Bonecollector wanted me tell everyone how enjoyable it is to be camping under the stars, on the high plains, on a breezy November nite...windchill is -3? ! [emoji44][emoji38]
Bonecollector wanted me tell everyone how enjoyable it is to be camping under the stars, on the high plains, on a breezy November nite...windchill is -3? ! [emoji44][emoji38]
Just made it back to Ohio from the high country in Wyoming for 7 days of hunting and camping in brutal conditions. As was previously stated, I filled four tags with three species in four different areas ALL ON PUBLIC LAND. [emoji41]
Full story to come as it?s now time for a shower and some sleep.
Bonecollector wanted me tell everyone how enjoyable it is to be camping under the stars, on the high plains, on a breezy November nite...windchill is -3? ! [emoji44][emoji38]
Work has been crushing me since coming back from Wyoming. However, I finally got all my pictures and videos loaded to my laptop. I plan to post some pictures and short write-up of the hunt this weekend. Sorry for the delay.
If I didn't have to work I could actually get some things done!!
Wyoming 2018 Hunt Summary:
This hunt was meant to be a scouting trip for future hunts with horns, to kills animals on tough to access public land, and to have a fun camping trip in scenic Wyoming.
Like many great hunts, it was not without its challenges. I worked half a day on Thursday and was home by noon in order to change cloths and get on the road within the hour. Unfortunately, my hunting partner was not ready to leave eastern Ohio for another 2 hours. Due to the later than anticipated departure, I then had to wait other hour before leaving so as to avoid the traffic passing through the state capital traveling west along I-70.
After 4 hours behind the wheel, a horrific rainstorm lit up the night sky pouring an excessive amount of rain onto my windshield as I navigated the orange barrel rodeo across most of Indiana, thus putting me further behind in my plan to rest for the night just inside the Iowa border.
By 1:00AM, I had made it 90% of the way across Illinois, but was too tired to press on so I found a place to park and rest for the night.
After catching 5 hours of sleep, the trek westward again commenced and after nearly 1,500 miles, we were in Cheyenne by 5PM on Friday and soon changing directions to head a few hours northwest toward our first hunt destination. This all came to an abrupt stop as the interstate was closed due to high winds and snow. Luckily, I only had to back-track 5 or 6 miles to find a hotel for the night.
Saturday morning the wind had subsided and we were off at first light. We arrived at camp by 2PM and immediately started to glass. ELK! I’ve got elk! So instead of setting up camp, we headed up the side of the mountain to see if we could close the distance and anchor our first animal. Knowing time was not on our side, I tried to hustle. Unfortunately, my hunt partner was not as ‘in-shape’ as he claimed and we could not get to our destination in time. Luckily, we did not blow the elk out and got to watch them for a bit before heading back down to setup camp in the dark.
Sunday, we played cat and mouse with several groups of elk, but never had the right wind or could not get to them in time. At one point that afternoon, we got caught in a 30-minute blizzard with high winds and snow at 9,000’ in which we had to seek shelter in a rock outcropping. It was a miserable hour and my partner was second-guessing his preparedness and willingness to continue. Grrr- I was fighting a losing battle with my partner as the hunt was not going to get any easier and, as time wears on, the body and drive continue to decline.
Monday, we spend a lot of time glassing trying to locate elk. Once located, we wanted to see where they were going to bed for the day. I wanted the stalk to be perfect and to allow me time to get my hunt partner there and to hopefully come in above the elk. After hiking for 2 hours we were ready to crest the peak at 9,700’ and look below. NOTHING! The negative expletives started to flow from my partner as he was clearly upset. This is hunting buddy- relax I thought. We had the wind and there was no way the elk knew we were coming. They couldn’t see us or smell us nor did we blow any other animals out on the way to the top. Let’s glass and see where they went. Within 5 minutes, we found them. They had simply slipped into one of the folds on the face of the mountain. We quickly got setup for a shot. We each picked the largest cow on our respective side of the group at a mere 220 yards down in the draw. Ready, Aim, Fire! My cow dropped in her tracks! My first elk! My partner said he missed. I told him to fire again. A second time he shot and said that he missed. I said the elk are moving out, shoot again! A third shot rang out and then the elk were gone. He said he missed again and was done hunting! He was ready to pack it in.
I was stoked- my first elk! We made our way down into the draw to admire my trophy. I was on ‘cloud-9’, but my partner was not in the celebratory mood. I asked him to go and look for blood, but he insisted he missed. I told him that we need to do the right thing, so I went with him to look for blood… and we found it. He had hit the elk at least once. We quickly followed the blood which led to a deep drop-off on the side of the mountain. The elk had tried to run down the side and appeared to go airborne. Two hundred yards later, she had come to rest under the only pine tree on the side of the mountain. I’m thankful for that tree as it was another 400 yards to the bottom. Two bullets had slipped through her intestines while the third had damaged most of one of the hind quarters. Slipping and sliding, we quartered the her right there. Hindsight is 20-20, but had he brought the correct gear, things would have gone easier. Now for the climb out. It took us 3 trips, but we scaled our way back up to the top and around the backside of the mountain where my elk still lay.
