Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Wyoming Mulie - 2012

ihuntelk

Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
410
Location
SE Wyoming
Finished my honey-do's Monday morn and made a crash trip to Northern Wyo for my deer tag. I was hoping to get there in time Mon eve to glass some bucks as they left the badlands to some of the private ag fields. I was going to hunt all day Tuesday and Wednesday but wanted a good place to start the next morning. I parked the rig at 5:30 and took off as fast as I could go to a good glassing location 1 mile away. Sun was supposed to set at 6:08. I saw several small herds on the drive in - including 5 bucks with a 22" forkie!

I snapped a few quick pics of a few deer and some of the cool scenery on my way in.

Found a bachelor bunch of 3 spikes hanging together with 1 doe. Maybe someone dropped all of them off at the daycare?
Cade 2012-12.jpg

This guy with the GNARLY dropper was the boss. ;)
Cade 2012-13.jpg

Cool deer trail up the canyon wall. There's actually a Chukar partridge in the middle of the pic just under the trail and left of the t-post.
Cade 2012-14.jpg

Here's the big draw I needed to cross to my glassing knob.
Cade 2012-5.jpg

Few scenery pics
Cade 2012-6.jpg
Cade 2012-8.jpg
Cade 2012-7.jpg
Cade 2012-9.jpg

Cool deer beds were everywhere in this big canyon.
Cade 2012-11.jpg

I'm about halfway to my knob and I glass the top end of this canyon. I can see a sagebrush with antlers on each side of it, framed perfectly in the rock behind them. This buck was in the exact same bed as a buck I found during the archery hunt. Too far to see him from here, but he's bedded just under the red-band on the far hillside.
Cade 2012-10.jpg

I closed the deal and peaked up over my last ridgetop. He was still bedded 143 yards away. I set up the video camera on the tri-pod and hit record. I settled into my rifle laying over my pack and waited. Sun then set and filming light was going quick so I tried to get him to stand up without blowing out of the country. About then a cottontail ran across the ledge above him. He stared it down for over a minute. Finally I pulled out the predator hunting tactics and started squeaking and then sqwacking. He finally stood and then immediately fell back down. :D

I looked at the timecode on the video and I recorded 28 minutes of him bedded. I killed him at 6:18 so I really only got to hunt 20 minutes before I found him.
Cade 2012-1.jpg
Cade 2012-2.jpg

I love hunting these guys on their terms out in this country. I had bowhunted this unit about 10 years ago and 3 days this season. This was my first time with a rifle. It won't be the last. Really contemplated shooting him, but decided if I did I could leave a day early for the elk hunt. ;)
Elk still trump deer in my book so off I go for a bonzai Wyo elk hunt!

-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com
 
I can't agree with you on elk vs deer, but congrats on the buck! That's a pretty short hunt.
 
Neat country, thanks for sharing pictures.

Congrats on the buck.

Got to agree with Oak... if you don't like hunting deer you're queer... :D
 
Love hunting muleys, still my fav. Would rather be out with the deer or the lopes personally so far in my experience. But to each their own. Congrats on the successful short hunt.
 
I just threw up in my mouth when I saw a guy named Bambi was asking if I was queer.................;)

Should've held out a little longer as we scrapped the bonzai elk hunt. Too many family obligations that came up the 1 day I was hunting. That's alright. Still got the best elk tag in Idaho burning a hole in my pocket. :D
 
Nice... we have some country just like that here in South Central MT that barely has a deer in it... I sure wish it did.. it would be fun to hunt.

Oh...and elk RULE over deer... that's all there is to that!
 
PEAX Trekking Poles

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