MountainMan83
FNG
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2022
- Messages
- 78
Yesterday I went out for a 4th season mule deer doe hunt. First thing in the morning only a few hundred yards into my hike I spot a doe bedded down - too good to be true which proved to be the case. It took me a minute to confidently identify the doe 150 yards away as I was unsure if she was a tree stump or an actual deer. She must of caught my movement as she stood up and bounced a few yards away and out of sight. I slid over to another opening in front of the direction she was traveling to see if I could get another look and potential shot. She popped right in the opening and I tried to line up a shot using my trekking poles as a bipod. I take a shot and thought it was a good hit, but upon getting up to where I had last seen the doe my 'too good to be true' scenario turned into a hunter's nightmare. A massive splat of green lay on the ground - my first gut shot.
The amount of guts and hair where I shot her was pretty extensive and looked like she was pretty hurt. I sit down to have some snacks and give it a couple hours. I pick up her tracks and find a little bit of blood - not a lot but consistent every couple feet. The tracks are headed deeper into public land, but after a 150 yards or so she decided to head up and make a U-turn directly onto some neighboring private property. I hiked out and drove around to try to go talk knock on the neighbors door but the property gate was littered with signs of "NO trespassing". I tried to connect with some neighbors to see if they had contact info but no one answers.
I head home completely distraught. I get online and find a neighbors address, and phone number. I give them a call and they informed me they did not know their neighbor well other than providing me with their name and an alternative address. Another google search and I get a phone number. I leave a message but after a couple hours of no return call, I decided to go to their former address. A new home owner informed me he thought the previous owners moved out of the country - great {sarcasm}! I head home unsure what to do, so I called Colorado Parks & Wildlife to let them know of the situation. The wildlife officer let me know he could not go on or give me permission to go on their land without their permission - totally understandable. Nothing I could do but wait - 2:30am I get a call from the land owner and I answer. He asks some basic questions and grants me permission!!!!
First thing this morning I went back in and found my doe down not far from where her tracks left public. I do the gutless method and the meat seems to be in fair condition, minus some meat loss due to the crows helping themselves to deer breakfast. On my way out I was stopped by the a wildlife officer who congratulated me on my deer and doing things the right way.
Lessons learned: 1) Take your time with your shot - I feel like I could have been more steady when taking my shot but felt rushed since the doe appeared to be leaving. That being said, it wasn't worth it, and next time I would be more sure of my shot before taking it. 2) Give it time - I thought there was no way she had made it too far due to the extensive damage, but looking back I probably should have come back later in the evening. Maybe she would not have made it as far and I could have potentially pushed her onto private. 3) Always do the right thing. I was glad I knew better than to trespass on private property and do as much work as possible to identify and contact the land owner. It not only felt good to be able to harvest the meat from that doe, but also that I followed the appropriate steps to legally retrieve it. Very grateful for the meat I was able to bring home to my family!
The amount of guts and hair where I shot her was pretty extensive and looked like she was pretty hurt. I sit down to have some snacks and give it a couple hours. I pick up her tracks and find a little bit of blood - not a lot but consistent every couple feet. The tracks are headed deeper into public land, but after a 150 yards or so she decided to head up and make a U-turn directly onto some neighboring private property. I hiked out and drove around to try to go talk knock on the neighbors door but the property gate was littered with signs of "NO trespassing". I tried to connect with some neighbors to see if they had contact info but no one answers.
I head home completely distraught. I get online and find a neighbors address, and phone number. I give them a call and they informed me they did not know their neighbor well other than providing me with their name and an alternative address. Another google search and I get a phone number. I leave a message but after a couple hours of no return call, I decided to go to their former address. A new home owner informed me he thought the previous owners moved out of the country - great {sarcasm}! I head home unsure what to do, so I called Colorado Parks & Wildlife to let them know of the situation. The wildlife officer let me know he could not go on or give me permission to go on their land without their permission - totally understandable. Nothing I could do but wait - 2:30am I get a call from the land owner and I answer. He asks some basic questions and grants me permission!!!!
First thing this morning I went back in and found my doe down not far from where her tracks left public. I do the gutless method and the meat seems to be in fair condition, minus some meat loss due to the crows helping themselves to deer breakfast. On my way out I was stopped by the a wildlife officer who congratulated me on my deer and doing things the right way.
Lessons learned: 1) Take your time with your shot - I feel like I could have been more steady when taking my shot but felt rushed since the doe appeared to be leaving. That being said, it wasn't worth it, and next time I would be more sure of my shot before taking it. 2) Give it time - I thought there was no way she had made it too far due to the extensive damage, but looking back I probably should have come back later in the evening. Maybe she would not have made it as far and I could have potentially pushed her onto private. 3) Always do the right thing. I was glad I knew better than to trespass on private property and do as much work as possible to identify and contact the land owner. It not only felt good to be able to harvest the meat from that doe, but also that I followed the appropriate steps to legally retrieve it. Very grateful for the meat I was able to bring home to my family!
