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LEJ
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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.

LEJ
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Part 6: The stalk on "Squatty" was going well. He was doing most all the work as he fed to 109 yards from my hide.

The terrain and his bedding location didn't allow me to do much, but it was still early enough in the afternoon, so I waited. I really wanted to kill this buck at this point and the situation looked promising. There was a thoroughfare that I thought he might use in my direction. It was overcast and coolish now, with an acceptable wind.

I had my blue lense polarized sunglasses resting on my cap, the sun peaked through the clouds briefly and old "Squatty" did a triple take towards my 20. It could have been something else but I'm fairly certain he saw a quick shiny glare and he did not like it.

He didn't bolt, just got up and slowly went the other way. I had actually thought about this being a possibility, so I usually take the shades off and put em in my pocket when I'm that close. I thought I HAD already put em in my pocket, but I was wroooooonnnng. Should've gone with vermillion I guess.

I worked my way back towards the original side of the sparsely timbered knob (near the Rocky outcropping) saw the biggest beast of a bear (huge boar) I'd ever seen come over "my" ridge (on the same trail I needed to take back to spike camp), let him go downwards on his way, and decided it was time to head back to camp, or what was left of it.

He didn't touch a thing, thankfully.
BurrOak
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AG
cupofjoe04
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AG
Well, sheep hunt is a bust. Will give full report later, but I'm sitting in a tent 7 miles in, with a throbbing and swelling knee, waiting on the rain to break so we can try to pack down.

The rain is much worse than predicted, sheep mountains covered in clouds no visibility- no point. Horse I was riding last night tried to commit suicide with me on it. Amazed it survived the night, something is seriously wrong with it. Praying we can get down in one piece. Will have to hike down leading other 2 horses, and pray the sick on can/will follow unloaded. It's gonna suck hiking down this slippery muddy trial with my knee. Today is going to be the crucible of suck.

Maybe I'll see a mule deer on the way down, and pop that sucker...

Time to cut bait, go back, dry out, regroup, and try again. Good thing there are a few weeks left in season.
Charismatic Megafauna
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That sucks man, sorry to hear that. The lateral pressure of riding a horse wreaks havoc on my right knee. Is that what happened to you or did you do something to it? The only way I can rid a horse without it hurting is with my knee bent like 90 degrees the whole time (which is awful on the hamstrings) or keeping the leg like hyperextended the whole time to transfer the pressure to my hip, which is tough on the hip flexors. That's okay though because I'm not a fan of livestock in the backcountry in general
LEJ
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Good luck Joe.
cupofjoe04
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AG
The horse fell down the mountain with me on it- then while I was walking and leading him, he took his head and therw me off the trail trying to get by me, down a steep embankment.
shaynew1
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Dang man that is depressing to hear.

Give it hell today
Charismatic Megafauna
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I had a horse steak in Amsterdam. It was unbelievably delicious...now my second favorite meat (behind elk). Just sayin
AgLA06
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cupofjoe04 said:

The horse fell down the mountain with me on it- then while I was walking and leading him, he took his head and therw me off the trail trying to get by me, down a steep embankment.


Only thing scarier is doing this in the dark. Horse trips, Sparks fly from hooves / rocks, everything gets crazy.

Sorry to hear that man. Don't forget to check your rifle and gear.
LEJ
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Part 7: I'm back at base camp to resupply and decide to take a day off from deer hunting. Went into the dark timber to look for elk sign and try some lazy bugles, raking and other ElkNut techniques. Results were... poor.

Killed a small grouse before dusk and wasted no time getting it down my pie hole.



"Ice cave" hiking to an elk spot



Sheep


I wanted a fire that night so I kept the grouse fire burning.


Next day... day 5 of the hunt now. Killed a big fat one on the way back to base camp


Hot n Ready... and damn good. Thank God for fresh Dusky Grouse.


cupofjoe04
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Gotta love those grouse to keep it rolling!

I was so miserable walking down tonight, I jumped at least 8 grouse and never once pulled out my slingshot.
lazuras_dc
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Dang. Sucks to hear it, Joey. Heal quick and get back after it !
cupofjoe04
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Well- here is my sheep "adventure"

Got a bit of a late start Sunday afternoon, but my buddy brought over 3 horses so we figured we would ride as far as we could and get camp set.

