- Banned
- #1
Newtosavage
WKR
I've been going to Colorado to hunt elk for the past 4 seasons. Always got close but either couldn't close the deal or more often - I had the wrong tag in my pocket. But I sure learned a lot in those years and I helped my buddy locate and then pack out his 6x6 last year. Every year I was gaining more experience and confidence, but it still wasn't happening for me.
One thing I learned was that a big part of why I go is for the solitude. Being with my amazing wife since I was 18, working for 30 years since college and raising 3 kids doesn't leave a guy a lot of "alone" time, and I realized how much I missed that after my first week of solo scouting in the mountains a few years ago.
This year I wanted to see if I could change my luck by going solo for mule deer instead of taking a buddy with me after elk. I love my buddies but always left Colorado feeling like I had done a lot of work for them because I wanted to make sure they had a good experience. But this year was my turn. I'm a die-hard meat hunter, but I will admit I've always admired the way mule deer antlers look. Plus, I figured I could get a mule deer out of a canyon by myself, but I wasn't going to get an elk out of a canyon by myself. So I committed to a solo hunt and pulled a 2nd season mule deer tag off the leftover list.
As I usually do, I arrived 5 days before the opener with the plan of finding a good base camp location, glassing a ton, and laying eyes on a few legal animals before the shooting began. On Wednesday of last week, I saw this guy stand up out of his bed mid-day in an aspen grove (the one behind me in the pics) and then casually walk off. Not seeing anything better during my scouting, I made this buck #1 on the hit list and made a plan to be on my way to that aspen grove 2 hours before sunrise on Saturday.
I saw a few other bucks during my scouting week and had two other great backup locations figured out. I also walked up on a dandy black bear who was standing up 100 yards from me looking over the same meadow I was glassing. He never saw me and we just stood there looking over that meadow together for about 5 minutes. That was a cool experience but I didn't opt for the bear tag and I have no regrets. It was enough for me just to watch him for a while - especially that close.
I know this is probably a "dink" for all you who grew up chasing muleys, but it's a trophy to this flatlander. A wise man once said "never pass on the first day that which you'd shoot on the last day" and when he showed himself, I didn't hesitate. Not to mention the nasty weather that I knew was on the way - a great motivator to get meat in the cooler and break camp. It was 92 degrees when I left my home last Monday, 13 degrees when I left the truck Saturday morning, and it will be 92 again today back home. I think I was wearing everything I own while sitting there for an hour waiting for the sun to come up! But it was all worth it.
I ended up finding him right where the mature sage meets the aspen, just like several here had suggested on a previous thread I had started. So thanks to all of you who offered your advice! And a big THANK YOU to all those who contribute here - I have learned a ton on this forum and I'm sure I'll continue to learn more. Hopefully I can return some of those favors too!
![IMG_1732[1].JPG](https://forumdata.rokslide.com/file/forumdata/data/attachments/99/99697-63516c42d190eb418c26a30fde145fac.jpg "IMG_1732[1].JPG")
One thing I learned was that a big part of why I go is for the solitude. Being with my amazing wife since I was 18, working for 30 years since college and raising 3 kids doesn't leave a guy a lot of "alone" time, and I realized how much I missed that after my first week of solo scouting in the mountains a few years ago.
This year I wanted to see if I could change my luck by going solo for mule deer instead of taking a buddy with me after elk. I love my buddies but always left Colorado feeling like I had done a lot of work for them because I wanted to make sure they had a good experience. But this year was my turn. I'm a die-hard meat hunter, but I will admit I've always admired the way mule deer antlers look. Plus, I figured I could get a mule deer out of a canyon by myself, but I wasn't going to get an elk out of a canyon by myself. So I committed to a solo hunt and pulled a 2nd season mule deer tag off the leftover list.
As I usually do, I arrived 5 days before the opener with the plan of finding a good base camp location, glassing a ton, and laying eyes on a few legal animals before the shooting began. On Wednesday of last week, I saw this guy stand up out of his bed mid-day in an aspen grove (the one behind me in the pics) and then casually walk off. Not seeing anything better during my scouting, I made this buck #1 on the hit list and made a plan to be on my way to that aspen grove 2 hours before sunrise on Saturday.
I saw a few other bucks during my scouting week and had two other great backup locations figured out. I also walked up on a dandy black bear who was standing up 100 yards from me looking over the same meadow I was glassing. He never saw me and we just stood there looking over that meadow together for about 5 minutes. That was a cool experience but I didn't opt for the bear tag and I have no regrets. It was enough for me just to watch him for a while - especially that close.
I know this is probably a "dink" for all you who grew up chasing muleys, but it's a trophy to this flatlander. A wise man once said "never pass on the first day that which you'd shoot on the last day" and when he showed himself, I didn't hesitate. Not to mention the nasty weather that I knew was on the way - a great motivator to get meat in the cooler and break camp. It was 92 degrees when I left my home last Monday, 13 degrees when I left the truck Saturday morning, and it will be 92 again today back home. I think I was wearing everything I own while sitting there for an hour waiting for the sun to come up! But it was all worth it.
I ended up finding him right where the mature sage meets the aspen, just like several here had suggested on a previous thread I had started. So thanks to all of you who offered your advice! And a big THANK YOU to all those who contribute here - I have learned a ton on this forum and I'm sure I'll continue to learn more. Hopefully I can return some of those favors too!
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