Location: a place on the backside of D11, that overlooks PalmDale, if ya get up high enough.
Went out with the intent of making sets for coyotes. It was gonna be a shitty weather day. That place was forecasted at Lo 22F Hi 44F and likely to rain.
A field biologist on FoxPro Furtakers was talking about how on rainy days coyotes will be out because the rain can make the rodents have to leave their burrows for a bit, so figured Meh, the cold is gonna suck, but I need to get out since I'd been out with my lungs in a deathgrip and cough for more than a month previously.
This place is quite physical on ya. And the reason I keep occasionally coming back out here is because I shot my first coyote out there... and.. when scouting in here for deer initially when I first started, when I began to side-hill into this one area looking for sign... at some point, something told me to turn around and look behind, and I saw a beautiful coyote just reach the ridgeline and stop and pause to look back at me... before he went on and proceeding over to the other side of the mountain. Later on that day several years ago, when I came back that area on my way back out... saw that coyote run from one clump of bush/scrub-oak over to another clump of bush/scrub-oak over in that other side of the mountain.
So... I'm cursed with this hope of going back in there one day and catching that mofo slippin'.
Fast Fwd to current day. Get in there before daybreak. Start my 1st set in a draw between two of the many fingers coming off the mountain. Nothin'. On way up into that draw, go up to ridge of one of the fingers. As I approach a gnarled bigger sized Juniper bush as I approach the top of the fingers ridgeline, my eye catches motion within the shadowy side of a ridge some 400-500 yards ahead and across from me. I freeze,eyes focusing on the motion... then realizing its a mule deer, then realizing oh shit! There's a good 6 of them over there! So then I slowly make my way over to the shadow of the Juniper. Binos out... peepin' em from a distance. I (think* it was a bachelor herd. They looked meatier in the thighs. Hard to tell since I'm sure by now they've all shed their antlers.
For shits and giggles... I sneak on over a ways from the Junpier.. and setup the MOJO and the eCaller. Back in the shadows.. I elect to play Fawn Bleating. Hrmm... yeah... I'm thinking it was a Bachelor herd. They didn't like that Fawn Bleating too much. That shoo'd em away. Rather than invoking any maternal instinct or curiousness.
Advancing along this particular fingers ridgeline.. as I crest its highest hump, I notice motion a couple fingers over like maybe 500-600yds away. And Holy Shit man... those two mule deer straight out ran away from down in this little bit of flat sandwiched in between two fingers.. up and over that farthest away of the two fingers. And damn man... as steep as that whole area was... that shit was WAY impressive!
Eventually this finger brings me to this spot I'm familiar with where the main mountain ridgeline and this ridgeline merge into like this 3-way saddle. Make a set there as well. Dang it. No takers. And whoo dayum... Farveknugen it gets dang cold when you're no longer down in a finger and ya got that cold fast wind a-blowin' at yeah.
No takers, so make my way along the main ridgeline... back to where that yote of several years ago went from one bush over to another. As I approached where there's a trail line that turns to travel back down along a finger that's pretty darn huge... Doh...oh shit... I look over on this flattish area over on the finger I'm currently walking past to get over to that other one... and see a Mule Deer looking at me from maybe 150-200yds away near the edge of this current finger I'm talking about. I've been in the leafy gear all day, BTW.
I should have just froze and played the whole red-light, green-light thing and waited for that deer to look away first. But I didn't. Admittedly I was pretty tired since getting up to the main ridgeline involves following a very steep trail on a finger going up. So instead I decided to try turning around slowly and slowly walking back away in the other direction... for like 20 feet, then sat on a decent sized rock that would make a good place to sit. Unfortunately, while walking over to that rock, looking back his direction I then saw the other like 4 or so deer I didn't initially see, when his alert/alarm state and him turning to dive back down over the edge of that finger made them all do the same. So I returned from that stone and went to where I was when I first saw that deer. And elected to sit and hug up next to the shadow of a bush there. From this vantage point I had a good line of sight to see both the main ridgeline I was on, as well as the ridgeline of the finger I was travelling towards. Figured I'd sit tight and wait to see where they all went to, figuring it might teach me something for a later day. Never saw them appear. So... when I eventually advanced forward to the finger I planned to turn and go back downward on. While descending, I'm looking back to try and guess/figure where they are. Yeah, sure enough there's some pretty good-sized scrub-oaks/bushes I'm sure they were likely held up in. And now that I'm going back down, I now from the past they like hanging out in these fingers on the west side of the main ridgeline because it gets 'em down outta that harsh wind.
