LCH 2018 Colorado Deer Hunt
Nov 13, 2018 14:05:50 GMT -5
Woody Williams, ukwil, and 11 more like this
Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Nov 13, 2018 14:05:50 GMT -5
I got back a few days ago from another great hunt, this time for mule deer in NW Colorado. I hunted this same area back in 2012, on my first ever hunt out west. That time I shot a buck after the first 2 hours on opening morning, probably a 2.5 year old 3x3.
This time I had decided I wanted to hold out a bit longer and see if I could find something significantly better.
Season opened on Saturday 11/3, but I decided to drive out Sunday and start hunting Monday to try and avoid the opening weekend crowds.
The drive was uneventful until I got to Denver, where I had to make a detour up through Wyoming to bypass a winter storm, which added a little bit of time to the commute. I stopped at the Walmart in Laramie and climbed into my makeshift bed in the back of the Durango for a few hours rest.
I caught about 4 hours of sleep, then resumed my drive the rest of the way down through Baggs and across the state line into Colorado into my hunt area. I got into the area about an hour before shooting light, enough time to arrive in one of my E-scouted glassing spots and get dressed and geared up. I could see for miles in most directions from this spot, but after a couple of hours with no deer sightings I decided to check out a few other areas.
Most of the unit is fairly flat high-desert country, dominated by sage brush.
While I saw a few deer here and there out in the sage, the majority were sticking to the slopes in the cover of the pinyon junipers.
Monday morning I wound up seeing a small bull elk, a spike, a decent 2 point (probably about 20" wide), another small buck I couldn't quite make out, and probably 25-30 does. This area was in the far northern part of the unit; In the picture below, Wyoming is literally just across the fence.
I took a couple selfies. Also took a picture of my rifle.
Here's a pinyon juniper, used as a rub by bucks and bulls:
I got a flat tire. Put on the full-sized spare I brought and went on my way.
I hunted further south Monday afternoon and evening. I didn't see a single deer, but did see some wild horses.
I got a solid night of sleep in the back of the Durango, and was back up in the northern part of the unit Tuesday morning. I saw a bunch of does, the same spike plus a buddy, the 2-point, and a tempting 4x4 buck. I probably would have shot the 4x4 if he had been within rifle range. I actually had my backpack on and rifle in hand ready to make a stalk, then at the last minute decided I wanted to wait for something better at this early point in the week. He was a pretty buck, but had thin horns and shallow forks, probably a 3.5 year old buck at the max, possibly even 2.5 years old. I told myself I could probably relocate him later in the week if I didn't turn up anything bigger.
Then I got another flat tire. This time I had to retrieve the donut and get it wrassled on. At this point I'm out of spares, so at midday I head to the tire shop in Craig to see about getting these tires patched. I had driven on them on the soft roads for a bit before realizing they were flat, causing sidewall damage, so I had the tire shop order me 2 more tires to be in the next day and crossed my fingers I wouldn't get another puncture.
When I left Craig I headed to the SW part of the unit, to some hills north of the Yampa River. I saw a couple of small forky bucks and a few does, then started to drive out of BLM towards private at around 2 PM, when I spotted a muley butt at my last glassing spot. When he raised his head I knew that he was one I wanted to shoot. I grabbed my stuff and stalked down the hill towards him, up across the canyon on the opposite hillside. He was just slowly moving along, stopping to graze here and there. When he went behind a pinyon juniper I would advance forward; as he came back out I would stop and wait. I finally got up to a good shooting position and ranged the pinyon juniper he was standing behind at 150 yards. I got set up prone and waited for him to come back out. It took several minutes, but he came slowly walking from behind the bush. I waited for him to stop again, and the shot put him down and out of sight. When I got up to his position, he was mortally wounded but still alive, and required another shot to ease his passing.
As he lay:
The grip and grin:
I got him caped, quartered, in the cooler, and headed back to Craig.
I made it back without any more flats.
I slept in the Craig Walmart parking lot, then Wednesday morning took my buck to the Parks and Wildlife office to have the mandatory CWD sample taken. I had to wait a while for the tire shop to get me in, so I revisited the local western museum in downtown Craig that I enjoyed on my first trip back in 2012. After getting the tires on, I strapped everything back down and headed back home. I made it home by suppertime Thursday, got things squared away, and was able to be back in a treestand here at home by Friday morning.
