2015 Washingotn State High Buck hunt

So this year for the high buck hunt my normal hunting partner was unable to go with me. So I posted on Facebook that I needed a new partner to go with me. My brother Eric said he would like to go. I told him he could go, but he did not have much time to get in shape for the hunt. I explained to him as best as I could the difficulty of the hike we would be going on. Eric said he would start walking and getting ready for the trip.

So the day of trip was finally here and Eric arrived at my house. The first thing I wanted to do was go through his stuff and take out anything I did not think he would need, so his backpack would be lighter. After shedding a few pounds of items he would not need, we headed to make sure his rifle was sighted in.  He was shooting Grandpa's old Winchester auto .308. The gun was fairly well sighted in but it had a tendency to misfire.  But it was the only rifle he had to bring so we made it work. 

We headed off for an afternoon/evening hike into camp. I knew we were expecting some weather to move in on us I was just hoping we would beat it to camp.  We get to the trail head and I ask Eric one more time if he is sure he wants to do this and he says he is ready.  We start the hike into camp and Eric did better than I thought he would do. During the steep parts I would make it to the top of the mountain, drop my bag, and go back down to grab his bag to make it just a bit easier on him.  At one point on the trail there was a big bald-faced hornets nest hanging directly in the middle of the trail. Luckily it was about 42 degrees and the hornets weren't moving too fast. At that point I told Eric that I was going to go all the way to camp to set up a tarp since it looked like we were not going to beat the weather.

As I made it into camp it was starting to rain and sleet. I got out my tarp and saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and there were two bucks getting ready to walk through camp. After they saw me they bounded off up the hill. I got the tarp in the air as it was starting to rain harder. I ran back down the trail and grabbed Eric's bag again. As we both got into camp it started to snow on us. You know, the big wet snow flakes that don't really stick but get you soaked and cold.   We get Eric's sleeping area set up just before dark. Since I know its going to be an early morning we decide to just go to bed and not worry about starting a fire.

On a side note, this year I brought enough paracord to string a clothes line through my sleeping area under my tarp. I really benefited from this set up.  I was able to dry out my wet clothes out of the weather, hang a light off of it and put other gear up off the ground for easy access when needed.

The next morning I woke up without an alarm going off. I looked at my watch and realized I had slept through my alarm. I was not very happy with myself. I got out of bed, started a fire, and woke Eric up. After breakfast we decided to hunt the meadow near camp. Eric said he would stay at the bottom while I hiked into the upper meadow. As I crested the first bench I saw the two bucks from the day before in camp. I was not prepared at all, I didn't even have my binoculars out yet.  I got my gun up to try and count antler points. Before I could get a clear count on points they trotted off into the trees never to be seen again.  I worked my way up into the upper areas of the meadow and was happy to see there was still a few inches of snow on the ground. I hunted the rest of the day in the same area and kicked up a few does in the heavy timber.  I was back in camp for the evening to have a fire and dinner. I knew I wanted to get a good nights rest for the next day.

The next day my alarm went off at 0330. Eric was very clear that he did not want to be woken up to go on the hike I was going to go on. I made a small breakfast and headed up the mountain. As I scrambled up the hillside I was kind of happy I did not do this the day before. The hill was steep enough as it was and adding a layer on snow on the ground would have made it much harder. As I reached the ridge an hour and forty five minutes later, I could hear deer bounding off in front of me in the darkness. As I sat on the ridge-line waiting for the sun to come up it was only 24 degrees, way colder than I was expecting it to be.  The sun finally came up and since I knew deer were close I headed to the edge of the ridge and glassed the hillsides.  I saw four doe's right away.  As the sun came up higher I realized that the four doe's were sparring and that all four had antlers.  They were about 500 yards away on the opposite side of the bowl I was on. None of the bucks looked big, but I have a hard time passing on a shooter buck as it is important meat for my family throughout the year. As the deer dropped down into the next bowl over I ran across to the ridge they where just on to try and get closer. I dropped most of my gear except my gun (Obviously) to be able to move without any extra hassle, and crept up over the ridge. I saw the four bucks and re-positioned to get even closer to them.

 I checked the first one and passed on it, Checked the second one and thought it would do if the third and fourth ones were not any better. They were not, so I set my sights on the second one which was about 70 yards away.  The buck was quartering towards me. I lined up my cross-hairs right into the front shoulder and squeezed the trigger. When the gun went off a big cloud of dust and rocks sprayed into the air right in front of me. I figured out very fast that there had been a rock sticking up in front of my barrel I did not see through my scope. I hopped up to the next higher rock. Now the bucks were looking at me. I squeezed another round off and hit my mark. I was hoping the buck would drop in its tracks. No such luck. The buck turned down hill and was running on three legs. Did I mention down hill was the wrong way. The buck dropped out of sight and I ran down to where I could get a good view in case I needed to shoot him again.    Just as I caught sight of him again he went down getting tangled up in a log. I watched him until he stopped moving. When I knew he was dead I went back and gathered all of my gear.  I boned the entire buck out and placed all the meat into plastic bags and then into my back pack. Since I had about 300 feet of elevation to get back to the top of the ridge before I dropped back into camp, it took me a while to get back to the ridge.