Had my clunky, heavy, leather cabelas boots on that don't fit all that snugly... because recently on my regular Salomon's the sole failed.. and I didn't wanna trust that the Shoe-Goop repairs would hold in this terrain that has a lot of shale-stone and quartz shrapnel pieces all in it. So that massive downhill returned on the finger was killin' my feet.
Finally an eternity later I'm in a draw I can follow back to the truck. I stopped at a couple places and tried to use the Pocket Prey caller to see if it'd draw out some Ground Squirrels. It did make some emerge, but when they did... they were nervy and strictly business and traverse the out in the open space with the quickness so unfortunately no shot opportunity.
So... although it was a fail for 'yotes. I always consider it a cool thing when I get to see some deer!
One thing for sure, in order to possibly be successful in this area, Daddy's gonna have to learn how to take some 400-600yd shots. And whoo... man.. I can imagine what kinda energy expense it would be to debone and pack out outta there off those steep slopes.
Thankfully the whole area is looking much much better these days with all these rains we've had the past two years. That last finger I descended on.. even though there's lotsa new growth on it.. you still see the soil has all the ash in it from 2014/2015 fires that swept thru there.
Sucks man... after getting up to the top on that main ridgeline... and being able to look out and see for a LONG ways in all directions.. I realized I'd forgotten and left my cellphone in the truck so couldn't take pics. Doh. Oh Well. I'm thinkin' if I'd have had one of those FitBit things on... I'd have no doubt caused its "odometer" to tap-out and flip back around to all zeroes, Eek! Well.. at least that's one good thing the colder temps can do for ya. They let ya do all that distance and ya don't even go thru the 4 liters of water.
Went out with the intent of making sets for coyotes. It was gonna be a shitty weather day. That place was forecasted at Lo 22F Hi 44F and likely to rain.
A field biologist on FoxPro Furtakers was talking about how on rainy days coyotes will be out because the rain can make the rodents have to leave their burrows for a bit, so figured Meh, the cold is gonna suck, but I need to get out since I'd been out with my lungs in a deathgrip and cough for more than a month previously.
This place is quite physical on ya. And the reason I keep occasionally coming back out here is because I shot my first coyote out there... and.. when scouting in here for deer initially when I first started, when I began to side-hill into this one area looking for sign... at some point, something told me to turn around and look behind, and I saw a beautiful coyote just reach the ridgeline and stop and pause to look back at me... before he went on and proceeding over to the other side of the mountain. Later on that day several years ago, when I came back that area on my way back out... saw that coyote run from one clump of bush/scrub-oak over to another clump of bush/scrub-oak over in that other side of the mountain.
So... I'm cursed with this hope of going back in there one day and catching that mofo slippin'.
Fast Fwd to current day. Get in there before daybreak. Start my 1st set in a draw between two of the many fingers coming off the mountain. Nothin'. On way up into that draw, go up to ridge of one of the fingers. As I approach a gnarled bigger sized Juniper bush as I approach the top of the fingers ridgeline, my eye catches motion within the shadowy side of a ridge some 400-500 yards ahead and across from me. I freeze,eyes focusing on the motion... then realizing its a mule deer, then realizing oh shit! There's a good 6 of them over there! So then I slowly make my way over to the shadow of the Juniper. Binos out... peepin' em from a distance. I (think* it was a bachelor herd. They looked meatier in the thighs. Hard to tell since I'm sure by now they've all shed their antlers.
For shits and giggles... I sneak on over a ways from the Junpier.. and setup the MOJO and the eCaller. Back in the shadows.. I elect to play Fawn Bleating. Hrmm... yeah... I'm thinking it was a Bachelor herd. They didn't like that Fawn Bleating too much. That shoo'd em away. Rather than invoking any maternal instinct or curiousness.
