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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 24, 2006 0:35:55 GMT -5
Well, here goes..... This the first of what I suspect will be many entrys.
MONTANA DEER SEASON whitetail/mule deer.2006 Sunday, Oct. 22... Opening day...Jefferson River Bottom
Weather : 26 degrees, dense fog and heavy frost.
Got up at 4:30 am . Pulled into one of my fishing access site's parking lot at 5:45 and the lot already had 3 trucks parked there. Guys hanging around their vehicles with flashlights. I also noticed a Black Lab standing with one group.I asked myself :" Whats a dog doing out here with deer hunters ? " Thought nothing more about it because all I wanted to do was get back to my tree stand which is a good mile or so hike from the parking area and I wanted to be the first guy back there if those other hunters were going to hunt the same river bottom strip. Grabbed my gear and boogied !
Made it to my stand by 6:30... still a good hour before sunup. I no sooner got up and situated and I saw three flashlights coming my way from upstream. I "flashed " them with my light and they all stopped moving. Then , they all started moving toward me again. At that point, they were about 150 to 200 yards from me.I "flashed" them again and once more. They stopped, but moved a third time making all kinds of racket. The lights disappeared behind some brush,the fog and river bank between me and them. Even though I couldn't see what was going on, I could hear splashing in the water and movement in front of me in the dark. At that point, I still didn't have a clue what was going on... then it got quiet... until I heard the"ducks" calling across the river from me !!! Just at that "Golden Hour" as the sun was beginnig to lighten up the woods and water.GEECH!!! I was so mad I could have strangled those three " Nimrods" one at a time with their own decoy setups !
Can't Hit The Broadside Of a Cow With a Rock,But They Know How to Hit Me !
As the fog lifted, I could see all three of our Goofy Trio trying to build make-shift blinds out of brush against the river bank while the waterfowl was fying overhead... making complete fools out of the ones with the guns.I could also hear them talking and laughing while all this was going on. I was getting madder by the minute ! There I sat ; up in my tree, completly exposed in direct view of them over there... not more than 150 yards away. If I could see them in complete camo, they sure as heck saw ME wearing a orange vest , hat and orange hooded shirt up in a tree! In came the birds, up went the guns and out came the shot ! This happened four times. All four times the birds scored 3, Goofy Trio 0 ! ! Twice I got sprayed with shot ! First time, I let it go. Second time was all I could take! I hollered a few explatives over at them and they just ignored me. One more flock flew over us , they shot at them and missed.I told myself that if they sprayed me one more time, I was gonna start "takin out" their decoys with some 20 Ga. Sabots ! A half our later, they packed up their stuff and left. It was 9:30.
Finally Have My Area To Myself (Not!) About 20 minutes after the Numb Skulls left , and small Mulie doe walked under my stand, then three more.. a doe with twins. A heavy footed deer hunter walked by. Half hour later a coyote. After that, I watched a mature Bald Eagle fold his wings and scoop a trout out of the Jefferson ! Then another yote running in the same direction as the first one. About 11:00 , four hunters were putting on a silent drive right through my strip. I watched the one guy wearing a white cowboy hat walk up to my stand . As he got right under me...not looking up, I said "Goodmorning". I thought he was gonna jump out of his cowboy boots! He says "I didn't know you were up there". My reply was "Yeah, you and three dipstick duck hunters across the river too"! As I watched him and his buddys fade into the brush, all I could do is shake my head and drink some hot coffee from my thermos.
Takin a Stroll Down the "Jeff"
Twice, hunters floated down the river looking for deer. Two guys in a raft. And a father and son in a canoe with pontoons.I was hearing gun shoots all around me and was wondering how many deer and what kind died after the shots.... was I gonna get a crack at one ? It was by then around 12:30. Then it happened.....