I finally got back into to camp and showed my good luck to Eric.  That night we packed half way out to the truck and camped. The next day we had an easy couple miles back to the truck. Any trip where

you are successful hunting is a good trip. Getting to share it with my brother was even better. I look forward to next year. Eric says he will be in shape to go up on the steep hunt. Time will tell.....

Where have I been for two years?

Well two very fast years have passed here on R-Dub Outdoors without one single post.  I am going to try my best to make a come back. The last two years have been a mixture of greatness and heartache. I will touch on it all.

First of all two years ago my second daughter Elsa was born. Life with two kids was busy and that started the slow down in my writings. I wrote about my 2013 high buck and that was about it.

Maddy and Elsa may 2014

In 2014 starting in June I was involved in a roll over collision where I hit a deer driving 60MPH at 0430 in the morning after a night of work. My car went into the ditch sideways and rolled. I was able to climb out of the vehicle and sat on the side of the road until help arrived. All I suffered was a slight concussion and I was transported to the hospital at the insistence of my wife. The very next day I left on vacation to Sun Valley Idaho with my young family. Where I tried my hand at some fly-fishing without any luck. Then all 4 of us came down with a stomach flu. Not fun, and not something I recommend to get any time especially while on vacation. We got to know the hospital ER staff well. High light of the trip was seeing a mountain goat and other wildlife on our adventure.

I was able to shoot my first turkey during the spring hunt. That was really enjoyable and was delicious.

In July in the area  I live the largest wildfires in Washington State History started. Named the Carlton Complex fire it burned over 250,000 acres of land. Which included my 10 acres. Luckily I was able to stop the fire 5 feet from my house with a dripping hose from my irrigation line.  Three days before the fires came the transmission in the jeep went out. I walked home and could not return to it before the fire burnt it up. Luckily I was able to buy a new hunting truck shortly after wards

The fire getting nice and close to the house.

Flood Waters in Alfalfa field

  

Then in August the rain came in and broke the dams on the irrigation lakes above my house. So our 2 foot wide creek was now 100 Yards across. Pieces of my neighbors house’s where floating down along with fence posts and other debris. When the waters receded my rich soil in my fields were now full of sandy silt. 

Fall of 2014 was ok for hunting. My family any I shot a few grouse and I was able to get 2 deer. I was able to draw a second doe tag. I took Maddy out on her first deer hunt and we were able to take a doe with out much fuss. Now every time we eat venison she asks if it is the deer we shot together. I was also able to shoot my buck, nothing special an average 3x3 Mule Deer. Which was nice since the fires affected a lot of friends as well so I was able to give some of my meat away.  Duck hunting was fun as always. Spending time with family and friends is always fun, even got Ron out for some duck hunting. First lake we hunted we shot 3 geese off of which was great.  

In spring of 2015 my son Rowan was born. Thinking a house with 2 was busy, Yikes three is jumping off of the deep end. HAHA.  In the spring Maddy and I went and harvested another turkey, which was a lot of fun for both of us. Anytime I get to share something like that with one of my kids is amazing.  I was also able to get onto Ron’s boat for some sockeye fishing in the Columbia River by Brewtser, Wa. We limited out with 12 fish in an hour and a half. Do I need to say more !!!!

Summer of 2015 the fires came again. This time they did not come close to the house but in our area over 300,000 acres burnt surpassing the year before in size. Making things worse 3 local fire fighters died fighting the fire in my hometown. Even though I did not know the three fire

Me and all three kiddos

fighters myself, my best wishes go out to their family and friends.

On a positive note I have been into backpacking more. I have gotten myself into much better shape. My friend Jason and I went on a 34-mile pack trip, which was a great time. I will write more about it in another post.  

We are into the 2015 hunting season and I have lots to write about. I don’t want to ruin anything yet. Some of you already know. I also have lots of new gear to review. We will have reviews of some new Muck Boots my wife received coming up soon, along with other hunting and packing gear. I am hoping to arrange some giveaways so pay attention so you get have your chance to win some great gear.

Washington State High Buck Hunt 2013 Day 2

I heard Kevin's Alarm go off at 2:55 Am and again at 3, I asked him if it was time to get up even though I already knew the answer. We get dressed and I have some granola bars while Kevin has his cup of instant coffee.  We get our head lamps out and start our hike up the steep and nasty hillside. We had picked out a route the night before while it was day out and tried to start in that area as there is no trail heading up the mountain.

We found that our trail worked pretty good except when we would come to rock faces other wise known as cliffs. It just meant extra time finding our way around the rocks. We took a couple breaks while hiking up the monster. On one of breaks I told Kevin that I shoot my deer before 9 am so we should be getting back to camp before it gets hot. I was half joking, but I really do shoot most of my deer early in the morning.

 When we reached the summit everything was good. We had about 40 minutes until hunting hours so I broke out my camera and started taking some night time photos as the suns light was hinting over the far off mountains. We get our guns loaded and the contents of our bags situated for hunting. In front of us was a steep drop off that we didn't want to look over until shooting hours because there could be "The Big One" right below us.

