Robby Denning's Colorado Muzzleloader Hunt

[Cindy Wamsley]

Go get em Robby! Thanks for posting Jodi.

 

[Madnik]

Best of luck and thanks for sharing! I'm looking forward to the pics and videos. - M

 

[robby denning]

Here I is. Thanks for posting Jodi.
I barely have reception up here, so Jodi is trying to help between soccer and football games. Keep her encouraged so she posts for us! (she accepts cash or credit )

Got out at first light and hiked in about a mile to where I'd scouted those bucks in early August. I was thrilled when I started glassing and could pick bucks out of the quakie jungle in the half-light of dawn. I found 5 bucks on the same ridge as before. Hard to say if they were the same ones, but at least I'm in the buck country.
Two of them were mature bucks in the 24-26" range. They never left the cover. The three smaller bucks did leave the cover and crossed the sage at about 200 yards from me. If you followed the muzz thread this hunt started on, remember that I did see a good (not great) buck here that was probably 26-28". That is who I'm hoping to see or a better one.

There was one other hunter on the ridge and he said he was stalking a buck, but he pulled out about 9:00, so must've lost him in the cover. I saw about 5 elk hunters, two of them archery. So really, not too bad for hunter densities. Definitely nothing like 3rd rifle season when there is a camp in every bend in the road. Hunted till about 11.

The bucks are rubbing, some still in velvet, though. Here's a small rub

Feels great to be on the mountain and seeing bucks! We'll see what the week brings. Thanks to my great wife for filling in the gaps.

Also, as an interesting side note, if you followed my Nevada scouting thread back in late July, my company did a scouting package for a NV Muzzleloader hunter. That season opens Monday, and he went down early to see if he could locate the bucks I'd scouted. While I was hiking back to camp, he sent a pic to my phone of a digiscoped 180 good-lookin' buck he saw this morning in the same canyon I'd found those good bucks in. He's sooo excited for Monday. Scouting works! (most of the time)

here is that NV buck from this morning. Isn't technology amazing!
Hope to find one like that in Colorado.

 

[robby denning]

[video=vimeo;49081120]http://vimeo.com/49081120[/video]

 

[Jodi]

11 am Bucks are in the cover till evening. They are exactly where I scouted them in August!

 

[Jodi]

[video=vimeo;49037248]http://vimeo.com/49037248[/video]

love this one, Robby

 

[VANDAL]

Hope that road construction into Colorado clears by the time my 3rd season hunt comes around.

Good luck and shoot straight

 

[Jodi]

Out for evening hunt. Shadows getting long. Hoping bucks get up before dark. Zero hunters where these bucks are for now. Going to sit on ridge where they headed this morn. Forgot gun sling at home. made one out of rope, wire, and tape- A real beauty.
Robby

 

[Jodi]

On top. 30 min before sunrise. Trying to catch bucks out of cover. No hunters here , so far.
Robby

 

[Jodi]

"Saw eight medium to small bucks this morning. 10:20, bucks are bedded. Backing out. Only one hunter so far in here. Lost my waterproof gloves. Enjoying the hunt. " From Robby

 

[Jodi]

"Alone in the hills, a man finds music in his head a comfort and a past time. Trivia: Who knows REAL country music? What song/artist sings these lines?: 'Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys, off to my left ride a dozen or more.....'. The winner wins!"

 

[NEhunter]

El Paso, Marty Robbins

 

[coloradoultramag]

Good luck RD!

 

[Jodi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3JB51NH_M

NEhunter. You are the winner!

 

[robby denning]

NEhunter, you either know your country music, which I suspect, or you know Google. Thanks for playing
PS, one of my favorite songs.

looks like the good wife filled everybody in my hunt today above in quotes. I'm uploading some pics now and will post again.

Sorry not as exciting as Aron's thread- yet-

Good job Aron and guys. I had time to check your thread and there is blood everywhere!

 

[robby denning]

Coloradoultramag- good to hear from you. You're right, lots of muzz elk hunters, but honestly it hasn't been bad. Only one other deer hunter so far. Everyone is smarter than me to hunt bucks with a smokepole in September in the quakies!

 

[robby denning]

Today I was up at 5:30, on glassing ridge by first light. There were more bucks on the ridge today. I was pussyfooting along in the half-light glassing the hill below me as it came into view with each step. Soon I picked out 5 bucks. I ranged them at 130 yards, which is long striking distance, but doable. I dared only peer over the tall grass separating us and nervously glassed for antlers. Nervous because these bucks are in the same place as that good buck I’d seen last month. Some are likely the bucks he was with.

It took about 2 minutes, but I could tell the best buck was about 22” with the rest being smaller. I stayed put in case I couldn’t see all the deer, but a bigger buck never showed. I glassed up 3 other bucks by sunrise, but none over 5x5 22”.

I hunted till 10, and then I hiked out the two miles to the truck. It’s Sunday, so I’m going to rest up and not hunt tonight. Recharge a little, tidy up camp, take a solar shower, call my family, and just be ready for what might be a very long week. I can hunt until the 16th, Lord willin’, so I have to be prepared for that.

If you’ve followed my threads, I’ve been on the road for almost 4 of the last 6 weeks scouting and hunting. Between travels, I’ve had to keep up with the regular jobs I have and family, so to say the least- I’m tired! God took a day of rest so I certainly should, too. That’s why you’re getting a longer post today. I hope I don’t bore you. Now let’s talk about big buck hunting!

My daddy was a big deer hunter (still is at heart!) and he taught me that you really need a good camp you can relax and recharge in. He taught me that you can’t just survive while hunting, but need to be able to rest, warm up, cool down, eat well- whatever- if you’re going to be effective on big deer. Big deer take time to kill and if you are beating yourself to death on the hunt, you will only make it a few days and soon you’ll be hunting ineffectively or not hunting at all.

