Redneck Rocket
10-06-2014, 11:36 PM
Well, my second hunting season has been in full swing for a while. I'm lucky enough to live in region 8-9 where there's some great areas 15 minutes from home. I work 2 jobs, one of which is casual (I turn up when I wish) and my main job which is home-based. I work a lot, probably 12 hours a day on average but it does give me the flexibility to plan my days around hunting & fishing. Since early September I've been out many times, mostly hiking, sitting, calling & stalking and a little bit of road hunting. I do some business in Europe so I often get up before 4 AM, do a couple hours work and head out for first light. Come home for a late breakfast mid-morning. Or sometimes just pop out for the last hour or so of daylight.
So I've been working hard at work and hunting but not come across anything shoot-able until last weekend. I set up a trail cam a good friend loaned me in an area I knew was holding 12-15 Muley does & Fawns on any given day. I put down some apples I picked in a good area with a couple of intersecting game trails, not to entice them or shoot over, more so I could get an idea of what was in the area.
After the first 48 hours soak, there were 3600 pics - mostly mule does and 2 pairs of twin fawns, and a smallish black bear. A nice looking 2x2 as well:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/PICT0289_zps8183318d.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/PICT0304_zps87f4ebe3.jpg
Friday Night, I went up to the spot, and there were 2 bucks rutting in the field out back, with a bunch of does around. I wasn't sure in the half-light, but one of them looked decent. I decided to come and check the game camera again the next night.
Next day, late afternoon, I swapped the cards out and decided I would hang around for a while and observe the animals, see what they were doing and at what sort of time of day. My wife's cousin was due to come into town in about a week, and was quite keen to come out hunting with me so I was mainly scouting for the following week. Had my rifle with me just in case.
I set up on a smaller ridge, looking across a little valley and up the hill where I could see the deer coming down to feed as the light faded for the evening. It was really interesting watching them. One of the does with twin fawns was chasing all the other deer off away from the good grazing and from my apple pile, and careful glassing revealed many more deer than first appeared to the naked eye. A couple just resting perched up on the rocks. The wind was in my favour, and I managed to stay still enough that none of them detected my presence, some of them grazing to within 50 feet away.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/photo1_zpsdf0e10eb.jpg
About 1.5 hours in, I had seen a bunch of does, fawns, a 2 x 2 buck which was basically a 1x1 with 2 tiny little forks, and a herd of 20 or so Bighorn Sheep. I was just thinking I would hang around another 15 minutes or so, and then head home and sort supper, when I heard the unmistakeable sound of locking antlers. For about 5 minutes there was some on and off action, all out of sight, but then into view in front of my cam area (I was observing from 200+ yards away) came 2 bucks, the smaller chased off in short order by the larger of the 2. I got the binoculars up, and confirmed he was a 4x4. First one I've ever seen. Heart rate bumped a few notches.
I started thinking about whether I should wait until next week, when my wife's cousin would be around and see if the 4x4 was still around, so I could share the experience with him. Went back and forth a few times in my mind and then my phone buzzed. My buddy had just sent me a photo of a 6x6 beauty elk he dropped near Princeton. I sent him this picture back with the caption "There's a 4x4 out there, trying to decide whether to wait a few days or take him now."
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/photo2_zpsca7818e9.jpg
So I've been working hard at work and hunting but not come across anything shoot-able until last weekend. I set up a trail cam a good friend loaned me in an area I knew was holding 12-15 Muley does & Fawns on any given day. I put down some apples I picked in a good area with a couple of intersecting game trails, not to entice them or shoot over, more so I could get an idea of what was in the area.
After the first 48 hours soak, there were 3600 pics - mostly mule does and 2 pairs of twin fawns, and a smallish black bear. A nice looking 2x2 as well:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/PICT0289_zps8183318d.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/PICT0304_zps87f4ebe3.jpg
Friday Night, I went up to the spot, and there were 2 bucks rutting in the field out back, with a bunch of does around. I wasn't sure in the half-light, but one of them looked decent. I decided to come and check the game camera again the next night.
Next day, late afternoon, I swapped the cards out and decided I would hang around for a while and observe the animals, see what they were doing and at what sort of time of day. My wife's cousin was due to come into town in about a week, and was quite keen to come out hunting with me so I was mainly scouting for the following week. Had my rifle with me just in case.
I set up on a smaller ridge, looking across a little valley and up the hill where I could see the deer coming down to feed as the light faded for the evening. It was really interesting watching them. One of the does with twin fawns was chasing all the other deer off away from the good grazing and from my apple pile, and careful glassing revealed many more deer than first appeared to the naked eye. A couple just resting perched up on the rocks. The wind was in my favour, and I managed to stay still enough that none of them detected my presence, some of them grazing to within 50 feet away.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/photo1_zpsdf0e10eb.jpg
About 1.5 hours in, I had seen a bunch of does, fawns, a 2 x 2 buck which was basically a 1x1 with 2 tiny little forks, and a herd of 20 or so Bighorn Sheep. I was just thinking I would hang around another 15 minutes or so, and then head home and sort supper, when I heard the unmistakeable sound of locking antlers. For about 5 minutes there was some on and off action, all out of sight, but then into view in front of my cam area (I was observing from 200+ yards away) came 2 bucks, the smaller chased off in short order by the larger of the 2. I got the binoculars up, and confirmed he was a 4x4. First one I've ever seen. Heart rate bumped a few notches.
I started thinking about whether I should wait until next week, when my wife's cousin would be around and see if the 4x4 was still around, so I could share the experience with him. Went back and forth a few times in my mind and then my phone buzzed. My buddy had just sent me a photo of a 6x6 beauty elk he dropped near Princeton. I sent him this picture back with the caption "There's a 4x4 out there, trying to decide whether to wait a few days or take him now."
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/studickie15/photo2_zpsca7818e9.jpg