We look at the clock and it was officially hunting hours. Kevin looks at me and asks me if I am ready to get my slay on, of course I was. We sneak up and look over the hillside and nothing was there. After sitting in our location for about 10 minutes Kevin says he is going to walk north up the ridge and I should walk south down the ridge and we will meet up back where we were in a few. I told him that sounded like a good plan and that I was not going to go past the next hill.

I start walking my way down the hill and dropped off the top of the ridge. Taking my time and looking around every few steps I took. I found a rock about 50 yards over the ridge and started watching all of the hill sides. I see Kevin about 500 yards away on the next point of land. After a few minutes of sitting there a grouse flush about 70 yards to my right and sailed around the hill, I said I was not going to go around. That grouse made me feel for whatever reason that I should go around that hill and follow it. After having a mental war with myself in my head I decided that Kevin could see that I was going around the hill.

So I walked down to where the grouse flushed from and started walking around the hillside. Right as I got to the apex of the hill into the next bowl I saw it. A big ol' white butt of a mule deer about 70 yards above me. I dive down prone behind a log and get my gun up into a good shooting position. I can tell it is a big bodied deer. It lifts it's head up and looks right at me. My heart starts to pound against my chest, I feel like every time it beats my body is jumping off of the ground. At this point I can tell it has wide, thick antlers, I just can't tell how many points it has. As I watch it though my scope for what seems to be hours it finally turns its head. I see the single tine behind a double tine so I know its a shooter. I take a deep breath put my crosshairs right behind the shoulder and squeeze the trigger. I didn't feel the gun go off, I didn't hear the gun go off but the deer just dropped.

Now the bottom of the canyon was about 2000 feet below us. The deer started to kick and roll down hill. All I could think about was I really hope it doesn't go down there. The deer came to a rest still kicking. I thought it was done at this point so I turned to where Kevin was and stared waving my hunter orange like he didn't already know what was happening. When I turned around the deer was gone. So I got up and started walking up the hill to where it was. I found it about 10 more yards down the hill. Again the first thing I saw was its butt up on a log. The bullet a 180 grain .30-06 entered right behind the left shoulder and exited just below the back on the left side in its mid sections. I assumed it was a lung shot as the blood coming out of the exit hole was bright pink.

Kevin got over to me and said that it was in the perfect position to bone it out. I have never done a butcher job in the field. We made a cut down the spine of the animal with our Havalon knives and skinned one side from the back to the belly and took all the meat off from one side of the deer placing it in plastic bags. We then flipped the deer over and did the same. I removed the head and we were done in a few minuts.

I took all of the equipment we had in my pack plus the head, Kevin took all of the meat. Kevin's bag was way heavier than mine and I owe him so much for his help. We take our time being safe walking back down the mountain. Every step we took was one closer to a nice nap. We get to camp sink the meat in the creek and eat some lunch. Our plan was to take a nap then pack up and get back down to the vehicles. I slept for about 3 hours which I really needed. We packed up camp, again with Kevin taking all the meat and I took most of the camping stuff and the antlers, which I cut off of the head to save about 8 pounds. Now the really hard work starts.

We figured the hardest part of the hike down would be the really steep first mile and  a half from camp. We took out breaks but made good time not feeling dead. We get down the mile and half to the main trail to take a break on a bridge. When Kevin takes his pack off the straps rip off of the bag. This is not good seeing as we still have a ways to go. after exploring the issues Kevin finds that his $400 pack was put together wrong. So Kevin put it back together the right way (We think) and we continue on.

We get to within a mile of the vehicles. My legs are shaking, my feet hurt and the shoulders are killing me and Kevin reports the same issues. Every time you kick a rock it feel like someone dropped a sledge hammer on your foot. O ya, it is now dark out and we are walking again with our head lights. When Kevin hiked in he found a "Short Cut" that knocked about a half mile and significant elevation from where my car was parked. So Kevin is looking for his short cut in the dark. He explains it as a slight up hill to the car and maybe having to walk around some down trees.  Finally Kevin finds the short cut and we are both dying.  As we start up this hill and get into the trees we end up crawling over and through numerous down trees it was awful. We finally made it to the road and to Kevin's car. When I took my pack off my legs shook from exhaustion. The whole hike was so bad we just couldn't stop laughing as he drove me to my car.

Now all I can think is "What A Trip".

Washington High Buck Hunt 2013 Day One

Well it's that time of year again where we get a little over a week to try and get into a high mountain wilderness area and shoot ourselves an early buck. As I am thinking about my trip I have to try and think back to last year and what I learned from it.

A. I need better food then Top Ramen and Power Bars.
B. Have a hunting partner to go with so there is at least someone to talk to in camp.
C. It's likely going to take a little more work to find deer then sitting by the meadow next to camp.


So my wife mostly took care of A by buying me some rice and noodle packs that you just have to add water to. I also bought some instant potatoes, power bars, granola bars, beef jerky and some chocolate milk for the trip. The chocolate milk was for the hike up.


