We will start with opening day. A buddy of mine got a tag and came out for his first year of deer hunting, but when he got to my house all he had was a knife and a jug of water. Lol. I asked him where is your pack and rifle? I guess he couldn't get a hold of his uncle to get it out of the safe and he never went home to get his pack. Being a trooper he came out anyway and endured the 3 am wake up call.
We arrived at the spot I want to park and I get my gear and walk the short walk to a cliff that over looks a rock slide that the deer use to escape everyone on opening day. Sat there till about 9:30and nothing ever came out. So down the mountain we go.Feeling discouraged I come home with my head hanging low. All summer long of scouting this newer area and I only spotted one buck on August 28 and never saw him again.
As you guys might remember last year, the gate to my favorite part of the Forrest has been close since September of last year. And when I drove to the gate a few weeks before the season the whole road had no parking signs. So I was really bummed. I spoke with my dad and told him about the signs and explained what they looked liked. He instantly told me they're illegal signs,this is coming from a man who made a living installing signs for the city for 23 years. I told him jump in the truck and I'll take you to check them out. As soon as he played eyes on them he declared them illegal and for me to call the county sheriffs office. I got the okay to park by the gate.
Now I got a little pep in my step cause of the good news. So I head up the next morning alone to hunt. I get there and start my 1 mile hike to my glassing spot. I get there just as the sun was coming up, I set my tripod up mount my binos and started glassing the known areas I see deer. After about 30 minutes of glassing the few areas I always see the I change position of the binos and glass a mountain across the valley that we saw some on Last year's opener. I settled into the binos and see a flash of deer tumbling down the mountain and then I catch another coming at the deer full tilt. I watched these guys fight for two hours and chase does around. After the two hours I see a third buck that was a big 3x3 hauling tail towards private land and never stopped. He was at a full run and the rest followed.
Needless to say I was excited! It's only the second time I've seen them fight in D15 and I had high hopes for the next morning. But day after day I watched them do the same thing and I started to get really beat up and discouraged again. Cause they kept moving to the private earlier and earlier. I started to think I needed to stay down there cause I wouldn't ever make it in time to shoot one before they were long gone.
So thinking about it all night on Thursday I said screw it I'll just walk all the way in the dark and try to make it before they disappeared. But the weather had a different plan for us. We were completely socked in. Getting lost cause of the fog ate up precious time so plans changed on the fly. Plus I was super exhausted that my legs were weak and not wanting to stay under me. We opted to just climb down to out tree we hunted last year. The sunrise came and it was somewhat clear and we were able to glass the bottom but not the top where I have been seeing these bucks. After about 1 hour I spot some does crossing the river toward us, but the weather was coming in fast. It clears after awhile and I relocate them and again fog. It clears one more time and my brother in law said deer. He caught this guy as he'd bedded in the river bed. I glass him up and confirmed buck. So we pack our gear and head down the mountain further.
It's so steep I slide down about 15 feet and get stuck, I try to take a step and slide further down. At this point I start to panic. I told myself calm down and think about this. I catch my breath and start digging foot hold and climb out of there. We managed to get down the mountain a bit further and settle in. We had lost site of the bedded buck but knew he still had to be there.
It starts to rain and it stops....than it got hot!! I look at my bro in law and tell him to keep his eyes open cause he is gonna reposition. Not ten minutes pass when I see him a 220 I move my tripod and get my rifle. I just shouldered when he disappeared into the trees. Only two options, he back tracks or comes out on the left of the trees. My bro said he's coming out, he stayed in the binos while I stayed behind the rifle. I tell him I don't see him. I back off the scope and look around and I spot him, he was back tracking. I settle the reticle and drop him cold with a spine shot. It was a bit back but it killed him pretty quick.
Now onto my brother in laws buck. So I call him last night and tell him we should go and get him a buck today. He proceeded to tell me he needs to take his kids to school and doesn't know if he can go. So being the great brother in law that I am, I volunteer my wife ( his younger sister) for the job. I told her you have no choice lol. But she didn't need to hear that cause she's a trooper and knows how I am about hunting.
So off we went with a 4:30 am wake up call. We get to another glassing spot close to where we went in the day I got my buck. Sunrises and I instantly spot the does where I saw the bucks last week. Not long after my bro hissed buck. I check him and said he's bigger than mine. I ask what he wants to do. I said we can watch him till he beds or go. He opts to go, so down we went again. But this time we head down a different, easier finger ridge. We needed to cut 500 yards for a shot at this buck. We stop at about 250 and lost the buck. So I look down the hill and said that we needed to make it to the next dry spot.
We make it, glassing the last spot we saw him and not seeing the buck. I turn to my bro and said let's sit and wait. And as soon as I start to take my pack off I spot the buck at 80 yards in the thick. I hiss there he is! STAND UP AND SHOOT HIM! But the buck starts to run. I whistled and whistled, but he kept going. So I grunt and dead stop. I range him and told my bro 103. Put the crosshairs on him and shoot him. Boom, thwack and he's drops. But he stands up and I said hit him again.....BOOM! And thwack another hit. After that he was done. We pack up and make the rest of the climb down, as we went, we looked across and noticed that his buck was killed no more than 100 yards from my buck.
