rocksteady
11-24-2006, 08:04 PM
After shooting my elk on the 15th of September I have been busier than hell doing the honey dew list, as well my shoulder has been aggravating me big time...Lack of sleep was really starting to take its toll.
Spent a few days chasing mulies at the end of the season, okay I admit it I was road hunting..In the area I hunt late mulies, you slowly drive the road, find the does, sit and watch and see who pokes out to visit them. After the end of mulies, never cut a tag, went out last weekend for small scouting trips looking for a whitetail..Just does..
Went out with a couple friends today, only 6 days left for rifle whitetails, and I am committed for 4 on a training course, that i can't take holidays during, so....
Went out this morning and walked a bunch of thick Douglas Fir ridges at the base of the Rockies. Painfully slow still hunting, saw a ton of does and one small spike that I could not get a shot at. I am a meat hunter so as long as its got bones on its head its in the freezer. We hunted til about 2 or so and then wandered to the far end of the ridges to do a stand hunt. Sit under the big fir, watch the far side of the clear cut, usually the deer come out about 3:00 or a bit later....
So the 3 of us are trudging across a bald ass open clear cut, get about 25 yards from the big fir and Rod says "deer!", I can't see the friggin thing, I am looking about 100 yards in front of us..Rod says"buck!" I still can't see it..Finally he tells me its on the edge of the timber at the far edge of the cutblock...I see it !!!
Drop onto my belly, fold down the harris bipod, put the crosshairs on him and once he came clear from some small trees, let one fly..I knew I hit him as he jumped kind of funny, took off like he was on fire, but then went down in a cloud of snow and back up again and we lost sight of him in the timber. We made our way down and were looking for tracks/blood etc etc and all of a sudden there he is hiding behind a big juniper..He took off into the timber and I had to wait til he clear a Douglas Fir thicket before I could get another shot..All of the time, Rods saying "shoot, shoot, hit him again" Only shot I had was a Texas ass shot and didn't want to do that.
Finally had a clear shot, hit him and Rod says "I saw it hit him, don't shoot again". 5 seconds later he does the drunk deer routine and falls over..
First critter I have killed with my new .243, the original shot was in the neighbourhood of 300 yards, took him a few inches back, right smack dab in the liver. The other shot was directly in the heart.
Gutted, dragged 200 or so yards to another road and he's now in my carport, all skinned and cleaned, waiting for a trip to Ricks Fine Meaats tomorrow....
The pics are the after skinning routine, so they are not all that pretty. My buddies have the field pictures so I will post those, once they download then off their cameras...Be patient those pics will come soon enough...
Would have been happy with a spike, but the 4 point will do too...
MARC: Not only did I pop the virginity of the .243 Savage, but also did it wearing my new HBC hat...I think I got a new lucky hat......
Enjoy guys (and gals) I think he will be a good sausage buck....
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/2006%20whitey/Picture001-3.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/2006%20whitey/Picture003-3.jpg
Spent a few days chasing mulies at the end of the season, okay I admit it I was road hunting..In the area I hunt late mulies, you slowly drive the road, find the does, sit and watch and see who pokes out to visit them. After the end of mulies, never cut a tag, went out last weekend for small scouting trips looking for a whitetail..Just does..
Went out with a couple friends today, only 6 days left for rifle whitetails, and I am committed for 4 on a training course, that i can't take holidays during, so....
Went out this morning and walked a bunch of thick Douglas Fir ridges at the base of the Rockies. Painfully slow still hunting, saw a ton of does and one small spike that I could not get a shot at. I am a meat hunter so as long as its got bones on its head its in the freezer. We hunted til about 2 or so and then wandered to the far end of the ridges to do a stand hunt. Sit under the big fir, watch the far side of the clear cut, usually the deer come out about 3:00 or a bit later....
So the 3 of us are trudging across a bald ass open clear cut, get about 25 yards from the big fir and Rod says "deer!", I can't see the friggin thing, I am looking about 100 yards in front of us..Rod says"buck!" I still can't see it..Finally he tells me its on the edge of the timber at the far edge of the cutblock...I see it !!!
Drop onto my belly, fold down the harris bipod, put the crosshairs on him and once he came clear from some small trees, let one fly..I knew I hit him as he jumped kind of funny, took off like he was on fire, but then went down in a cloud of snow and back up again and we lost sight of him in the timber. We made our way down and were looking for tracks/blood etc etc and all of a sudden there he is hiding behind a big juniper..He took off into the timber and I had to wait til he clear a Douglas Fir thicket before I could get another shot..All of the time, Rods saying "shoot, shoot, hit him again" Only shot I had was a Texas ass shot and didn't want to do that.
Finally had a clear shot, hit him and Rod says "I saw it hit him, don't shoot again". 5 seconds later he does the drunk deer routine and falls over..
First critter I have killed with my new .243, the original shot was in the neighbourhood of 300 yards, took him a few inches back, right smack dab in the liver. The other shot was directly in the heart.
Gutted, dragged 200 or so yards to another road and he's now in my carport, all skinned and cleaned, waiting for a trip to Ricks Fine Meaats tomorrow....
The pics are the after skinning routine, so they are not all that pretty. My buddies have the field pictures so I will post those, once they download then off their cameras...Be patient those pics will come soon enough...
Would have been happy with a spike, but the 4 point will do too...
MARC: Not only did I pop the virginity of the .243 Savage, but also did it wearing my new HBC hat...I think I got a new lucky hat......
Enjoy guys (and gals) I think he will be a good sausage buck....
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/2006%20whitey/Picture001-3.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/2006%20whitey/Picture003-3.jpg