09-28-2009, 11:25 PM
Last Tuesday HJB, another non-BFT friend, and I took off to our hunting spot in Northern Utah.
After quite a while on a rough dirt road, we finally made it to the area where we wanted to camp. While looking for the right spot, we spotted over 10 deer, including 2 small bucks.
The next morning, we got up early and on the mountain just before light. The area we were hunting was very dry, and we were able to find a spring that we knew would attract some animals. We started off having Matt sit on the water hole as we worked around it. After seeing no deer, we decided to pack up and go further up the canyon to hunt. On our hike out, we glassed about 10-12 deer on the top of a ridge on the other side of the canyon... easily 700 or 800 yards away, if not more. We watched where they went and bedded in some quakies. After driving up the mountain, we got out and dropped into the bottom of the deep and heavily pined canyon. As we started up the other side to hunt some more open terrain, we jumped a few deer, including a small spike. The deer stood there as our buddy was going to dump him, and when he pulled the trigger all we heard was "click". He cocked the hammer again, and again, "click". By this time the small buck took off. He checked his gun, and sure enough, no primer. This was his first year muzzy hunting. Not sure if he accidentally had the breach open or just didn't put one in, but no matter... we didn't feel like pulling the little bugger out of that nasty stuff anyway. After that, we split up a little and I walked to the very top of the mountain. I crossed back over the steep canyon, and was working some quakies when I heard something busting through the brush coming towards me. I pulled up into the opening I thought it would come through, and out busts a nice heavy 5 pt bull. He was 15 feet from me staring at me. I lowered the gun and he trotted off. On the way back to the truck, I had a run in with 6 does, 2 cows and a spike elk as well.
After a few hours of playing rummy and eating at camp, we took off for the evening hunt that took us back to the water. We split up and sat on game trails and ridges that led to the spring. Not long after taking a seat, I had another 6 does with fawns brousing in front of me at about 30 yards. Matt is about 350 yards west of me, and our buddy was sitting lower and east of me. All of a sudden I hear "Boom!" from where Matt was. Come to find out, he jumped a group of deer and the nice 4pt was one of them. He cracked a shot off at it at about 200 yards, but it was a tough shot and came up empty. We saw several other deer before it got dark, including several smaller bucks, but couldn't close the deal.
The next morning found us hunting the game trails again. After seeing some does, but not much more, we all decided to start hiking up towards where we saw the big buck and other deer bed the day before. Sure enough, they were working their way towards the same area. Matt got up there and had the buck at 75 yards in some thicker stuff, but wasn't able to get a shot off. I hunted the top of the ridge, and found a place where the deer were dumping over the top to get into some thick timber. That evening our buddy decided he would sit that area. Sure enough, about an hour before dark, the deer started pouring out of the timber and he shot a 2 point at 75 yards. After a quick gut job, we drug him out.
Nothing to really report from there on out. Saw tons of deer, no bucks in range for me, but had a great time chasing them accross some beautiful and rugged terrain.
Matt has all the pics (not too many), so maybe he will post them.
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After quite a while on a rough dirt road, we finally made it to the area where we wanted to camp. While looking for the right spot, we spotted over 10 deer, including 2 small bucks.
The next morning, we got up early and on the mountain just before light. The area we were hunting was very dry, and we were able to find a spring that we knew would attract some animals. We started off having Matt sit on the water hole as we worked around it. After seeing no deer, we decided to pack up and go further up the canyon to hunt. On our hike out, we glassed about 10-12 deer on the top of a ridge on the other side of the canyon... easily 700 or 800 yards away, if not more. We watched where they went and bedded in some quakies. After driving up the mountain, we got out and dropped into the bottom of the deep and heavily pined canyon. As we started up the other side to hunt some more open terrain, we jumped a few deer, including a small spike. The deer stood there as our buddy was going to dump him, and when he pulled the trigger all we heard was "click". He cocked the hammer again, and again, "click". By this time the small buck took off. He checked his gun, and sure enough, no primer. This was his first year muzzy hunting. Not sure if he accidentally had the breach open or just didn't put one in, but no matter... we didn't feel like pulling the little bugger out of that nasty stuff anyway. After that, we split up a little and I walked to the very top of the mountain. I crossed back over the steep canyon, and was working some quakies when I heard something busting through the brush coming towards me. I pulled up into the opening I thought it would come through, and out busts a nice heavy 5 pt bull. He was 15 feet from me staring at me. I lowered the gun and he trotted off. On the way back to the truck, I had a run in with 6 does, 2 cows and a spike elk as well.
After a few hours of playing rummy and eating at camp, we took off for the evening hunt that took us back to the water. We split up and sat on game trails and ridges that led to the spring. Not long after taking a seat, I had another 6 does with fawns brousing in front of me at about 30 yards. Matt is about 350 yards west of me, and our buddy was sitting lower and east of me. All of a sudden I hear "Boom!" from where Matt was. Come to find out, he jumped a group of deer and the nice 4pt was one of them. He cracked a shot off at it at about 200 yards, but it was a tough shot and came up empty. We saw several other deer before it got dark, including several smaller bucks, but couldn't close the deal.
The next morning found us hunting the game trails again. After seeing some does, but not much more, we all decided to start hiking up towards where we saw the big buck and other deer bed the day before. Sure enough, they were working their way towards the same area. Matt got up there and had the buck at 75 yards in some thicker stuff, but wasn't able to get a shot off. I hunted the top of the ridge, and found a place where the deer were dumping over the top to get into some thick timber. That evening our buddy decided he would sit that area. Sure enough, about an hour before dark, the deer started pouring out of the timber and he shot a 2 point at 75 yards. After a quick gut job, we drug him out.
Nothing to really report from there on out. Saw tons of deer, no bucks in range for me, but had a great time chasing them accross some beautiful and rugged terrain.
Matt has all the pics (not too many), so maybe he will post them.
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