Big mule deer here I come :)

[robby denning]

Hey buddy, glad you watced the video.

I'm definitely learning a lot about muzzleloaders. They are as much of an art as a science. Tell your mom hi!

 

[robby denning]

I made it after a long drive into the night going through Grand Junction around 4 am and made the deer country by first light. Saw a few deer but nothing special yet. Mostly looking for deer country at this point. Pretty green down here considering June was record dry. This monsoon has helped but hopefully I won't get rained on this week during the scout- wipes out the evening hunt.

Getting my pack together to hit the top in next few days.

 

[Rick Seymour]

First lights about 5:30 so 90 minutes out of GJ..................you could be anywhere

 

[robby denning]

GJ is kinda the hub of deer hunting for Colorado. Draw a 150 mile half circle from there and you've got lots of good units.

Looking at my debit receipt for fuel, it was actually 3:50 am- oohhhhh, the mystery deepens.

Also, I still have cell service or this laptop wouldn't be working. Once I hit the trail, this thing will be off for a few days.

 

[robby denning]

Went out this morning and scouted some more country. A lot warmer today and way less humid. Didn't see any bucks today, but yesterday saw one that had some promise, maybe upper 20's wide. Living in some steep quakie country, so even if he turns out to not be a great buck, at least I'm finding country that mature bucks are using. I’ve seen about 8 bucks so far.

He wasn't out this morning, but did see a nice bull on same hillside. I find that a lot this time of year. If I find bucks in bucky country, there always seems to be a few bulls around too so a good indication to me that it’s good country. Over the years, I've found some great bucks summering where bulls summer- they must be attracted to similar country during this last phase of antler growth. Oh yea, one raghorn was already rubbed white! Fall is right around the corner.

I can't stream video from this lap top, but will try to when I get home in a few days so you can see some of this country.

I did scope out some of the high-country in the unit; above timberline stuff around 12,000 feet this morning from a distance. The unit only has a little bit of high country, so it’s pretty easy to look at it. While it’s neat looking country, I’m going to rule it out for this hunt for a couple of reasons.

1) It’s only a couple of basins and a rocky ridge that is even buck country, and it’s marginal at that. Very Very rocky with not a lot of buck feed in it. Should hold some bucks, but that is just not much country to bet my hunt on

2)Looking at my Forest map, it looks like a hiking trail goes right through the best stuff I can see. If you’ve hunted Colorado, you know this means every pine-cone bopping, granola-crunching, anti-hunting backpacker from the valley will be up there Labor Day weekend. Any smart buck will probably leave that country and by the looks of it, will have to move pretty far to get away from it. I scouted the back side of that country 19 years ago and remember that it is all cliffy goat country. Google Earth confirms that, too.

So, I can at least rule out that country based on what I know. If I lived here and could get the horses up there for a few summer scouts, I’m sure I could find a few isolated pockets with bucks, but don’t want to risk my whole scout on that and possibly come up empty.

I’d rather be down here (below about 11,000) feet where at least I know there are bucks. It’s very thick! But hunting with a smokepole, I’m not going to be all that effective in the wide open stuff anyway. There are more roads down here, but some isolated country between the roads. I don't expect to be alone, but if the bucks here, that is the most important.

 

[robby denning]

OK, it's Thursday and I'm on way home. Got 2 days (2 mornings, 2 evenings) scouting in. Didn't turn over a great buck, but did find EXCACT country I'm going to be hunting. The best buck I saw was that mid-upper 20's buck I mentioned above in post #45. I would settle for him but am still going to hunt for better.

It's a total relief to know where I'm going to be hunting. That is the problem with out of state hunting, you could have a great tag but if you don't know where to focus, you waste days, energy, and then the bad phychology starts to creep in: "maybe I should be hunting somewhere else, maybe there is a lion in the area, maybe other hunters got here before I did, blah blah blah, on and on". You're almost done before the hunt gets going if you're thinking those thoughts (trust me, I've made that mistake WAY too many times.)

