Brad1974
FNG
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2024
- Messages
- 67
I just got back from my first ever trip to Wyoming, with my first ever mule deer tag in my pocket. I was hunting a general unit, where pressure is known to be very high and trophy potential is known to be… not so high. After extensive map study, the high desert BLM land area became very intriguing to me and decided to spend my time there instead of the national forest and high country. I chose to avoid the insanity of the October 1st rifle season and try my luck during the September archery season, with the expectation being to have a great time, see a new part of the country, learn a new hunt area, and just get after the bucks the best I can. I mean hunting deer with a bow is way more fun and challenging than with a rifle anyway, right?
We arrived the Friday afternoon before the Monday opener, We drove around, learning the lay of the land, and spotting a few does and fawns, spikes, fork horns, and even a few legal but young and small bucks. There was a 4 point restriction, which helped to reduce to decision making process regarding which bucks to go after. The opener arrived and we glassed every morning for bucks going to bed, then we were on the move glassing for bedded bucks all day, before glassing for bucks coming out in the evenings. The first 3 days were mostly the same spotting a good number of does, fawns, spikes and forky’s with the occasional young 2x3 or 3x3. Day 4 I was able to spot a nice young 4x3 as he snuck into his morning bedding area. I put on a stalk since I was very confident I could get close long before the thermal shift. I was able to get in to about 30 yards from him, searching for his I was never able to get eyes on him because he was well hidden in his cover, and I stepped on a small rick that must have had another rock underneath it, causing a small crunch that although quiet was sufficient to spook him out of his bed and out of my life. Stalk 1 was in the books, and I was able to get pretty close, but the hunt was still on.
Friday morning we glassed a spot and had a close encounter with a great 6 point bull elk with a herd of other smaller bulls and cows, plus the usual several groups of does, fawns, and fork horns. So we moved on and glassed, and moved and glassed, and moved and glassed. Mid day I decided we should go out to some spots I had pinned that were a little further out of the way, closer to the lower deer density areas that are more of a winter range. We glassed and found exactly zero animals. As we were heading back we were in kind of a “dead zone of a few iles between spots I had pinned when I looked over and spotted a small area across a drainage with just enough brush on it to make me think it looked “bucky”. I had my bro stop the jeep and up went my binos. Within 10-15 seconds I spotted a buck that looked to be more substantial than the vast majority of bucks I had seen throughout the trip. Within seconds he disappeared behind a clump of probably three 8 foot tall bushes, and I didn’t see him come back out. We moved the jeep a couple hundred yards to get a different angle, but still no buck. I knew he was in there. I saw a few more bushes in a line just off to the side of the ones the buck was in, and the wind was good. I made the stalk down the nearest drainage, up the other side, which was a quite steep drainage, then worked my way up the hum and creasted the hill with the nearer bushes between me and the buck. I finally ggot here and glassed the bush I thought he was under… no buck. I turned my focus to the next bush over, and spotted some beautiful velvet antler tips protruding from the grass below the bush. I ranged the bushes and estimated 54 yards. I could take that shot, but didn’t really want to. There was one other bush between him and I, and I was able to sneak over there quietly. The range was 30 yards, and with nothing in the way, that was perfect. I set up and remained in the kneeling position, ready to take the shot when he stood up. I could watch those velvety protrusions moving around, and my heart raced. After about 20 minutes or more I saw his antlers dip and disappear. I though he must have gone to sleep and contemplated sneaking over and shooting him in his bed, but quickly decided that was a risky move. Good thing, because a minute or two later his antlers reappeared. Probably a little over a half an hour of staring intently at his fuzzy tips, He began to stand and I drew simultaneously. I released the arrow and with a “Thwack” the buck dropped in his tracks and did some flopping. Regrettably I knew from previous experience that I had hit spine. He was on the other side of the big bushes when I caught a glimpse of the buck attempting to scoot away using his front legs. I quickly moved around the bush as I nocked another arrow, and was able to send a second one through both lungs form probably 10 yards away. I realized what had happened and was pretty emotional. I was able to contact my brother and he brought my frame pack to me so we could begin the pack out. We were able to get the job done and back to the jeep just before the sun went down. It’s crazy to me that had we gotten there seconds earlier or seconds later that I never would have seen him. He was only about 800 yards from a road, but in a place that most would just drive by, and in a bed that made him completely invisible from every angle except the one from where I was able to approach. The trip was going to be considered a success and an enjoyable experience even prior to the grand finale, but before stopping the jeep I had started to believe the chance of tagging a decent buck was going to be unlikely. But the whole trip I remembered all of the second hand experience I gained from listening to podcasts and successful hunters who time and time again talked about how it can all change in just an instant… oh man, were they right .
