Opening weekend

[armedandsafe]

I'm back from my first deer hunting trip in 2 years. I'm pooped and smiling. :D

I went up to St Andrews Friday afternoon to meet some friends, who were going to show me where to hunt. I never found them, so I came back to the house and regrouped.

Saturday, I went down to Hanford Reach and took the Hawkin .50 out for a walk. I saw a number of deer and had good shots at 2 of them, but passed, when I realized I would have to trek the animal out by myself. Either that, or build a small fire and start eating the critter on the spot. :D
I followed one little doe up out of the Russian Olive for about a mile, trekking along about 100 yards behind her. I had to make a little noise several times, to keep her moving out in front of me. There were hunters on the far side of her, so I couldn't shoot. I tried to herd her along toward them, but she insisted on hanging to the left. she slipped past them without being seen and I watched her sneak out of range.

Good times, but I think that is my last deer trip alone. I just don't enjoy hunting alone as I used to.

Pops

[danurve]

I had to google Russian Olive, thats a new one on me. Did you ever find out what happened to your friends or why they didn't show up? I can see you know when the real work starts on a deer hunt. "May all your drags be downhill" - nice to think about but it just isn't always so. A hunting bud & I usually team up and that helps but I can remember hauling deer for quite a ways myslef, well into nightfall by the time I reached the truck, or camp, exhausted. I even use a decent drag system stopping for breaks.
I do relish my time outdoors & in the woods, wondering if you like Turkey hunting? Much less work and just as enjoyable ;)

[LIKTOSHOOT]

Deer-person-4wheeler=it ain`t hard no more.


LTS

[armedandsafe]

I was about 3 hours late getting to the meeting spot and they went on, assuming I wasn't going to make it.

The Russian Olive thickets are really thick and I have to crawl to get into the "parks" in the middle. If I had been really serious about taking a deer home, I'd have stayed out in the sagebrush. :D There is just something about sitting down 20 yards or so from a sleeping deer that tickles me.

Only the two main roads are open to motorized vehicles. You walk or you sit on the road. My loop is about 12-15 miles. I walked it twice Saturday, twice Sunday and once on Monday (yes, I wimped out.)

I pushed several deer to a young lad who was hunting for the first time in his life. He dropped a nice little buck. He was somewhat pleased. I could hear him from a mile away.

Pops