Advancing along this particular fingers ridgeline.. as I crest its highest hump, I notice motion a couple fingers over like maybe 500-600yds away. And Holy Shit man... those two mule deer straight out ran away from down in this little bit of flat sandwiched in between two fingers.. up and over that farthest away of the two fingers. And damn man... as steep as that whole area was... that shit was WAY impressive!
Eventually this finger brings me to this spot I'm familiar with where the main mountain ridgeline and this ridgeline merge into like this 3-way saddle. Make a set there as well. Dang it. No takers. And whoo dayum... Farveknugen it gets dang cold when you're no longer down in a finger and ya got that cold fast wind a-blowin' at yeah.
No takers, so make my way along the main ridgeline... back to where that yote of several years ago went from one bush over to another. As I approached where there's a trail line that turns to travel back down along a finger that's pretty darn huge... Doh...oh shit... I look over on this flattish area over on the finger I'm currently walking past to get over to that other one... and see a Mule Deer looking at me from maybe 150-200yds away near the edge of this current finger I'm talking about. I've been in the leafy gear all day, BTW.
I should have just froze and played the whole red-light, green-light thing and waited for that deer to look away first. But I didn't. Admittedly I was pretty tired since getting up to the main ridgeline involves following a very steep trail on a finger going up. So instead I decided to try turning around slowly and slowly walking back away in the other direction... for like 20 feet, then sat on a decent sized rock that would make a good place to sit. Unfortunately, while walking over to that rock, looking back his direction I then saw the other like 4 or so deer I didn't initially see, when his alert/alarm state and him turning to dive back down over the edge of that finger made them all do the same. So I returned from that stone and went to where I was when I first saw that deer. And elected to sit and hug up next to the shadow of a bush there. From this vantage point I had a good line of sight to see both the main ridgeline I was on, as well as the ridgeline of the finger I was travelling towards. Figured I'd sit tight and wait to see where they all went to, figuring it might teach me something for a later day. Never saw them appear. So... when I eventually advanced forward to the finger I planned to turn and go back downward on. While descending, I'm looking back to try and guess/figure where they are. Yeah, sure enough there's some pretty good-sized scrub-oaks/bushes I'm sure they were likely held up in. And now that I'm going back down, I now from the past they like hanging out in these fingers on the west side of the main ridgeline because it gets 'em down outta that harsh wind.
Had my clunky, heavy, leather cabelas boots on that don't fit all that snugly... because recently on my regular Salomon's the sole failed.. and I didn't wanna trust that the Shoe-Goop repairs would hold in this terrain that has a lot of shale-stone and quartz shrapnel pieces all in it. So that massive downhill returned on the finger was killin' my feet.
Finally an eternity later I'm in a draw I can follow back to the truck. I stopped at a couple places and tried to use the Pocket Prey caller to see if it'd draw out some Ground Squirrels. It did make some emerge, but when they did... they were nervy and strictly business and traverse the out in the open space with the quickness so unfortunately no shot opportunity.
So... although it was a fail for 'yotes. I always consider it a cool thing when I get to see some deer!
One thing for sure, in order to possibly be successful in this area, Daddy's gonna have to learn how to take some 400-600yd shots. And whoo... man.. I can imagine what kinda energy expense it would be to debone and pack out outta there off those steep slopes.
Thankfully the whole area is looking much much better these days with all these rains we've had the past two years. That last finger I descended on.. even though there's lotsa new growth on it.. you still see the soil has all the ash in it from 2014/2015 fires that swept thru there.
Sucks man... after getting up to the top on that main ridgeline... and being able to look out and see for a LONG ways in all directions.. I realized I'd forgotten and left my cellphone in the truck so couldn't take pics. Doh. Oh Well. I'm thinkin' if I'd have had one of those FitBit things on... I'd have no doubt caused its "odometer" to tap-out and flip back around to all zeroes, Eek! Well.. at least that's one good thing the colder temps can do for ya. They let ya do all that distance and ya don't even go thru the 4 liters of water.
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