We arrived the Friday afternoon before the Monday opener, We drove around, learning the lay of the land, and spotting a few does and fawns, spikes, fork horns, and even a few legal but young and small bucks. There was a 4 point restriction, which helped to reduce to decision making process regarding which bucks to go after. The opener arrived and we glassed every morning for bucks going to bed, then we were on the move glassing for bedded bucks all day, before glassing for bucks coming out in the evenings. The first 3 days were mostly the same spotting a good number of does, fawns, spikes and forky’s with the occasional young 2x3 or 3x3. Day 4 I was able to spot a nice young 4x3 as he snuck into his morning bedding area. I put on a stalk since I was very confident I could get close long before the thermal shift. I was able to get in to about 30 yards from him, searching for his I was never able to get eyes on him because he was well hidden in his cover, and I stepped on a small rick that must have had another rock underneath it, causing a small crunch that although quiet was sufficient to spook him out of his bed and out of my life. Stalk 1 was in the books, and I was able to get pretty close, but the hunt was still on.
Friday morning we glassed a spot and had a close encounter with a great 6 point bull elk with a herd of other smaller bulls and cows, plus the usual several groups of does, fawns, and fork horns. So we moved on and glassed, and moved and glassed, and moved and glassed. Mid day I decided we should go out to some spots I had pinned that were a little further out of the way, closer to the lower deer density areas that are more of a winter range. We glassed and found exactly zero animals. As we were heading back we were in kind of a “dead zone of a few iles between spots I had pinned when I looked over and spotted a small area across a drainage with just enough brush on it to make me think it looked “bucky”. I had my bro stop the jeep and up went my binos. Within 10-15 seconds I spotted a buck that looked to be more substantial than the vast majority of bucks I had seen throughout the trip. Within seconds he disappeared behind a clump of probably three 8 foot tall bushes, and I didn’t see him come back out. We moved the jeep a couple hundred yards to get a different angle, but still no buck. I knew he was in there. I saw a few more bushes in a line just off to the side of the ones the buck was in, and the wind was good. I made the stalk down the nearest drainage, up the other side, which was a quite steep drainage, then worked my way up the hum and creasted the hill with the nearer bushes between me and the buck. I finally ggot here and glassed the bush I thought he was under… no buck. I turned my focus to the next bush over, and spotted some beautiful velvet antler tips protruding from the grass below the bush. I ranged the bushes and estimated 54 yards. I could take that shot, but didn’t really want to. There was one other bush between him and I, and I was able to sneak over there quietly. The range was 30 yards, and with nothing in the way, that was perfect. I set up and remained in the kneeling position, ready to take the shot when he stood up. I could watch those velvety protrusions moving around, and my heart raced. After about 20 minutes or more I saw his antlers dip and disappear. I though he must have gone to sleep and contemplated sneaking over and shooting him in his bed, but quickly decided that was a risky move. Good thing, because a minute or two later his antlers reappeared. Probably a little over a half an hour of staring intently at his fuzzy tips, He began to stand and I drew simultaneously. I released the arrow and with a “Thwack” the buck dropped in his tracks and did some flopping. Regrettably I knew from previous experience that I had hit spine. He was on the other side of the big bushes when I caught a glimpse of the buck attempting to scoot away using his front legs. I quickly moved around the bush as I nocked another arrow, and was able to send a second one through both lungs form probably 10 yards away. I realized what had happened and was pretty emotional. I was able to contact my brother and he brought my frame pack to me so we could begin the pack out. We were able to get the job done and back to the jeep just before the sun went down. It’s crazy to me that had we gotten there seconds earlier or seconds later that I never would have seen him. He was only about 800 yards from a road, but in a place that most would just drive by, and in a bed that made him completely invisible from every angle except the one from where I was able to approach. The trip was going to be considered a success and an enjoyable experience even prior to the grand finale, but before stopping the jeep I had started to believe the chance of tagging a decent buck was going to be unlikely. But the whole trip I remembered all of the second hand experience I gained from listening to podcasts and successful hunters who time and time again talked about how it can all change in just an instant… oh man, were they right .