I made plans with my buddy Kevin to go with me. The plan was, since the season opened on a Sunday I would take Saturday off and we would hike up into the Pasayten Wilderness so we were ready to hunting opening morning.

Kevin had some time to get into the area we hunt a few week earlier and drop off a 50 lb salt lick with his game cam.  We decided if we did not see anything substantial on the game came we were going to hike up the steep mountain that climbs out of camp.

So the day before the hunt arrives I get off of work at 6 AM. My hunting partner Kevin wanted to spend half of the day with his family before hiking in. My two choices were to sleep at the trail head or hike into camp and sleep there. I decided that I was too excited to sleep at the trail head so I was just going to do the hike into camp and sleep there.

I took my sweet time getting to camp. A normal 3 hour hike took me 5 hours with all of my gear and lack of sleep. When I got to camp I had worked up a big amount of sweat. I went to the creek and washed down in the freezing water. I also rinsed my closes and hung them to dry. I found a place to hang my tarp and set my bed and went down for my nap to wait for Kevin.

Three hours later I woke up to an unnatural sound of metal knocking together. I looked over and there was someone putting up their tent in the same camping area. It was Karl the Swedish hunter I ran into last year in the same area. Karl asked if it was ok that he was camping there and I said of course. Ten minutes later Ray who was Carl's hunting partner arrived in camp. About 20 minutes after Ray, Kevin showed up. The first thing I wanted to do was look at the game cam photos he picked up on the way up. There were only 15 pictures and all of them were of doe's.

The Meadow Near Camp.

Kevin and I walked out to the meadow so he could look for bear's, since I saw 4 of them in the same meadow last year. We also talked about our next days adventure. And we decided to hike up the steep nasty mountain.

Without seeing a bear we arrived back at camp and sat around the campfire with Carl and Ray while we had dinner. We discussed our plans so we were not hunting in the same area and went to bed around 9 PM knowing that 3 AM was quickly approaching.

Tree Stands for Beginners

Here is a guest post from Blake Anderson from HunterTreeStands.com. I asked him t write an article about women who want to get into bow hunting and what they need to know about tree stands.

Beginner Women Bow Hunters
 

Bow hunting is a sport and hobby that can be enjoyed by many different types of women. This article will provide you with a lot of great tips and information about what you need to know to get started with bow hunting, and how hunter tree stands can help you be more successful in the woods.

Customize Your Equipment

Women and men all come in different shapes and sizes, and therefore require a bow that is custom tailored to their specific body. A bow can be customized to fit your height, strength, arm span and often comes in various lightweight and heavier models. Any hunting shop can tell your specific measurements and how much power you should place on your strings, so test a few out and see which one fits you best.

Practice Makes Perfect

Not only will practice make you more comfortable out in the woods, but it will also provide you with key movements that are necessary to make consistently accurate shots. One of these movements is having a relaxed bow grip. As a beginner, you will most likely want to grip the bow handle as tightly as possible. This however isn’t the best method for shooting a bow, because it will give you an opposite effect of instability. After you learn to relax your bow grip, you will need to focus on your anchor point. An anchor point is the perfect location of where your hand will rest at full draw. It’s important that this spot remains the same to ensure reliable accuracy. The optimum spot should bring your index finger directly below the chin where the string slightly touches the tip of your nose.

Tree Stands Enhance Your Game

There are a few products that will quickly jumpstart your successes in the woods, and tree stands are one of the best. Although women are generally quieter than men due to their lightness on their feet, it’s still quite difficult to stay quiet enough to sneak up on a deer. Hunter tree stands give women a significant advantage of elevation that’s necessary to see overtop of heavy areas of brush and vegetation. Not only is your line of sight improved, but it allows you to get out of the line of sight of the deer, which can quickly pick up on movement.

Being up off the ground in a tree stand also gives you the added advantage of focus. You can take your time when drawing your bow back and calmly focus on your target before letting go of the string. Take your time and relax your mind by allowing yourself a few deep breaths, and your accuracy will improve a great deal. A lot of what makes a hunter successful with bow hunting is experience. So be patient and keep on practicing, and before long you will be happy and excited every time hunting season approaches.

Gearing Up for Grouse Hunting

So grouse hunting starts in a week here in Washington State. This is the first day of serious hunting for me and my family. The family and I decided to take a drive around the main road in our hunting area to see if we could find anything.

We start off just before dusk, I mentally gave us enough time to get home just before dark. Of course everything goes out the window when you have a baby, and of course I did not factor in feeding time for Elsa.

We get back on the road and start seeing some rabbits.  We get through some more of the popular grouse area's without seeing anything. When we get to the paved Forrest Service road where we normally would take a left to hunt, we took a right to take us back to the main road which will take us home.

At this point my wife starts telling me how she doesn't know where we are. I told her we never come this way because there is no grouse on this part of the road.  Just as I said that we saw four Ruffed Grouse on the  side of the road next to a small stand of aspen.  My wife chimed in well I guess we will be coming this way this year.

The rest of the drive home we just saw a bunch of rabbits, more than we normally see and 4 whitetail deer(No Bucks). My prediction for this year is that it will be a good grouse season in North Central Washington. I think the spring rain held off long enough for the chicks to get big enough to withstand a heavy rain. We then had some early summer rain which would of let the berries and other food for the grouse come in nicely. Only time will tell.

