mcr-85
WKR
The dates were looking good for Colorado this year. Unfortunately the weather didn't do what we had hoped. It was warm. It was in the 20s at night and up to 55 or 60 in the day. The deer were bedding by 9:30 or 10:00 most days and they weren't congregated like they usually are for 3rd season. It was a tough hunt and we didn't turn up the bucks we had hoped for but it was a fun hunt. I did glass up one big buck with a 6"-7" drop tine and matching 4"-5" cheaters off his G3s the morning before the hunt started. I never could turn him up again.
My buddy killed first. We were on a good buck the night before on the edge of some private. We ran out of light and my brother in law didn't get a shot. We were headed back into that area the next morning and were running a little late. It was already light when we left the truck on the ranger. This buck came across the road and my buddy decided he was going to shoot him. I ranged him at 306 and then the buck turned and started running away. One shot with his 300 RUM shooting the 200 grain ELD-X and he was done.
The next day we went into the same area and hiked out to a big canyon and glassed for the morning. I glassed up a decent buck a couple miles away and we thought we bedded him in a patch of trees. We hiked back out and drove around the other side of the canyon to where the buck was supposed to be. My buddy's cousin and my brother in law stayed high and I went low to glass. We never spotted the buck we saw that morning but about 30 minutes before dark a buck came out with some does in the private about 300 yards from public ground. I got some video from about a mile away then decided to hike up to see if anything else came out. I couldn't see my buddy, his cousin or my brother in law. I got about 300 yards from the top of the hill and I heard the first shot. I looked up and seen them set up on that buck. A couple does came out on public and the buck ran down the hill and jumped the fence. My buddy's cousin was able to take him right before dark.
The next day I was hoping to find a decent buck. I hadn't seen anything that I wanted to shoot yet and it was my birthday and I wanted to shoot something. I decided that I wanted to go back up in the high country to see if we could find a buck up there. That is where I glassed the big buck up the week before. One of our buddys from home drove out the night before to come up to hunt with us. He didn't have a tag but wanted to come hang out. We got up early and hiked in about 45 minutes to glass a big canyon. My buddy that just got there glassed up my buck pushing some does. I said I'd probably shoot him and that I just wanted to watch him for a bit. We watched him for about 2 minutes and then the sun came over the hill and we couldn't see anything in our optics looking East. We just sat there and waited for the sun to get higher to where we could glass more. I figured he had bedded somewhere in the thick trees and if we stayed there he'd come out or we'd glass him bedded somewhere in there. We started picking up does bedded down and a couple moving around. It was about 1:00 when I found my buck again. I had the Kaibab 20s on a tripod and finally found him coming down a cut towards the bottom of the canyon where a few does were bedded. I got my two buddies on him and moved over to my gun. I got a range on him at 725 yards and dialed up. He was walking behind a big pine and was going to come into a clearing. I told them I was going to shoot him when he got into the clearing. As soon as I had a full broadside shot I took the shot. My buddy spotted the shot and called it high. The buck moved into some thick trees and I couldn't see him anymore. We watched the video from the phoneskope and I shot about 6" high. I got back behind the binos and started picking the hillside apart. My buddy found the buck again about 50 yards higher than when I shot in some thick quakies. It was about 10 minutes after the first shot. I went back to the gun and got on him. I checked my correction on my scope and everything was correct, I had just pulled the shot and missed before. The buck started walking down the hill back to the same clearing. I told them again, when he gets in the clearing I'm going to take him. He was headed left into the clearing but turned straight downhill and kept coming down. He turned right into another clearing facing straight downhill. I put the crosshairs on the middle of his shoulders and touched it off. I watched his front end buckle and he flipped down the hill. I hit him on the crease of the neck and shoulder. My 270 WSM with the 170 Berger hammered him and he was done. I figured him to be around 710 yards after he came down the hill a bit from when I ranged him at 725. That one was our longest packout. We got ahold of my brother in law and he came up from the bottom as far as he could with a truck but we had to pack him about 2-1/2 miles.
The next day we were focused on getting my brother in law a buck. He had the last tag. We glassed all morning and turned up a bunch of does. No bucks. He decided to go high again fore the afternoon and evening. I told them I'd go low and glass up and they'd glass from the top down. I hadn't seen a deer yet and then I heard a shot. I turned the binos onto my brother in law and heard another shot. I sat and watched him. I seen him shoot another shot then heard it a few seconds later. My buddy got on the radio and said we were done. I grabbed my stuff and started hiking over to help with the packout. I wasn't sure where the buck was so I got on the radio when I was getting close and asked if they were at the buck yet. My buddy said they were still sitting there because a few minutes after he killed the buck, a 180" type buck came out of the pines and came right under them at 60 yards and they had been watching it. I met up with them a few minutes later and we got pics and packed his buck out. My brother in law just built a 270 WSM and he is shooting up what I have left of the Matrix 165s.
It was a fun hunt. I wish we would have had better weather for hunting but you couldn't beat the weather for camping. We ended up going 4 for 4 in 4 days.