The horse I was riding did good for first few miles, but then I noticed he seemed to be tripping and stumbling more than the other horses. It was lightly sprinkling, so I didn't think too much of it. About 4 miles in, we were stopped before we hit some gnarly switchbacks, and my horse tried to lay down with me on top of it. This was a borrowed horse, but my buddy has used it many times before- never had an issue. Still not concerned, we pushed on to beat the dark.

6 miles in, he starts trying to lay down again, and I'm able to get off in time. A short distance later, he tries it again and my foot gets stuck under him. I'm not hurt, and quickly freed. My friend isnt sure what is going on, but it is getting dark and raining, so we think he is just being a butt head. We are on some VERY steep switchbacks, and need to make it to flat ground to camp.

Around mile 7, the horse stops, stares blankly up the trail for a second, then starts backing up off the trial and down the freaking hill (STEEP). I'm leaning forward as hard as I can to keep from falling back, still thinking the horse will get his footing and go back up. Instead, that SOB wheels around so fast I don't know what the crap is going on, but I know for SURE we are going down. I bail off the horse to my left, landing with my knee on a downed log. I look back and see 4 hooves up in the air, spinning down the mountain.

We finally get him back on his feet, make sure my rifle (blackpowder, iron sights) is still in the scabbard, and finally get him back up on the trial. I tell my friend that I am NOT getting back on the horse, and we desperately need to push forward and find some flat land to set up camp in the dark and damp conditions.

So, I'm walking in front of the horse, leading it in the back of the train. He is being a little pushy, but not too bad. Till we round a switchback on a VERY steep and slippery trail, and that freaking horse decides he wants to be in front of me. He put his head on my left, and pushed me aside to get by. I mean he pushed me hard enough to knock me off my feet. The problem was there was nowhere for me to go except down. I fall down the slope, and the only thing I'm holding is his lead rope, which I'm afraid will make him fall on me. So I let go of the rope and hope for the best. I landed on my left side again, and slammed my knee into a rock or something. I'm trying to clamor up the muddy embankment, but the horse is standing in the way and I don't want to get stepped on. Finally get him to move enough for me to get up. I'm ready to shoot that SOB now. While trying to get myself together, he tries to lay down again and sends himself down the same embankment I went down, into a small creek.

So, back down the muddy slope I go, into the water, trying to wrangle this freaking out horse. My buddy has his hand full with the other 2 horses. I finally get him back up, we had to walk up the creek to the trail.

It is too dark, staring to rain, and WAY to dangerous with this horse. We have no choice but to set up camp. 50 yards down the trial, we find a few trees we can tie the horses to. There is NO flat spot for a tent. We are forced to set the tent up on the trail, where the only tiny piece of somewhat level ground is. So my buddy will be sleeping just off the trail, and I'm directly on it, with a mound of dirt between us.

It rains pretty hard most of the night, and the trail gets 1-2" of standing water, which I'm sleeping in. It is bleeding through the tent floor, but I have a waterproof bivey cover for my pad and bag. So at least I'm dry, but I'm laying in frikin cold water all night. And because of the slope, I cannot get out of it, and it just gets deeper. The horse, meanwhile is flopping around outside like a dying fish all night. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with this animal. He won't stand, and rolls around like he is on fire. We are afraid he will choke himself, but if we untie him, he will certainly fall down the mountain. Either way, we figure we are waking up to a dead horse. It was a LONG night...

The next morning, I get up to try and do SOME sort of hunting. The front of my blackpowder took a prettubgood beating, and I'm not sure if my sight is moved but it looks OK. I hike to where I look up the valley to some possible (however remote) sheep ground, and pretty good looking deer territory. The clouds and fog just socked me in. The higher I went, the worse it got. Rain started again... time to call it quits.

Below, you can see the rather quick progression of the clouds





And the other side I was watching, not that I could have ever gotten over there



I went back to camp, to see how the horse was doing. If he was Ok, we would push up the mountain to wait out the wether and hunt tomorrow (should be nice and clear). Sadly, he still looked like he was on death's door. We pack up and head down.

