roosiebull
WKR
I had a plan to just cover a bunch of ground today, knowing sitting in a spot and glassing wasn’t an option with the weather, or glassing at all. Plan was to walk in just shy of 5 miles to some lower lying ground hoping to get out of some of the wind and sneak around cuts and still hunt some timber and hunt a couple miles further if needed
I was feeling like it was pretty pointless early on, wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t even look into the wind and rain, trying to keep my head down so water wasn’t pouring into my hood, but it was pointless, I was soaked very early on
I was trying to stick it out hoping the wind would let up and decided to go a direction I haven’t in a couple years and was glad I did, I found a really cool spot that is off the beaten path. A little way into that area I picked up a track that looked pretty good and since it was visible at all in that weather, I knew it wasn’t very old, so I followed it a ways and the wind started getting sketchy for the direction he was going (I could see at least one doe track too with him)
I decided to treat it like it was fresh and went up over the ridge, went to the bottom and started following it back up towards where I had seen the sign, I could see they didn’t get ahead of me, but I didn’t know if they kept going on their direction or veered off, but it was the best thing going
About half way back to where I hopped over the ridge I have a doe pop out in front of me and instantly looks behind her so I got my rifle off my pack and tucked into the ridge, she was only 30yds, she fed out in front of me and then the buck popped out behind her, but it was an average 3pt and not what I was looking for, they ended up point blank before knowing I existed, cool encounter and got the skunk off for the morning, this was probably 10am just after the wind slowed down.
I decided to head back to where I started and see if anything came out with the weather change, still dumping rain, but way more pleasant weather. I walked everything back out, checked every ridge and bench, no new sign. I climbed back up trying to plan a good route back to give me a chance to find a buck, there was one last little corner up by the timber line that I was going to look at again, and here is a white face looking at me at just over 100yds, I knew it was a buck, but I didn’t think it was much of one, I couldn’t see any antlers. Didn’t want to get my binos out and get them wet for a dink, but the face sure was white, so I decided to put glass on him before getting any closer and watch him bounce off, and as soon as I got my binos on him, I was very surprised to see a pretty heavy frame and nice dark antlers, I can’t believe I almost just blew that deer out before even looking.
I didn’t know exactly what he was, but I could tell by his frame that I liked him, so I dropped my pack, stood it up and sent a 77tmk, heard it hit him. He bounced off a couple bounds and stopped behind a little fir looking at me, and still looked pretty alert, with his head and neck out and all I could see. In these couple seconds my scope got really wet, and I wanted to shoot him in the neck, but I couldn’t see it through the rained out scope, all I could see was his white nose, so i put the crosshairs right above that and he was gone when the smoke cleared.
I walked over there and he was dead right there, but I trashed the skull
oh well, but it is a shame demolishing the skull cap of such a pretty buck, but I will figure something out. Had I held off a couple seconds, he would have tipped over in front of me, that first shot wrecked him
All in all, miserably long wet day, but I’m glad I stayed and stuck it out
I was feeling like it was pretty pointless early on, wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t even look into the wind and rain, trying to keep my head down so water wasn’t pouring into my hood, but it was pointless, I was soaked very early on
I was trying to stick it out hoping the wind would let up and decided to go a direction I haven’t in a couple years and was glad I did, I found a really cool spot that is off the beaten path. A little way into that area I picked up a track that looked pretty good and since it was visible at all in that weather, I knew it wasn’t very old, so I followed it a ways and the wind started getting sketchy for the direction he was going (I could see at least one doe track too with him)
I decided to treat it like it was fresh and went up over the ridge, went to the bottom and started following it back up towards where I had seen the sign, I could see they didn’t get ahead of me, but I didn’t know if they kept going on their direction or veered off, but it was the best thing going
About half way back to where I hopped over the ridge I have a doe pop out in front of me and instantly looks behind her so I got my rifle off my pack and tucked into the ridge, she was only 30yds, she fed out in front of me and then the buck popped out behind her, but it was an average 3pt and not what I was looking for, they ended up point blank before knowing I existed, cool encounter and got the skunk off for the morning, this was probably 10am just after the wind slowed down.
I decided to head back to where I started and see if anything came out with the weather change, still dumping rain, but way more pleasant weather. I walked everything back out, checked every ridge and bench, no new sign. I climbed back up trying to plan a good route back to give me a chance to find a buck, there was one last little corner up by the timber line that I was going to look at again, and here is a white face looking at me at just over 100yds, I knew it was a buck, but I didn’t think it was much of one, I couldn’t see any antlers. Didn’t want to get my binos out and get them wet for a dink, but the face sure was white, so I decided to put glass on him before getting any closer and watch him bounce off, and as soon as I got my binos on him, I was very surprised to see a pretty heavy frame and nice dark antlers, I can’t believe I almost just blew that deer out before even looking.
I didn’t know exactly what he was, but I could tell by his frame that I liked him, so I dropped my pack, stood it up and sent a 77tmk, heard it hit him. He bounced off a couple bounds and stopped behind a little fir looking at me, and still looked pretty alert, with his head and neck out and all I could see. In these couple seconds my scope got really wet, and I wanted to shoot him in the neck, but I couldn’t see it through the rained out scope, all I could see was his white nose, so i put the crosshairs right above that and he was gone when the smoke cleared.
I walked over there and he was dead right there, but I trashed the skull
oh well, but it is a shame demolishing the skull cap of such a pretty buck, but I will figure something out. Had I held off a couple seconds, he would have tipped over in front of me, that first shot wrecked him All in all, miserably long wet day, but I’m glad I stayed and stuck it out