A look back at 2012

I would like to welcome all of our new readers. 2012 has been a great your for me and R-Dub Outdoors. Lots of things happened in my personal life as well as my outdoor life this year.

Here are some high points of the year.

-2012 produced another Deer for the freezer.
- I shot a limit of ducks and geese in the same day
- I got my first real coyote kill.
- R-Dub Outdoors signed up new pro staffer Ron Oules.
- I shot and edited my first duck hunting video.
-We did our first big giveaway from Muck Boots.
- I even grabbed a live and wild cougar by its tail.

Those are just a few of the great moments we have had from 2012.

There are many great things to come in 2013.

-I hope to get more sponsors for the page.
-We will be doing some fishing videos.
- We will be doing some great giveaways.
- Of course doing a lot more hunting and fishing.

The last thing I am expecting in 2013 is the newest member of my hunting party will be arriving around June 13th of 2013 and My wife, Maddy and I are very excited.

Have a great New Year, We hope all is well for everyone.

Who is Ron Oules

I would like to introduce the newest R-Dub Outdoors Pro Staffer Ron Oules. He will be writing about all sorts of hunting and fishing gear and techniques. He has taught me a lot so far and I know he will pass it on to the readers of R-Dub Outdoors as well.

Who I am:

I grew up in rural Eastern Washington on a small 200 acre farm.  Just like all farms it was work and life skills building from as far back as I can remember.   I believe every person should have the incredible fortune of being raised on a farm.  I grew up learning and doing things we just thought were normal, but when people hear about it today they have a hard time believing it.    The diversity of things I was able to do growing up was pretty amazing.  

Two things have stuck with me for as long as I can remember.  Hard work not luck produces success, and the best things to do are hunting and fishing.  

I was around hunting and fishing with my grandpa and started on my own when I was eight.   I was given a single shot .410 for my 8^th birthday and that was the real start of my personal hunting.  The surprising thing to many is I was 95% self taught.  I got my first German Short Hair bird dog at 10, and we spent a lot of days hunting Quail and Chucker together.  Shooting varmints from starlings to feral dogs was pretty much just the norm, and would be a everyday thing if I still lived on the ranch.  I even ran a short trap line for rabbits going to and from school.

I still remember my first deer hunt at the age of 10.  Dad dropped me off at the top of the hill (many would call it a mountain) in the dark and went back to work.   He had told me to walk over the edge, sit down, wait until 10:00, and then hunt down to the house.   Of course I knew I could only shoot bucks, and had a good idea of how to gut a deer.  Remember those life skills from above?  I had seen and helped gut a lot of animals butchered for food.  I shot three times at what I thought was a huge (reality 18-20”) 4x4 Mule Deer, and missed every single shot.  The first of two deer I have ever missed.  When I walked out of the trees on my way home my dad was waiting for me because he heard the shots.  Having to tell my dad I missed hurt more than missing the deer.  My dad was very supportive, but I was not going to ever tell him I missed again. 

I was slow to start Elk hunting but if I can only hunt one big game animal it would be Elk.     They are impressive animals who live in beautiful country.  I also was late in starting my bow hunting, but I wish I had archery hunted from the beginning.   One day I will go archery Elk hunting when my schedule allows it.

I have been reloading since I was 10 also starting with shot shells.  I had to reload because all the ammunition I was shooting was too expensive to buy new.   I cannot even remember the last time I purchased a center fire metallic cartridge loaded.  Reloading has helped my shooting probably the most in being able to practice more combined with the ballistics knowledge.   

I fished growing up for fun.  I was not as dedicated to the fishing as much as the hunting.   I fly fished for trout some, plunked bait, threw spinners, but really did not troll very much.   The only trolling I remember was with my Grandpa on Lake Chelan for Kokanee.   The trolling gear had more weight and drag then the fish did.  My limited fishing was always enjoyable, but I had never really caught any “Big” fish.  I started fishing for Salmon in the mid 90’s and I was immediately in love.   Then in 2000 we had our own local Chinook fishery, and my hunting had a very serious competitor for my off time.   The enjoyment of Salmon fishing just continued to grow, and I started providing guided fishing trips with my company Reellentless Guide Service.   I have to admit the Salmon fishing has taken over quite a bit of my hunting time now.  My fishing details of gear and technique have less time in then the hunting, but it is quickly gaining and will surpass it very soon I believe.

I have also been lucky enough to spend time with my kids hunting and fishing.   It is so much fun just to spend any amount of time I can with them in the outdoors.  All of them are very good athletes playing all year long.  There has always been a conflict for time, so we take advantage of what time we have.  The boys are several states away during hunting season now.  I’m planning a out of state hunt next fall to Nebraska.  My daughter (Teenager) told me last year she would go deer hunting only one day.  We were dragging out her smallest buck to date. I told her how much I loved being able to watch the sun come up with her.   She asked what about the deer?  I told her I could care less if she got a deer or not.  She had a odd look on her face.  Not now but I know she will understand later on.   I am a Hunters Ed Instructor also, and that has been a very rewarding thing for me.  Just today I saw two nice first bucks from students from my spring 2012 class.