I heard a noise upstream from me. I leaned over in my stand to see what was splashing around in the water and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Not more than a hundred yards from me was two Mulie bucks Walking down the middle of the River!!! One was a really nice 4 by 4 and the other was one he## of a HUGE 6 by 6 !!!! They both were heading toward me, smaller one first, big boy last , but they were walking and wading in the river. Twice, they stopped where the water was shallow enough for them to stand up on the gravel and they started to lock horns and shove each other around just having a good ole time ! I kept saying to myself..."Get out of the water and walk toward me " over and over to myself. They kept on walking down the river and where the high brushy bank was right in front of me they disappeared from my sight. I watched the riverside hoping they would come out right in front of me. They didn't. They reappeared 150 yards downstream from from me, walked up the bank and vanished in the heavy brush ! I never had a chance . After witnessing this marvelous event all I could do is shake uncontrollably .I watched that thicket for hours from my stand hoping they would turn around and come back my way , but it wasn't to be. As the sun begain to set, I sat there wondering what I could have done to get that giant buck. Should I have shot him in the middle of the stream with my slug gun ? Could have... would have been so easy but there are too many things that could have happened. If it wouldn't have been a "drop dead" where he stood shot, he could have traveled over to the opposite side of the river(the river at this point is very narrow) and gone onto property that I don't have permission to be on. If I would have dropped him right in the middle of the river, the swift currents could have carried him downstream for a long distance and who knows what might have happened to him then. Would I have been able to find and then recover him? He is just to much of a great and beautiful animal to loose that way. I also have a personal ethics thing about shooting deer standing in water. I grew up and first hunted deer in Pa.. They have a law against shooting deer in water.I'm really not clear about Montana's law about this so, better not to take that chance. One of the last thoughts before closing my eyes in bed Sunday night was .. When those bucks dissappeared, I should have climbed down out of my tree ran down stream through the woods and "ambushed" them when they got out of the water on my side of the stream. Unfortunately, when the "fever" sets in at the time it was all happening, rational thought blows away with the wind. BTW, I'm almost positive those two bucks were the same ones I photographed this summer and posted elsewhere on this forum... "Wild Mustard Mulies". I've decided that I'm gonna try to hunt exclusively for this gaint buck for awhile. Its a long season and I have plently of time to find him. Then again, if a bigger buck of either species than any I have ever killed previously shows up in front of my sights, I might just change my mind.Thats buck huntin.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 24, 2006 2:29:10 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part II
Monday Oct.. 23, 2006... Second day Weather : 23 degrees Heavy frost, clear skys
Left the house at 7:30 am . On the way to my stand , I saw lots of deer still in the adjacent fields next to the river bottom strip. Saw a yote sneekin around the feed lot and walking around with the cattle. Then saw three whitetails the same time they saw me... a doe with two fawns. It was really cool watching them running in the early morning light across the frosted fields and jumping one fence after another until they vanished out of sight into the woods about a quarter mile away from my stand.
Got Settled In
It was really nice to be in my stand this morning. This time I had the whole strip to myself. No distractions. Just me in God's woods. I love to watch nature wake up this time of the day. I had Cickadees and Jays visting me all morning.A flock Canadian Geese flared their wings and landed in the river right in front of me, folowed by some Teals and some Mallards.The big whitetail bucks were chasing themselves and some does in the pivot field accross the river. I had a Redtail Hawk land in a tree next to me. When I tried to grab my camera to photograph him he spotted my movments and flew off before I could "shot " him. Unfortunately, no deer around my stand this morning. By noon, I got "antsy". I decided to do some "still hunting" deeper into the strip in some areas I've never been to before and where the two "Wild Mustard "Mulie bucks went yesterday. Just couldn't resist. After about a half hour of sneeking through some extremely thick brush, my right calf cramped up... lost my concentration and started moving too fast so I could find a place to sit down and workout the cramp. BIG MISTAKE ! Next thing I knew, a nice rack buck Whitetail jumped out of his bed about 40 yards from me and in one leap disappeared in the river willows ! DANG!!! Instead of following him in the brush, I rushed to my right, back out to the ajacent feed lot about two hundred yards away. Once I was able to limp out to the fence line at the feed lot, I slowly snuck along the the fence from tree to tree checking out the woods and hoping to catch the buck before he caught me a second time. I did this for a distance of about an eight of a mile and never saw him .
Found Another Great Spot
Once I reached the end of the feed lot. The woods turned into a corner at that point. There was a deer trail at this corner where they are going in and out of the field and back into the woods . There is also a really nice open area there surrounded by cottonwoods , junipers and cedars.About 100 yards into the open area is the edge of the river willow thickets. Beyond that , the river itself. I walked back in there and found another old perminate tree stand built on three old standing dead cottonwood trees.I decided to check the stand out . Its old, its shaky, but it holds all 230 lbs. of me and my gear ! And its a great site. I settled in there to see what might happen hoping the buck will walk out into the open around dusk. I sat there all afternoon. All that showed up were the doe and her two fawns. I'm sure they were the same three whitetails I saw earlier in the morning because they ran into the woods out of the fields at about this same spot. I got to take some pic's of them.
Whoops ! And Doggone It !
