Join Team Sarcasm!

Stay caught up with what's new at JoeHumor.com

Get extra benefits, product news, and access to exclusive content as well.  

Join Team Sarcasm now!

TeamSarcasmTshirts.com

*New Design*

See all designs available now at:  TeamSarcasmTshirts.com

 

Other Popular Team Sarcasm Designs

 

Like what you read?  Contribute to the sarcastic cause!

Home > HuntSpot > Deer Hunt 2010 > page 2

Deer Hunt 2010:  page 1   page 2   photo set     Elk Hunt 2010  How To Shoot...   

Featured Hunting Article:  Down and Above:  The Key To Big Game Hunting Success

HuntSpot Journal:  One Seriously "Doggy" Day     HuntSpot Pics and Vids:  My Mountains

Deer Hunt 2010: How's That For A Doe? (continued)

Topping over the ridge, I came out in the midst of some sparse tree cover.  I moved slowly, looking the area over carefully as I had never been quite this far along it before.  I'd seen it, of course, from the other side of the bowl, but I had yet to actually walk it.

Being on it now, I realized there was more cover here than I thought.  The trees had looked large and scattered from afar, and they were, but it still was enough to reduce visibility to a couple hundred yards.  While moving ahead, still hoping to catch a glimpse of the buck that had originally set me on this course, the bull bugled again.  He was closer now, much closer.  He was moving across the side of the bowl, just like I thought he would!  If he held the same path as what I'd seen last year, he would cross just below the trees I was in, probably no more than four hundred yards below.

I stopped momentarily and scanned down through the trees below to about the level I expected the elk to be.  Suddenly there was a cow elk right there!  She was standing, looking intently ahead, unmoving.  I could barely see her through the trees, but there she was.  The sighting of a cow elk, coupled with the sound a bull elk, meant it was a herd, and likely to contain at least one good sized bull.

I decided to hurry then.  To heck with the vanished buck, I thought.  There's an elk herd down there with a bull in it!  I located a rocky finger ridge just ahead that extended down into the bowl.  

"If I head down that," I thought, "I'll be in good position to see everything and most likely be close enough for a shot."

Intent on hunting elk now, I started through an opening in the trees, heading toward my selected ridge.  Moving quickly, I scanned ahead, and suddenly, there, across the opening, was a good sized mule deer buck, watching me intently.

I paused.  You can only imagine the pleasant stress I was now under.  A buck here, a bull there, what's a guy with two tags to do?

Well, that buck was right there staring at me and I had learned long ago not to pass on what's right in front of me just because another opportunity is a ways off.  

"Let's just take things one at a time here," I thought.  Although, I have to admit the tantalizing idea of nailing both a buck and a bull in the same day danced in my head.  It was a good buck, with at least a four points on each side, likely five if he had brow tines, and fairly thick antlers.  There was no way to tell if he was the same buck I had originally been after or not, but it was certainly possible.  

At this point all I could see was his head.  He was standing in some thick brush, and he was nervous at the sight of me.  He had me made out, for certain, he just hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

Unfortunately, I'd already stopped and was looking at him.  That's really not a good thing to do.  If I was still moving and looking elsewhere, he'd have likely just watched me pass by as he was hidden enough to assume I couldn't see him, but once I stopped and gawked at him, he knew I had spotted him and he didn't like it.

He was at most two hundred yards off, I surmised, his body still behind cover.  He wanted to run, I could tell, and he'd already shot a look or two in the direction he wanted to go.  Two steps ahead of me was a downed tree that would make an excellent brace to shoot from if I got down on my knees.  If only that buck would wait until I got in position before he moved, I knew there would be time for a shot when he stepped out of cover if he went the way he was looking.

I moved slowly, trying not to look too obvious in my intentions, but it wasn't enough.  About the time I got to my knees and placed the gun on the dead tree, he ran.  He went just where I thought he was going to go, but by the time I had the scope on him, he had turned the corner around a clump of trees and was gone.

"Oh well," I thought, "There's still a bull elk down there, you know?"

I hopped up and headed off on my original path toward the rocky finger ridge.  I couldn't help but laugh at myself, though.  I'd just missed an opportunity at a good buck, the biggest I'd ever seen on this mountain in fact, and I didn't even care.  I was simply too excited by that elk bugling to even worry about it!

As I topped the finger ridge, however, I became concerned.  I saw the elk all right, but they had turned around and were headed out, back the way they had came from!

Well, that cow I had seen was staring ahead pretty intently.  Obviously, she'd seen something she didn't like and had decided to turn tail.  As it turned out, H.B. had come back up and topped over the ridge about five hundred yards south of me, right in line with where those elk had been heading. 

