- Details
- Category: Hunting
- Published: Monday, 04 November 2024 04:13
- Written by Greg
Tick-or-Treat -- Halloween Deer Meat
This year I again drew a deer tag in Colorado giving me another opportunity to hunt mule deer. The unit I’d be hunting is an easy to draw tag, but I still hoped to find respectable buck.
Getting close to my hunting area
The area that I planned to focus on this year was way down low but so far the weather had not turned severe enough to push deer into the lower elevations. However, I believed that given time I’d still be able find a shooter buck. Even though the weather had been mild this fall, it did turn nasty enough during my hunt to keep me mostly confined to my trailer for 2 ½ days. That’s because in this portion of the unit any amount of rain or snow makes for the sloppiest of conditions. The roads are narrow and the gumbo mud becomes about as slick as it gets and the hunting areas become inaccessible; unless backpacking miles into an area is part of the plan. However on one of the stormy days I did leave the immediate area and headed up into the snowy high country but I never saw any deer.
Break in the storm, going to head into the high country
Nevertheless I kept grinding it out as weather permitted. As the week progressed I was encouraged by the fact that I finally began to see deer, including smaller bucks. And a few of those small bucks were sniffing and chasing the does which gave me hope that bigger bucks might move into the area. But the days passed quickly until there were only a few days left in the season. The forecast was calling for another big storm where additional precipitation would again severely limit access. So as I lay in bed making plans for the morning I decided that I would shoot any buck bigger than a 2 point given the chance. However, that compromise seemed like quite the stretch at this point.
Hiking down into the cedars Starting to see a few little bucks
That next morning I awoke at my usual time, 4:45 a.m. It was extra cold in my trailer since my RV batteries had died days earlier so running the furnace hadn’t been an option. The thermometer inside of my trailer read a chilly 29 degrees. The cold temperature didn’t matter much since I was up and dressed and on my way into the foothills fairly quickly. It was Halloween, but this year my costume consisted of standard camo hunting clothes accented with just enough fluorescent orange to be legal. As I hiked in the dark I found my first antler shed of the hunt, a great start to the day!
My Halloween costume this year Headlamp shining on 1st shed of the hunt
Just after first light I began to spot deer. I had seen about 15 deer before I spotted my first bucks, a couple of small spikes and a 2 point. I continued to see deer until about 9:00 a.m. until the deer activity ceased. My assumption was that the deer had finally finished feeding and had moved into their bedding areas. Now seemed like a good time to take a bathroom break so I left my glassing area along with all of my gear. As I slowly sneaked away a resounding thought was running through my head, something my Dad regularly said “always take your gun”. Of course I justified leaving my gun behind since I wasn’t going far and was certain that no deer would be seen until later in the afternoon. It was now 9:23 a.m., I was sending a Marco Polo update to my family as I was walking back to my glassing point. As I crested the small rise near my gear, I instantly noticed a buck walking broadside to my position! Dumbfounded and in total disbelief I froze. I stood motionless right out in the open, how the buck missed hearing or detecting me was mind blowing. Especially since the buck was only 60 yards away.
Hiking through the cedars found deadhead Also found 2nd shed of the hunt
Slowly I crouched to the ground but I was still 25 yards from my gun with no way to sneak closer without being seen. My only option was to let the buck continue walking until he had gone far enough to where a small cedar tree blocked him from view. As soon as the buck slipped behind the tree I scooted along the ground toward my gun. I only had about 10 feet more to go when the buck popped back into the open. At that point I couldn’t help myself because my gun was just out of reach, so I risked alerting the deer as I continued scooching forward until I had my gun in hand. Luckily for me the buck never noticed my movement.
Somewhat freaking out because the buck was now close to vanishing into the cedar grove ahead, I settled into a sitting position and took aim. The 4 point buck was now 165 yards away but I finally had him square in my sights. Within two shakes of a dog’s tail I fired a shot and the buck dropped! At that moment I wasn’t 100% sure if the buck was a 3x4 or a 4x4, but I didn’t care since I had made the decision the night before to shoot any buck bigger than a 2 point…and I had done just that!
7 PRC dropped the buck in his tracks Packing out my last load
The pack out back to my RZR was just over 1300 yards up hill but I had all day to get the job done. And since I had plenty of time I again pulled out my phone to finish the video message that had been interrupted mid-conversation. But now I could add to the update and tell my family the good news, I had just bagged my Halloween buck!
Last day was little warmer inside