# derekp1999 Muzzy Deer



## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

This has to be the year&#8230; doesn't it? The last time I cut notches out of a tag was 2010, so perhaps I'm due, right? After coming oh, so close last year&#8230; maybe? Definitely, maybe&#8230;
I hit the range one week prior to opening day and made a rookie mistake by adjusting my iron sights the wrong direction. I got so frustrated as I burned through my stock of bullets that ultimately I just gave up. I had long been considering stepping up to a 300 grain bullet since I have aspirations of drawing a muzzleloader elk tag&#8230; so since I was going to have to start over & re-sight my gun in entirely, I guess you could say I took advantage of the situation and made a change from the 250gr Hornady SST to the 300gr Hornady HP-XTP Mag. I'm excited to see how they perform.
Cody & I got to the cabin at about 4pm and ran to a nearby canyon to do some shooting. I was able to get my gun sighted in again but still had some reservations at longer distances. Grandpa had arrived Tuesday morning and gotten the cabin opened and warmed up. My dad, Darren, and his 6 year old son arrived right about 7pm & my uncle arrived about 30 minutes after that. We settled in and made plans for the morning, the primary topic of conversation was the weather forecast (windy, cold, and snow).
Cody & jumped in my truck opening morning and headed for the bowl I hunted last year ("Plan A"). There was a truck parked at the mouth of the bowl, so we continued up the road to hike into the bowl Cody & I had hunted during the muzzleloader elk hunt last Nov. As we drove through a meadow near a small lake I spotted a couple does&#8230; then a couple more&#8230; six total. Then a small 2 point buck. I stopped the truck and we looked him over and chuckled that it'd be about a 20 yard shot. It felt like we were stopped for a couple minutes (really just a couple seconds) but the buck fed, head down, leisurely the whole time. I finally decided he was just begging to be shot&#8230; everything was so ideal that I couldn't pass it up. I jumped out, threw a primer in, took a quick rest, and pulled the trigger. He dropped where he stood. I'll praise my new choice of bullets! I ran over & quickly put my tag on him then grabbed him&#8230; still twitching&#8230; and threw him in the back of the truck. Since we were right on the road, we took him to a more secluded area to get him cleaned up. From the time I got out of the truck to when we were moving again with the buck in the back probably only took three minutes. We had him hanging in the basement of the cabin (a.k.a. 'The Meatlocker") and back out hiking by 8:30am. I'd spent the last 2 years hiking my guts out, and I was hoping to do the same this year&#8230; but something inside me told me to shoot this buck. I'm pleased, he'll be tasty&#8230; and I guess it was my year after all! It was so early I still had sleep on my face!!!


Grandpa, Dad, Darren, and my uncle were watching a nice 4 point but couldn't get a clear shot because he was with a bunch of does. Darren said, "They went zebra on us!" They just could never tell which one he was&#8230; they'd pick him out then the little herd would shift around and they'd have to relocate him. The small herd of deer worked its way up the ridge through some scrub oak and out of range without a clear shot ever being presented&#8230; smart ole buck! My uncle then spotted little 2 point & my dad applied a healthy dose of peer pressure. Reluctantly, my uncle pulled the trigger. They took the little buck back to "The Meatlocker."
Cody and I spent the afternoon sitting in the bowl I call "Plan A" and sat through several waves of pretty intense snow and wind. 




When the weather would clear, we were able to spot a couple bucks, two 2pts&#8230; nothing that we would want to drag out of there. We were cold & wet, so we decided to drive around and warm up for the last hour or so. We saw four small bucks and about 30 does in the areas too close to the cabins to be shot legally before we finally found one in an area we could shoot. Cody was hoping to fill his tag quickly so that he could return home to be with his father who had just undergone additional procedures related to melanoma cancer removal just above his eye. I could tell he was relieved to have filled his tag, and would be able to return home early to be with his family. Since it was dark, we threw the little buck in the back of the truck & cleaned him up at the lot we own now known as "The Cleaning Station."
Opening day closed with 3 bucks in "The Meatlocker." 
Thursday morning Cody & I butchered the three bucks taken the day before. We ate lunch about 1:30pm and he was ready to head for home. I escorted him out through the gates and sent him on his way. When I returned to the cabin I found that Grandpa had shot another little 2 point and Darren had taken a shot at a bigger buck in nearly the exact spot where he shot his 3x4 last year. They looked for any indication of Darren hitting the buck. He was pretty upset about the whole thing & was insistent that he'd hit it, but lack of evidence said otherwise. Sounded to me like a case of "buck fever."
Day two ended with another buck hanging&#8230; 4 of 6!
Because of Darren's persistence, we had designs of going and giving it one more try to turn up any evidence of a hit on that buck but overnight snow made it difficult to find any sign. We walked around looking for a body for a couple hours before we got too wet & cold to continue on. We piled back in the truck and convinced him that it was a miss. Heading back to the cabin we crossed paths with a group of three small bucks and Darren made a very tough shot on a buck that was quartering away and steeply uphill. The buck actually turned and ran downhill towards us before piling up. I could tell that redemption was sweet for him. Finding a bullet is a treat for me (weird, I know), and this one just happened to be a bump under the skin of the opposite shoulder. I performed a quick "extraction" and cleaned the bullet off. I showed it to my nephew (Darren's son) and he was fascinated with the little pieces of bone lodged within the lead core. I'll admit&#8230; I thought it was pretty cool, too.


Day three ended with our fifth buck hanging, bringing us to 83% success&#8230; and the state average is what?!?

My dad was the only one left with a tag, and he was bound and determined to NOT pull the trigger. My uncle was chomping at the bit to return the favor and throw some peer pressure his direction&#8230; but to no avail and to my dad's pleasure his hunt ended with an unfilled tag.
We have had 2 years in a row of just solid, plain old FUN hunts. Nobody cares about inches, we hunt together and give each other the business for three & half days. We saw plenty of bucks (30+ easily), lots of does & fawns, a few handful of moose, heard some elk bugle, and put a bunch of nice tender meat in the freezer. Heck, five out of six isn't bad!


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

These are the posts that I love to take the time to read and I love the fact that everyone was successful. I think that your outlook and my outlook on hunting are very similar. I just enjoy getting out and shooting animals. Seeing other people shoot animals is also a lot of fun. 

What unit were you hunting? 

Thanks for sharing all those smoke pole hunters sure are giving me the cabin fever.. I already don't sleep at night in anticipation for an awesome hunt.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Oh ya and looking the 5 bucks in the picture... yours must be the one in the middle.


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

Nambaster said:


> What unit were you hunting?
> Oh ya and looking the 5 bucks in the picture... yours must be the one in the middle.


Ogden, my grandfather has owned a cabin on the unit for 30+ years.
From left to right: mine, my uncle's, Cody's, Darren's, Grandpa's. Just fli-flop Darren's & Grandpa's and they would be in the order they were shot.


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Good deal, meat in the freezer is better than a tag in the pocket any day!


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## COWAN (Oct 7, 2012)

Good story, good hunt, incredible memories. You got to hunt out of Grandpa's cabin bag some bucks and see lots of animals, thats a sliceof the American dream right there. Excellent!


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