The temps got up into the high 50s this afternoon and the sun was so intense I got a sunburned face today.Around 6:00 pm, I got down out of "ole shaky" and started to sneek back the way I came hoping to catch some deer coming out of the woods to feed in the fields. My leg started giving me problems again and I couldn't find a stump to sit down on along the fence row so I limped back into the woods looking for a place to sit for a couple of minutes . Just so happens it was exactly where my morning stand is located . As I was dragging myself along to a blow-down next to the stand to sit and workout the knot in my calf, I saw a big whitetail waving back and forth running away from me connected at the other end to the same rack buck I jumped out of the thicket earlier in the day!! Busted once again !! I just sat there shaking my head and rubbing my calf. It was dead black dark by the time I got back to my truck tonight. On my way back home, on both sides of the gravel road the fields were full of both Whitetails and Mulies ! When I got to the end of the gravel and just about to the blacktop, my high beams caught a big black domestic cat and a Red Fox standing in the middle of the road in some kind of a bizaare "standoff". My headlights broke up that "union". Have to work tomorrow morning but plan on doing something different in my deer hunting adventures tomorrow afternoon and evening. Stay tuned.
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 24, 2006 7:19:45 GMT -5
WOW,, Shame you had them EXPERT DUCK HUNTER'S ALL AROUND YOU... But as long as your seein them bucks , they will be there fer another day.......... I'm the same way , love too watch everything wake up in GODS COUNTRY, What a site too watch,,,, Same thing happen to Dad one year,, Got a cramp in his calf, stopped too sit and rub it , about time he sat down, up jump a buck not 30 yds away, so thick no time fer a shot.. GOOD LUCK TO YA BUDDY.... SOUNDS LIKE YOUR IN DEER HEAVEN
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Post by michihunter on Oct 24, 2006 13:00:40 GMT -5
Scott- You have a wonderful way of allowing us to be "there" with you during your adventures. That's a great gift. Thank you for including us.
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Post by fossilman on Oct 24, 2006 13:46:31 GMT -5
Scott great story teller,you ever write............Thank's for sharing....
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Post by jerseyhunter on Oct 24, 2006 20:12:34 GMT -5
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME BUDDY.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 24, 2006 22:02:57 GMT -5
Thanx for the comments guys !
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 24, 2006 23:28:44 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part III Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 .... Day Three Weather : 55 Degrees, Partly Cloudy Skys I got home from work at 2:00 pm. By 2:30 I was on my way. My strategy for this afternoon was this: When walking back to my treestand, I usually walk along the tree line next to the fields till I get to a point where I cut back into the woods to the stand. Everytime I walk back there, I see Mulies bedded down in a stand of cottonwoods in the middle of the one field . I never spook them while while walking in. Today I did something different. I wanted to push them back to the far end of the last feed lot and back into the woods where that big Mulie buck went on Sunday. I knew that before sundown those Mulie Does and fawns would want to come right back to the first field to feed for the evening and maybe they will draw that big buck with them when they return.... and I'll be lookin for him ! And Away They Go !! Instead of walking the edge, I walked a straight bee-line through the middle of the field right toward the bedded down Mulies, letting them see me. The cottonwoods exploded with 15 or so "bald" deer running away from me and going in the exact direction I wanted them to go... following the fence line all the way back to the far feed lot, under the fence and into the far woods. Yes ! The plan worked ! Fifteen minutes later I was in my tree proud of myself for pulling off my idea. While sitting up there, Momma Whitetail and her two younguns walked under me and continued on their way upstream from me. Several minutes later a small flock of five Swans landed in the river in front of me.I kept watching the edge of the field which I can see from my stand about 75 yards from my location. About an hour and a half later I spotted the ole lead herd doe of Mulies starting to make her way back to the first field where I spooked them earlier . I was starting to get excited ! I grabbed my binoculars and started to "glass" the rest of the herd. One at a time they were following the ole girl . The first six were all does.Then a button buck followed by another doe. Next two were small spikers and the rest were does and button bucks. Unfortunately no Big Boy followed them. I have a feeling he is back over on the other side of the main road and not in my bottom strip at this time.I may just hunt a section of State land that borders the ranch and is higher up. The Wild Mustard Buck just might be hanging out up there away from all the action. Life Is Good I spent the rest of the earily evening sitting in my tree watching the red , orange and purple sun set behind the snow capped mountain peaks and thanking the Man Upstairs for allowing me to live and hunt this beautiful country. For years when I lived in Pa., I dreamed about getting just one opportunity to hunt deer in Montana . I continually remind myself how lucky I am. Eastern hunters plan for years and spend thousands of dollars in order to experience this for only a few short days. Not only did I get a chance to hunt deer out here, I now live here and I'm thrilled to death about hunting Montana deer every day by myself just five short minutes from home ! I don't deserve this. Tomorrow I'll have to put my deer hunting on "hold". I have to take my Mother to "Wally World"in Bozeman ... her favorite place to shop.Heh,Heh! Besides, my leg is killing me and I need the day off to get it to relax... Sure hope Mom lets me push the cart ! I'll pick up the pace on Thursday... To be continued....
