track1
Well-known member
I had four days to hunt over thanksgiving in my favorite area in NW Montana. Not having hunted there since 2011 I figured I'd spend the first day just cruising a few of my spots and then I'd pick the one with the best sign and hunt it for the next three days.
Day one was thanksgiving morning. Daylight found me about a mile down a gated road. There had been snow on the ground for several days and there were very few tracks. I went another half mile or so with no more sign and I made a quick decision to bug out and go check out another spot. I Headed to a spot where I killed a 160 inch buck in 2011. I hunted it for about 4 hours. There were 3 wolves working the area but I did manage to see a few does and two small bucks. The deer were on extra high alert with the wolves in the area. I saw a couple of decent buck tracks but they were all a day old. At least there was some activity.
That afternoon I went to my favorite spot. In 2011 the wolves had moved all of the deer out of the area so I was a little skeptical. About 3/4 of a mile in I spotted a doe feeding. After checking out all around her I finally spotted a little 4 point that was with her. I slipped by them and started seeing some really good tracks. Again, everything was a day or two old but good sign. I ended up seeing several more does and another small buck. I figured I would hunt here for the rest of the season.
Day two rained all day, sometimes steady sometimes very hard. The deer were up and moving. I saw a small buck chasing a doe about 15 minutes after daylight. I continued in a little deeper and started seeing a few does. About 10:00 I spotted a pretty good buck head down a logging road right towards me at about 400 yards. I laid down and waited for him to close the distance. There was a little dip in the trail and I was planning on deciding if I was going to shoot him or not him when he came out of the dip. He never came out. I slipped up to where I last saw him and he had peeled of to follow a doe. He was decent but not a buck I wanted to focus much time on so I kept moving on. I got into an area where I have seen quite a few bucks and killed a couple in the past and I stared rattling and grunting about every 400-500 yards. I ended up calling in 4 bucks that I saw. I also had a couple that came in and were grunting but never let me see them. I thought about shooting a 4 point that came in but it wasn't quite big enough. The bucks in this area seem to always be very vocal and grunt a lot and really respond to grunts.
Day 3 was an icy drive. The snow was starting and the roads were beginning to freeze. I got to my spot and hiked in about a mile and a half. I reached an area where I wanted to set up and call. I've killed 3 bucks within 500 yards of this spot so I know the deer travel through this area. I started to drop down a couple hundred yards from the logging road I was on to set up. Just as I was getting to where I was going to set up i bumped a doe. I watched her go out of sight with no bucks following her. I gave things a few minutes to settle down and I let out 2 medium grunts. In a minute I spotted a small 3 point coming in from behind me and to my left about 50 yards out. As i was watching him I heard something close to me on my right. As I turned to look a little 4 point was looking at me and bounced away. I went to try to find the little 3 point again but he seemed to have disappeared. While is was looking for the 3 point I noticed another deer about 150 yards below me working its way towards me. I couldn't get a look at the head because it was low to the ground so at this point I'm thinking it's another buck. As I'm trying to get a look at this deer I catch more movement to my left in the direction the little 4 point went. I see horns and know immediately it's not the little 4 point but a pretty nice buck about 80 yards out. One more quick look and I decided he was good enough. With everything going on around me I'm not sure if I leaned against the tree I was by or if I shot offhand but the crosshairs settled and my rifle went off. I took the pick as he laid. It was one of the neatest experiences I've had deer hunting. 2 grunts and 3-4 bucks coming in all at once on public land. My head was turning so fast i almost got whiplash. He's a little better than the pick, low 130's. Not my largest buck by any means but he will be one of my most memorable.
Day one was thanksgiving morning. Daylight found me about a mile down a gated road. There had been snow on the ground for several days and there were very few tracks. I went another half mile or so with no more sign and I made a quick decision to bug out and go check out another spot. I Headed to a spot where I killed a 160 inch buck in 2011. I hunted it for about 4 hours. There were 3 wolves working the area but I did manage to see a few does and two small bucks. The deer were on extra high alert with the wolves in the area. I saw a couple of decent buck tracks but they were all a day old. At least there was some activity.
That afternoon I went to my favorite spot. In 2011 the wolves had moved all of the deer out of the area so I was a little skeptical. About 3/4 of a mile in I spotted a doe feeding. After checking out all around her I finally spotted a little 4 point that was with her. I slipped by them and started seeing some really good tracks. Again, everything was a day or two old but good sign. I ended up seeing several more does and another small buck. I figured I would hunt here for the rest of the season.
Day two rained all day, sometimes steady sometimes very hard. The deer were up and moving. I saw a small buck chasing a doe about 15 minutes after daylight. I continued in a little deeper and started seeing a few does. About 10:00 I spotted a pretty good buck head down a logging road right towards me at about 400 yards. I laid down and waited for him to close the distance. There was a little dip in the trail and I was planning on deciding if I was going to shoot him or not him when he came out of the dip. He never came out. I slipped up to where I last saw him and he had peeled of to follow a doe. He was decent but not a buck I wanted to focus much time on so I kept moving on. I got into an area where I have seen quite a few bucks and killed a couple in the past and I stared rattling and grunting about every 400-500 yards. I ended up calling in 4 bucks that I saw. I also had a couple that came in and were grunting but never let me see them. I thought about shooting a 4 point that came in but it wasn't quite big enough. The bucks in this area seem to always be very vocal and grunt a lot and really respond to grunts.
Day 3 was an icy drive. The snow was starting and the roads were beginning to freeze. I got to my spot and hiked in about a mile and a half. I reached an area where I wanted to set up and call. I've killed 3 bucks within 500 yards of this spot so I know the deer travel through this area. I started to drop down a couple hundred yards from the logging road I was on to set up. Just as I was getting to where I was going to set up i bumped a doe. I watched her go out of sight with no bucks following her. I gave things a few minutes to settle down and I let out 2 medium grunts. In a minute I spotted a small 3 point coming in from behind me and to my left about 50 yards out. As i was watching him I heard something close to me on my right. As I turned to look a little 4 point was looking at me and bounced away. I went to try to find the little 3 point again but he seemed to have disappeared. While is was looking for the 3 point I noticed another deer about 150 yards below me working its way towards me. I couldn't get a look at the head because it was low to the ground so at this point I'm thinking it's another buck. As I'm trying to get a look at this deer I catch more movement to my left in the direction the little 4 point went. I see horns and know immediately it's not the little 4 point but a pretty nice buck about 80 yards out. One more quick look and I decided he was good enough. With everything going on around me I'm not sure if I leaned against the tree I was by or if I shot offhand but the crosshairs settled and my rifle went off. I took the pick as he laid. It was one of the neatest experiences I've had deer hunting. 2 grunts and 3-4 bucks coming in all at once on public land. My head was turning so fast i almost got whiplash. He's a little better than the pick, low 130's. Not my largest buck by any means but he will be one of my most memorable.
