assures me its ok, there will be more opportunities.
...
I'll be honest, I can't remember every detail about the morning. We hiked in a couple of miles to a glassing location above some water, but we didn't see much in the first hour. About the time we started spotting animals, the trucks were working the place hard. We certainly didn't expect to see them back here a couple miles away from any road, and the nearby private land had more trucks than ever crawling on it. They DID nearly double the amount of rifle tags for the unit, so I wasn't entirely surprised, but it was making it very hard to plan a stalk. It seemed like every time we would get to 600 yards, there would be a truck driving in on the group we were working.
Finally, about 10:30 it seemed like most of the trucks either stopped driving around, or went home/into town for lunch. The hunt could finally begin! It was really heating up out there, and there was one constant I had noticed; the pronghorn were hitting the water hard. After a couple of failed 1 mile stalks, I convinced FireTiger that we should go set an ambush on a berm near the largest water source around. Before we even made it there, a group of pronghorn were coming at the water from the other side. We kept the berm between us and got into position. The buck was quite large for the area, and I was definitely keen on taking him. They never stopped moving, and never came closer than 450 yards. We have a shooting limit of about 320 yards. It was painful to watch that big buck get further away, but I couldn't come up with a plan to intercept them in this big open valley.
As we're now on the berm where we wanted to ambush, I glass the surrounding area. There's nothing around for miles! Argh! It really baking, so I just cover my head and lie down for a brief nap. I say to FireTiger that I'll give it 10 minutes and glass again. The 10 minutes goes by and I start looking out in the distance, and again nothing. As I begin to curse, lowering the binoculars, I look and there is a wide buck standing right there behind us drinking. 100 yards! I quickly say "I'm going to shoot." and put my tripod on the embankment. I'm quickly ( why quickly? He's close and has no idea we're here?! ) getting into position above the grass and finally have clearance.
BANG! A puff of sand 10 yards in front of me flies, and the buck starts to trot off. I can't believe I did that. I blew a golden opportunity. While I had clearance over the grass through my scope, my rifle, being a couple inches lower, did not. What a silly mistake that could have easily been avoided had I not rushed the whole situation. Through all my cussing, FireTiger assures me its ok, there will be more opportunities.
...
Well, she was right. It couldn't have been 10 minutes later when I saw the very nice buck from earlier heading our way, follwing what must have been a hot doe, with one decent and one small buck in toe. We were expecting them to come to water, but they closed to 500 yards and the doe bedded down. One by one, they started bedding about 50 yards apart. We had a few folds in the land between us, and I started mentally planning a stalk. FireTiger thought we should wait and they would come to water soon. It seemed every time I thought it was time to move, one of them would stand, facing our direction.
After half an hour of this, a second group, with two does and a buck, came in from the East. Again, they were about 400 yards out, just out of range. This buck wasn't quite as big as the biggest, but he was pretty good looking, too. We continued to wait, and the new buck was definitely interested in the hot doe. There was a lot of chasing involved before they finally committed to coming to water. But, it wasn't our water. There was a small tank 300 yards away, with a small overflow at 270 yards.
This was our chance for the double! As they settled in to water, we started counting down from 3. Every time we would get to one, it seemed one of them would shift and block the shot and we would have to call it off. I'll be honest ... I am not mentally ready for that kind of thing. FireTiger finally shot at the lead doe, somehow missing. I never felt comfortable with the shot, and let 4 bucks trot away. That was tough, but I felt we had a better chance at finding another buck as that was the first doe to come in range all day. We watched all 7 cover the next mile and a half to the next ridge.
Grumbling, we walked over to double check the miss. I left my rifle, but told FireTiger to bring hers just in case. ( She says she was the one who said we should bring one of the guns ... I disagree ) She has a bipod on her 270, so its a bit easier to get set up quickly. Absolutely no evidence of a hit. Since I had my scope on one of the bucks, I don't know where the shot went. We turned to go back to our gear, and immediately I saw a buck making a beeline for us about 600 yards out. He looked good enough for my first buck, so I grabbed the rifle, covered a few yards and went prone. FireTiger started executing her "trick" while I crawled a bit more. There was some tall grass I needed to clear. It didn't matter, as that buck had a death wish. At approximately 70 yards, I decided he didn't need to come any closer.
My first pronghorn buck!
After half an hour of this, a second group, with two does and a buck, came in from the East. Again, they were about 400 yards out, just out of range. This buck wasn't quite as big as the biggest, but he was pretty good looking, too. We continued to wait, and the new buck was definitely interested in the hot doe. There was a lot of chasing involved before they finally committed to coming to water. But, it wasn't our water. There was a small tank 300 yards away, with a small overflow at 270 yards.