We walk the 2 healthy horses, and redistribute all load between them. Nothing is on the sick horse, and my buddy decides its best to let him just walk behind us. This works OK, only a few hangups. We get a few miles down, and he starts meandering off trial in some really rough terrain. We are essentially hiking down 1/4 mile at a time, then back up to lead the sick horse. He lays down again, and my buddy decides we are risking too much stress on the others, and we need to take them down and come back for the sick one.

I don't know squat about horses, so I'm just along for the ride. A few hours later we finally get down, get the others in the trailer and all the gear loaded.
I check out my knee, and it is really swollen and staring to bruise, but feels stable. So we turn around and hike 3 miles back up. The horse hasn't moved 10 feet, but is standing and eating grass (which is a good sign). He has perked up, and no longer looks like he is gonna keel over. By the time we get down, you would never know anything was wrong with him.

I'm usually a pretty good silver lining type guy- but this trip just sucked.
Good thing there are a few weeks left in season. I'm gonna try and find some time to hike in and hunt.
BradMtn346
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Sounds like a typical horse hunt. Sorry it was so bad. Hope the knee heal well and quickly.

They are great for the pack out/in. Pain in the neck the rest of the time. Kind of sounds like a horse that has had and recovered from west Nile. No expert, but that was the diagnosis for one of our horses that kind of flipped his lid.

LEJ
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Woof!
stdeb11
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Dang, that's a bummer man. Sucks it went like that... Sounds like things got a little "western" on the hike in.

Hope you get to make it back out with a better time.
cc_ag92
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That's a bummer, hope you are still able to get back out. How is your knee doing?
agingcowboy
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Crazy story joe. That's some full-blown suck right there. Sorry it went sideways but glad you're safe.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
lazuras_dc
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Wow. I know it's a borrowed horse and all... but it would've been a lot to convince me not to leave the SOB in the woods the first time few times it threw me off!
cupofjoe04
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Thanks guys, I appreciate your concern and the opportunity to vent to people who will truly understand. Better than just stewing about it.

I think my knee is fine. It's plenty sore, all the swelling is settling under the patella. I might have some bone bruising or something on the outside top of my tibia/fibula. The ligaments and range of motion all feel fine, doesn't seem to be any strength loss. I'll keep an eye on it, but I'm counting myself very blessed to be down in one piece.

Im more worried about my blackpowder rifle this am. Front sight took a beating. It looks straight, but has some pretty good marring on it. I'll have to take it out and shoot today and make sure it's on.

Of course today it's a beautiful and sunny... oh well.
I did hear from another guy whose daughter had a ewe tag, and hunted the opposite side of the bowl I was targeting. They basically just hunted Sat & Sun am, and headed down. He said there weren't as many sheep in there as normal, and there was a camp of ram hunters over on his side. They ram group has been there for a while already (ram season opens sooner than ewes), so maybe they had pushed some sheep out. If they are ram hunting, they are in the wrong place IMHO. There are occasionally a few rams in there, but that area is a heavy lambing area, so it's mostly always ewes, lambs, and juveniles.

Maybe waiting another week or two is a blessing in disguise. Hopefully those guys will move on and the sheep will pour back in there like normal. I'll get back up there somehow!!! Will have to be a hike in before dawn on Thur and hike down in the next 2 weeks.
cupofjoe04
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lazuras_dc said:

Wow. I know it's a borrowed horse and all... but it would've been a lot to convince me not to leave the SOB in the woods the first time few times it threw me off!


Thats exactly how I felt. I'm no horse guy, so I would have definitely made a different decision on my own (and probably gotten at least the horse, if not both of us, killed). In hindsight. I think we could have left him tied somewhere and he would have been fine after a day or so. No way we could have known that then.

He's just lucky I didn't shoot him, because that's what I wanted to do after he threw me off the trail like a rag doll.
LEJ
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Part 8: Feels like I've been at it for a week, but it's only day 6 of the season.

I had to really talk myself into going back up to my deer bed spike camp. After repacking, and shoveling more mountain house and water down the gullet over a 2 hour period, I had my mind right to go back and stick it out for 5 nights, which was all the time I had left.

After re-setting spike camp I decided to go yet another direction to a different canyon in the opposite direction of my target buck.

I had glassed up 13 bucks one morning in this canyon last year, and without much effort, since I didn't have a deer tag. The CDT runs along the top of it and it's common to see hikers and other hunters cruising it at times.