All in all it was a very rewarding experience this year and we had a great time together on the mountains. Memories were made,and bonds gained. The time we spend hunting with friends and family is priceless even if success is not gained. I love the mountain it's humbling being in its presents cause it will beat you more than it will give you. But she does Grace you with kindness it feels amazing.
bucks fighting..
We arrived at the spot I want to park and I get my gear and walk the short walk to a cliff that over looks a rock slide that the deer use to escape everyone on opening day. Sat there till about 9:30and nothing ever came out. So down the mountain we go.Feeling discouraged I come home with my head hanging low. All summer long of scouting this newer area and I only spotted one buck on August 28 and never saw him again.
As you guys might remember last year, the gate to my favorite part of the Forrest has been close since September of last year. And when I drove to the gate a few weeks before the season the whole road had no parking signs. So I was really bummed. I spoke with my dad and told him about the signs and explained what they looked liked. He instantly told me they're illegal signs,this is coming from a man who made a living installing signs for the city for 23 years. I told him jump in the truck and I'll take you to check them out. As soon as he played eyes on them he declared them illegal and for me to call the county sheriffs office. I got the okay to park by the gate.
Now I got a little pep in my step cause of the good news. So I head up the next morning alone to hunt. I get there and start my 1 mile hike to my glassing spot. I get there just as the sun was coming up, I set my tripod up mount my binos and started glassing the known areas I see deer. After about 30 minutes of glassing the few areas I always see the I change position of the binos and glass a mountain across the valley that we saw some on Last year's opener. I settled into the binos and see a flash of deer tumbling down the mountain and then I catch another coming at the deer full tilt. I watched these guys fight for two hours and chase does around. After the two hours I see a third buck that was a big 3x3 hauling tail towards private land and never stopped. He was at a full run and the rest followed.
Needless to say I was excited! It's only the second time I've seen them fight in D15 and I had high hopes for the next morning. But day after day I watched them do the same thing and I started to get really beat up and discouraged again. Cause they kept moving to the private earlier and earlier. I started to think I needed to stay down there cause I wouldn't ever make it in time to shoot one before they were long gone.
So thinking about it all night on Thursday I said screw it I'll just walk all the way in the dark and try to make it before they disappeared. But the weather had a different plan for us. We were completely socked in. Getting lost cause of the fog ate up precious time so plans changed on the fly. Plus I was super exhausted that my legs were weak and not wanting to stay under me. We opted to just climb down to out tree we hunted last year. The sunrise came and it was somewhat clear and we were able to glass the bottom but not the top where I have been seeing these bucks. After about 1 hour I spot some does crossing the river toward us, but the weather was coming in fast. It clears after awhile and I relocate them and again fog. It clears one more time and my brother in law said deer. He caught this guy as he'd bedded in the river bed. I glass him up and confirmed buck. So we pack our gear and head down the mountain further.
It's so steep I slide down about 15 feet and get stuck, I try to take a step and slide further down. At this point I start to panic. I told myself calm down and think about this. I catch my breath and start digging foot hold and climb out of there. We managed to get down the mountain a bit further and settle in. We had lost site of the bedded buck but knew he still had to be there.
It starts to rain and it stops....than it got hot!! I look at my bro in law and tell him to keep his eyes open cause he is gonna reposition. Not ten minutes pass when I see him a 220 I move my tripod and get my rifle. I just shouldered when he disappeared into the trees. Only two options, he back tracks or comes out on the left of the trees. My bro said he's coming out, he stayed in the binos while I stayed behind the rifle. I tell him I don't see him. I back off the scope and look around and I spot him, he was back tracking. I settle the reticle and drop him cold with a spine shot. It was a bit back but it killed him pretty quick.
Now onto my brother in laws buck. So I call him last night and tell him we should go and get him a buck today. He proceeded to tell me he needs to take his kids to school and doesn't know if he can go. So being the great brother in law that I am, I volunteer my wife ( his younger sister) for the job. I told her you have no choice lol. But she didn't need to hear that cause she's a trooper and knows how I am about hunting.
So off we went with a 4:30 am wake up call. We get to another glassing spot close to where we went in the day I got my buck. Sunrises and I instantly spot the does where I saw the bucks last week. Not long after my bro hissed buck. I check him and said he's bigger than mine. I ask what he wants to do. I said we can watch him till he beds or go. He opts to go, so down we went again. But this time we head down a different, easier finger ridge. We needed to cut 500 yards for a shot at this buck. We stop at about 250 and lost the buck. So I look down the hill and said that we needed to make it to the next dry spot.
We make it, glassing the last spot we saw him and not seeing the buck. I turn to my bro and said let's sit and wait. And as soon as I start to take my pack off I spot the buck at 80 yards in the thick. I hiss there he is! STAND UP AND SHOOT HIM! But the buck starts to run. I whistled and whistled, but he kept going. So I grunt and dead stop. I range him and told my bro 103. Put the crosshairs on him and shoot him. Boom, thwack and he's drops. But he stands up and I said hit him again.....BOOM! And thwack another hit. After that he was done. We pack up and make the rest of the climb down, as we went, we looked across and noticed that his buck was killed no more than 100 yards from my buck.
All in all it was a very rewarding experience this year and we had a great time together on the mountains. Memories were made,and bonds gained. The time we spend hunting with friends and family is priceless even if success is not gained. I love the mountain it's humbling being in its presents cause it will beat you more than it will give you. But she does Grace you with kindness it feels amazing.
bucks fighting..
