I was very fortunate to draw this tag on my first try with zero points. I knew very little about its appeal and even less about the area. I started out doing a lot of map searching. OnX maps and Google earth quickly became my best friend. Over the course of the year I plotted several areas that I felt promise and spend hours going back n forth from onX and google earth to get the best views of those spots.
I had originally had about 10 spots picked out with the Rincon trail and brush creek being at the top of my list. Feeling confident but still having doubts I spent some time trying to contact the area biologist for more info. Couple weeks and 3 separate people and I finally got the right guy. I had never contacted a biologist before so wasn't sure what to expect, he was really cool. Gave me a lot of good useful information and spent about 40 minutes on the phone with me. He even went as far to give me his cell phone number and said to give him a call if I had more questions when I got up there.
After speaking with him my number three area had now became my number one. So now I need to spend a little more time focusing on that area. Now I was feeling pretty confident in my plan, I just needed to execute it.
I wanted to get up the mountain as early as I could Friday so I could put some boots on the ground and check out my top spots but due to some unforeseen errors on my part it put me way behind schedule and left me getting into Kernville around 1430. Not having much time before it got dark, I quickly drove up to my top two spots to see where I would be opening morning. Both spots looked promising but with time not on my side I needed to head back down to meet my cousin and get camp set up.
That night I spend the evening going back n forth on my top two spots and where we were going to go. I mush have changed my mind 15 different times. In the end I finally settled and laid down to TRY and sleep.
Opening morning its 32 degrees and blue skies. We started hiking in around 0530 with sunrise right around 0630. We hiked up a smaller mountain and got positioned having a north facing slope one one side with 3 slot canyons and a lot of open areas to the other side of us. My cousin gets positioned on one side of the mountain and me on the other. 30 minutes into shooting time I start hearing whistling my first thought "WTF" I turn around to see my cousin about 50 yards behind me up on a rock holding his hands to his head insinuating a huge buck. He begins to point right behind mess I turn around and noting so I'm glassing the north facing slope and nothing. After going back and forth with him he gets off the rock and walks up to me and points out that the buck was standing less than 50 yards directly in front of me for about 5 minutes then just walked off. I followed where his path and caught a glimpse of him on the north facing mountain ahead of me, he was a MONSTER .
Feeling a bit discouraged since I just blew my chance at a big one my cousin and I pulled back off the mountain to regroup. We continued to glass for another hour or so only seeing a hand full of does and a couple baby spikes. So we decided to pull stakes and move to my second location. At that point the snow began to fall and boy was it pretty. Everyone has said that snow will make the hunt that much easier. So seeing the white stuff come down definately changed my spirits.
After Seeing very little action from my second and third locations on the second morning we decided to go back to my first location since it showed to have the most promise. Just as day one my cousin and I hiked in well before sunrise and set up our glassing point. In stead of focusing on the North facing slope I focused on the open meadow about 700 yards out. Just legal shooting light came around I spotted what appeared to be an even bigger buck. When I pulled my glass up it was a BIG 4x4 at least. Only problem was that he was chasing a doe and never stopped. I immediately ran down the side of the mountain in hopes to get with in 300 yards but no luck he went over the ridge and over the second one. Man another missed opportunity. I pulled back up to the top of the mountain and we decided that after two days seeing the deer walk around in the meadow go in an out of the slot canyons and over the back of the mountain. We thought it would be best to hike back down the mountain through all the thick brush and snow up to the second mountain and come around the back side of the mountain to prevent spooking anything while moving into a better position. By 0930 we made it to the back side of the second mountain and we are watching 6 does feeding. Then two bucks came out. They both appeared to be baby forky's so we just continued to watch. While we watched the does continued to head up the third mountain side and up and over to the back side. The bigger fork gave us a better position to where we were able to see his rack. In fact he wasnt a fork he was a 3x3. At that moment I ranged him and he was at 375yards In order to get the best shot I back tracked to the front side of the mountain in hopes to bring the shot in a little closer once I came into view of where the buck was he was GONE! In stead of being discouraged we have seen a ton of deer to this point and we have yet to spook them and no other hunter has wanted to hike in, up and down mountains like we were doing. We seemed to have found the SPOT so now its a waiting game.
We had decided to go down the second mountain cross the saddle to the third mountain to get a better view of the 4th and last mountain. We decided to again come around the back side where there was a large rock that would give us cover and we would eat lunch and continue to glass. As we ate lunch four more does came out from the slot canyon below and continued heading up the side of the fourth mountain. No bucks following so we watched and at our lunch. As we finished we spotted a 5th doe at the top about 600 yards out staring at us, she sat there for 10 minutes watching us as we finished our lunch and started to pack our stuff back up as we were going to head back to the third mountain top. We gathered our gear and headed back down across to the second mountain, as we got into a good glassing spot we saw two does make their way into the canyon and saw them popped up about 3/4's up on that last mountain, and what is right behind them? The MONSTER from the day before. Less than 10 minutes of getting back to the other side of the mountain and there was a shooter. Quick decision Run down the mountain back up the third and get to where I can position for a shot. As we made our way to the top the buck was now chasing the does up and over that mountain. More disappointment, I know there was no way they saw us because we were out of sight until we reached the ridge and at that point they had already been on the move. Wind has been in our favor the entire day so we chalk it up as bad luck. Back to to the second mountain for more glassing in hopes the 3x3 from earlier comes out again and gives us a shot.
