well first of all hope everyone had a good labor day, mine was pretty freeing. with my hunt on Saturday i was pump to go back and maybe get a shot off my buck. i guess i wasnt the only one with the same idea. i soon got my first dosage of hunting public land.
had the wife drop me off and i bivouacked CNF. everything went as planned, i was testing out some things for my oct sierras bear hunt. woke up early in the mountain fog and made my way down to my spot. like i said i had the same idea as someone else. making my decent i spotted a red headlamp making its way down the opposing ridge. as as i spoted them i turned my off and his was soon to follow. my approached wasnt as direct as his and i knew he had possibly pushed my group ive been after. i wasn't going to give up just yet. as i get to my spot where i planned to try an ambush style approach i hear the same hunter set up in the apposing side of the tight valley. with it being to dry i didnt want to continue making noise so i stuck it out.
hours passed, its now 11 am and no visual on the group and no noise from where i last saw them. i made a decision that he might have pushed them so i said heck, its my land too. so i took what i needed and split the valley in two and starting my spot and stock aproach. i soon realized that the last beading area i spotted my group wasn't the only beading area in here. lesson learned. who knew within this 5 acre area there were SO many beds and trails. with the area being filled with beds and tails i new i had to tail them so i started tracking. finding free scat was the key to leading me to a small spike. i bumped him on first approach and he troted off a few skips and stopped. i dont this he ever saw me and he began wating. i used the roack slate he was on as cover to get close. being to thick i couldnt see him but i could hear him breath and snort. a really cool experience. soon after the winds really stafrted to pick up and my time was coming to a close.
all in all i learned alot and went with my gut as far as where i think this group would be. i got picked up and had the biggest burger i could find. hope the other hunter didnt take my buck but it seemed like he was still hunting with all the grunting he was doing, im pretty confident he didnt see my buck that day.
my gear worked just fine and i can say im ready to chase a bear.
like i always say. learned some things and had fun
lessons learned.
get gloves for the morning, its only going to get colder
deer bed in more than one location from day to day
plan alternate approaches
had the wife drop me off and i bivouacked CNF. everything went as planned, i was testing out some things for my oct sierras bear hunt. woke up early in the mountain fog and made my way down to my spot. like i said i had the same idea as someone else. making my decent i spotted a red headlamp making its way down the opposing ridge. as as i spoted them i turned my off and his was soon to follow. my approached wasnt as direct as his and i knew he had possibly pushed my group ive been after. i wasn't going to give up just yet. as i get to my spot where i planned to try an ambush style approach i hear the same hunter set up in the apposing side of the tight valley. with it being to dry i didnt want to continue making noise so i stuck it out.
hours passed, its now 11 am and no visual on the group and no noise from where i last saw them. i made a decision that he might have pushed them so i said heck, its my land too. so i took what i needed and split the valley in two and starting my spot and stock aproach. i soon realized that the last beading area i spotted my group wasn't the only beading area in here. lesson learned. who knew within this 5 acre area there were SO many beds and trails. with the area being filled with beds and tails i new i had to tail them so i started tracking. finding free scat was the key to leading me to a small spike. i bumped him on first approach and he troted off a few skips and stopped. i dont this he ever saw me and he began wating. i used the roack slate he was on as cover to get close. being to thick i couldnt see him but i could hear him breath and snort. a really cool experience. soon after the winds really stafrted to pick up and my time was coming to a close.
all in all i learned alot and went with my gut as far as where i think this group would be. i got picked up and had the biggest burger i could find. hope the other hunter didnt take my buck but it seemed like he was still hunting with all the grunting he was doing, im pretty confident he didnt see my buck that day.
my gear worked just fine and i can say im ready to chase a bear.
like i always say. learned some things and had fun
lessons learned.
get gloves for the morning, its only going to get colder
deer bed in more than one location from day to day
plan alternate approaches
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