I quickly hit the far side of that rocky finger ridge and settled in to watch the elk and try to decide what to do.  I could see several cows, heading away from me, and already a long ways out.  I really wasn't sure of the distance.  I'd never really practiced shooting at anything past three hundred yards and I knew they were beyond that.  

I braced up for a shot anyway, just in case I decided to try it, and watched as cow after cow came out into the open and crossed through some scattered trees.  Then, there was a bull, with branched antlers, but nothing big, then a spike, and a couple more cows.  

Suddenly, though, I swear, there were antlers everywhere.  A couple of bulls with maybe four points on a side come out next, then two bigger bulls with at least five on a side, followed by two more, really good sized bulls, six pointers for sure.  

The Most Incredible 15 Minutes Ended and a Time of Stupidity Began

I was brain fried by this time, let me tell you.  Bucks and bulls were everywhere, it seemed, and big ones at that!  It no longer mattered that I really wasn't sure how far those bulls were or that I had no experience making such a shot, I was going to try it anyway.  

Stupid, yes, it was, I admit.  In all honesty, I had no business shooting at those elk.  Ethically speaking, I should have held off.  I should have just watched, took note of where they went, got H.B.'s attention, met back up with him, and then pursued them.

But, that's not what happened.  I was antler awed and I decided what the hell, I might as well try it.

So, with no real clue at the distance, I just took a guess and popped one off, watching to see where I hit so I could adjust as necessary.  The elk didn't react whatsoever and no dust kicked up.  

"Should I even be shooting?" I asked myself.

"Hell no!" I thought and sighted on one of the big six pointers again and fired.  Still nothing.  Well, they were in the midst of those scattered trees, with plenty of moist, soft dirt and pine needles to bury my bullet with no sign of entry.  In a moment, though, the bulls stepped out of those trees onto a rocky slide.  

I tried it again, and this time I saw a puff of dust come off the ground, at least a foot and a half above the back of the bull I'd sighted on.

Wow, I guess they weren't as far as I thought.   Adjusting my aim, I took another pop at that big bull.  Immediately after the shot, the big elk took a couple of quick steps, like something had spooked him, but then he returned back to his normal gait.

"Oh hell, what am I doing?" I asked myself.  Apparently, I hit close enough to spook him, but I didn't have the slightest idea if I had hit just above, just below, just in front, or what?

Besides, right about then I realized I had no extra ammo on me.  It was back over the ridge in the backpack I had thrown down so I could chase after the first buck I had seen!  I'd already fired off four shots.  That left one in the rifle. 

At this point, I decided to grow a brain and quit taking shots I had no business taking.  I would just watch to see where the elk went, then head back and get H.B.  Besides, what if I ran into that buck again?  There really wasn't much cover below where he had run.  I may just catch him out in the open on my way back along the ridge --- especially if I was out of ammo, that would almost guarantee it!

However, as I looked back at the elk, that big bull I'd shot at started limping.

"Oh you can't be serious!" I screamed at myself.  Yeah, he was holding his right front leg out as he walked, barely even touching it to the ground as he moved.

A mild panic overtook me.  I'd wounded one, but he was now even further away, and heading out.  I decided I might as well give him that last shot, hoping to put him down and not leave him wounded and gone.

I missed.  Now full panic hit me.  I'd heard H.B. calling for me back down the ridge, asking if I'd connected on the shots.  I stepped back over the top of the small finger ridge and called to him.

"Get your range finding, long distance shooting, scrawny ass up here!" I screamed, or something to that effect anyway.  I'm not really sure exactly what I said.  I was a little out of it at that point. But yeah, H.B. had a range finder, he had a bigger rifle with a much better scope, and he had made long shots like this before.

However, he had no clue where I was, and the elk had just topped over the next ridge and were gone.

We looked later, after I retrieved my backpack and H.B., and did find a bit of blood on that bull's track, but not much.  It was obvious he was keeping up with the rest of the herd just fine and we never did locate him or any of them again that day.  It was frustrating, and I was mad at myself for taking such stupid shots and missing --- and especially for not completely missing.

However, I was confident that bull was not badly hurt, and I would be back up on the mountain again the next day.

Another Day, Another Try

The next day, H.B. had gone home and I was left to go back up the mountain by myself.  I was determined to find that elk herd again, let me tell you.  I really wanted to find my gimpy bull and get a better shot at him this time.  Plus, H.B. had reported seeing six or seven mature bucks during the time we were separated, so I had even more incentive to return.

I had hiked up the opposite side of the mountain, to the west of the bowl this time, hoping to spend all day looking down into it until I found the elk herd.  I was certain they were still in there.  The tracks we'd followed the day before only circled around and came back into the thicker trees down lower, they didn't head over the top to another drainage like I had feared they would.