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 9:50:58 GMT -5
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 25, 2006 9:58:53 GMT -5
Great pic's & the way you tell the story of your hunt as if we were sittin in the next tree.. GOOD LUCK BUDDY
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Post by michihunter on Oct 25, 2006 10:25:32 GMT -5
If that pic was an accurate range of distance I'd have a nice doe hanging right now!! Looks like you are on your way to getting you some table fare soon Scott!!
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 10:42:14 GMT -5
Thanx Larry ! I try my best to make you guys feel that way. Ted ~ Yep, that is the accurate distance... didn't enlarge the pic's.so you guys can see what I see from the stands. BTW, I could kill does everyday out there... I'm holding off till the end of the season for them. Here are some various other views from both stands. This first one is from the "Riverside Stand". You will see in this one where I first spotted the "Wild Mustard " Mulie bucks walking down the river on the extreme left hand side of the pic. Again, this is the exact view that I had from the stand.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 11:00:25 GMT -5
Another view facing the Jefferson . Those bucks disappeared behind the high cut bank and brush. BTW, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on one of them... Got some more info. on MT.law.... It states that it is unlawful to hunt big game within the boundries of a river's normal "high water marks" between the banks.So technically, I would have broken the law if I would have killed him standing in the river even though I was up on the dry land.Those guys floating down the river on Sunday with guns were breaking the law also.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 11:05:59 GMT -5
The view from behind me on the Riverside stand... Pivot field in the background.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 11:12:06 GMT -5
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 25, 2006 11:29:10 GMT -5
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Post by jerseyhunter on Oct 26, 2006 18:01:48 GMT -5
GREAT LOOKING PICS BRO .NICE LOOKING HUNTING AREA. ;D
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 26, 2006 18:09:23 GMT -5
Man I like the looks of that huntin ground.... ;D ;D ;D
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 26, 2006 22:08:00 GMT -5
Thanx Bro's I don't think there is a single bad location on this land !
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 26, 2006 22:25:51 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part IV Thursday Oct...26...2006 Weather : 26 degrees, partly cloudy skys ~No Hunting From Above~ Left home and was on the "Bottom" by 6:30 am.. Today I thought I'd mix things up a bit. Instead on sitting in trees all day waiting for deer to come to me, I decided to look for them .While it was still dark this morning, I walked into where I hunt on a path along the river that I usually use when I walk out at dusk. I sat down along this path at a spot that looked good to me in the past , under an old wild plum tree and waited for the world to wake up. Just me, the yotes and the owls.I had a really nice view of the sun coming up behind the trees and a little later on a flock of Canadian Geese flew past. ~The Brown Serpent~ I sat there watching the streamside and the field which runs up against the tree line till about 9:30 with no deer moving in this area. At that point, it was time to do some oldtime still hunting and stump sitting while working way downstream. Across the Jefferson from me over on the KG Ranch, the woods was "alive" with Whitetails! Someone over there had the whole herd spooked . In the Cottonwood trees I saw quite a sight... It looked like a wave of brown backs, heads and white tails moving back and forth and from side to side... weaving in and out ... around trees, going in circles, going straight ahead , then turning back around again....over and over !! All bodies moved together like one giant brown serpent. They were "stuck" in that stand of Cottonwoods like they were being held in by some sort of an invisible corral. I have absolutely no idea how many deer were in this group... it was huge ! ~ Going, Going....Gone ! ~ Then the bucks split off... In the middle of all this swirling around, I watched two enormus bucks run out of the woods toward me. When they hit the river back, I thought for sure they were going to cross it and one of them Big Boys would be mine ! Not to be... when they hit the water line on their side, they ran upstream , away from me, then ran back up the same bank, over the top and out of sight into another stand of Cootonwoods ! That will get your blood circulating first thing in the morning!! I continued "sneekin & peekin " downstream to the edge of the woodlot where the Riverside Stand is and instead of going into the woods, I turned West