I hope I can share my experiences from equipment to technique to help others, and at the same time they get enjoyment out of my information.

Ron

 

My 2012 Mule Deer

So October is crazy  in my household with all the hunting that we do.  So when ever general season opens for deer I always hope to make a quick kill so I can focus on other things, although a deer is the most important kill of the year for us. We use our deer for all of our normal beef needs but we mostly grind it or cut it up in small pieces for other dishes.

So a few days before I went hunting I found out that there were going to be a few people going to the same spot I was going to go to.  Since I knew the people I called them up and we discussed where we were going to go so we would not disturb each others hunt.

So the morning of the hunt I got into the private property where I hunt at about 5:50 AM and walked about half way up the hill that I hunt. I sat down and watched as the other vehicles came into the property.  At daylight I hiked to the top of the hill and started looking for deer. As I was hunting Quail and Huns were flushing everywhere. I then saw a man with a rifle and no hunter orange on. I tried to catch up with him to see what he was doing but I lost him in the brush. (He was later caught by Fish and Game.)

I continued my hike and I was on a bench with a few pin trees on it. On the other side of the pine trees I saw a deer go over the hillside. I ran to where I saw it go over and there he was. As I tried to county points he stood there and watched me. I tried to sit down to get a comfortable shot but the brush was to high. After he finally turned his head and I could see that he did have at least three points on one side I started to go through ballistics in my head. The deer was at a steep downhill incline from me. I knew if the deer is down hill I need to aim low. The deer is about 100 yards so I put my cross hairs right at the low part of his chest. BOOM as my shot rang off I could see his front leg react to the shot hitting him.  As I watched him run over the hillside I decided I should likely run after him as I did not feel very good about the shot.  As I got to the next bench he was on and looked over I could see he was running with about 6 does. I could not get another shot of due to the close proximity of the does.   I sat there and watched him at a fence line, as the does all jumped over he was sitting there not wanting to jump. He tried going under the fence but finally jumped over into what I knew was state land. I ran to an area where i thought I could get a shot off and I set up on a little knob of land and spotted him about 120 yards away on the next little ridge line. I got my back pack off to use as a rest, got prone, took a deep breath to calm my heart as I just ran 3/4's of a mile and squeezed the shot off and watched him drop like there was a trap door under him.   

I rolled over onto my back and thought "Whew, O Thank God." I got up grabbed my pack and heard two shots from a rifle 20 seconds apart only about 100 yards from me. I the heard a males voice go WOO HOO. The first thing that popped into my head was my deer got back up and someone else shot him. So I walked directly to the other hunters.  The guy yelled to me that my deer was injured and had gone around the corner. I asked him where his deer was and he pointed to the hillside. He then said "RORY?"  I responded YEA. I the found out it was Scott family friend of ours. His wife Deanna was the shooter and she had shot a very nice big bodied 4X4 mule deer.

I discussed with Scott what he saw my deer do. We decided that he did not see my buck fall and did not know I shot a second time at the deer. All he knew was, he saw it with its brisket torn open before I shot a second time. So Scott walked over with me to the area I shot my deer. I thought I shot it higher on the hillside but within a few minutes Scott found it laying in the sage brush with a broken back. I used a 9mm Glock to put one shot at the base of the skull and put it out for good.  I thanked Scott for the help with the heart of the deer and he went back to Deanna to help her with her deer.

I called my wife to bring the trailer down from home so I could get this guy home. After I got him gutted and took some pictures we started the drag out. It was up and down hills with tight cow trails through rocks and sage brush. When I finally got it to where I could the the jeep and trailer to I was very tired. But I knew that we would eat well for the rest of the year and the next day would be all duck hunting and I was excited.

This was a good year for deer in my area, the picture to the left is my deer head with the antlers of my friend Jason who shot his deer opening morning as well in the area by my house. We are still looking for a deer for my wife to shoot. Have found a few shooters but just can't get in to the right position for a shot but we still have tonight to try for one.
 
   

Washington State High Hunt 2012

So this September I went on my first ever Washington State High Deer Hunt. I went in to the Pasayten Wilderness in North Central Washington. The areas you are allowed to hunt are no motor vehicle access areas.

So Monday after work I drove an hour to the trail head where I was going to hunt. I left the car at about 5:30 PM with my pack and gun and started up the hill. I had never been to the area I was going but had somewhat of an idea how to get there. After about an hour and a half it got dark out. Of course I was on a steep side slope with loose rocks. My pack for this trip was about 30 pounds and the bag was not fitted for me so it was making life hard on me.  With my head lamp on I continued and kept telling my self one foot in front of the other.

I had no idea where I was going to camp. I knew I was looking for a steep meadow which is where I would be hunting the next day. At about 8pm I found the grassy area and started looking for a place to camp in the trees.  I decided this trip to pack a hammock to see if I could avoid sleeping on the ground. I found a small protected area about 10 feet of the trail and used a bone saw my dad gave me to cut some spruce branches off two trees to set my hammock.    After the hammock was up I set a tarp over the top of the just in case of some wet weather. You never know up at 6000 feet.