Dad also taught me you have to enjoy the hunt, or you’ll give up too soon. When most guys see my camps, whether it be a high-country camp miles in, or a road camp, they are amazed at how comfortable they are. They have to be. I’ve hunted some bucks as many as 15 days and it was the camp that allowed me to hunt like that. I’m no superhero, and if I can’t get rested up and eat well, I’ll be off the mountain faster than you can say Burger King.

Oh yea, I took my sling off at the range sessions this summer and forget to reinstall it. So… with a little redneck ingenuity, some wire, tape, and rope, I’m good to go. You all better get your order in, once Cabela’s gets the contract, you’ll pay triple.

Temp guage on my solar shower, today after two hours in the September sun. Took a hot shower for sure! Can’t be smelly for the bucks.

 

[robby denning]

[video=vimeo;49129222]http://vimeo.com/49129222[/video]

 

[robby denning]

Up at 4:45 so I could come in a different way and see more country. Crept in about 60 minutes before sunrise and as I got within 150 yards of where I wanted to be, spooked a lone small 4 pt. I immediately backed out and figured I’d hunt somewhere else as I can’t be spooking those deer or the big one will never show.

Then about sunrise, another hunter walked up behind me and asked if I’d seen the bucks as he pointed to the area I’d just left. I said I’d spooked a 4 point so I backed out. He immediately headed for the area and last I saw him he was skylined and moving like a bull moose. Those bucks are gone for a few days…

I hope you all don’t mind my long posts. I’m just trying to give you a feel for what it’s like to be here and what I’m thinking. I’ve hunted big mule deer almost exclusively for 22 years and hope to share some of what I’ve learned in that time to help you be more successful if a big mule deer is what you’re after. There are nine ways to skin a cat and almost that many ways to kill a big deer. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned and hope it doesn’t come across as “know-it-all”. Believe me, I have much to learn.

Big deer hunting this time of year can be pretty boring. Whenever I hunt with someone who’s new to it, they are surprised at how short the hunting time is and how long the days are. Why? Basically if you’re hunting deer in and around the cover (where by the way many of the big bucks live), they have all the advantages: hard to see, abundant feed, no need to travel far, and ample bedding/hiding cover. Couple this with their winter coats coming in (all the bucks are gray now, 2 weeks ago, most were reddish/tan) and warm weather, and the rut still 7 weeks away, the bucks just aren’t all that active now.

I only have about a good hour in the morning to spot bucks then maybe an hour or so to figure out where they are headed. That bigger buck is likely right here somewhere but since bucks like that behave totally different than these young bucks, catching him out of the cover will be tough. Going in the cover blind will be about as productive as lighting firecrackers at first light.

I know that these smaller bucks could lead me to him, though, and is why I’m so careful not to spook them. My good friend killed an awesome 33” buck on the Uncompahgre Plateau with a muzzleloader years back by paying attention to smaller bucks in the area that eventually led him to the giant. In 2003, I killed my widest buck to date –a 36” 7x7—by watching bucks in the cover. I’ve learned to never ignore other deer.

If you followed the bowhunt last week with Cindy Wamsley, we used the same tactic of watching and waiting and paying attention to the other deer in the area. Although we never killed one of those good bucks, I can say that we did not pollute the area by spooking them or lots of other deer. Up until the day we left, we were still seeing them daily. We just needed more time.

Same tactic here but I can be a little more aggressive with a muzzleloader than with a bow as I have another 75 yards I can play with, which is quite a bit. For example, on the bowhunt, unless we see the buck bed, our chances of intercepting him are very very low for reasons I spoke about in that thread.

However, with the muzzleloader effective to about 125 yards, I stand a little better chance of catching these bucks on the move. Two nights ago, I stalked in to their last known location on a steep open ridge about 1 hour before sunset and sat down in front of a bush to hide my silhouette. I had about 150 yard circle I could see and if they would have come out AND the big buck would have been with them, I may have gotten lucky. With archery, you just don’t have that advantage and is why I focus on bedding the bucks then stalking in. If I can’t bed them, I’m better off to back out and watch from a distance in the evening so I can plan the morning hunt.

Cindy and I never hunted in the evening, just scouted/glassed from a distance. This time of year in this type of country, the bucks usually only leave the cover right at dark and with a bow, you just can’t do much.

Some of you know that bucks get up throughout the day to feed, pee, change beds, whatever. I agree, but unless you’re in wide-open country like high country or low desert sage country, it’s tough to glass bucks at midday unless you know where in the cover they bed. I’m hoping for that chance, because with a muzzleloader you have half a chance of creeping into that bedding area, without knowing exactly where the buck is bedded, and get a shot if he stands. Also, creeping around in a bedding area is a good way to spook your buck and he often doesn’t stop when he gets up. With a muzzleloader, I might get a bullet in him, but with a bow, no chance.

So there you all go, my tactics for the week. Of course I’m ready to shoot one from the road, too, if the chance so presents itself

Someone asked about my sight system. Here it is:

That is the XS Ghost Ring with the Williams Long Shank threaded peep. They are interchangeable according to lighting conditions. Installed is the 0.090 but I also carry the 0.050 for bright conditions. Removing the peep leaves the ghost ring which probably measures 0.20 for really low light.

This is what I see approximately. The camera is close so you can see through the 0.090 peep. When my cheek is on the stock, I can only see the white post. Aim point is off the top of the post. Man I’d love to see the front shoulder of a big muley in that view!

Rain is on the way. Hopefully I can keep my powder dry.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Loving the long posts Robby and trying to retain those little pearls of wisdom that only experience can really teach. Keep it up and thanks again! I totally agree with a comfortable camp and being able to recharge so you don't burn yourself out...

Mike