Two hours go by of constant glassing and laying back and just BS'in and out pops the 3x3. I range and he is 374 yards out. Instead of using my first instinct of using my back pack as my rest I just some Stupid Primos bipod sticks that wouldnt stay extended and I had to try and stabilize with my foot. In a rush to make the shot with bad stabilization I jerk the trigger and boom I shot a whole lot of nothing. I knew better I knew that I didnt have great control of the shot and should have never took the shot but buck fever took over and I made a bad decision. Fortunately the buck wasnt spooked, I had missed so bad that the buck was unphased by the shot. Now it was time to regroup once again and figure out the next move.
Day three was very uneventful, the first two days we had saw a combined 40 deer and day three we had saw 6 all does. At bed time my cousin and I discussed our plan for day 4. After talking to many of the other hunters out there we had consistantly seen far more deer where we were than anyone else had been seeing. So still convinced we were in the best spot we decided to go back to our spot. This time we would hike half way up the second mountain before the sunrise in shooting distance before the deer come in. We got into position and before handing my range finder over i ranged the general area where the deer had been coming out. 30 minutes into legal shooting light that same 3x3 walked out where we had expected him to. Immediately my cousin ranges him 342. Problem was he never stopped he kept moving. So keep asking for an updated range so I can click my scope in and he cant get a range, knowing what I had ranged when we first set up I knew he was at the 380 mark so I set my CDS dial into 380 and already had my rifle steady on my back pack deep breath in and out and gently squeeze the trigger. BOOM!
My cousin says as he is hitting me in the chest " BUCK DOWN, BUCK DOWN, HELL YEAH"
While he was doing that I had already racked another round in ready if he had gotten up but he Dropped like a sack of potatoes with out movement. Once I had gathered my self stood up ranged him again 384 yards was the final shot.
Took us about 40 minutes to get over to him going down into the slot canyon and through the thick brush was a huge pain but I was excited to see the him so it didnt bother me as much. My first reaction when walking up to him was wow he was big bodied. In the past I had only harvested white tail deer and nothing close to this size so even though his rack doesnt say Monster he was a big boy for me.
Took us a little over 2 hours to pack the deer through the brush and up and down 3 sets of mountains, But It was the best hike of my life. Learning from my failures from the days before and then re strategizing I was able to get my buck down. It was a great great experience. In 3 1/4 days hunting we hiked 25 miles and saw 50+ deer.
https://www.instagram.com/joeyaa2140/
I had originally had about 10 spots picked out with the Rincon trail and brush creek being at the top of my list. Feeling confident but still having doubts I spent some time trying to contact the area biologist for more info. Couple weeks and 3 separate people and I finally got the right guy. I had never contacted a biologist before so wasn't sure what to expect, he was really cool. Gave me a lot of good useful information and spent about 40 minutes on the phone with me. He even went as far to give me his cell phone number and said to give him a call if I had more questions when I got up there.
After speaking with him my number three area had now became my number one. So now I need to spend a little more time focusing on that area. Now I was feeling pretty confident in my plan, I just needed to execute it.
I wanted to get up the mountain as early as I could Friday so I could put some boots on the ground and check out my top spots but due to some unforeseen errors on my part it put me way behind schedule and left me getting into Kernville around 1430. Not having much time before it got dark, I quickly drove up to my top two spots to see where I would be opening morning. Both spots looked promising but with time not on my side I needed to head back down to meet my cousin and get camp set up.
That night I spend the evening going back n forth on my top two spots and where we were going to go. I mush have changed my mind 15 different times. In the end I finally settled and laid down to TRY and sleep.
Opening morning its 32 degrees and blue skies. We started hiking in around 0530 with sunrise right around 0630. We hiked up a smaller mountain and got positioned having a north facing slope one one side with 3 slot canyons and a lot of open areas to the other side of us. My cousin gets positioned on one side of the mountain and me on the other. 30 minutes into shooting time I start hearing whistling my first thought "WTF" I turn around to see my cousin about 50 yards behind me up on a rock holding his hands to his head insinuating a huge buck. He begins to point right behind mess I turn around and noting so I'm glassing the north facing slope and nothing. After going back and forth with him he gets off the rock and walks up to me and points out that the buck was standing less than 50 yards directly in front of me for about 5 minutes then just walked off. I followed where his path and caught a glimpse of him on the north facing mountain ahead of me, he was a MONSTER .
Feeling a bit discouraged since I just blew my chance at a big one my cousin and I pulled back off the mountain to regroup. We continued to glass for another hour or so only seeing a hand full of does and a couple baby spikes. So we decided to pull stakes and move to my second location. At that point the snow began to fall and boy was it pretty. Everyone has said that snow will make the hunt that much easier. So seeing the white stuff come down definately changed my spirits.
