Well this past Thursday to Saturday was my first turn this year to deer hunt, and my favorite spot payed off as usual.
Thursday started with an unusual 3:30 am wake up, usually I drive out the night before but not this year, though as it turned out I was late for shooting light by 15-20 min. But this one spot is more of a mule deer spot so not so critical and it was a dark night so I figured they would be moving a little later. I hunt the area a bit different than most of the other guys most are spot and stalk (or just plain old road warriors) you can see them in the trucks down below. I have access to get close to the tops (no hunting on but access to cross a property) and hike over and watch from above.
I am easing into my usual lookout and out of habit I give a half hearted check of a grass flat which I have on very rare occasion seen a deer well in my rush maybe it was more like quarter hearted. But in my hast I spooked a whitetail buck and doe (I did say I was in my mule deer spot right) not a huge buck but a very pretty high rack I was a half second too slow, but there was more to come.
Two minutes later I am in my spot and shortly after that I find a small band of mule deer with a decent 4x4, the wind was wrong for a stalk, but they were just below a little flat that I have shot on to before so I was waiting them out. I had watched them for about 15 min when I hear a warning snort on the other side of a clump of bush up on the ridge to my right. I figured I was busted but then I realized that the snort came from up wind so I crawled over to the other side of the small clump of trees that is my blind, and I hear another snort, and then I spot some whitetail does and as I suspect they are looking down the ridgeline so they had no Idea that I was there. so while I waited for the does to get into the clear a plan hatched in my mind.
I started the day with 4 tags Buck and doe for both mule deer and whitetail. Normally I like to fill my doe tags first get the pure meat hunting done first. so I figured that it was a safe gamble that I could shoot the whitetail on the other side of the ridge without unduly spooking the mule deer down below. So as the does clear the last bit of bush in the way I was ready for the shot the bi-pod was deployed and level and the scope cranked to 12 power (steven's 200 in 270 130 sierra's) there was on issue the doe was real close to a very steep and bushy coulee. So I skipped the usual double lung and decided on a high shoulder shot, I wanteed her dead right there. after about 200 yards that is what the bullet did she packed up right there. After a moment confirmin she was down for good I crawled over to the other side.
And as I hoped the mule deer were alert but not fully spooked. After a little more crawling I got the rifle level and set again and picked a mule deer doe out of the group. this was probably the longest shot I have tried but I was rock solid. at the shot 5the second doe was down. With that shot the secon doe was down (probaly 30 sec do a minuit later. With that shot the buck showed himself but even though I had him standing twice I missed him clean. As it turned out I did not account for the down angle and over shot. as it turned out I had just clipped the mule doe in the spine and she required another shot. So after confirming the miss on the buck I dressed and dragd out the does. After that I took the evening off I was tired and sore.
The next Am found me in my whitetail spot and since we are nearing peak of the rut I was planning a day of sitting especially since I woke up rteally sore from the previous days activity. At first light we are higer up the valley just glassing to see where the deer are moving this year and on the other side we see a pair of good mule deer come over the valley edge. we can't hunt that side but we decide to go low and try to call them in. Nothing happen and my buddy has to go to work so I easy a little further down not the valley floor is my whitetail spot so I start to rattle and grunt, but nothing up till Right near lunch time when I turn my head and comment to myself that the stump at the edge of the clearing I have been looking at all morning really looks like a deer now. then the mule deer buck standing besides that same stump turns it head and trots off looking for does. never really giving me a shot. Didn't I say this was my whitetail spot?
So finally my bladder wins out and I head up to the car for a quick stop and lunch, as I clear the bush I see that buck running around the top field (again no hunting here). I figure I would take an hour then head back in for the rest of the day. But rather than sit in the no hunting zone I fugue I would do what the road warriors do and eat lunch looking up at my hill side, So I am 3" into my garlic sausage and I spot some deer about 300 400 yards south of where I had shot the day before so I put the glasses on them and I see 3 deer and 1 just might have antlers. So I pull out the 204 handi(sorry the only handi content of the post) and at 18x I can see it is the same buck as the day before so with a good wind lunch is over and I head up to my secret backside access point, on the way downing a liter of water and an candy bar. So I pull a short stalk but I can't find them, as it turns out they were in a dip that I could not see into. So as I was trying to figure out a way to find them a though struck me.
Mule deer does readily respond to fawn distress calls, so I though that since the rut is on if I can get the does up and moving towards be they would tow in the buck well after a couple of bleats and 30 second, those does are up and looking around and guess who is in tow. Now I did not execute this very well because I was in a ver poor shooting position but after a quck crawl I was level and solid on the bi-pod. Now I was still looking at a long shot 250 plus and and almost a steep down hill as the miss . But I had him dead broad side and standing. though this day I was making sure to hold low on the heart and at the shot he tumbles and is down as it turns out I still hit him high but in the lungs the sierra head (the one I have though was a little too soft) had turned most of the lungs into red mush and exited. And yet another long drag down the hill Because up and over would be way harder.
And yes with a little creativity 3 deer can fit into a trunk of a corolla.
Sorry no picks the camera was left on the kitchen table, and now I have some butchery to do.