toward the pivot field, circling back to the South along the fence line and West of the thickets and river...this time watching the other side of the thicket on my right and the fields on my left.I walked about an eight of a mile and spotted a group of three Mulie does hanging around the end of another Cottonwood strip in the middle of the field about a thousand yards away. I slowly snuck along the fence row to get a better look at them and still only saw three...by that time they were bedded down. When I saw that, I found a big old blown down tree limb along the field's edge about 800 yards away from them and sat down on the ground with my back against the big limb. ~Waiting Game ~ I sat there against the limb for two hours and nothing over in the woodlot strip moved, except for a lone Whitetail doe who walked along the treeline and bedded down with the Mulies. I must have glassed that area a hundred times.My mind started thinking about some work I needed to do today, it was going past midday and nothing was moving . So, I decided to hunt my way back to my truck and head for home. ~What The....~ I didn't take more that twelve steps from the tree limb and saw two large black "mule" ears sticking up out for the tall grass in the Cottonwoods at the other end of the woodlot strip... Never saw them the whole time I was sitting and glassing. I froze and watched. She was bedded down too. Ten minutes or more later, I got tired of watching a doe chew her cud and started moving down the fence row again. For some reason, I looked back toward her again and this time I noticed that she was standing up and looked like she was licking something on the ground in the tall grass.I pulled my binoculars back up to my eyes to see what she was licking. ~It's A" Rush" !~ There he was ! Yep, Mr. Wild Mustard !!! Bedded down in that tall grass and he was sleeping with his head on the ground , neck streached out and laying with his chin on the ground ! The doe was licking his antlers and his head . Even with that huge rack, it was hidden in the straw colored grass to the "naked" eye. I started to shake again ! There I was, standing in the open with about 750 yards of open field between me and that great buck . What the he** am I gonna do about this deal ? I knew the buck didn't see me ... he was sleeping. The doe had me concerned. I didn't move till the doe made one. She stopped slobering on "Loverboy", turned, walked away and bedded down behind him with her back turned from me. Time to make my move... ~ I Hate Whitetail Does !~ There was a small brushy juniper tree between me and the sleeping buck. Only problem is, it was about 50 yards from him and 700 from me. I went for it... Keeping the juniper between me and the lovely couple, I belly crawled to within 100 or so yards of them without their even knowing it. All I had to do was move slightly to the left to get a clear shot at the buck's outstreached neck. Having a single shot H&R Ultra Slug gun, I pulled another 260grain Sabot out of my pocket and held it in my left hand, just in case. Easing my way over to the left , I brought my scope up to my eye and put the crosshairs on the sleeping buck's neck where it connects to his shoulders.Took a deep breath, put my finger on the trigger and all he** broke loose ! Before I could squease off the shot, a whole mess of Mulie does came running through the tree lot from the other end where I first saw those three does ! One of them must have seen my movements in the field and set of the panic. I found out later that there is a depression in the ground behind the trees surrounded with dead sage brush and out of site from the side I was on. Those does must have been bedded in that hole and the three that I only saw were outside of it. The does ran right up to the buck and his girlfriend and STOPPED right there with them. The bedded doe got up, then the buck. I still had him in my scope.. this time on his chest but those darn does kept walking around him and each other deciding what to do next. They looked like they might calm down and stay there... and then it happened ! I'm still looking through my scope waiting for an opening and I see this up close brown blurr pass in front of my sight picture ! It was that doggone Whitetail doe ! For some reason she must have thought it would be "cool" to run interference and ran right between me and the Mulies... not more than 40 yards away from me ! I'm laying on my belly watching her trot across the field and so were the Mulies... as soon as they saw her take off across the field they played follow the leader with Big Boy in tow right into the river bottom.... Oh no I picked myself up, ran toward the bottom trying to cut them off , but they were gone. I spent the rest of the day sitting in the middle of that dang Cottonwood strip hoping they would return around dusk. Some did , but Mr. Mustard wasn't with them. Guess where I'll be one hour before daylight tomorrow ?
