I got the bug last winter to do a solo backpack hunting trip in WY. I found some guys that gave me several great starting points for an area so I applied for the tag. Half the fun was getting ready with conditioning, equipment, maps, etc.
The pre-scouted buck I wanted to pursue was in a basin that required a 5.5 mile hike in with about 3,200 ft elevation gain (the last two miles required some bushwacking as the trail doesn't receive much attention). I arrived a day before the opener and got set up on the ridge above the basin where the big buck had been scouted. It was a spectacular spot.
The first 2.5 days I watched that basin from every angle I could while staying as inconspicuous as possible to not disturb the deer. I found seven bucks those first couple of days. I had one tempting buck in range for about an hour and a half one evening but I held out hoping to find the bigger buck.
Here is the tempting buck:
Here is another buck that was living in the basin - 160ish buck in full velvet:
There was a local hunter camped near by (I didn't even realize I was crowding him because he had his tent tucked away nicely in the trees). I spoke with him the 3rd evening of the hunt as he was walking back from another basin. He was a super nice guy that offered me a bunch of great information and showed me pictures of what he was seeing (he is a very accomplished hunter and was seeing 2x the number of bucks that I was). He had passed on the buck I was hunting and was gracious enough to share information about his location and a nice photo he had taken. It was so nice to have someone be kind and helpful. He shot a great buck two days later in another basin.
Here is the buck I was hunting:
I hunted this buck for the next four days. I had to leave camp around 5:30 to get to the basin where he was living to be there by first light (not many good camping spots in that vertical country). The first morning over there I saw him but he was already moving into cover for the day. I didn't ever see him again.
I had packed enough food for six days. I had stretched it to six and a half days. On the evening of day six I was looking for the big buck when I decided to move a few feet and glass the other side of the ridge. I found a nice three year old bedded right along the route I would be using to hike out. Over the next hour I watched him off and on while continuing to look for the big buck. I was considering the 11 mile round-trip hike to retrieve more food - it would take about seven hours and make me miss the morning or evening hunt and only give me an additional day and a half to hunt. About an hour before dark I decided this buck would make a fitting end to a great hunt. I double timed it off the ridge and stalked to about 150 yards.
Here is my 2018 buck - he has a cool double brow tine on one side.
I had enough of a cell signal that I had heard about the guide who was killed by a grizzly. I knew there weren't any grizzlies in the area I was hunting but I was a bit on edge listening to the sounds of the night as I boned my deer for the pack out the next day. I decided to try and get out in one trip (I REALLY needed a shower and was excited about a big fat hamburger), it was brutal but I made it without incident.
The pack:
Can't wait to get back there some day. Many thanks to the great guy from WY and my friends who gave me some great intel on a place to hunt. I got everything I had hoped from the trip - beautiful country, lots of buck sightings, solitude (didn't miss ATVs at all - not even mine
), physical and emotional test, etc.
The pre-scouted buck I wanted to pursue was in a basin that required a 5.5 mile hike in with about 3,200 ft elevation gain (the last two miles required some bushwacking as the trail doesn't receive much attention). I arrived a day before the opener and got set up on the ridge above the basin where the big buck had been scouted. It was a spectacular spot.
The first 2.5 days I watched that basin from every angle I could while staying as inconspicuous as possible to not disturb the deer. I found seven bucks those first couple of days. I had one tempting buck in range for about an hour and a half one evening but I held out hoping to find the bigger buck.
Here is the tempting buck:
Here is another buck that was living in the basin - 160ish buck in full velvet:
There was a local hunter camped near by (I didn't even realize I was crowding him because he had his tent tucked away nicely in the trees). I spoke with him the 3rd evening of the hunt as he was walking back from another basin. He was a super nice guy that offered me a bunch of great information and showed me pictures of what he was seeing (he is a very accomplished hunter and was seeing 2x the number of bucks that I was). He had passed on the buck I was hunting and was gracious enough to share information about his location and a nice photo he had taken. It was so nice to have someone be kind and helpful. He shot a great buck two days later in another basin.
Here is the buck I was hunting:
I hunted this buck for the next four days. I had to leave camp around 5:30 to get to the basin where he was living to be there by first light (not many good camping spots in that vertical country). The first morning over there I saw him but he was already moving into cover for the day. I didn't ever see him again.
I had packed enough food for six days. I had stretched it to six and a half days. On the evening of day six I was looking for the big buck when I decided to move a few feet and glass the other side of the ridge. I found a nice three year old bedded right along the route I would be using to hike out. Over the next hour I watched him off and on while continuing to look for the big buck. I was considering the 11 mile round-trip hike to retrieve more food - it would take about seven hours and make me miss the morning or evening hunt and only give me an additional day and a half to hunt. About an hour before dark I decided this buck would make a fitting end to a great hunt. I double timed it off the ridge and stalked to about 150 yards.
Here is my 2018 buck - he has a cool double brow tine on one side.
I had enough of a cell signal that I had heard about the guide who was killed by a grizzly. I knew there weren't any grizzlies in the area I was hunting but I was a bit on edge listening to the sounds of the night as I boned my deer for the pack out the next day. I decided to try and get out in one trip (I REALLY needed a shower and was excited about a big fat hamburger), it was brutal but I made it without incident.
The pack:
Can't wait to get back there some day. Many thanks to the great guy from WY and my friends who gave me some great intel on a place to hunt. I got everything I had hoped from the trip - beautiful country, lots of buck sightings, solitude (didn't miss ATVs at all - not even mine
), physical and emotional test, etc.