I finally spotted some bucks to the north but only had about 75 minutes of legal light to get close. I threw caution to the wind and hauled ass... and I mean hauled it. I made great headway and got within 250 yards of the 3 bucks I could see. One of them was a dandy.

Put a quick plan into place that would allow me to keep my pace, unseen by the bucks.

It all came unraveled when I topped a little knob to see 7 or 8 more having a little buck party not 100 yards in front of me.

I watched everything bound off in different directions, cussed myself a bit, then said a little prayer to get back up the mountain safely before dark. Got back to camp with a new old focus... my target buck.
LEJ
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Part 9: Focus, Commitment, and Sheer Fkn Will.

I've not seen any of the John Wick movies but I stumbled across that scene from the first 2 movies and I had it on my brain during pre-hunt training and all throughout the hike in and hunt itself.

Lollygaggin up and around the mountain was a lot easier when I kept this going through my head. Maybe it's a little cheesy but my mind tends to wander sometimes during the suckfest and this keeps me centered. The little voice in my head even had the Russian mobster accent down pat.

I glass up just 1 deer that morning in the canyon but Lady Luck is shining down upon me bc it happened to be THE deer. Good start.

I start my stalk at 10:30am. Can't go straight at him due to terrain and wind. I make a big horseshoe loop up the mountain and around. I drop my pack at around 150 yards out and the boots come off at 100. When I get
to where I think I'm about 30 yards from him, I sit down, nock an arrow quietly, and wait.

It's now a little after 1pm and within 30 seconds the game really begins.

I see antler tips, but no deer, slowly moving from my right to my left, at only about 25 yards.

For a moment I was petrified but it quickly became obvious that he was just playing his same old Muley buck game of cat and mouse... never stay in 1 spot for too long.

I did briefly lament not getting such a close shot but there was no time or reason to dwell on it.

The buck went down hill right in front of me and over a small stream, then back up. He stopped a few feet from the rocky outcropping I had stalked him to just a couple days prior. If he had been in this spot when I peaked over the ledge that time at full draw, I would have had a shot.

I can't explain it but from the moment I sat down I felt an overwhelming level of confidence that I've never experienced.

The buck is now at 57 yards and I'm positive he's going down. Only problem was that I didn't have a clear shot. I had a decent angle on him and one tiny window but it just didn't seem like enough. What I needed him to do was take a few steps (ever heard that one) and he'd be perfectly positioned. He looked away from me at one point, towards the rock, and I drew back just to see if I could get one through the tight window. It seemed like a 50/50 proposition so I put that idea to bed.

So the buck is just standing there, gazing down the mountain. He did this, maybe moving 2 feet, for AN HOUR AND 15 minutes. No BS. He never bedded, barely looked real, and never seemed too excited about anything. He was just staring straight down the mountain.

I've seen mule deer do this for 10 or maybe 15 minutes straight, but never this long.

I was well aware that bad things could happen with each tick of the clock, but I didn't want to risk sliding down hill to try for a clear shot. I thought about, but I didn't do it.

Then suddenly, the bad (and the ugly and the good) happened. The buck gets fidgety and wheels around, now facing uphill and posturing. Out of the corner of my left eye I see a coyote blazing down the mountain like a spotted ass ape. He runs between us, about 10 yards from the buck. Realizing this diversion is my chance, I slide down the mountain on my butt just enough to clear the tree. I come to full draw, pick a spot, aim, and follow through.

I knew it was a good hit but the buck started down and then back up straight in my direction. I nock another arrow but he's in some thick stuff now and runs into a small tree. My watch says 2:28pm. He thrashes a bit. At 2:31, I watched him draw his last breath.

AgEng06
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AG
It's about fkin time we get the kill shot!





Congrats again, man. Can't wait to read the next 14 chapters chronicling the pack out.
LEJ
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It should be less than 14. What the hell else ya got going on a Tuesday afternoon?
BullSprig07
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Dude I'm so amped I feel like I just watched Rocky fight Drago! Thanks for sharing!
stdeb11
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Heck yeah. Great story. Thanks for sharing
Pignorant
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If anyone is interested, youtuber Justin Rackley is documenting his public land hunt in Colorado.

Believe he is Class of '08.