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 27, 2006 3:43:48 GMT -5
Another Great Story & pic's.......... Sounds like you hsd a good day in the field,,, Thanks fer sharin the Story & pic's, Larry
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 29, 2006 21:22:40 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part V Friday Oct 27...2006 Weather... 55 degrees, Partly cloudy skys I didn't get out in the morning like I wanted to. Went back to the Cottonwood strip in the middle of the field at 2:00 pm... the Mulies were already feeding in the end of the field where I wanted to walk in .I froze, turned around and snuck down throught the inside of the tree line next to the field. I thought I would sneek around the feeding Mulies and enter the field further away from them, cross the field and enter the cottonwoods undetected.... Almost pulled it off . One of those does saw me and the rest started to trot to the other end of the cottonwood strip and stopped.. I thought "alright, I can do this , just another 40 yards and I'm in the woods and at my ground stand." I didn't take another three steps and I kicked two bedded down Whitetail does that were in the tall grass no more than 10 feet from my ground stand ! Well, that was all she wrote! For some reason, when the Whitys run , they get the Mulies to put it into overdrive also and take off too. ~ Pickin Up The Stragglers ~ When I first saw those Mulies in the field, it was a group of four does . as they started running away from me along the backside of the cottonwood strip they were being joined by other Mulies that were also bedded in the tall grass, sagebrush and trees.I never knew they were there . Deer jumping up and joining in with the rest of the gang all the way down the strip till the herd of four turned into about 40 or so Mulies... in this herd there was 3 nice bucks. They broke out into the open , ran about 300 yards and stopped at the pivot field fence. They kept milling around in a big circle back in that corner of the field not really figuring out what to do.They were still on my side of the fence and I could see that they were beginning to settle down and I thought maybe I still have a chance now that I was at my spot and sitting down in a natural blind where they couldn't see me. ~I'm Starting To Hate Mule Deer Herd Does Too !~ Some of the Mulies wanted to return back to the cover of the cottonwoods where I was. They would trot halfway toward me and then trot back with the rest of the gang still going around in circles up against the corner of the field where two fences came together at 90 degree angles.While this whole thing was going on, I noticed one big doe that kept breaking out of the group, would run up to the fence that runs parallel to the main gravel road behind me and out of my hunting area and then back to the group as if she was saying "This way everyone". I watched her do this three times. Finally, on her fourth attempt, two fawns followed her to the fence. The ole' lady jumped the fence, crossed the road , jumped another fence on the other side of the road and was gone.OH NO !! The fawns followed and one by one the rest of the herd followed each other.It was just too far of a shot with my slug gun at any of them. ~ Should Have Brought Along Reading Material ~ Throughly frustrated and mad at myself for not going out earlier and at that damn doe, I sat on stand for another two hours hoping something would happen, but .... it didn't. ~ Speedy & Zippy ~ By 5:30 I was up in my tree by the river. I wasn't there more than 20 minutes and out of the thicket comes a Whitetail fawn running full tilt toward me.It turns right around, runs back into the thicket the way in came from and runs right back... this time with another fawn running just as fast right behind the first one. They ran a lap around my stand , go back into the thicket again , come back out and blast by me.. hooves pounding the ground and huffin and puffin like a pair of race horses. They were having a good ole time ! About 30 seconds later out pops "Mom" from the thicket and she is running too with her mouth wide open and upper lip pushed back like she was running out of gas. She was probably thinking .. Those darn kids ! She trots past me and then slows down as if to catch her breath and then finally stops. Speedy and Zippy finally returns back to Mom and they ended up bedding down near my stand. It was the same three deer that I have been seeing and photographed. I hope those three deer make it throught the hunting season... I'm begining to be fond of them and getting "attached".. I see them every day that I'm out there.I know that I couldn't kill them .I don't need venison that bad. The sun was starting to set. I was hoping the Whitetail buck would show up, but he didn't. I was mad about what had happened to me earlier in the afternoon, but the show that I witnessed wth those three was worth it and I still had an enjoyable hunt. Saturday is another day to remember....
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 29, 2006 22:03:32 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part VI
Saturday Oct. 28...2006 Weather : 33 degrees... Partly cloudy skys
Today I was in my Cottonwoods ground blind in the middle of the field at 6:30 am..I had a feeling that the Mulies wouldn't be in the field after what had happened on Friday. I was right. All I needed to do was wait'em out till they crossed the road and came back to the cottonwood strip to bed down . As the sun was rising in the East, I noticed a pickup truck entering the pivot field and park behind some large round bails. OK, their about 400 or so yards away... no big deal... I'm sitting right in the middle of the "Hot Spot". I can see more then them anyway. Sure enough, about 8:00 am, I could see the whole herd bunched up against the fence closest to me , starting to jump it and head my way ! They kept getting closer by the second . Finally, as the first two does entered the end of the cottonwoods about 250 yards from me, I got ready. The rest of the herd was following them and I knew that before too long they all would be right there with me.
