2 States, 3 Tags, 23 Days - Live Hunt

[Brady R]

I’m going to use this thread to document some upcoming hunts I have in Idaho and Montana. 2 Mule Deer tags and an Elk tag. Starting in Idaho and then moving on over to Montana.

I’ll be heading up early on the 24th and will give updates whenever I can get some service.

I’ll post a gear list below in the next couple days and then update what I’m liking and what I could go without as the hunt progresses. I’ll be living out of my truck / backpack and bringing as little as I can get by with. Hoping to gain some great memories and a couple freezers full of meat.

 

[jzeblaz]

Good luck. Go get 'em!

 

[Brady R]

GEAR LIST

Rifle: 300WM - Zermatt Action, Proof CF Barrel, Nightforce NX8 4-32 Optic, TriggerTech Diamond Trigger, APA Fat Bastard 4-Port Break, some Atlas bipods. Forget who makes the stock but it sure is pretty.


Pack: Stone Glacier Evo 6900
Bino Harness: Stone Glacier Sentinel
Binos: Vortex Razor 10x42
Spotter: Leupold SX-4 Pro Guide 15x45
Tripod: Two Vets No Name Jr
Range Finder: Leupold Rx2800


Tent: Old North Face 4 season mountaineering tent. Mountain 25 I think it’s called.
Sleeping Bag: SG Chilcoot 0 degree.
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest X-Therm
Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe
Meals: A bunch of MRE’s from work.


Boots: Lathrop and Sons Mountain Extreme and a pair of Schnees Pac Boots.
Pants: SG DeHavilland
Base Layer: Sitka Core LW Hoodie
Mid Layer: Sitka Ambient Hoodie
Puffy: Outdoor Research Helium and a First Lite Chamberlain if it gets real cold.
Rain Gear: Sitka Dew Point
Gaiters: Some Outdoor Research ones we are issued at work.

 

[Brady R]

Day 1 Recap. I hiked into my area this morning and right at first light I saw some deer feeding on an open hillside around 2,000 yards away. I got on the spotter and saw a 18-20inch wide 3x3 chasing the does. I watched them for about 10 minutes when I started glassing a band of cliffs a few hundred yards above them. There were about 10 does and then boom, a large framed 3x3 feeding away. I got some video of him and planned my stalk over to him. I was glassing him across a deep draw so I decided to take the 5 mile loop up and around him, eventually coming in behind him. I got over there and spent 2 hours glassing, finding another 5 bucks throughout the process, but none as big as the one I was after. I had a good idea where he would be and decided to get right in his bedroom and as soon as I made my way down into his last known clump of brush, he busted out and at 260 yards turned back to get a good look at what scared him. I was already in the prone and sent a round right behind his shoulder. He immediately dropped, slid down the hill about 50 feet, and died in a small ravine. He’s my best buck to date and I couldn’t be happier with the surprise extras he’s got. I’ll spend tomorrow boiling the head and taking care of meat and then on to Montana for another mule deer hunt and an elk tag! I was solo on this hunt so the pictures not great. Leaned up against my spotter doesn’t yield the best results.

 

[eddielasvegas]

Good story and buck, and really appreciate you doing this as it's a nice diversion for those of us who did not draw a tag (or 3) this year,


Eddie