This was our chance for the double! As they settled in to water, we started counting down from 3. Every time we would get to one, it seemed one of them would shift and block the shot and we would have to call it off. I'll be honest ... I am not mentally ready for that kind of thing. FireTiger finally shot at the lead doe, somehow missing. I never felt comfortable with the shot, and let 4 bucks trot away. That was tough, but I felt we had a better chance at finding another buck as that was the first doe to come in range all day. We watched all 7 cover the next mile and a half to the next ridge.
Grumbling, we walked over to double check the miss. I left my rifle, but told FireTiger to bring hers just in case. ( She says she was the one who said we should bring one of the guns ... I disagree
) She has a bipod on her 270, so its a bit easier to get set up quickly. Absolutely no evidence of a hit. Since I had my scope on one of the bucks, I don't know where the shot went. We turned to go back to our gear, and immediately I saw a buck making a beeline for us about 600 yards out. He looked good enough for my first buck, so I grabbed the rifle, covered a few yards and went prone. FireTiger started executing her "trick" while I crawled a bit more. There was some tall grass I needed to clear. It didn't matter, as that buck had a death wish. At approximately 70 yards, I decided he didn't need to come any closer.My first pronghorn buck!
Elkhunter24
Well-known member
congrats!
Not a minute after downing my buck, as I am cheering to FireTiger, I see a buck coming from the opposite direction. Oh man, what a beast. He was a gorgeous tall buck with a face so black it blended right into his horns. We both agreed, this was the largest buck we'd ever seen while pronghorn hunting ... and neither of us had a tag. To taunt us, the giant buck came to 90 yards and watched us quarter my buck.
About 20 minutes later, as we neared completing the breakdown of my buck, I looked up to see a group with does headed our direction. I got FireTiger her rifle as they closed to 500 yards. As we were about to lie down in wait, FireTiger looked to our right towards the water hole a mere 130 yards away. There was a group there drinking this whole time! She repositioned as I got the lead doe ranged, but we had missed the easy window. The pronghorn started moving off and the chance was blown. Argh!
I packed my buck the two miles back to the truck while FireTiger went back to the berm. I picked up some provisions as we were both running low on water and snacks. On my way back, as I crested the final rise between us, but still with almost a mile to go, I immediately spotted a buck at the water hole by her. It would have been a sweet photo. He was only about 40 yards away from her.
Before I cover the next half mile, I saw another group coming in from the West. I laid down to watch the action. To me, they looked like they walked right past FireTiger, but upon conversing later, they were 400-500 yards to the north at the closest. I took position on the berm next to her, and almost immediately we saw 3 does, again coming from the West. She got positioned with her rifle while I took the rangefinder. One of the does split and started quartering right to us. 272 ... 224 ... 185 ... 155 ... 130 ... 111 ... BANG
We got her taken care of and made the two mile hike back to the truck. Driving over to our camp, I took the RAV4 and we met 50 miles later for fuel and a chicken finger dinner.
PS: If you're reading this thread, give me a shout out! It helps keep me going!
About 20 minutes later, as we neared completing the breakdown of my buck, I looked up to see a group with does headed our direction. I got FireTiger her rifle as they closed to 500 yards. As we were about to lie down in wait, FireTiger looked to our right towards the water hole a mere 130 yards away. There was a group there drinking this whole time! She repositioned as I got the lead doe ranged, but we had missed the easy window. The pronghorn started moving off and the chance was blown. Argh!
I packed my buck the two miles back to the truck while FireTiger went back to the berm. I picked up some provisions as we were both running low on water and snacks. On my way back, as I crested the final rise between us, but still with almost a mile to go, I immediately spotted a buck at the water hole by her. It would have been a sweet photo. He was only about 40 yards away from her.
Before I cover the next half mile, I saw another group coming in from the West. I laid down to watch the action. To me, they looked like they walked right past FireTiger, but upon conversing later, they were 400-500 yards to the north at the closest. I took position on the berm next to her, and almost immediately we saw 3 does, again coming from the West. She got positioned with her rifle while I took the rangefinder. One of the does split and started quartering right to us. 272 ... 224 ... 185 ... 155 ... 130 ... 111 ... BANG
We got her taken care of and made the two mile hike back to the truck. Driving over to our camp, I took the RAV4 and we met 50 miles later for fuel and a chicken finger dinner.
PS: If you're reading this thread, give me a shout out! It helps keep me going!
ElkHunter11
New member
Congrats on all the success!
backsmasher23
Member
Awesome story and pictures! Thanks for doing it!
muledeerjunkie
Member
Don't vanish, keep this thread going!!!
