This was a quick hunt... With a huge workload and our baby boy, I only had three days for this hunt...
The hunt was over the weekend and I had to be back to work on Monday, so with the Friday opener fast approaching, I set off to new ground anticipating some quality time behind my new set of KOWA Highlanders... AWESOME glass by the way!
Day one brought lots of electrical storms with heavy rain... Scared the daylights out of me a couple times when the flash was followed by a crack with less than a two count! Less than half a mile away... It was time to get in the truck several times... I'm a sissy when it comes to that stuff... I'm not so fond of the idea of being struck!
First day we spotted 33 does and 6 bucks, none were anything to speak of... Learning a unit with crash course speed is not the best thing I would recommend, however, these were the cards I was dealt and was just happy to be afield
Day two was more of the same... Lot's of driving and hiking with more deer spotted... Had a good 180 class deer spotted but he disappeared into the PJ's to bed and could never be picked up again... I never realized how thick Nevada's PJ country really is! One minute you see them and poof... GONE! lol...
Last day we headed out, went to a different area high above the valley floor around 10,000 ft. plus and we spotted a ton of deer... Around 28 bucks in about 2 hours... After looking the groups over, onegroup had a couple deer with great frames on them... Time to get moving I thought!
With the clock around 8 AM and at minimum a 3.5 mile stalk out several basins, I eagerly flipped my pack over my back, grabbed my bow and set off to see if I could make my luck!
Over an hour later, I was finally in striking distance of the 7 bucks, two of which were shooters with my time constraints... one was a 3X3 about 28' wide with two 4" cheaters coming off the G-2's and a 160 ish mainframe... The other was a 26" 4X4 with a rally heavy heavy frame in about the mid 170's to 180...
Finally bedded up 300 yards in to he sage basin, I carefully stalked around the backside of the opposite ridge line and came up over the top of them. The wind was in my face and coming uphill sustained. I slowly stalked into 52 yards with the camera and my bow... I cleared a few rocks from around my feet to get a good stance and nocked an arrow. I took a few pictures through the bino's, filmed a little and ranged the big 4 point several times confirming the 52 yard 40 degree angled shot...
There always comes a time when you just have to get up the nerve and say it's now or never! As I picked up my bow and stood up, the cheater buck and a small three point looked up at me but couldn't figure what I was, as I was partially obscured by sage... I drew, settled my pin and pulled through the shot, releasing on of the cleanest shot's of all my hunting days... The shot hit mid vitals exiting his off side pit pocket... His heart was punched and he dropped 30 yards from the shot... All the other bucks just jumped a few feet away and only ran off when they saw their buddy drop.
The buck ended up going A$$ over tea kettle about 100 yards before coming to rest... His velvet got shredded from the fall but he came away okay... When I walked up to him, He was just as good as I thought and heavier than I thought... His green gross is in the 170 range, likely net high 160's, I'm sure he will shrink a little as he was still a bit soft on the tips but he is a stud in my book and I feel blessed to have taken such a great buck in only 3 days!
The pack out was a long one and I sure felt out of shape! Thanks to my buddy Trev for pointing me in the right direction and Josh both for their help on this hunt! It sure was good to be out in God's country... I am glad to be home though... I missed my Wife and Son terribly, so it was great to get back home quick and still pack in a fantastic hunt! I hope you enjoyed the story and good luck to you all this season...
The hunt was over the weekend and I had to be back to work on Monday, so with the Friday opener fast approaching, I set off to new ground anticipating some quality time behind my new set of KOWA Highlanders... AWESOME glass by the way!
Day one brought lots of electrical storms with heavy rain... Scared the daylights out of me a couple times when the flash was followed by a crack with less than a two count! Less than half a mile away... It was time to get in the truck several times... I'm a sissy when it comes to that stuff... I'm not so fond of the idea of being struck!
First day we spotted 33 does and 6 bucks, none were anything to speak of... Learning a unit with crash course speed is not the best thing I would recommend, however, these were the cards I was dealt and was just happy to be afield
Day two was more of the same... Lot's of driving and hiking with more deer spotted... Had a good 180 class deer spotted but he disappeared into the PJ's to bed and could never be picked up again... I never realized how thick Nevada's PJ country really is! One minute you see them and poof... GONE! lol...
Last day we headed out, went to a different area high above the valley floor around 10,000 ft. plus and we spotted a ton of deer... Around 28 bucks in about 2 hours... After looking the groups over, onegroup had a couple deer with great frames on them... Time to get moving I thought!
With the clock around 8 AM and at minimum a 3.5 mile stalk out several basins, I eagerly flipped my pack over my back, grabbed my bow and set off to see if I could make my luck!
Over an hour later, I was finally in striking distance of the 7 bucks, two of which were shooters with my time constraints... one was a 3X3 about 28' wide with two 4" cheaters coming off the G-2's and a 160 ish mainframe... The other was a 26" 4X4 with a rally heavy heavy frame in about the mid 170's to 180...
Finally bedded up 300 yards in to he sage basin, I carefully stalked around the backside of the opposite ridge line and came up over the top of them. The wind was in my face and coming uphill sustained. I slowly stalked into 52 yards with the camera and my bow... I cleared a few rocks from around my feet to get a good stance and nocked an arrow. I took a few pictures through the bino's, filmed a little and ranged the big 4 point several times confirming the 52 yard 40 degree angled shot...
There always comes a time when you just have to get up the nerve and say it's now or never! As I picked up my bow and stood up, the cheater buck and a small three point looked up at me but couldn't figure what I was, as I was partially obscured by sage... I drew, settled my pin and pulled through the shot, releasing on of the cleanest shot's of all my hunting days... The shot hit mid vitals exiting his off side pit pocket... His heart was punched and he dropped 30 yards from the shot... All the other bucks just jumped a few feet away and only ran off when they saw their buddy drop.
The buck ended up going A$$ over tea kettle about 100 yards before coming to rest... His velvet got shredded from the fall but he came away okay... When I walked up to him, He was just as good as I thought and heavier than I thought... His green gross is in the 170 range, likely net high 160's, I'm sure he will shrink a little as he was still a bit soft on the tips but he is a stud in my book and I feel blessed to have taken such a great buck in only 3 days!
The pack out was a long one and I sure felt out of shape! Thanks to my buddy Trev for pointing me in the right direction and Josh both for their help on this hunt! It sure was good to be out in God's country... I am glad to be home though... I missed my Wife and Son terribly, so it was great to get back home quick and still pack in a fantastic hunt! I hope you enjoyed the story and good luck to you all this season...