~ Nit Wits ~
Just as the next group of five or six does were about to enter the woods, I noticed that the bucks were still with the rest about halfway across the field and my hopes were really high on this one. The first two does weren't in the woods 30 seconds and all he** broke loose ! Six shots from the round bails and two dead does laying on the ground... and I saw the whole thing unfold before my eyes ! I don't have to tell you what happened to the rest of the herd. I sat there and watched as two guys walked over to the dead does. Then I stood up, walked out into the open so they could see me standing there not more than a couple hundred yards from them and I really don't think they saw me ! After "High Fiving", they gutted them out and drug them back to the round bails . I thought well, OK,the way their hunting they are only hunting does. They will load up and head out with the meat. I'll have the place to myself...Didn't happen . I was watching them with my binos and they were still standing behind the bails with guns ready again . I have no idea what they thought would happen after they "blew" an excellent chance the first time, if they would have left the whole herd come into the cottonwoods . Nothing came into the field . I sat there another hour or so and the bail hunters didn't move. After awhile, another truck rolls up next to the first one. Two guys get out and their talking with the doe killers. The second truck then leaves, drives down the main gravel road to end of the field where I usually walk into this area. Three guys get out of the truck and they start to put on a silent drive through the main woods opposite the field where all the thick stuff is. They were trying to drive deer to the one guy that killed a doe earlier. "This might work out" I thought to my self, because I also saw some Mulies go into that thicket about the same time the other herd started jumping the fence and coming in. They crossed in front of me with the closest driver walking the edge of the field and the woods. He saw me and waived . I waived back.. Now they finally knew I was there. No deer were pushed out, so they packed up and left. As they were leaving on the main road, the first truck stopped on the road directly behind me . I glassed the truck and noticed that the guy driving the truck was glassing ME, so I stuck out my tongue and gave him a salute !
~ Back To The River Stand ~
I was only going to hunt till 4:00 because I had a date with my wife to attend a hockey game in Bozeman, so I got back up in my tree by 1:30. I had four different invididual Whitetail does walk past me and two bedded down not more than 50 yards from me.Everyone of them kept hanging around and looking back toward the thicket as if they were expecting "Mr. Big" to show up. I've seen this type of pre-rut and rut behavior before with does. I have a feeling things will start to heat up before I know it. I sure hope so. Big Boy didn't make his appearence... at least not, while I was there. At 3:00 I climbed back down and slowy hunted the rivers edge on my way back to the truck.I saw a few tails flagging through the thick stuff and wondered if any belonged to a buck.
~Note To Self ~:
Don't hunt weekends on this property . Let the "Warriors" have it.
A front is moving in. Supposed to get real cold and rumor has it we are going to get up to two feet of snow by Tuesday night.
Guess were I'll be Tomorrow morning ?!!!!
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 29, 2006 22:11:41 GMT -5
Scott with all those deer, I gotta git out there and we could set up a one man push ~~~~~~~~~ you do the pushin and I'll do the shootin...... Sounds like a winner too me ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Just watch that on T.V . They were huntin the cottonwoods,, , Start off with 2 or 3 deer , as they took off more would join them ,,they were huntin in N.E. Montana, some of them drive would last 2 hour's but they pushed a ton of deer............... Well glad you had a great day,,,,How long is your season... I tried to figure it out , but you were right,, I got lost in the book
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 29, 2006 22:42:39 GMT -5
Hey Larry ~
Come on out ! My Son Cris and his friend from Erie are comin out next year to hunt with me on the ranch . We can make room for more ! The land owner also has an old empty house that I may be able to rent for a week or two that is almost right in the middle of the area where I hunt . Minutes away. The gun season runs from the 22nd of Oct. till almost the end of Nov..It's a long one.Elk season runs at the same time.
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Post by 4pointer on Oct 29, 2006 22:53:47 GMT -5
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMm !!!!!! That sounds like a winner,
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Post by michihunter on Oct 30, 2006 3:54:53 GMT -5
Pick me up along the way Larry!! ;D ;D
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Post by hoosieroutdoorsman on Oct 30, 2006 3:55:14 GMT -5
Great story Scott, and great pics. The big sky country has some of the best hunting around, one would be truly blessed to live out there and if I ever had the chance would definately make the move. From what Elk has said about the country and hearing your accounts sure makes me hate livin in the land of the hoosiers. Thanks for sharing and will be looking forward to the rest of the season.
