Part 5: Still on day 3.
No particular relevance to this pic... just thought it was a nice view.
I finally get on the trail after the 5 youngins move on over the ridge. When I peer over, I see them and my target buck.
There was a pretty wide, long tined (no back forks) 3x3, very Red body color kinda mid aged deer that I'd seen with the group of 9 on the first day that was on my brain but I never saw him after that initial encounter (random thought, I know).
At any rate, my buck bedded and then rebedded after about 20 minutes as these mule deer sometimes do, esp the mature bucks. (Read that Dwight Schuh book and Robby Denning's as well if you're really interested in behavior insight). The "Young 5" had moved off and I was giddy to get my stalk on, one on one.
This is were I thought he had bedded. Center screen - the deer bed under the rocky ledge.
The stalk to get around and on top of this rocky outcropping didn't take long. I dropped my pack quietly and tiptoed to the edge of one side of the ledge, at full draw. Nothing there, so I sat down here, pretty much in the middle of this pic on top of the ledge and waited.
It was about 10:15 when I sat down and I was prepared to stick it out for as long as it took. I always give my Colorado friends and acquaintances in town hell when they talk about how hot it's been, correcting with "it's warm". Well this day it... was... blazing. Had my wet neck gaiter on as a face mask so I was good.
After 2 hours, he comes out hot and stops briefly at 50 yards. I still don't see how he would have winded me. Thermals were strong and consistent at a reliable time of day. There is a chance that he heard me snoring, because I did have a long blink and woke up just 30 seconds before he rolled outta there.
I watched him lollygag up to the ridge I had crested just hours ago and that was that... for now. After a little cussin and fussin I moved over the rocky, sparsely timbered knob which splits this large canyon to the complete opposite side. Within an hour, the stalk on a buck I named "Squatty" had commenced.
No particular relevance to this pic... just thought it was a nice view.
I finally get on the trail after the 5 youngins move on over the ridge. When I peer over, I see them and my target buck.
There was a pretty wide, long tined (no back forks) 3x3, very Red body color kinda mid aged deer that I'd seen with the group of 9 on the first day that was on my brain but I never saw him after that initial encounter (random thought, I know).
At any rate, my buck bedded and then rebedded after about 20 minutes as these mule deer sometimes do, esp the mature bucks. (Read that Dwight Schuh book and Robby Denning's as well if you're really interested in behavior insight). The "Young 5" had moved off and I was giddy to get my stalk on, one on one.
This is were I thought he had bedded. Center screen - the deer bed under the rocky ledge.
The stalk to get around and on top of this rocky outcropping didn't take long. I dropped my pack quietly and tiptoed to the edge of one side of the ledge, at full draw. Nothing there, so I sat down here, pretty much in the middle of this pic on top of the ledge and waited.
It was about 10:15 when I sat down and I was prepared to stick it out for as long as it took. I always give my Colorado friends and acquaintances in town hell when they talk about how hot it's been, correcting with "it's warm". Well this day it... was... blazing. Had my wet neck gaiter on as a face mask so I was good.
After 2 hours, he comes out hot and stops briefly at 50 yards. I still don't see how he would have winded me. Thermals were strong and consistent at a reliable time of day. There is a chance that he heard me snoring, because I did have a long blink and woke up just 30 seconds before he rolled outta there.
I watched him lollygag up to the ridge I had crested just hours ago and that was that... for now. After a little cussin and fussin I moved over the rocky, sparsely timbered knob which splits this large canyon to the complete opposite side. Within an hour, the stalk on a buck I named "Squatty" had commenced.