I got my bed set up and went straight to sleep. A few hours into my sleep I noticed my backside and feet getting cold. I was in a 0F degree sleeping bag and it was only 35F degrees out, I shouldn't be getting cold. I realized that as I sleep I was slipping down  in the hammock so my feet were getting above my heart which was making it hard for the warm blood to get there and warm them. With my backside it was cold because there was no insulation besides my sleeping bag under me and the wind was blowing . After a few hours of trying to ignore it I got out my sleeping pad and slept on the ground. The only reason I had my sleeping pad was because my mom who was visiting while I was packing said " You never know you might not like the hammock."

After tossing and turning for the rest of the night on the ground I got up right before sun up and got dressed. With my gun I walked over to a near by creek to get some water for the day. As I did this some deer started walking out of the woods into the grassy area at about 70 yards. All I could think was "Please let there be a buck and we can get this over with right now." After I watched the 5 does for about an hour I continued to get my water.

So I decided to walk up the steep meadow for the morning hunt. At the top of the meadow it turned into a big alpine bowl with a lake at the very top. It took me a few hours to get to the top. It was beautiful up there, with the high cliffs and even a little bit of snow. I saw lots of deer sign but no deer. I did flush a big blue grouse but missed it with the .22 revolver I had with me. When I got the the small lake it was about 11am and I found a nice shady spot and laid down for a little nap. The lake was 100% clear and beautiful. A half hour into my nap I was awoken by the sound of a voice. At first I thought I was dreaming but I kept hearing the voices. I looked up over the little hill I was sleeping on and sure enough there were two hikers walking up through the rocks. I yelled to them letting them know I was in the area. The couple walked over to me and we chatted for a bit.

As we were talking a falcon started chasing a small tweety bird, every few times the falcon would dive the smaller bird you could see a puff of feathers come off the small bird. The small bird finally hit the water and the falcon quickly scooped it off the water as if it was nothing.

The couple said their good byes and they went on their way and I hiked back down to camp. At camp I cooked my lunch of top ramen.  By the way did I mention all I packed for food was three power bars and six packages of top ramen.  After an even longer nap in the hammock in camp, which was very comfortable during the heat of the day I explored more around camp.

I decided at dusk to sit at the bottom of the meadow and see if anything comes out. As I was sitting there a Mother bear with three cubs came into the meadow. My camp was about 70 yards to my right and the bears were about 50 yards directly in front of me. I did not get a picture of the bears as it was too dark for the camera I had with me. After watching them for a while I got up and ran them off in the opposite direction of my camp.   

A bear scratch marks on a tree

I returned to camp and cooked my self a second helping of top ramen. After dinner I went to bed, this time I started sleeping on the ground. Through the night the mice were crawling on my sleeping bag. I would kick the mice off the bag and hear them land off in the bushes. After getting tired of that I placed my sleeping pad in the hammock and tried to go back to sleep. The pad solved my backside being cold but not my feet.

Again I woke woke up at daylight and went to sit in the meadow area. I was sitting next to a stump and I could hear something walking through the bushes on the other side of the stump. I got up to look what it was and it was two other hunters who seemed just as surprised to see me as I was them. We told each other what we each planned to do for the day so we would not interfere with each other.   

After the other hunters walked up the meadow I decided to walk up the main valley to see what it had to offer. I found that 30 steps pat my camp was a real campsite with flat places to sleep. Well at least I know this for next year.  As I continued up valley, the main trail stopped about 1/2 mile past camp. I then entered into thick old growth forests. As I got further back it started to open up a bit. I found a avalanche slide path that looked good to hold some deer. As I sat down I could hear something walk through the thick brush. I waited for about 15 minutes four does walked down a path. I was hoping that a big buck was going to follow them but I was thinking that it was going to be a pain in the ass to get that deer out of there if I shot one. But of course just does.

On my walk back to camp I decided with my lack of a good sleep, lack of seeing bucks, only having one more day before I have to be back at work and my lack of energy due to the awesome choice of food I brought I should likely pack up and get out of the woods that day before dark.

So I got back to camp made and while making some food next to the creek the other two hunters showed up. They said they saw a little two point up next to the lake but that was it.  I spoke with them for awhile and then went to camp and packed up and got home.

I had a great time hunting in the high country and I learned a lot of lessons. #1 Bring Protein, #2 leave the hammock at home and #3 it would be better with a 2nd hunter. I cant wait to do it again next year. 

HIgh hunt scouting

So this year I am doing the Washington State modern firearm high hunt. This is a one week hunt were you can hike into a wilderness area and hunt for mule deer a month earlier than the general season. You don't need a special draw permit your general tag will do.

 I am going to hike into the Pasayten Wilderness.   The Pasayten Wilderness is 530,000 acres of wild land were no motor vehicle or wheeled vehicle is allowed to access. The only way in is to hike in or by horse back. I will be going in on the Andrews Creek trail head on foot. I have never been to this area before and finding a place to hunt and camp for 3 nights at over 7,000 feet will definitely be an adventure.