Also, a little plug for my buddy's cousin. Cade is the owner of Triclawps. That is the rifle rest you see in a couple pics. They are pretty neat rests. I didn't use one this trip but I have used my buddy's before. Check them out.
My buddy killed first. We were on a good buck the night before on the edge of some private. We ran out of light and my brother in law didn't get a shot. We were headed back into that area the next morning and were running a little late. It was already light when we left the truck on the ranger. This buck came across the road and my buddy decided he was going to shoot him. I ranged him at 306 and then the buck turned and started running away. One shot with his 300 RUM shooting the 200 grain ELD-X and he was done.
The next day we went into the same area and hiked out to a big canyon and glassed for the morning. I glassed up a decent buck a couple miles away and we thought we bedded him in a patch of trees. We hiked back out and drove around the other side of the canyon to where the buck was supposed to be. My buddy's cousin and my brother in law stayed high and I went low to glass. We never spotted the buck we saw that morning but about 30 minutes before dark a buck came out with some does in the private about 300 yards from public ground. I got some video from about a mile away then decided to hike up to see if anything else came out. I couldn't see my buddy, his cousin or my brother in law. I got about 300 yards from the top of the hill and I heard the first shot. I looked up and seen them set up on that buck. A couple does came out on public and the buck ran down the hill and jumped the fence. My buddy's cousin was able to take him right before dark.
The next day I was hoping to find a decent buck. I hadn't seen anything that I wanted to shoot yet and it was my birthday and I wanted to shoot something. I decided that I wanted to go back up in the high country to see if we could find a buck up there. That is where I glassed the big buck up the week before. One of our buddys from home drove out the night before to come up to hunt with us. He didn't have a tag but wanted to come hang out. We got up early and hiked in about 45 minutes to glass a big canyon. My buddy that just got there glassed up my buck pushing some does. I said I'd probably shoot him and that I just wanted to watch him for a bit. We watched him for about 2 minutes and then the sun came over the hill and we couldn't see anything in our optics looking East. We just sat there and waited for the sun to get higher to where we could glass more. I figured he had bedded somewhere in the thick trees and if we stayed there he'd come out or we'd glass him bedded somewhere in there. We started picking up does bedded down and a couple moving around. It was about 1:00 when I found my buck again. I had the Kaibab 20s on a tripod and finally found him coming down a cut towards the bottom of the canyon where a few does were bedded. I got my two buddies on him and moved over to my gun. I got a range on him at 725 yards and dialed up. He was walking behind a big pine and was going to come into a clearing. I told them I was going to shoot him when he got into the clearing. As soon as I had a full broadside shot I took the shot. My buddy spotted the shot and called it high. The buck moved into some thick trees and I couldn't see him anymore. We watched the video from the phoneskope and I shot about 6" high. I got back behind the binos and started picking the hillside apart. My buddy found the buck again about 50 yards higher than when I shot in some thick quakies. It was about 10 minutes after the first shot. I went back to the gun and got on him. I checked my correction on my scope and everything was correct, I had just pulled the shot and missed before. The buck started walking down the hill back to the same clearing. I told them again, when he gets in the clearing I'm going to take him. He was headed left into the clearing but turned straight downhill and kept coming down. He turned right into another clearing facing straight downhill. I put the crosshairs on the middle of his shoulders and touched it off. I watched his front end buckle and he flipped down the hill. I hit him on the crease of the neck and shoulder. My 270 WSM with the 170 Berger hammered him and he was done. I figured him to be around 710 yards after he came down the hill a bit from when I ranged him at 725. That one was our longest packout. We got ahold of my brother in law and he came up from the bottom as far as he could with a truck but we had to pack him about 2-1/2 miles.
The next day we were focused on getting my brother in law a buck. He had the last tag. We glassed all morning and turned up a bunch of does. No bucks. He decided to go high again fore the afternoon and evening. I told them I'd go low and glass up and they'd glass from the top down. I hadn't seen a deer yet and then I heard a shot. I turned the binos onto my brother in law and heard another shot. I sat and watched him. I seen him shoot another shot then heard it a few seconds later. My buddy got on the radio and said we were done. I grabbed my stuff and started hiking over to help with the packout. I wasn't sure where the buck was so I got on the radio when I was getting close and asked if they were at the buck yet. My buddy said they were still sitting there because a few minutes after he killed the buck, a 180" type buck came out of the pines and came right under them at 60 yards and they had been watching it. I met up with them a few minutes later and we got pics and packed his buck out. My brother in law just built a 270 WSM and he is shooting up what I have left of the Matrix 165s.
It was a fun hunt. I wish we would have had better weather for hunting but you couldn't beat the weather for camping. We ended up going 4 for 4 in 4 days.
Also, a little plug for my buddy's cousin. Cade is the owner of Triclawps. That is the rifle rest you see in a couple pics. They are pretty neat rests. I didn't use one this trip but I have used my buddy's before. Check them out.
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