Once back on top, I had the task of quartering my own elk. I took note that the shot went through the heart. A pass-through shot with a load I had developed (Barnes 145LRX @ 3,200f/s). I made quick work of her and we were ready to start hauling meat off the mountain. At least the loaded trips were downhill before ascending, empty, for another load. It was close to an 8-mile round trip pilgrimage consisting of 3 loads each. I loved every minute of it! We slept well that night.
Tuesday, I left my partner at the truck and went scouting in order to fill my doe muley tag. It was cold and I was having no luck after seeing many deer the previous 3 days. But a little luck is all you sometimes need. I was able to glass a nice doe off a 2-track at 250 yards. I let my Browning LRH 7mag do my bidding and she was down. Another pass-through shot destroying both lungs. Using the gutless method, I quartered and packed her 400 yards by navigating around a small ravine back to the truck.
Wednesday, we were ready to move to another hunt area to scout and, hopefully, fill another doe muley tag. Unfortunately, I discovered that my hunt partner had not packed enough food or other supplies so we had to drive east more than 2 hours in order replenish his supplies. After refueling and making a few calls home, we headed west toward our next unit getting there just after dark losing the entire day to travel and shopping… (For the record, I take vacation to hunt, not shop- lol)
Thursday, we found ourselves hunting a ranch of some nice folks we met in a small town in our unit. Being that it was private land, I figured it would be an easier hunt and a way to boost my hunt partner’s morale. He could not have been more unprepared for this hunt, but I needed to make the best of it at this point. Twenty minutes after legal shooting light, we glassed up a group of doe at 190 yards. Boom- she was down less a front shoulder. An hour later we were back at the truck arranging coolers. Deer down and mood lifted so it was a win-win. I pulled out the map and gps and started looking for public ground near our current location. I found a few parcels and off we went glassing from the truck and looking for access points. After an hour, I glassed up a doe moving from private ground to public land in order to ascend up into the cliffs beyond the meadow in which she was grazing. I studied the landscape and gps topography and quickly made a plan to drive up the road to an access point where I could then hop, skip, and jump 2 ? miles of public land intertwined between private property to where I could come in from the top of where I thought she was headed. After some difficulty gearing up, we were off to execute our plan. Upon arrival and quick glassing, the deer were no were to be found. It was at this time my hunt partner realized he had lost his rangefinder. Once again, his mood soured…I told him to stay put and think about where it could be and quickly made my way around the bend in the hill to look 90 yards into the bottom to find the doe bedded looking away from me. For the third time, the 7mag roared and the doe’s head simply slumped down- heart shot! It took some time to find a way down to her, but once there I made quick work of her and packed her back to the truck. She was a small doe- I’ll call her tender. However, the scouting, stalking and killing on public land where the access was extremely difficult is exactly what I set out to do when I left Ohio. On the pack-out, I happen to look down crossing a stream and found a near perfect spear arrowhead. What a great day! After loading the truck, it was time to head to northeastern Wyoming to scout an antelope unit and to gain knowledge for future deer hunting as well.
Friday brought the coldest temperatures yet. -5 degrees with a nice Wyoming breeze. After a brisk start to the day… it never warmed up-lol. I had printed a large copy of a unit map on my home printer and had marked every possible accessible public land property and access point. One by one we drove and glassed, walked and glassed, and drove some more. Nearing the end of possibilities, I glassed a large group of antelope on State Land. The problem was that they were filing back and forth on private property. Luckily, there was a gas/oil rig on the State Land so I assumed the animals were used to seeing trucks come and go. It worked! Half the group filtered out about 200 yards from the 2-track on huntable land. I drove up the grade and started down out of sight. Leaving the truck running with my partner inside, I grabbed my gear and rifle and the stalk was on! Within 200 yards, I crested the hill with my bipods already down. I saw several decent bucks in the group, but I needed to be sure I shot a doe. I wanted and needed a mature doe, not a buck that had dropped his horns. I studied the group intently looking for a black cheek patch on each one. For the 4th time in 5 days, the 7mag barked and my doe antelope dropped at 200 yards- double lung pass-through shot. It was easy butchering and packing back to the truck. I was very careful to keep any hair off the meat. I may be in the minority, but I consider antelope to be the “caviar” of wildlife fare. To top it off, my antelope doe had 2 ?” horns! I’ve seen a few doe with knobs, but this was a pleasant surprise.
I had done it. A non-resident filling 4 tags and taking 3 species all on PUBLIC LAND in brutal weather conditions over 7 days. And all with a load I had developed. I never did get that long-range shot that we easterners crave, but all my practicing out to 600 yards paid off with quick ethical kills on my hunt. My physical training allowed me to easily hunt from 5,500’ to 9,700’ all week without issue. As they say, I was comfortable being uncomfortable. This was tough at times with the temperatures ranging from -5 up to a balmy 29 degrees. Unfortunately, my hunt partner did not practice shooting his rifle or work on his physical condition as much as he should have and it made for a miserable experience for him. He also did not pack enough supplies, the correct gear or know how to properly use what he had packed. I cannot stress enough that if it’s in your pack, understand how to properly use it. Unfortunately, my hunt partner’s negative attributes affected his mood and morale which made it a more challenging hunt experience for me. Life is what we make of it. I had a Great hunt!