LEJ
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Hell I can't figure out how to embed the videos so click the links or piss off! Y'all can figure out the rest of the story. I'm packin for my Elk Hunt. Yaw mooole!



https://i.imgur.com/3Je6EwT.mp4

The dippin dot snow is "Graupel", not gravel. It's a German word for pain in the ass stinging precip. GD German snow sucks!

Final 500 yards

https://i.imgur.com/iSNp6Mg.mp4
lazuras_dc
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LEJ, where r you hunting again ?
LEJ
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North of Pagosa Springs in the Weminuche Wilderness. 77
harge57
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Update from MT. A story of misery.

Friday morning start driving from Dallas, meet brother in Amarillo, proceed on and sleep in the back of the quigly conversion van in Sheridan WY.

Saturday afternoon arrive in MT and do a quick afternoon hunt.

Sunday hike back to position A, This is a 4 mile no trail hike that goes from 6800ft to 9200ft, with some ups and downs and some dead fall in there. At 83 degrees the hike was brutal. About 75% of the way in my brother realizes he left his quiver with arrows at the van. About 95% of the way in we walk up on 2 hunters headed towards the same basin. They were on day 2 of their hike in. We stop to fill up water before heading up to camp at about 4 pm, and my brother starts to not feel well. He is exhausted so he skips the evening glassing and just goes to bed. I see a 5x5 feeding right at dusk.

Monday morning my Brother can't get out of bed except to go crap, by that evening he was borrowing wipes. I spot the 5x5 late in the morning and go make a play down the basin, but could not turn him up. I then still hunted all the way back to camp which took all day. Nothing spotted glassing that evening.

That night a thunderstorm rolls through starting about 7pm which made for a pretty brutal night of hoping our tipi didn't blow away and we didn't get struck by lightning.

Tuesday my brother can't even get out of bed to crap now. We pack up camp, and i fit as much of his stuff into my pack as I can and we start the trek down the mountain. Thank goodness the rain held up and it stayed cool. We make it successfully down and pack up the van in search of lower elevation and food for me. We are so close to some relief. My brother drives as it's his van and on the way out barely goes off the edge of the road and there is a drop off and he blows a tire. Get that changed and drive 30 miles into town, we are about 2 blocks from the tire store when we start getting honked out. Yep, other tire is bad too. We caught a break here as we only had one spare. $400 later we hit up chico hot springs, I eat dinner and then we find a spot at 5k feet to sleep.

Wednesday morning, my Brother still can't get out of bed to crap. He booked a flight back to Midland and i dropped him off at the Bozeman airport this morning.

Now i have a week of solo hunting in front of me in the heart of grizzly country. The bears have never really bothered me, but walking down the trail in the dark tonight was probably the most spooked i have been by them, except for maybe packing out a bull in the dark last year.

I am scrambling a bit now, as I am more limited on where I can shoot an elk by myself. Probably shouldn't head back up to position A as getting a bull out solo will be dicey, and there is no trail for a packer. Not super excited about backcountry camping solo either. I may try a spot I have marked further east that is not in the grizzly core area. Looks like a snow storm may blow in tomorrow night as well.

In summary it has been extreme misery for my brother and big bummer on the elk trip overall. Still going to try and shoot an elk.





cupofjoe04
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Ugh, sorry for your brother... that's brutal.

Stay after it man! Go get you one!!!
cupofjoe04
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Well, since I'm not sheep hunting this week, and I still have a muzzloader deer tag, I decided to take my oldest boy out for a little muley hunt.

DANG there are a lot of people up here. Last night, and then again tonight there was someone parked in front of the access to my "super secret deer spot". No way for me to know how far back in they were, but it's so tight there's no way to go around. So, we just found a nice spot overlooking a decent little hill (where I have killed a buck before). Too bad I could hear dogs barking and music from someone's camp up the road. Did I mention that there are a freaking ton of people up here?

Made the best of if, and had a great time with my boy. Had 3 does walk about 5 yards away from us, which was cool. And we did a little practice stalking on a doe on a way out. Got within 40 yards before she looked our way, not bad with a 7 yo in tow!

No bucks, but memories aplenty!

My hunting buddy


Our set up for the evening



Keeping entertained. He is extending the wall of the blind... ha ha


Stealth mode stalking!

Yep, she finally spotted us
 
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