Plan B Mule Deer
TahoeRy
10/20/12 6:24pm
I have read a lot of posts lately about this years hunts and thought I would share ours, even though it didn't go as planned. My hunting buddy and I were watching a bachelor group of bucks all though archery season here in California. I never got close enough to get one with my bow so we decided to try on opening day of general season to land some meat in the freezer. We set out on Friday Sept. 21st to hike into our spot. The hike was about an hour and a half with about 52 pounds on my back. A little heavy for a single night but my rifle and water added about 15 pounds of that weight. We set up later that evening on a ridge overlooking our spot about 2 hours before sunset and waited for the group to arrive to watch them one last time. These were good size mule deer with one big boy with about a 10 - 12 point rack from what we saw. We nick named him "bubba" and I wanted to drop him. This deer would of been a true trophy in any state, let alone California. We sat there until dark and saw nothing! We were a little shaken about not seeing anything as we have watched them from this ridge several times.
The next morning we got into position about an hour before sunrise and waited for our group. We spotted a pair of hunters on a ridge on the other side of a valley and made a mental note of where they where headed. As the sun started to rise, nothing was in view. Finally, I spotted a tail off to my left and made a move to get into position. I spotted one big boy, then three more. The light was still very dark and could not see clearly to shoot. I ranged them at 200 yards and started to watch them through the scope on my rifle until I had good enough light to ensure a good shot. Slowly the sun rose and I finally saw the three deer clearly - ALL DOES, big does but no Bucks! We were totally heartbroken and started to think about plan B. The sun came up and about 7:45 we heard a shot near the ridge across from us. We started to slowly hike across the ridge we were on and look for deer evacuating the area because of the shot. We hiked for about 10 minutes and heard another shot, right after this shot I saw two bucks break cover and I raised my rifle to scope them out. I saw antlers and really wanted some meat. I confirmed I saw antlers and took the shot at about 300 yards from a standing position. I hit the plan B buck and got some meat! I have to say that the meat is INCREDIBLE!! I had a dinner party and made a "tri-tip" from the deer. Nobody knew it was deer. Here are some pics.
Heres a shot of a few of the group:
The next morning we got into position about an hour before sunrise and waited for our group. We spotted a pair of hunters on a ridge on the other side of a valley and made a mental note of where they where headed. As the sun started to rise, nothing was in view. Finally, I spotted a tail off to my left and made a move to get into position. I spotted one big boy, then three more. The light was still very dark and could not see clearly to shoot. I ranged them at 200 yards and started to watch them through the scope on my rifle until I had good enough light to ensure a good shot. Slowly the sun rose and I finally saw the three deer clearly - ALL DOES, big does but no Bucks! We were totally heartbroken and started to think about plan B. The sun came up and about 7:45 we heard a shot near the ridge across from us. We started to slowly hike across the ridge we were on and look for deer evacuating the area because of the shot. We hiked for about 10 minutes and heard another shot, right after this shot I saw two bucks break cover and I raised my rifle to scope them out. I saw antlers and really wanted some meat. I confirmed I saw antlers and took the shot at about 300 yards from a standing position. I hit the plan B buck and got some meat! I have to say that the meat is INCREDIBLE!! I had a dinner party and made a "tri-tip" from the deer. Nobody knew it was deer. Here are some pics.
Heres a shot of a few of the group:
4,659
Springville Shooter
10/20/12 7:17pm
Congrats on a good buck and a good time. Backpack hunting is alot of fun! Were you in one of the D zones? Way to go on a nice buck. ---------SS
11
waspocrew
10/20/12 7:26pm
That sounds like it was a heck of a hunt... congrats on bagging a nice buck! I'm sure he is great eating!
11
TahoeRy
10/21/12 10:14am
Thanks guys. I was in a D zone very close to my home in Lake Tahoe. The area is not really known for deer but I think thats because nobody around here wants to get away from their jeeps and the 4x4 trails. We find deer year after year but we really work for it. To get into this spot you gotta hike up about 800 ft then down about 1000 ft to get into our valley that we watched this year - literally uphill both ways!
11
waspocrew
10/21/12 10:41am
It's amazing how you can get into a good amount of animals if you're willing to walk off the road just a ways... I watched a group of deer stand below 4 hunters sitting in their truck yesterday morning. If they would've walked 50 yards from their truck, they would've noticed them. They had no idea they were even there. Way to get in there and work for it!
11
johnyutah5
10/22/12 11:12am
Congrats on a successful hunt! Thanks for sharing the pictures and story.
11
MuleyMadness
10/22/12 7:13pm
Well done, congrats on the success. Hard work paid off.
11
jls456
10/23/12 8:35pm
Way to go. Burn some leather,and things get better. Good job.
11