So, here I was on the third day of my elk and deer hunt, sitting back for a few moments while checking out H.B.'s deer spot, before starting my vigilance of scanning that bowl for my gimpy bull.

I'd looked twice already at every clump of cover in that small bowl while eating some granola bars and resting.  It was time to move on.  I'd developed a habit over the years, however, of double checking areas after I stand up and start to move.  I don't know how many times I've seen deer jump, right when I turn to leave, even after sitting around or standing and talking for some time.

So, I stood up, took a few steps as if I intended to leave, then stopped to look over the area one more time.  Nothing.  Oh well, this was H.B.'s deer spot not mine, and I really wanted to get over to the big bowl and search for my gimpy bull anyway.

Strapping on my backpack, I turned to head out for real when suddenly something jumped just downhill from where I had been sitting.  It was a buck, and a really good buck at that!  

He had jumped from behind a clump of trees that were straight downhill and only fifty yards away!  I couldn't see into them very well from my position and he had laid there, bedded down, hidden that close to me all this time!  

I struggled to get back out of my backpack as that buck lit out downhill, keeping the clump of trees right square between us.  

Backpacks can be a royal pain when you are in a hurry, you know?  Finally, I got free of it, however, stepped sideways a few feet to get a clear view of the buck, and settled in for a shot.  He kept chugging straight away, two hundred yards, two hundred and fifty yards, and counting.

"Do the stop and turn thing, man," I thought.  This was a good sized buck, though, he'd been around.  There was a fair chance he was smart enough to just keep on moving and never look back.  However, it was wide open, no cover at all, so if he did, he was still visible and in range, but just barely.

He was pushing three hundred yards now, but he had slowed.  I was ready, and finally, he stopped, curious to look back at what had spooked him, and made the fatal mistake. 

I sighted, fired, and saw that big old boy drop. 

Talk about excited!  No deer for me last year, frustrations for days earlier, bucks and bulls everywhere the day before, yet still I had achieved no success.

Now, however, I had. 

When I finally got down to him, he was even bigger than I had thought he was going to be.  How often does that happen?

He turned out to be a good, big bodied buck with a nice five by six rack, even bigger than the one I'd seen the day before.  (see his pictures in the photo set)

Suddenly, I thought about my original intentions of making deer hunting a "simple affair" for the year by chasing does instead of bucks.

"Well, how's that for a doe?" I said to myself and had to laugh.

2010 Buck Kill Video 

Now, as it turned out, my shot hit that buck in the spine and crippled him, but did not outright kill him.  I had to finish him off with my pistol once I got down to him. 

As I was walking toward him, I wanted to hurry up and put him down, rather than see him sitting there crippled.  However, I was also thinking how cool it was going to be being that close to buck that was still alive.  So, I got out my camera and took video of it as I approached and finished him off.  Here it is if you'd like to see it.

However, do NOT watch this if you don't want to see a deer die, and I mean right face to face as it happens.  I mean, it's just part of nature and the hunt.  We do kill for food, but I know there are some people sensitive to actually seeing it.  So, if you don't want to see it, don't watch this.

Having said that, though, it was really cool to be right up next to a live deer like that.  He showed no fear, no animosity, nothing, as I approached.  He just looked at me like, "well I can't move, what are you up to today?"  See it for yourself.

 

Getting Him Out

Deer hunting is one thing.  Dragging 250 pounds of dead weight down the mountainside back to the truck, now that's something else.

Let me show you where this dude was at, from the view of the truck after I finally got him down, after a mile and a half of dragging!

All in all, it was an incredible three days of hunting.  I was very happy with my big buck and the entire hunt, including where I got him at and how far I had to drag him out.  Sure, it's work dragging a deer out that far, but it's pleasant work.  

Check out the photo set for this hunt, but don't forget.  I still have a gimpy bull elk to chase!

Deer Hunt 2010: Photo Set

Elk Hunt 2010: How To Shoot Two Six Point Bulls In The Same Year (and get away with it, legally)

Copyright © 2010  JoeHumor.com, Joe Bingham.  All Rights Reserved Worldwide, and universally (just in case there are any aliens reading this).   All content on this site is 100% original and written by me, Joe Bingham, for the express purpose of entertainment and fun.  At no time is anything intended to offend, insult, or otherwise enrage anyone.  If you find yourself upset or otherwise ticked off, relax, I'm just freakin' kidding, OK?  Don't take things so seriously.  "Life IS a joke, why not laugh at it?"  Please just enjoy yourself and let me attempt to enrich your life with a little more fun and a lot more laughs.  Thanks for reading  --- Joe Humor