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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 11:42:48 GMT -5
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 12:08:27 GMT -5
We were finally able to get out of the BLM we camped on the afternoon of the second day and started to see some signs of life. We saw a fair amount of whitetails in the river bottom areas and also around the irrigated ag fields. Lots of pronghorn around also.  We made a plan for the following morning to sit next to some irrigated fields and catch something coming back to public to bed for the day. Here was my view for the sunrise.  One of us was able to put their tag on a WT that morning. I know he has better pics but I'll post the one I have.  That evening we were able to put a stalk on some deer that were on a small parcel of public land but they were moving around and close enough to the property borders that we didn't feel good about taking the shot. So with about 30-60 minutes left of shooting light for the day we decided to drive around and see what we could turn up. I got lucky and was looking out the truck window to the right while the other guys were looking left and saw a mature deer out my window. I immediately knew I would shoot that deer so we stopped as quick as we could. I put a very short "stalk" on him and used a bush just off the road as a rest. The shot ended up being about 175 yards.   The best part was that we were able to drive on a BLM road to get within 40 yards or so, making the packout easy.
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Post by featherduster on Dec 2, 2022 12:33:42 GMT -5
Nice report and enjoyed the photos.
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Dec 2, 2022 13:04:21 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing and looks like a fun hunt to me.
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 13:08:51 GMT -5
That left us with one more tag to fill. We kept tabs on some smaller bucks the next couple of days but the daytime temps were increasing which seemed to keep the mature deer from coming out until the very end of legal shooting light. We used the time to fill a WT doe tag but knew the hunting would just get better and better as the beginning signs of rut were starting. We even saw a forkhorn mule deer that had his lip curled chasing a doe around. We finally saw a mature buck once morning and decided to put a stalk on.  A stalk was put on but due to the distance and a 15' deep ditch the deer got away. In the pic below the deer were moving right to left along the base of the hills. They then went up the draw on the left side of the pic and much to our surprise, decided to turn back around when they got to the top and head back down. The lead doe and hunter met at about 10 yards so a quick offhand shot was attempted. No sign of a hit was found but with the 15+ mph winds on the hill that morning it was a difficult shot. 
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 13:28:45 GMT -5
During the evening of our last day there we caught a buck heading across the road to our unit and public land so we stopped the truck in a manner that we hoped would keep the deer from crossing back over. One of the funniest things I have ever seen while hunting proceeded to occur. The shooter jumped out of the truck and the deer ran behind a large rock less than 50 yards away blocking the shot. He then proceeded to peek up over the rock to see where we were showing only his head and neck. Once he realized we were still there he took off up a drainage but stopped to look back at about 100 yards. the shot connected and we watched him disappear behind a little hill. After a little bit of rock climbing we were able to find him. Below is the view from the shot site to the truck.  I don't have a pic of the buck as it was found but here's one from when we got back to the truck. 
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 13:35:14 GMT -5
Here's some other miscellaneous pics from the trip. Does  Sunrise from the morning we left  Town deer  Drive home  Roadside attractions  ![]()
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2022 13:56:31 GMT -5
Here's a pic of me with my whitetail:  My view from my dusty knoll:  I saw probably a half-dozen bucks and twice that many does that morning, hanging around just over on private. This buck came from private, jumped a fence to cross a little of corner of public, and was heading back to private when I got him, about 280 yards. I think I had the longest pack-out of the trip at around 400 yards to the truck - that's the way I like them!
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2022 14:03:02 GMT -5
I know that Brandon has better pics to post of his buck, the one that played ring-'round the rockpile, but here's one of Josh and Brandon on the hillside, about to start working on the buck.  It was funny, although I was afraid the buck was going to get away at last light of the last day. Wound up being a great ending to a great hunt.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2022 14:10:51 GMT -5
I really enjoyed hunting with Brandon and Josh. This time we were all successful on bucks, not a small feat with just a few days to hunt an area none of us had been to before.
One blunder on my part, I dropped my wallet on the western edge of Iowa on the drive out. Three hours into Nebraska, I realized what I'd done. We drove all the way back, adding 6 hours to our drive to retrieve my wallet. I thought for sure they were going to leave me alongside the road somewhere, but somehow I managed to not get ditched at a truck stop.
We also got to soak at a hot-spring pool in Thermopolis before heading home, my first time being anywhere like that. It was kind of nice, even though the water did smell like a fart. Smelled better than me anyway, after a week of hunting and tent-camping with no showers.
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 2, 2022 14:20:23 GMT -5
I really enjoyed hunting with Brandon and Josh. This time we were all successful on bucks, not a small feat with just a few days to hunt an area none of us had been to before. One blunder on my part, I dropped my wallet on the western edge of Iowa on the drive out. Three hours into Nebraska, I realized what I'd done. We drove all the way back, adding 6 hours to our drive to retrieve my wallet. I thought for sure they were going to leave me alongside the road somewhere, but somehow I managed to not get ditched at a truck stop. We also got to soak at a hot-spring pool in Thermopolis before heading home, my first time being anywhere like that. It was kind of nice, even though the water did smell like a fart. Smelled better than me anyway, after a week of hunting and tent-camping with no showers. I forgot to mention the hot springs. It was a good way to loosen up before the long ride home. The shorts I wore still smelled like sulphur after the first wash.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 2, 2022 14:21:35 GMT -5
Forgot to add this picture. Josh brought his homemade angus-cow decoy, and he and Brandon actually used it to get in on some deer. There was a group of does, with I think three bucks, on a tiny little piece of public land, probably less than 10 acres. I watched from the truck, and it looked like they were able to get right in amongst the deer, but apparently the biggest buck was just across the line on private.  "Won't they see our feet?" - "Deer don't know how many feet a cow has!"
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Post by esshup on Dec 2, 2022 14:37:14 GMT -5
That's cool. Great pictures and thanks for sharing them!!
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Post by HuntMeister on Dec 2, 2022 19:25:49 GMT -5
Congrats and thanks for sharing the photos. What part of WY?
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Post by marshallco on Dec 2, 2022 22:59:42 GMT -5
This is a great thread. Awesome pics, good story, and well done with your mulie! Thanks for sharing.
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Post by ukwil on Dec 3, 2022 7:12:40 GMT -5
Josh summed up the trip pretty well. I'll agree with Wyatt that I thoroughly enjoy hunting with both him and Josh. I'll add a few pics that I took.  Here is a little better pic of my deer taken the last hour of the last day.  Here is a picture of the buck that I missed after having a doe bust me after about a mile stalk. Shot at him 2x, but totally whiffed on him.  My whitetail doe  We were glassing near where Josh's deer died and had a pair of Golden Eagles show up eating on the carcass.   Couple of shots near camp with and without snow
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Post by esshup on Dec 4, 2022 17:53:22 GMT -5
Dang, that buck that you missed was a really, really nice one!
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Post by scrub-buster on Dec 4, 2022 19:19:25 GMT -5
That looks like a great trip! I miss those western views. Thanks for posting
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Post by ukwil on Dec 4, 2022 19:30:58 GMT -5
Dang, that buck that you missed was a really, really nice one! Yeah. To say I was a little heartbroken was an understatement. Pretty sure I seen the same buck the day before as I was stalking another nice buck.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 4, 2022 21:29:36 GMT -5
Congrats and thanks for sharing the photos. What part of WY? Thermopolis
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