Muzzy 15
- Thread starter ColoradoV
- Start date
- Oct 4, 2011
- 820
- 939
I have been having a great time living at 11 800 ft living in a tipi and spike camping from there! It has been absolutely beautiful first few days to be in the high country or very warm during the day while temps have been in the low 20's at night. Lovin the wood burner in the tipi for the early am hours.
Hunting a new unit for the first time can prove challenging as many of the pre season deer I found have moved down or been pushed/hunted. After spending 3 full days looking I think some lucky archery hunter got the main buck I was hoping to see.
video of my 1st choice from earlier in summer = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4EuATqjq3c
A couple of elk hunters said a buck matching the description was taken in the area I had seen him on the opener. More hunting pressure in than I expected as even basins far from anything have a camp/hunter or 2 looking them over.
So far I have seen 8 bucks that are 140" to 160" deer not huge numbers as I have looked over 15 basins since just before the season opened some had no deer others already had a camp or 2... One wide buck that is on the video below he is the buck on the right. After looking him over for a hour or so he is pry 26" to 27" but not much mass and I might have to go back and take another look as they are staying in a very stalk able spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r59SLqo1vM&feature=youtu.be
Other than that a few elk that are bugling their heads off one 6x bull is not a monster but a good bull, 8 goats, and one doe that would not leave me alone at camp! Also one flat tire in not the easiest to change spot. No huge bucks or anything to call home about yet but so far it has been great weather to be able to check out the next basin so hopes are high of finding a mature buck by the end of the season and if not I have seen some amazing country.
Rain and life/work pushed me down for today and I hope to get to head over for another 3 maybe 4 days before the season is over so I might head blind into some totally new territory as soon as this storm breaks.
Wish me luck boys and I will update good or bad when I get back.
Ridgerunner
Active Member
- Feb 21, 2011
- 308
- 0
Good stuff for sure, thanks for sharing the pics, best of luck when you get back out there. Driving to that elevation blows my mind though, I will say that. I think the highest road in wa only goes to about 6000 feet, if that.
Airborne1
Member
wisconsinvette
Member
- Oct 4, 2011
- 820
- 939
I just got back from helping my father with his archery elk hunt. He is 72 and according to the gps we hiked 9.3, 8.6, 7.9, 6.2 miles on the 4 last hunts we did. Every year he proves that over time if you take care of yourself that you can still do long hunts well into your 70's. He shoots a long bow very well to 15 yds but never ever as far as 25 (as he again proved his resolve this year), we were close several times to good bulls, and had a fun hunt in some amazing weather but we did not come home w a bull.
Well I did go out again lookin for bucks or I worked very hard, moved around the unit three times, saw sun, rain, and snow one day. The buck in my profile pic (yes that is my grandma and not me - came from this same unit so I did have some expectations/history and said I would hunt til the last day to find a mature buck if that is what it took. I was able to hunt 6 of the 9 days total and put in time in a wilderness w a backpack, atv all over, as well as glassing from paved roads. Pressure was heavier than I expected in some places while almost non existent in others.
Saw a total of 13 -14 bucks that would score over 150" with 2 being mature bucks. Neither would have scored huge one was a heavy 3x in a wilderness that was a real solid cool buck pry 27" wide good and tall. No pics of this guy as I was backpacked in. Second was a real tall 4x with kinda crabby front forks but a solid buck I found the last Sat night of the season.
The heavy 3 I located one afternoon he was with 4 other bucks and not in a stalkable spot with the wind and where they were so I watched until dark and went to camp. Sliped in early where I could see high in the basin and the bucks had moved quite a ways lower in the basin. I packed up and moved down the basin set up again to see where they were when BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, on the 3rd shot the high country rifle hunter who hiked in lower in the basin got him. Spent the next few days looking over a lot of country but not finding any real good deer so decided to make the move to another part of the unit.
Above is the buck I found the last Sat night of the season and hunted the last day. Not the best pic but I took it Sun am just before I started the stalk. They were feeding right towards me for about a hour and a half. The wind was perfect, I was above the small group of 6 bucks on a ridge line with a large cliff band and the sunrise was great. Muzzy was loaded and I had put in the time to learn to shoot to 200yds so either way they went I had a good chance.
As they came up one by one through the saddle I had my lyman peep site on the buck at 108 yds. As I was hunting the boarder of 2 units he was 40yds or less into the joining unit so I waited with the site on him. Picked a bush and though when he passes that bush he is in my unit and I will shoot. Then they stop and look back for a few min. Out of no where 2 other small bucks go running through the very bottom of the basin (1200 yds away) and they got antsy. The last buck in the line a small 4x spins and dives for the trees on the wrong side of the ridge and the rest follow. Turns out there was a archery elk hunter walking up the bottom of the basin that scared the other 2 small bucks.
Well that is hunting big bucks! Overall a fun year where I was around 2 mature deer that I just was not able to connect on. Saw some amazing country I have not been around in years and in the end a long shot basin that I went into blind almost produced a big buck. It has been a few years for me now since I have gotten a buck but next year I have the feeling it is a bad year to be a big buck as I will be back at it.
Good luck to all that still have hunts!
Good for you. Trophy hunting means you come home without a buck somthimes. Looks like a great time and some awesome scenery.