In review, this trip came and went very quickly, but I couldn't be happier with my buck or how things worked out. This unit can be drawn with only one point, so I do hope to return in the next couple years to try for another!
This time I had decided I wanted to hold out a bit longer and see if I could find something significantly better.
Season opened on Saturday 11/3, but I decided to drive out Sunday and start hunting Monday to try and avoid the opening weekend crowds.
The drive was uneventful until I got to Denver, where I had to make a detour up through Wyoming to bypass a winter storm, which added a little bit of time to the commute. I stopped at the Walmart in Laramie and climbed into my makeshift bed in the back of the Durango for a few hours rest.
I caught about 4 hours of sleep, then resumed my drive the rest of the way down through Baggs and across the state line into Colorado into my hunt area. I got into the area about an hour before shooting light, enough time to arrive in one of my E-scouted glassing spots and get dressed and geared up. I could see for miles in most directions from this spot, but after a couple of hours with no deer sightings I decided to check out a few other areas.
Most of the unit is fairly flat high-desert country, dominated by sage brush.
While I saw a few deer here and there out in the sage, the majority were sticking to the slopes in the cover of the pinyon junipers.
Monday morning I wound up seeing a small bull elk, a spike, a decent 2 point (probably about 20" wide), another small buck I couldn't quite make out, and probably 25-30 does. This area was in the far northern part of the unit; In the picture below, Wyoming is literally just across the fence.
I took a couple selfies. Also took a picture of my rifle.
Here's a pinyon juniper, used as a rub by bucks and bulls:
I got a flat tire. Put on the full-sized spare I brought and went on my way.
I hunted further south Monday afternoon and evening. I didn't see a single deer, but did see some wild horses.
I got a solid night of sleep in the back of the Durango, and was back up in the northern part of the unit Tuesday morning. I saw a bunch of does, the same spike plus a buddy, the 2-point, and a tempting 4x4 buck. I probably would have shot the 4x4 if he had been within rifle range. I actually had my backpack on and rifle in hand ready to make a stalk, then at the last minute decided I wanted to wait for something better at this early point in the week. He was a pretty buck, but had thin horns and shallow forks, probably a 3.5 year old buck at the max, possibly even 2.5 years old. I told myself I could probably relocate him later in the week if I didn't turn up anything bigger.
Then I got another flat tire. This time I had to retrieve the donut and get it wrassled on. At this point I'm out of spares, so at midday I head to the tire shop in Craig to see about getting these tires patched. I had driven on them on the soft roads for a bit before realizing they were flat, causing sidewall damage, so I had the tire shop order me 2 more tires to be in the next day and crossed my fingers I wouldn't get another puncture.
When I left Craig I headed to the SW part of the unit, to some hills north of the Yampa River. I saw a couple of small forky bucks and a few does, then started to drive out of BLM towards private at around 2 PM, when I spotted a muley butt at my last glassing spot. When he raised his head I knew that he was one I wanted to shoot. I grabbed my stuff and stalked down the hill towards him, up across the canyon on the opposite hillside. He was just slowly moving along, stopping to graze here and there. When he went behind a pinyon juniper I would advance forward; as he came back out I would stop and wait. I finally got up to a good shooting position and ranged the pinyon juniper he was standing behind at 150 yards. I got set up prone and waited for him to come back out. It took several minutes, but he came slowly walking from behind the bush. I waited for him to stop again, and the shot put him down and out of sight. When I got up to his position, he was mortally wounded but still alive, and required another shot to ease his passing.
As he lay:
The grip and grin:
I got him caped, quartered, in the cooler, and headed back to Craig.
I made it back without any more flats.
I slept in the Craig Walmart parking lot, then Wednesday morning took my buck to the Parks and Wildlife office to have the mandatory CWD sample taken. I had to wait a while for the tire shop to get me in, so I revisited the local western museum in downtown Craig that I enjoyed on my first trip back in 2012. After getting the tires on, I strapped everything back down and headed back home. I made it home by suppertime Thursday, got things squared away, and was able to be back in a treestand here at home by Friday morning.
In review, this trip came and went very quickly, but I couldn't be happier with my buck or how things worked out. This unit can be drawn with only one point, so I do hope to return in the next couple years to try for another!