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 30, 2006 22:29:45 GMT -5
Thanx Hoos ! Believe me, I really appreciate every day that I get out .
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Post by bigskyscott on Oct 31, 2006 0:11:03 GMT -5
Jefferson River Bottom Part VII
Monday, Oct. 30...2006 Weather : 20 Degrees...Clear skys, winds 15 - 20 mph ... 2 " of snow
Well, this morning I really messed up. Set the alarm for 5:30 and thought I had plenty of time to get on The Bottom. I forgot that even though I got up at 5:30 , the sun would be up an hour sooner...went back to Mountain. Standard Time .Next thing I knew, the sun was rising and I wasn't ready to leave the house.Rushed around and forgot a bunch of stuff . Anyway, It was cold with that wind blowin and NOTHING was moving today. The deer were staying in the thick stuff ... on my way out to the cottonwood treelot in the field, I saw a lone Mulie standing in the cedars and it was watching me... totaly "busted" ! It was a small buck and as soon as I brought my gun up , he disolved into the thick cedars.I tried to cut him off , but it didn't work. His tracks got mixed in with a bunch of other tracks which all ran back across the road on property I can't hunt on.
~ Waisting My Precious Time ~
I walked back to and across the field to my blind stand in the cottonwoods. Saw absolutely no tracks in the snow covered field or around the woodlot. Sat down in the blind for about an hour and just couldn't stand it. Made no sense to me to just sit there in that wind with no deer moving and 2 inches of fresh snow on the ground even though it was crunchy .
~ Played Peek-a-Boo ~
I got up and walked back to the cedars and willow brush , found some fresh tracks and started tracking. For an hour and a half all I did was see the same 5 bald Mulies in there. Kept chasing them around and cutting them off , but no bucks. I got tired of playing that game, so I left them alone.I think they were glad to see me go too.
~ I know Where Your Hiding ~
I've been trying to figue out where that rack buck Whitetail has been hanging out. Till today , I have jumped him three different times in three different locations , but just can't seem to get him 'patterned". Seems he shows up everywhere when I'm not expecting it. I had some what of an idea that his "living room" might be in a section of thick cedars surounded by the feed lot at one end and a couple of really nice open areas at the other. This spot is on the extreme back end of the ranch's property North of the Ole' Shaky tree stand. Its about a mile and a half or more from where I park my truck. I posted pic's of this area on this Log from the stand.
I wanted to check this spot out anyway since I haven't been back there before. This area is absolutlely beautiful ! Perfect place to hunt Whitetails ! You walk into the thick cedars which is full of deer trails and the every once in awhile the cedars open up into small clearings maybe a quarter acre in size or smaller.
This is where I found The Tracks ! I cut them just as I was approaching the outside of the thicket ... and they were smokin fresh ! I slowed my pace. It was so thick with cedars , you couldn't see more than 15 feet in front of or aside of you. The big tracks got mixed in with some fresh smaller ones, but I could still make a good stalk. In every small opening, cedar saplings were all rubbed up . No scrapes though . As I entered one opening , I had to step around an old blowdown and a doe was watching me from under a cedar limb on the other side of the opening to my right. damn ! All I saw was her head, but she saw all of me and it was " off to the races "! I saw her turn and run in the direction I had come in from . I turned around and ran back the same way I entered also... When I got back to the edge of the cedars where the open area is , I saw the first doe run across the opening and disappear into another cedar thicket followed by two more does, The Buck and one more doe bringing up the rear. They were gone in a flash. This buck is the same one I've seen before...this makes 4 times so far. I still can't count the points . He is always running at a distance away from me when I see him . Today I got a somewhat better look at him if only for a fleeting second. He has a real heavy main frame which is very wide and is low set . Could be a six or maybe an eight point... just can't tell right now.
~ Are My Legs Tired !~
I stalked those deer up and down the river bottom strip all day. They were continually watching their back trail and I know they were always spotting me before I could get close enough to them to get a crack at the buck. I even slowed my steps to a snail's pace to let them settle down, relax and forget about me, but nothing worked.I think if the buck was by himself , I could have nailed him. Its those darn does that were saving his bacon today.I walked around that two mile long strip twice not to mention all the zig zagging inside of it trying to ambush him only to be busted by one of those does.I must had done six or more miles today just working on those deer. The last time I saw them, they were running onto a gravel bar in the middle of the river which is covered with willow brush and drift wood. I backed off .
Well, I sure got my exercise today along with a windburned face .
I plan on giving it another shot in the morning before I go to work .
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