After Seeing very little action from my second and third locations on the second morning we decided to go back to my first location since it showed to have the most promise. Just as day one my cousin and I hiked in well before sunrise and set up our glassing point. In stead of focusing on the North facing slope I focused on the open meadow about 700 yards out. Just legal shooting light came around I spotted what appeared to be an even bigger buck. When I pulled my glass up it was a BIG 4x4 at least. Only problem was that he was chasing a doe and never stopped. I immediately ran down the side of the mountain in hopes to get with in 300 yards but no luck he went over the ridge and over the second one. Man another missed opportunity. I pulled back up to the top of the mountain and we decided that after two days seeing the deer walk around in the meadow go in an out of the slot canyons and over the back of the mountain. We thought it would be best to hike back down the mountain through all the thick brush and snow up to the second mountain and come around the back side of the mountain to prevent spooking anything while moving into a better position. By 0930 we made it to the back side of the second mountain and we are watching 6 does feeding. Then two bucks came out. They both appeared to be baby forky's so we just continued to watch. While we watched the does continued to head up the third mountain side and up and over to the back side. The bigger fork gave us a better position to where we were able to see his rack. In fact he wasnt a fork he was a 3x3. At that moment I ranged him and he was at 375yards In order to get the best shot I back tracked to the front side of the mountain in hopes to bring the shot in a little closer once I came into view of where the buck was he was GONE! In stead of being discouraged we have seen a ton of deer to this point and we have yet to spook them and no other hunter has wanted to hike in, up and down mountains like we were doing. We seemed to have found the SPOT so now its a waiting game.
We had decided to go down the second mountain cross the saddle to the third mountain to get a better view of the 4th and last mountain. We decided to again come around the back side where there was a large rock that would give us cover and we would eat lunch and continue to glass. As we ate lunch four more does came out from the slot canyon below and continued heading up the side of the fourth mountain. No bucks following so we watched and at our lunch. As we finished we spotted a 5th doe at the top about 600 yards out staring at us, she sat there for 10 minutes watching us as we finished our lunch and started to pack our stuff back up as we were going to head back to the third mountain top. We gathered our gear and headed back down across to the second mountain, as we got into a good glassing spot we saw two does make their way into the canyon and saw them popped up about 3/4's up on that last mountain, and what is right behind them? The MONSTER from the day before. Less than 10 minutes of getting back to the other side of the mountain and there was a shooter. Quick decision Run down the mountain back up the third and get to where I can position for a shot. As we made our way to the top the buck was now chasing the does up and over that mountain. More disappointment, I know there was no way they saw us because we were out of sight until we reached the ridge and at that point they had already been on the move. Wind has been in our favor the entire day so we chalk it up as bad luck. Back to to the second mountain for more glassing in hopes the 3x3 from earlier comes out again and gives us a shot.
Two hours go by of constant glassing and laying back and just BS'in and out pops the 3x3. I range and he is 374 yards out. Instead of using my first instinct of using my back pack as my rest I just some Stupid Primos bipod sticks that wouldnt stay extended and I had to try and stabilize with my foot. In a rush to make the shot with bad stabilization I jerk the trigger and boom I shot a whole lot of nothing. I knew better I knew that I didnt have great control of the shot and should have never took the shot but buck fever took over and I made a bad decision. Fortunately the buck wasnt spooked, I had missed so bad that the buck was unphased by the shot. Now it was time to regroup once again and figure out the next move.
Day three was very uneventful, the first two days we had saw a combined 40 deer and day three we had saw 6 all does. At bed time my cousin and I discussed our plan for day 4. After talking to many of the other hunters out there we had consistantly seen far more deer where we were than anyone else had been seeing. So still convinced we were in the best spot we decided to go back to our spot. This time we would hike half way up the second mountain before the sunrise in shooting distance before the deer come in. We got into position and before handing my range finder over i ranged the general area where the deer had been coming out. 30 minutes into legal shooting light that same 3x3 walked out where we had expected him to. Immediately my cousin ranges him 342. Problem was he never stopped he kept moving. So keep asking for an updated range so I can click my scope in and he cant get a range, knowing what I had ranged when we first set up I knew he was at the 380 mark so I set my CDS dial into 380 and already had my rifle steady on my back pack deep breath in and out and gently squeeze the trigger. BOOM!
My cousin says as he is hitting me in the chest " BUCK DOWN, BUCK DOWN, HELL YEAH"
While he was doing that I had already racked another round in ready if he had gotten up but he Dropped like a sack of potatoes with out movement. Once I had gathered my self stood up ranged him again 384 yards was the final shot.
Took us about 40 minutes to get over to him going down into the slot canyon and through the thick brush was a huge pain but I was excited to see the him so it didnt bother me as much. My first reaction when walking up to him was wow he was big bodied. In the past I had only harvested white tail deer and nothing close to this size so even though his rack doesnt say Monster he was a big boy for me.
Took us a little over 2 hours to pack the deer through the brush and up and down 3 sets of mountains, But It was the best hike of my life. Learning from my failures from the days before and then re strategizing I was able to get my buck down. It was a great great experience. In 3 1/4 days hunting we hiked 25 miles and saw 50+ deer.
https://www.instagram.com/joeyaa2140/
