Tactical .20
New member
I wanted to leave for the mountains 4 days sooner, but had to wait for a truck part and pay for it, also taking money from my trip. I get to the mountains and the moon is full everynight, 75 sunny degrees or more each day but one! Last yr we spotted 40-50 bucks and I stalked 3 and killed the third one a 157" 4x4. This yr I drove early spotting the open parks and areas, 3-4 spikes and 15 does? All I saw! last yr there were groups of bucks 3-9 in a group!!
I ended up walking and stillhunting 28-30 miles in 5 days, driving many miles on tough mountain trails on my Rubicon and Cummins. One day I was so beat all I could do is drive and spot from the atv and truck. I stalked within 50 yds of an ugly little bull elk. I figured they had to be in the forest before it was light out.
I stillhunted in a creek valley one late afternoon, I think the bubbling brook covered the light crunch of pine needles. I noticed the butt of an animal disappear behind a bush at 50yds or less. It looked red in the sun light, I thought it sure didn't look like a deer or fox. Then the head and shoulder went between two more bushes, I knew it was a large cougar! It disappeared again, I waited, then after not seeing it I took a slow step or two and it leaped away, all I saw was its butt and wide long tail disappear over the low cover, it was gone, the tail looked about 3-4" wide! Man that was real cool getting that close to a big cat!!
The next day I stalked with in50 yds of I think the same young bull, he pushed 4 cows and a calf in front of me at 15 yds! Lol I thought you don't know how lucky you are that I don't have an elk tag!! The wind was in my favore so thety never knew I was there! I washed my clothes, sprayed them inside out, hat pants shirt, face, and if the wind was wrong, lmfao they still smelled me! lol ya that stuff works!!lol
I stillhunted 7 hours straight in the light rain and snow, not a sound did I make! Not a deer did I see, I must have been too high on the mountain! I found an elk wallow about half way up the mountain on a shelf, it was still milky from a wallowing.
I sighted the top crosshair of my Scorpyd 165 at 40 yds, the bottom one was dead on at 80 yds. I shot 1-2" groups with it at 80 yds! Man this sog will shoot! The person that shoots the arrow can't see it fly even at 80 yds! The arrow blew through the block at 80 yds, 10ft to 20 yds past the "will stop any broadhead" target! lol! If I had half a chance I would have shot a nice one, the last two days I couldn't even find a meat buck, like a little spike!
We concluded it was the heavy spring snows that hadn't finshed melting gave them water everywhere, last yr they had to find water at the larger creeks, thus concentrating more deer near where the water was. My friend said they must be somewhere else, I thought they were everywhere! He ment they were probably at a different altitude. I was hunting at 9-10,000 ft.
One thing I and an other deer hunter from MI noticed, the deer seemed to be on high alert most of the time. HMM! ,,, it couldn't have anything to do with the wolves moving into the Big Horns could it!!? I heard two wolf howls before daybreak one morning! The Johnson co coyote control guy has had 3 wolves pull a coyote getter in the last 7-8 yrs!
Ok I was physically, and emotionally beat, but next year I'm getting another wall hanger like last yr!!
I ended up walking and stillhunting 28-30 miles in 5 days, driving many miles on tough mountain trails on my Rubicon and Cummins. One day I was so beat all I could do is drive and spot from the atv and truck. I stalked within 50 yds of an ugly little bull elk. I figured they had to be in the forest before it was light out.
I stillhunted in a creek valley one late afternoon, I think the bubbling brook covered the light crunch of pine needles. I noticed the butt of an animal disappear behind a bush at 50yds or less. It looked red in the sun light, I thought it sure didn't look like a deer or fox. Then the head and shoulder went between two more bushes, I knew it was a large cougar! It disappeared again, I waited, then after not seeing it I took a slow step or two and it leaped away, all I saw was its butt and wide long tail disappear over the low cover, it was gone, the tail looked about 3-4" wide! Man that was real cool getting that close to a big cat!!
The next day I stalked with in50 yds of I think the same young bull, he pushed 4 cows and a calf in front of me at 15 yds! Lol I thought you don't know how lucky you are that I don't have an elk tag!! The wind was in my favore so thety never knew I was there! I washed my clothes, sprayed them inside out, hat pants shirt, face, and if the wind was wrong, lmfao they still smelled me! lol ya that stuff works!!lol
I stillhunted 7 hours straight in the light rain and snow, not a sound did I make! Not a deer did I see, I must have been too high on the mountain! I found an elk wallow about half way up the mountain on a shelf, it was still milky from a wallowing.
I sighted the top crosshair of my Scorpyd 165 at 40 yds, the bottom one was dead on at 80 yds. I shot 1-2" groups with it at 80 yds! Man this sog will shoot! The person that shoots the arrow can't see it fly even at 80 yds! The arrow blew through the block at 80 yds, 10ft to 20 yds past the "will stop any broadhead" target! lol! If I had half a chance I would have shot a nice one, the last two days I couldn't even find a meat buck, like a little spike!
We concluded it was the heavy spring snows that hadn't finshed melting gave them water everywhere, last yr they had to find water at the larger creeks, thus concentrating more deer near where the water was. My friend said they must be somewhere else, I thought they were everywhere! He ment they were probably at a different altitude. I was hunting at 9-10,000 ft.
One thing I and an other deer hunter from MI noticed, the deer seemed to be on high alert most of the time. HMM! ,,, it couldn't have anything to do with the wolves moving into the Big Horns could it!!? I heard two wolf howls before daybreak one morning! The Johnson co coyote control guy has had 3 wolves pull a coyote getter in the last 7-8 yrs!
Ok I was physically, and emotionally beat, but next year I'm getting another wall hanger like last yr!!
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