So by this scout, I narrowed down a big unit to a few square miles, I know where to camp, how to get into the buck country (a great piece of information!), how to access local services (important when you're miles from home), and even found a back-up area if the country I found doesn't pan out; and finally, got to talk to a few locals face-to-face. This last part can really help correct your thinking about a unit. We get so excited as hunters during our long off season, sometimes we create a reality in our heads about an area that isn't right, and that totally sets us up for dissappoinment. Talking to these other hunters can really help you know what to expect once the season rolls around. In nearly 20 years of out of state hunting, the reality is always different than what I expected. Just how it is when you're a stranger in a strange land.

Got to also meet a fellow Rokslider from Grand Junction, Gabe (coloradoultramag) when I came through the Junction last night. He was just heading up the mountian to set some trail cameras (sounds like a Rokslider), but dropped his plans to grab a bite at Boston's. Good conversation on God, bucks, and Colorado!

Thanks Gabe


I've got a little video from the trip I'll try to get up here ASAP.

 

[robby denning]

Rick, thanks for following.

Yip, the thread title is what I'm hoping that I'm doing here. However, reality may be "average" bucks, which if that's the case, I'll eat the tag and just enjoy the hunt (hence the smiley face). The buck mentioned above is better than average by a quite a bit, just hunting for better.

In the least, I'm working this thread so hard (and expensive) because as it says on Rokslide's home page, you will see "how we research, plan, and execute" our hunts.

A big deer would be a bonus!

 

[robby denning]

Before I get the Colorado scouting video up (and reveal an incredible surprise I got right after I returned home), I wanted to get back to accurizing the T/C 209x50 Encore I'm going to use on this hunt.

Here's some video on the trigger job from Bellm's TCs that I just did. I bought the kit from Bellm TCs, a company completely dedicated to accurizing these guns. Great service.
Davinjax from Rokslide referred me to them.

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=562

I also found a company in Grants Pass Oregon
http://www.shotsgunsmithing.com/

who can install these triggers if you don't want to mess with it.

[video=vimeo;47456863]http://vimeo.com/47456863[/video]

 

[robby denning]

Lord willin', I'll get some video edited in next day or so and you all can see not one, but two big unpredicted twists in this thread. Stay tuned, you won't want to miss!
hint on one twist, the thread title says it all!

 

[david long]

C'mon Denning......I want to see that buck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Big tease......

 

[robby denning]

ooooohh, David let the cat out of the bag...
mmmmmmm, wonder what he's talking about?????

 

[belly-deep]

ooooohh, David let the cat out of the bag...
mmmmmmm, wonder what he's talking about?????

Hurry up already!

 

[robby denning]

The wait is over.

As it goes in the real world of hunting, no matter how much we plan, things almost always turn out differently than we thought they would. That is why a big deer hunter (bull, sheep, whatever) has to be adaptable. So twist number one is in the video. How I'm going to miss this much work is going to be a miracle. Hopefully, opening days are very good to me.

"A man's heart plans his way
But the LORD directs his steps,"
Proverbs 16:9

[video=vimeo;47882205]http://vimeo.com/47882205[/video]

 

[Matt Cashell]

Whopper.

Good luck buddy.

 

[Kevin Root]

Cool video update Robby and tips. Close to 190 and 30" wide sounds like an awesome find to me. I'm looking forward to see more of a close up picture of that buck you found come hunting season on the ground posing nicely together with you .

I like the proverbs 16:9 quote too. Hope the opening days to come will lead to a fun and successful hunt for you.

 

[cmeier117]

Nice!

 

[david long]

Nice Robby! You have to be stoked! Good luck!

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Great looking buck Robbie. Hope you get em'!

 

[MOHunter]

In the least, I'm working this thread so hard (and expensive) because as it says on Rokslide's home page, you will see "how we research, plan, and execute" our hunts.

A big deer would be a bonus!

Robby, thanks for all the effort you've put into preparing for your hunt this year. Your record speaks for itself so I watch what you do. Your last video of your trip to CO and buck in ID really helped me and inspired me. The whole scouting process kind of clicked for me after watching it. I was so pumped I went out and watched bucks till I couldn't see anymore last night!

Good luck on the big guy. I can't wait to see him on here again with you a little closer!