Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Red Sparky

Deer hunt 2016

Recommended Posts

This year I had a mule deer tag down in 23 not a coues tag. I just got back and here is how it went. Friday before leaving I went to the Dr. for what I believe was strep throat. They took swaps and sent me on my way with 3 pills to reduce the inflammation in my throat but no antibiotics. I left Saturday morning and got a quick look and hunt in before the wife and kids came down. We spent Saturday night until Monday morning in Reserve eating and goofing off.

 

Monday afternoon came and I took off the walking boot I was in and put on my homemade walking splint. I walked around the top of the mesa still hunting. I was surprised as I was not seeing any elk sign. I had this elk hunt the last two years and there were not any new rubs, droppings or tracks like there had been in the last two years. I went to an old blind that overlooks a meadow to sit for the evening. I could tell I had a fever and a headache as I watched the meadow. There were fresh deer tracks and I had seen deer here for the last two years so felt good. It was getting close to dark about 7:30 and since I had been hearing goats, a hallucination of the fever I am sure, I got up and blew out six does about 100 yards away.

 

Tuesday morning came and I ended up "road hunting" from camp. I still hunted to the SW down a road all the way to the end of the road that over looks Frieborn Canyon. I walked about 3.4 miles according to the GPS one way. I had lunch and walked back. I saw my group of bucks in some finger ridges that go up and down in elevation from 50-150 feet on the mesa. We played cat and mouse for the next four hours until dark.

 

Wednesday morning came with a light drizzle. I threw up the tent real fast and put my bedding in there, everything got covered in tarps. I "road hunted" again this time to the NW 2.2 miles to a tank on top of ridge in the direction the bucks had been going the night before. There was a side by side parked just off the road so I took off due east cross country a mile to a water catchment tank. The year before about 10 vehicles a day had been down that road but not much traffic this year, maybe the SXS only once from the main road. At this point I had the rain gear I bought from a member here on. After going from on ridge to another, dropping 200 feet and then gaining 600 feet in 1/4 mile I reached the catchment.

 

The top that catches the water was full and running down the hill but the 8 ft. diameter x 2 ft. deep tank was dry as a bone. I checked the valve from the two 10,000 tanks and knocked on the tanks but they were empty. I went back to the top and reached down into the cold water. I pulled out one rock after another until I found the magic one, it was like pulling a stopper on a bathtub and the water went down the pipe to the tanks. I cleaned out the bottom and put everything back together. Then I cleaned all the pine needles and dirt out of the trough. I could kill the idiots that threw rocks through the screen and stopped the water flow down into the big tanks. I stood in a dry spot under a tree and watched that tank for about an hour and it had refilled about 1/2 the drink tank. After about 15 minutes I noticed a lock box to a trail cam that had been broken into and smashed to bits. I felt guilty even though I had done nothing wrong. I just hate thieves.

 

It was still still raining and I was about 3.5 miles from camp so I hauled it back to camp. I found out why nobody had been to the catchment. 3 big Ponderosa Pine trees had fallen across the road so no telling how long that catchment had been dry. When I got back to camp even the rain gear could not stand up to that amount of rain for that long and I was soaked.

 

Thursday morning comes and my ankle is killing me and I still have a fever with a bunch of crud in my throat. I stay on top still hunting and standing. I hear something that howls instead of yips. There is no mention on the USFW site about any wolf pack in that area but I wonder. Hunting the finger canyons I catch my four bucks. We play cat and mouse all day until I get a 170-180 class buck 40 yards from me. He is looking away as I draw and settle the pin and release. I am still watching where I want to hit as I pick up the arrow going perfectly to the boiler room. 15 feet before the arrow hits the deer, a limb I did not see explodes in water and my arrow takes off for the sky easily clearing his back by 5 feet. They go bounding into one of the deep canyons.

 

Friday morning comes with me sitting among some rocks and trees. I hear those howls again, not yips, and they are close. As the sun comes up in this little valley I am watching I catch five canines looping in from the west. They pass me 50 yards upwind and the two adults have collars on them. Now I know why there are no elk up here like there have been in the past.

That evening I am sitting in the blind over looking the meadow again. I have a terrible crud in my throat and splitting headache. It is about 4:30 and I lay down in the blind trying to stay in the shade. It is long before dark and I sit up suddenly and start coughing up a storm. Two little coues does had snuck in from the SW and were about 20 yards when this happened. I think they turned inside out getting out of there.

 

So that was my deer season until I go back in Jan. and my elk hunt is coming up soon. Can't wait to get back out.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fricken wolves make Me sick. SSS Everyone please............BOB!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×