I along with a friend who knows the area drove to a high spot on the opposite side of the canyon. I wanted him to point out to me where I would have the best odds.

As we drove to around 5000 feet we found an open area along the road filled with wild raspberries. So of course we stopped and ate a bunch of them. I also used a water canteen to take some home for the wife.

We got to the top and my friend pointed out the drainage I should walk up. the idea was the trail will get me higher than other trails without me having to walk up a face of a mountainside.  I understand at this point regardless of what I do I am going to be gaining some serious elevation. 

After we look from above we drove down to the trail head and where I would be parking my vehicle to hike in. It is a beautiful area with mountain streams and lakes. I will be brings a fishing pole just in case I don't get a deer way up high on my first two days I will hike out the third and fish along the way home just as a back up plan.

I am excited for this hunt. I am planning on hiking into the area where I am going to hunt next week for another day trip scouting expedition.  Although this one will be by myself at this point. I plan to bring some salt licks with me to place in the area I plan on hunting.  Rumor has it the high country deer are very mineral starved. So i figure if i give them some easy place to get their minerals, I will then give my self an easy spot to shoot a deer.

I hope to have an updated post about my day hike in next week.  

Spring food plots

So I bought a bag of throw and grow off of Amazon. I had different ideas of where I wanted to plant it. I have two other plots one of timothy grass and one a wildlife mix of grasses and other plants.

The trow and grow says you don't have to disc your soil for it to work. I decided to disc it anyway just for best results. I pull this old discing system with my old jeep, works great. I decided to plant it on the side of my property where I already have irrigation sprinklers to water. I also picked a spot like my other plots that you can see from the house

Since there is a 60 acre alfalfa field next door I am trying convince the deer to come to my property because I have better food than alfalfa.

I also decided to plant now because we are expecting some rain which will help grow the new seeds of clover, brassica and rye grass.

We just saw our first buck of the year last night running through the alfalfa with small velvet spikes, which I hope turn into a large 5X5.

I still have one more plot to plant. I normally plant sun flowers for the birds but I can't decide what to do this year.

2011 Mule Deer

Well 2011 was my second year really trying to get myself a deer. See in Washington State deer and duck hunting open the same day, and for most of my life I have gone duck hunting.

This year I did take the opening of deer and duck season to go duck hunting at duck camp because grandma AKA BUBBLES goes to camp opening weekend and I would hate to miss Bubbles in camp.

Anyway opening duck went well I shot my limit but had to leave that night because I had to work Sunday - Tuesday.

Every year my friend comes up to go duck hunting for a little over a week. He gets to my house on Tuesday and since the first Thursday and Friday of duck season is always closed, this year I gave the Wednesday - Friday morning to deer hunting.
I of course bring my friend along with me because, well I am not dumb, he is the muscle - I shoot big Mule deer, sometimes far away from the truck and I don't want to drag a deer all by myself.

Tuesday afternoon before I worked we went to the "State Land" where I shot my big deer last year and my other hunting buddy decides to come along as well. Both friends had already shot their deer. We must have seen 50 deer up in the grassy area we hunt. In that 50 deer we saw about 8 bucks all 2X2's or smaller. Here in Washington the Mule deer have to have at least three points on one side. It was a nice walk but no shooters.

Wednesday morning my friend and I went to what we call the School Property which is State DNR land we walk to from my house. We walked for miles up steep hills and all around and we did not see even one deer which was very discouraging.

Wednesday night I stayed at home to watch my daughter as Mama had to work. But us guys discussed our plan for the next morning. We were going to get up before light and get to the "State Land" before sunrise.

So here it is Thursday morning, my alarm goes off and I promptly turn it off. My daughter wakes up at 7 so I get up and wake my friend up. We get some food in us and head out the door.

We get to the private land we are allowed to hunt below the state land and decide to drive around real quick before walking up the hill. We get to the lower part of the property and I see two deer up on the hillside. As one disappears behind some Saskatoon bushes the other one slowly heads up the hill. We get out and put the bino's on the front deer.

My friends says its a 2X2, but as I look closer I can see where one of the forks is split to make it a 2X3 - a legal buck. As I get to a pile of wood to set up a shot this other deer walks out of the bushes in the opposite direction. As I put my scope on it I see it is a much bigger 3X3, and it disappears behind the hillside.

We run over to get into position and I lay down on a pile of sand. It walks up the hill side at about 80 yards. I put my cross hairs on it and BANG.

When I bring my scope back down I don't see my deer. I do see four does sitting there looking at me. My friend was no help at this point as he was still watching the other buck and didn't see my buck.

I am hoping that my deer went down right away, so we just stayed put for about 15 minutes so it could bleed out. Finally we walked up there and there it was laying in a small ditch still alive but with a broken back. I cut its throat and it was done.

I removed the guts as my friend drove the truck within 30 yards of the deer and then he drug it to the truck for me....Lucky Me!

We had it skinned and hung by 10:30 AM. Not bad!

And of course the day after the season ended my wife spotted this big boy walking right through the field next to the house. Boy was she wishing she had seen him the night before!

Picture taken from our living room window